Inside is outside

One of the greatest sources of suffering for all of us, is the notion that we are separate from the world.

In fact, our souls, that deepest part o ourselves by whatever name you wish to call it-lives not only as some of us imagine-like n a tiny peach inside our heads or hearts or…toes, it also lives in all of the matter-in the cells and molecules of all that is perceived as ‘outside’.

Where is outside? Generally we define ‘outside ‘ as matter which is outside of our skins. However, on examination, we can see that matter outside our skins is constantly bringing in and releasing into , matter on the outside of our skins. And vice versa. With every breath, with every open skin pore, eye cell, nose receptors and eating experience, we bring the world past our skins and give it out again. So rather than concrete beings who have a discrete identity, we are in fact, all of us, temporary expressions of something which moves constantly between inside to outside, and outside to inside. As Suzuki Roshi described in ‘Beginner’s Mind, Zen Mind’, we are doors between worlds, opening inwards when we breathe in, opening outwards when we breathe out. It is only an our independent sense of self that leads us to think we are separate.

At one stage in our development, it was necessary that we came to think of the world as being an outward form which does not have life, sentience or direction. That was needed at one stage of soul development so we came to understand how we have sovereignty over our thoughts and actions. This  was the play pen where we were put until we learned to walk, and to develop higher functions of our minds.

I write in second person plural because we are, of course, all interconnected. So when enough people develop a greater sense of Self as outside the skin, then a critical mass point is achieved, and human kind, and by extension, all living beings of Gaia, will be carried along into an transformation that is both liberating and irreversible.

World Metaphoric Transformation is an world view from a completely different perspective. It is a transformation that can take place anywhere we live, die, cook, garden or heal. It is developing a sensitivity to the environment as a loving guide and protector. We have only to recognize our interconnectedness and all will become clear.

Try This!

1.       Take some moments every day just for yourself. Those times you can be alone in conversation with the best of who you are. Allow this to become a daily practice, even if sometimes you think you don’t have time for this connection time. Think of it this way-you don’t have time not to!

2.       During this sacred time, notice the environment around you. Let one object , event or sensation step out from the back ground and be noticed. E.g. I am noticing a beautiful feather which I brought back from a pilgrimage to a sacred place. It is an owl feather.

3.       Take a moment and breathe in the all the sensations of the object-how is looks, where it is placed, the context which it invokes, any other perceptions that arise in noticing this object. E.g.. I also notice that the feather is barred, recurring pattern of brown and white.

4.       Now for the magic! Bring the message home. Catch your soul in this place where it has wandered and become lost. E.g. This reminds me of a friend because she was with me at the time I found this feather. Like the barred pattern on the feather, our relationship has been on and off, it’s had its ups and down. But I can see that the whole of it was good , and I want to honour that.

5.       After the magic, the action. Activate your soul catching with an action commitment This is bringing the star dust down to earth. E.g. I will email her today and set up a time for getting together.