Often we speak of ‘going within’. By that, we mean a place or space that we seem to locate within the boundaries outlined by our body though not necessarily inside the body. It’s that psychological space that we can enter where we are more closely connected with our thoughts, our feelings and whatever else we may find there. It is a distinctly different space to that which we perceive with our senses and that mostly exists ‘out there’.
Going within gives us some relief from the pushes and pulls and the tensions, artificial boundaries and frantic pace of the ‘outer world’ in which other people and other things – our workplaces, our societies, our governments, other countries, businesses, the weather, our children, our partners and so on – feature prominently and seem to have an impact on us, some more strongly than others.
In contrast, the psychospiritual space within seems to be a little safer, a little less frantic, a little kinder perhaps. I say ‘perhaps’ because not all our experiences of wandering within our personal psychological landscape are comforting. On the contrary, many people fear going within because of what they may have found in previous visits – anger, fear, resentment, busyness, melancholy, aloneness, for example. But, it would seem that some people at least have had good, nurturing and grounding experiences when they have ‘gone within’.
So, what is it that we are tuning into or connecting with when we ‘go within’? I suppose you could say that it’s a deeper level of consciousness, a level of consciousness that sits underneath our walking consciousness, as I like to call it – that state of being in which we are mostly in autopilot, reacting rather than responding with awareness to all the stimuli in the space mostly outside our bodies but sometimes inside it as well. Stimuli such as a person, a sound, a sore muscle, an upset tummy, a smell, a piece of news and so on.
What we’re hoping to achieve by ‘going within’ is some peace, some calm, some clarity, some insight even. We feel that by unplugging from the world outside our body, we might give ourselves a chance to slow down, to breathe a little more deeply, to relax a little, to let go of the tensions in our body, our heart and our mind. And quite often, we do achieve this to some degree. And that is useful.
But today, I want to awaken you to something that may have escaped your awareness. I want to awaken you to the fact that ‘within’ is not just a psychospiritual space within the boundaries of our physical bodies but that ‘within’ is a space or state of reality that permeates all things.
What we perceive through our senses is a view of the most physical and gross (materially dense) form of reality. But underneath this surface of superficial reality, as it is sometimes referred to in the field of quantum physics, there is a non-physical, subtler form of reality and it pervades all of life, from the apparently life-less rock to the highly animated squawking seagull.
So what? You’re thinking. How’s that going to make a difference to my life?
Well, let me tell you how it affects me:
- I am more aware of the seamless interconnection of all beings, of everything that is perceived in the physical world. In other words, my sense of separation is frequently being questioned and as a result, I feel much more connected with all of life, not with just some people and things. And whilst I have sensed this deeply and consistently in my ‘closed eye’ consciousness i.e. during sitting/formal meditation, to sense it in my walking or ‘open eye’ consciousness is an awakening. Admittedly, this is not yet a constant thing but it is encroaching deeper and further into my ‘walking consciousness’. And that is a good thing.
- I am more inclined to look at someone or think of someone by ‘going within’ them. Now, this does not mean ‘getting into their heads’ and trying to figure out what is going on for them, what their agenda is or anything like that. Rather, I am tuning into the universal energy of light and love that I know underlies my physical, mental and emotional being and which I can now sense in them and this has the wonderful effect of making me feel very connected and at peace with them.
- It’s becoming less ‘normal’ and less automatic for me to see the world as ‘out there’ and to think of me as ‘in here’. Increasingly, I think and feel myself as all-encompassing and I find myself feeling less inclined to be critical of another or to judge them harshly or to see only the aspects of them that have been hurtful or unkind or exploitative of me personally or of others.
Now, we all want peaceful, joyous lives. But how do we get this if we’re constantly feeling disconnected, isolated and separated from the rest of life even if we may not be consciously aware of this?
There is only ONE LIFE and it is all of us. There is only one time and that is the eternal now. It’s impossible to feel peace and joy if we are at odds with ‘what is’ and ‘what is’ is this all pervading, all connecting, eternal flow of life and it is WITHIN all, always.
So, think about it. The next time you have the urge to ‘go within’, think about the all-pervading WITHIN that connects all of us and everything. Intend to sense (with your non-physical senses) that which is within the people and things around you. See if you can tune into that and see if you can experience the peace, the power, the joy, the creative impulse that it is made of!MENTORING
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