Perception is our belief of what happened.
It’s the combination of the unconscious prediction of our movements and the world around us, with our self observations*.
When our prediction and our observation combine to create and determine a perception, we generally feel we know what happened. But what happens when we pause the prediction?
Given that prediction in movement is involuntary, this likely isn’t possible. But what if we simply remove the whole idea of the act from our minds before (and as) we act?
Talking but not talking…
Walking but not walking…
Playing the piano but not playing the piano…
This concept seems totally crazy… until it happens. Artists, athletes, and people of all backgrounds have describe something similar when in a state of flow - when things just ‘happen to you’ or ‘happen through you’.
So what happens when you pause the prediction? Where does the ball land?
* Biological Learning and Control: Shadmehr and Mussa-Ivaldi).