Meaning is created by the person who experiences the event. We interpret everything in a personal way.

The whole process is like a filter for extracting a little meaning from a lot of sensory experience. There is a huge amount of possible information in any situation. From all of this we select, make interpretations, feel emotion, form or reniforce beliefs, and make assumptions. Finally we act on the results of this whole process.

This chain of events is interesting for three reasons:

1. Only the first step and the last step are visible and audible to others. The rest takes place in the privacy of our head. No one knows what is happening there unless we choose to tell them.
2. There are many possible experiences, but only one resulting action. Much information is lost or discounted along the way. It is like a lot of beans going into the top of the filter for one drop of coffee to emerge at the other end!
3. Our actions often reinforce out beliefs and cause us to restrict what we notice at the top of the funnel. So the funnel becomes a tunnel. What we notice confirms our beliefs and our beliefs influence what we notice. For example, if I decide that my yawning companion is rude, I will be on the alert for further instances of their rudeness. If I conclude that they yawned because I was boring them, I may try harder than usual to keep their attention. If I have a belief that I am not an interesting person, that yawn is yet more evidence to confirm my belief. And all because my companion had a late night!