They said it!!

All of us live in two worlds. One is the external world, which is manifested, which we can feel, which is visible, and the other is the inner world, which is inside us, which we don't really see, which is not manifest.

But we know that it is there. A basic example is when you are at work anywhere or in a relationship with someone, the first thing you are aware of are the external manifestations in and of the relationship, at any given point of time. The second thing is that, subsequently, there are things happening within you, together, at the same time. It need not be one or the other.

We live in these two worlds, the external world and the internal world, simultaneously. The way to be happy in this life, no matter what our lives may be, because each one of us has a different life, is to build a bridge between your internal world and your external world. Whereby what you are inside and what you are outside does not clash. Whereby what you are inside and what you are outside does not contradict each other. Because if it does, the gap always remains, the divide always stays. You feel one thing inside and project something else outside. You're a certain kind of a person within you, but you exhibit a picture or an image of being a different kind of a person to the outer world.

As long as this divide remains between the inner and the outer world, the outer world will always affect you and cause you to react. Understand this because it means that everything that you do in the outside world, whether it be alone, whether it be with your family, with your relationships, with your work, you will not be contended with, not be satisfied with and successful because they will all still not be merging with what you are inside. You will only react.

The moment something happens in the external world, your internal world is disturbed, and you react from there. If the bridge is in place, your feelings inside and those outside are much the same. There is no division, no distinction, no masks, no walls. You will express what you are inside to the outer world. But do not misunderstand this to mean that whatever you feel is right and you must do it. The inner must be purified. If, today, walking down the street, I feel angry at somebody and hit him, I am not doing the right thing. Just because I have bridged my inner world and outer world does not mean that I am doing the right thing.

But the crux of the matter is that there must, eventually, be a bridge between your purified inner world and the outer world, where we all exist. We have to live here only. We have to start out from wherever we are, whatever we are doing, as we are today. From there, we take it step by step and keep improving, keep becoming better and better, keep becoming happier and happier, keep becoming self secure, more self aware. Between our inner world and the outer world, the entire spiritual path revolves around changing what you are inside. It is about becoming a better person, becoming more complete, more fulfilled, more whole. That is why a holistic feeling is closer to spiritual growth because 'holistic' indicates that you are 'a whole.'

You don't see one aspect or one angle of anything. You see each thing as a whole. So, taking our inner world, taking what we are inside and transforming that, is what the spiritual quest is all about. If we keep on changing externally, remain the same inside, chances are that we are going to have the same problems in our new externals too. Because no matter where we go or how many places we run to, eventually, we are still taking ourselves along.

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