Exploring
‘inner space’
By Jimmy Henderson Hons BA (phil) MA (psych) FRC
‘My consciousness is like a wild deer,
full of life, vitality, purity and perfection, but as it passes once again into
the forest of shadows, it is swallowed up by the darkness and the world of
forms.’
J. Henderson
In his book, A New Earth (2005), Eckhart
Tolle likens ‘inner space’ to the depths of our own consciousness, in which there
are many ‘worlds’ or ‘dimensions’. However, moving between
dimensions of inner space is actually only a metaphor for shifts taking place in our mind and consciousness,
doorways opening into different experiences of reality. This could perhaps be
better understood using the analogy of a computer program. As we enter the
‘program’, our mind is able to shift from one level to the next by our entering
in key commands (intentions), each shift being accompanied by a corresponding change
in perception and our subsequent inner experiences.
To explore our
‘inner space’ we would use a process of meditation combined with advanced imagery
and intention and create a dramatised scenario which includes portals through
which we could pass from one level of the program into the next, entering ever
deeper and deeper into unexplored areas of our consciousness. A useful
framework for this dramatisation would be to recreate a journey into space, seeing
ourselves moving out of the atmosphere of the Earth, glancing back and seeing
the planet far below, then travelling past
the planets of our solar system, beyond the Sun and out into the deeper regions
of outer space (which in this case, is linked to our ‘inner space’). Such an imaginary journey,
if applied with intent and the skills of interactive visualisation, can produce
many profound emotional as well as symbolic visual experiences and therefore have
a great potential for learning, growth and personal development.
This visualised expedition into inner space can
even change our perception of space and time. However, if one thinks of these
processes purely in terms of consciousness, then we are not really travelling
in time and space at all, but rather undergoing an inner experience brought
about by a shift in our perception, and simply engaging other realms or spheres
of our own consciousness. To further explain this idea of consciousness (or
inner space) transcending space and time, let me use another analogy. Imagine a
situation where two friends are parting after a meeting. As the one friend
departs, so he moves further away until he can no longer be seen by the other.
However, from a vantage point a few hundred meters above the ground, both
friends can still be seen, although they are already a few kilometers apart. If
taken to the extreme, this means that to a person with an infinite view
(consciousness), nothing is ever out of sight and the concept of space
(distance) is therefore relative to the depth of our perception. Similarly, our
sense of time is determined by the movement of the Earth relative to the Sun
and the stars. However, to a being who is not limited to the Earth or even to
the physical universe, there can be no measurement of time in terms of day and
night or movements of the planets. This suggests that once again, to the person
who has access to universal consciousness and perception,
everything becomes one continuous unbroken experience.
Incidentally, one of the most important experiences
that can emerge from this particular process of exploring inner space is the feeling,
that, when glancing back at the sphere of the Earth, it represents in essence,
a certain sphere of reality rather than an actual planet.
Jimmy
Henderson is a metaphysical teacher and the author of a number of books and
articles on inner self-development. He has an Honours degree in philosophy
(metaphysics) and a Masters degree in Psychology. He is also a Metavarsity
facilitator and based in Durban ,
South Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment