Some Food for Thought

INSIDE OUT, OUTSIDE IN

A man stood up and asked, teacher, how can we save ourselves from suffering and violence? The teacher sat in silence for a moment. To some people it seemed like a long time, to others it was a brief pause. Then the teacher said softly, “I hear questions like this everywhere I go. In this request, I hear that you are full of love and compassion for this world and all the creatures living here. You have a strong desire to know more about the nature of your earthy reality, and more than this, you want to learn some secret that will allow all beings to dwell here in a constant state of comfort and joy.”


The teacher smiled warmly and added, “However, at the same time I hear masked fear for the state of the world’s condition. There is a very clear request for help, from a perceived outside source, to save us from what we have created. Indeed, I hear people ask for the secret to save us from ourselves asked in many different ways. Let me assure you that there is nothing to be saved from. Everything is truly perfect as it is."

“Listen now.” The teacher stated intently, “The world that you imagine to be out there, somewhere outside of yourself, is really in here”, he said as he folded his hands over his chest. “There is nothing ‘out there’ in your world that exists out side of yourself. All that you see and know of in the macrocosm, the world, exists in the microcosm, the individual – the one.”
“What suffering do you want to end?” he asked. “If it is hunger you want to put an end to, find the hunger within yourself and feed it. If it is illness you wish to bring to an end, find the diseased part of the self and heal it.” The teacher closed his eyes for a moment, then as he opened them; he gently spread his arms wide open. “If the people of the world fed, cleansed, healed and loved themselves – just as they are, you would see a healthy world when you look outside.”

The master continued. “You must know that the hunger I speak of is more than physical; it is a hunger for spiritual connection, emotional fulfillment, and mental stimulation. Know that the physical hunger that you see in your world is there to remind you to feed the hunger within yourself that is hidden or denied. This principle applies to all the suffering you see and know of in your world. If you want to stop injustice, find the injustice within yourself, then, love that part of yourself unconditionally.”

“This is the inside out way to change the world,” the teacher said confidently. “There is just as much power and validity in the inside out path as there is in the outside in approach that most people understand. Certain people see problems in the world, then pour all their time, money, energy and love into fixing that situation. They are working from the outside in. Either way the result is the same. After all, there is only one being here - the one Source of All That Is. If you heal yourself you heal the one, if you feed a hungry person, you feed the one. There is no separation.”

“I am reminded of these words from the Talmud,” the teacher said, “Whoever destroys one life destroys the entire world; whoever saves a single life saves the world entire.” The teacher sat quietly for a moment, which seemed like an hour to some observers, before saying, “People tend to place higher value on the outside in method of ‘saving’ the world. This is unfortunate.”
The teacher sat in silence again, and a woman stood up and asked, “Why do you say it is unfortunate? Isn’t it good that people work hard to correct problems in our world?”


“Yes, it is good to see a person follow his or her calling to give so much of himself or herself to a cause that is personally compelling. It is unfortunate that we frequently fail to agree on what is right or good for the world. When a person begins to believe that he or she knows what is best for all, and then commits to doing whatever it takes to triumph, this is unfortunate. However, what I intended to convey is that it is unfortunate that many people think only the outside in approach equals action."

“It is also unfortunate when a person comes to believe that he or she is not responsible for the existence of perceived problem condition in our world. Some of us place the blame of the world's ills on others. Some people see that another person or group of people are working hard ‘out there’ to end world hunger, and he or she stops doing anything to discover and feed the hunger that dwells within. Or, if there is a group of people working together out there to stop violence or injustice, then you or I can support them through donations. If this belief stops you or me from going within and looking for where the violence and injustice thrive – then it is unfortunate."


“For these reasons I prefer the inside out path to achieving world change” he said. “The inside out method is successful on an individual and mass level by the power of agreement. When we are in agreement, evidence of conflict is hard to find out there.”

Copyright © 2009 by Jordan Gray