As Within, So Without

Few of us have managed to connect with the internal world, some probably haven't really experienced it at all. The world we know is the external, the people, work, friends and family, the fashions, the desires we like to manifest, the things we want to get out of others. The internal world is the world you can not see with your eyes; it is a world you need to feel with your heart, sense with your cells, experience with your internal eye. It is a formless world, a world before it is manifested, a world of energy. You have to be very still and quiet to sense this world. You have to be in solitude to experience this world. To get in touch with this world, you have to schedule time just to be with yourself.

Why does it seem that many people are so lost, confused and anxious in their life? Most of the times, it is because this balance between internal and external world is simply not there. We are all taught to look for happiness and harmony outside of us. We pay almost all of our attention to this external world and we simply get lost in this physical world. It is like a ship sailing in a dark night without knowing where it is going. This internal world is like your control center. You surely should go out, hang out with your friends, spend time with your family, work hard to succeed, but you should also regularly connect with your heart, your center, to know where you are going and why exactly you are doing whatever you are doing. To know what you really want and who you really are, you need to spend time with yourself alone regularly. Otherwise you will get carried away by your external world and will never know who you really are. If you just follow the action that is coming your way, you will get lost in it.

The nice thing though, if you really want to start the journey Home, you can do that in whatever direction works for you, internally or externally. As within, so without. Learn as you look inward, the external world will change for you. As you connect with your control center, the external world will be more malleable, or as you slow down inside, the external world will slow down with you. This is the path of meditation. Alternatively, you can also find your True Self in the external world. Not by running after what you want - you will always fallow your wants like a donkey runs after the carrot - but by realizing that everything you need, you already have. You can literally follow the clues of the external world - the red line on the ground drawn especially for you by the Tao - and rediscover your internal world that way. The path of the Tao is simple. Interact with everyone and everything that comes your way and find love wherever you go.

The Tao is the path of the middle. The key in everything is balance. If you just lead a secluded life and spend all your time alone, your energy will stagnate as well. Spiritual path travelers sometimes long for peace, silence and stillness just like a business man hungers after his business deals. Sometimes in this stillness there can be something missing as well: The connection with others, the abundance of impressions, the energy exchange of life, the variety and fluidity.

Similarly, just trying to see God in external affairs is also not perfect. Get into touch with yourself regularly even if the practice of meditation isn't your path. Schedule meditation session of about 20 minutes a day just to experience how you can be in tune with your heart-beat, your breathing, or how you can observe your own thoughts. Your control center stands ready to connect with you and as you are handed over the steering wheel you will be able to hear that Ancient Voice that has stood ready to connect with you for so long.

As within, so without. It doesn't matter in which direction you look, God will always be waiting for you.

By Christian and Su Zhen