"I perceive that ..." or " ... that is my perception" are statements that, when they reach my ear (or eye), trigger unease and irritation in me. When I inquire what could be meant by this, what is perceived, I often get more confusion than clarity. Why is that? An attempt at clarification.
Perception - sometimes this way, sometimes that. More unconscious interpretation than observation. But we perceive it as true...
For example, the sentence "I already perceive that not everything here has the integrity it should". On the one hand, the sentence contains judgements by the speaker in the second half. Something is not as expected by the speaker and a judgement is made about it. On the other hand, in the first half of the sentence it is taken for true. It IS like that.
This is where my "swimfest" begins: what is the speaker referring to? Where is the observation? What was said or done that triggers this judgement in the speaker? Questions often lead to justification, evasion or vague statements such as "you can feel it" or "it is subtle". Perception is often far removed from observation.
I have a big yes for phenomena that we cannot yet explain technically or scientifically, phenomena that we are not yet trained to recognise and name. Nevertheless, these things "happen" in our real world and can be observed - at least the effects of them. Recognising and naming these observations would help me, at least, to understand my counterpart better. I would then have the possibility to know and share the common ground of further conversation.
It is similar with so-called double signals, the incongruence of (for example) statement and body language: Someone says "but that relieves me a lot" and looks past me to the ground with crossed arms.
We usually evaluate these double signals unconsciously (because we are hardly trained to have these things clear as observations) and the incongruence remains. This makes us sceptical and we tend to follow the body language.
So it may be that I "perceive" that this person is an insincere and uptight person. No, I do not have an observation, but I clearly feel that....
This example shows how inadequate the perception is in general language use. And it also shows: double signals also carry expectations. Here, which body signals someone has to send out. It also shows how unwilling we often are to slow down and connect in precisely these cases: "something has irritated me, namely the body language, and I feel the need for clarity about what is going on between us. Would you like to tell me how that is for you?". Until I have the connection with the other person again and no longer unconsciously expect, judge and summarise it all under "perception".
I encourage myself and you as a reader: let's leave the "perception" and sharpen our observations and ability to connect! For more peace in ourselves and the world.