Quoting a passage from the book of Isaiah, Jesus said, "This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matt. 13:15). Note the association of the heart —the innermost, deepest thoughts—with eyes and ears, implying a connection between them.
Imagine a group of people admiring a view of mountain scenery: snowy peaks towering above forest-clad slopes. The eyes of all are fixed on the scene, but do they all see the same view? The mountaineer sees challenging new heights to conquer; the skiing enthusiast sees promising slopes on which to try his skill; the sportsman sees a good prospect of game; the naturalist a likely locality for new species of flora and fauna; the reflective one perhaps sees those upward-soaring peaks as hinting the might and grandeur of creation.
The view each one sees is influenced by his own mental outlook. Our concept of every single object presented to our senses for recognition—every person or thing we see, every sound we hear, every scent we smell, every object we touch—is influenced by the kind of thoughts we think, by our state of mind, or consciousness. Just as our radio picks up the program from the station to which we have tuned it, so we pick up the kind of mental impressions to which our consciousness is attuned.
