How Is The World Reflection Of Our Inner World?

I am haunted - by some quotes I heard once, and they remain lodged in me until clarity arises, which frees them to flow through me. Some of those quotes are - ‘If Budhha Was A Barber, Getting A Haircut Would Be Enlightenment’ or ‘You Cannot Travel The Path Until You Become The Path.’

One such thought that is probably in the process of becoming free is, ‘The outer world is a reflection of our inner world.’ I have tried to write blogs on this topic before, but it never materialized—let’s see what transpires now. The question I grapple with is - how is the outer world a reflection of my inner world? What in my inner world is reflected outside?

In Vipassana, Goenka Ji gives the example of an artist who draws a beautiful picture and falls in love with it. The same artist draws a scary picture and becomes afraid of it. We also do the same - we react to the images we have drawn in our minds - not the real world outside. That is the habit pattern of our minds - no point in asking why. A better way to approach this is to know that you do that all the time - and anytime you suffer, or a thought/person is causing issues, you turn up the awareness. And slowly, the picture becomes clear, along with the understanding that it is your own doing. Once that becomes clear, you will see the accurate picture and act accordingly.

Why is this important? As long as you react to the image within, you are cut off from reality, and nothing you do will affect what is happening outside. It is only when the link/addiction to reacting to internal images is broken that we wake up and look around to see what is happening. And then real change happens. Simply put, we imagine what the other person is like based on our internal image and behave according to that - which is the root cause of issues. So, the image you have internally is what is reflected outside.

Eckhart Tolle tells this story about a man who goes to a new town and asks the watchman how the townspeople are. The watchman asks him - how the people in his old town are. And the man replies, ‘They are horrible. They gossip and complain all the time. They lie - it is their way or highway.’ The watchman says - ‘Yes, the people here are exactly the same.’ Now, another man goes to the same town, and the watchman asks him the same question. And the man replies, ‘Oh! They are wonderful. They are lovely people, always happy to help. Looking at the positive side.’ And the watchman says - ‘Yes, the people here are exactly the same.’

What does this mean? Is it as simple as saying that if I believe the world to be a scary place, then it is, and if I believe the world to be a happy place, then it is? Yes, but it is a little more complicated than that. When we think the world is scary, we behave that way and look for evidence to support it. What starts as a simple thought becomes a full-blown reality, and then we become attached to that reality. And we refuse to look at anything that goes against that reality as that would mean we were wrong - our belief was wrong. As humans, we have no choice but to have beliefs and get attached to them. So, the wise thing to do is when we are suffering or admit that one of our beliefs might not be working. And muster the courage to let go of the belief step by step by observing reality and not getting carried away by the reality in our minds.

Now, I am not sure if I understand the quote clearly, but some of the fog has lifted. It confirms that despite how much I want to box life into something I can rely on, change is the only constant. What did this blog tell you about your inner and external world?