In what ways can less sensory input lead to increases in perception?

If I look out across a landscape on foggy day, I’m struck by how depth is on display. The beautiful simplicity of trees and objects – and how the closer an object is, the darker it appears – reveals startling shapes that are lost in a sea of color during a clear day.

While I strive to see clearly (in many ways), I wonder if clarity can sometimes be found in moments when of apparent obscurity.

I recall when I painted, I would occasionally squint my eyes until they were almost closed or temporarily view things through my tshirt in order to see gradations of light. In blocking most of my visual input, I was able to see something better than I had before.

And when I would create sample-based electronic music, I would often spend hours manipulating samples. Limiting or filtering frequencies allowed me to hear the tones and sounds which had been there the whole time, but were obscured by the flood of other frequencies.

In what ways can limiting input allow us to experience things more clearly?