There are Wonders both Inside and Outside Us
The beauty of the inner world
The world is large, but in us it is deep as the sea.
— Rilke
The world around us is both mysterious and wonderful. It is really hard to keep track of the marvelous experiences we can have out there. This wonderful creation, this majestic existence that we are all part of is truly breathtaking.
The world inside us
But as beautiful and wonderful the world around us is, so is our inner world. We carry the laws within us by which it is held in order. And we ourselves are no less mysterious. In exploring the wonders of the outside world, we are simultaneously learning about the wonders inside us.
The exploration of deep space is also an analogy for the exploration of the vast space inside us. We are the psychonauts exploring the universe within us. The beautiful cosmos that we all harbor inside us is waiting to be explored. Look deep inside you and you will find that you were never alone. There is a world inside you. A world only you can have access to. You hold the key to the heavens door.
That moon flight as an outward journey was outward into ourselves. And I do not mean this poetically, but factually, historically. I mean that the actual fact of the making and the visual broadcasting of that trip has transformed, deepened, and extended human consciousness to a degree and in a manner that amounts to the opening of a new spiritual era. …that lovely satellite has been out there circling our earth for some four billion years like a beautiful but lonesome woman trying to catch earth’s eye. She has now at last caught it, and has caught thereby ourselves.
— Joseph Campbell
Today we look for new lives in outer space, but we totally ignore the existence of other lives dwelling in the inner space. Inside our psyche, there are aliens. They don’t know about your existence and neither do you. They are the dwellers of the vast unconscious space and you are an inhabitant of the conscious realm. Venture out into those deep unconscious lanes and you shall meet your friends from the other realm. Your muse, your guide, your god; all are waiting for you.
The inner and outer darkness
As there are sorrows in the outside world, so is there in the inner world. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of both worlds. Know that pain and despair precede all revelation. The first step to the knowledge of the highest divine symbol of the wonder and mystery of life is in the recognition of the monstrous nature of life and its glory; to realize and be comfortable with this fact and know that it cannot and will not be changed.
Without suffering, there is no sense of joy. Without darkness, there is no light. And those who think that the universe could have been better than it is, that if they were the architects of the universe, they would have created it without pain, without sorrow, without death, and ultimately without life, are fit for neither world. For them, the gates of both the outer and the inner worlds are closed forever. They merely exist but never truly live.
All societies are evil, sorrowful, inequitable and so they will always be. But they are also beautiful, wonderful, and pure. Everyone has an angel looking out for them, but you also have your own personal demon assigned to you. It is really a paradox. Both the worlds are a paradox. We are both the shadow and the light. And we must learn to embrace them both.
All you can do is learn to live in it. Live joyfully in this sorrowful world. Know that we cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
— Joseph Campbell
