{"id":840,"date":"2016-06-26T10:45:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-26T08:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.satyagraha.org.za\/word\/?p=840"},"modified":"2017-11-09T15:54:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T13:54:40","slug":"clear-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/clear-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mike\"<\/a> Are YOU Living from Inside OUT or Outside IN?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George takes a deeper look at the mistakes we learn to make about how life works.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>outside inner<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0or an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>inside outer<\/i><\/span><\/span>? It seems the vast majority of us live from \u2018outside in\u2019 as opposed to \u2018inside out\u2019. But we don’t know it! Few are aware it\u2019s one of the primary causes of an unhappy and unfulfilled life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But why have so many of us learned to live life the wrong way round? Once upon a time there was a little new born babe called YOU! When you arrived YOU had no idea, no awareness, that there even was an inside and an outside of YOU. In the innocent purity of your consciousness YOU were unaware of anything being separate from anything else. YOU just saw and felt a world, THE world, as one. In your awe at the world everything was a wonderous \u2018insperience\u2019 taking place within your consciousness. But YOU weren\u2019t aware of that. YOU didn\u2019t\u00a0think, \u2018This is all happening in me\u201d! YOU, life, the world, everything, were just\u2026awesomely ONE!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Inserting the Programme<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t long before the \u2018conditioning of separation\u2019 would begin. Gradually, as YOU started to use your physical senses of sight and touch, YOU would learn that people and things are separate from you. Those big people called parents, along with any big brothers or sisters, would start to teach YOU how to perceive both \u2018separateness and difference\u2019, how to place more emphasis on \u2018particular\u2019 things and people. This would inevitably induce many moments of perplexity and disorientation as they tried to guide YOU into their way of perceiving the world!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They were in the process of inserting a programme into your consciousness called <\/span><\/span>The REAL World Is Outside of YOU! <\/b><\/span><\/span>This wasn\u2019t wrong or right, it just happened. They were only passing on what they had also learned.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They taught YOU the language of words and labels and that meant separate names for separate things. YOU began to make connections, discern relationships, between things and people, between people and people and between things and other things! Early forms of ideas and concepts started to crystalize in your mind and slowly your perception became conditioned to perceive a world full or separated objects, places and people. So far so obvious!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This was then underlined and reinforced by one word that was frequently repeated in your presence. That word was \u2018important\u2019. Those big people would point outwards and say that is \u2018more important\u2019 than this, and this is \u2018more important\u2019 than that. So YOU started prioritizing ‘things’ in the world \u2018out there\u2019. As YOU did you started to ignore and\/or avoid what you learned to believe was not so important in the world\u2026out there!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018How do I Look?\u2019 Moment!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As YOU watched their behaviours YOU learned their ways of behaving, and as YOU listened to their fears and anxieties, YOU learned to be fearful of the same things. Reality was becoming fully and firmly \u2018out there\u2019. And a scary one at that!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All the while others would increasingly comment on your appearance, on how YOU looked on the outside and how YOU dressed your body! Then, one fateful day, as YOU looked in a mirror, YOU created the belief that YOU were an appearance, an image that could be enhanced and improved. YOU became increasingly concerned about how YOU looked for the benefit of others. That would eventually result in spending time and money in making sure YOU looked \u2018pleasing\u2019 to others.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before YOU started to compare your self with others \u2018out there\u2019, eventually admiring and aspiring to be and look and even live like others. Then, when someone showed their pleasure at seeing YOU look or act in a certain way YOU started to believe that YOU could make others happy. This would eventually grow into a belief that YOU were somehow \u2018responsible\u2019 for others happiness. And so YOU would become, to some extent or other, a \u2018people pleaser\u2019 thereby becoming dependent on others to do and say what YOU believed would make YOU happy too! Now YOU really were living from outside in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then it was off to school where the emphasis would be on learning to understand the world \u2018out there\u2019, on how amazing the world is \u2018out there\u2019, and how the history and geography of the world \u2018out there\u2019 were far more important than what YOU thought or felt or decided \u2018in here\u2019. Chemistry and physics would add to the illusion that learning about how the world \u2018out there\u2019 worked was of paramount importance to your future success and therefore happiness in life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It would not be long before YOU would find it hard not to enter the world of entertainment every day. A keyboard and a keypad gave you instant access to the world \u2018out there\u2019 and to people in far away places, also way out there\u2026 somewhere! Your eyes and ears would be subject to an onslaught of stimulating sights and sounds. YOU started to believe that the stimulations that aroused the \u2018pleasure\u2019 of the senses was the only way to know happiness, and therefore your happiness was always to be sought and found \u2018out there\u2019 somewhere.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How to Recognize an \u2018Outside Inner\u2019!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Inevitably, YOU started to show all the signs and symptoms of someone trying to live their life from \u2018outside in\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The First Symptom \u2013 The belief that the primary reality is OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This begins to show up in an inability to find an adequate description of your own emotions and feelings. Almost all your \u2018self talk\u2019 and \u2018talk time\u2019 with others will be about \u2026others \u2018out there\u2019, or about what is happening in the world. About how you expect someone or something in the world to stimulate you and create your feelings for you!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Second Symptom \u2013 Attachment to people and possessions OUT THERE.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU spend much of your life in the various forms of worry and anxiety about the people and things \u2018out there\u2019 that YOU fear losing, or fear being affected in some way. Anxiety becomes the background noise of your life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Third Symptom \u2013 Dependency on someone or something OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU are always looking to someone or something in the world on which to base your sense of security and happiness for just a few moments (people pleasing) or for an entire lifetime (an exclusive relationship).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fourth Symptom \u2013 Blaming someone or something for loss, or for getting in the way of what you want, OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU notice one of the many faces of anger frequently arising in the form of irritation, frustration or resentment towards someone of something \u2018out there\u2019. YOU believe and perceive them to be \u2018in the way\u2019 of what you believe you need\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0the world to maintain your sense of security or your happiness\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fifth Symptom \u2013 Emotionally reactive towards people and events OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU find your self easily \u2018triggered\u2019 into an emotional state. YOU swing between emotional states that YOU believe YOU cannot control because YOU have learned to believe your feelings are controlled by events, circumstances and others behaviour. This leads YOU to believe you are a victim of life \u2018out there\u2019 and some degree of \u2018learned helplessness\u2019 takes root in your consciousness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Sixth Symptom \u2013 Continuously \u2018searching\u2019 for happiness OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU may or may not notice that everything YOU do, everywhere YOU go, everyone YOU want to be with, every \u2018thing\u2019 that YOU want to acquire, are all symptoms of a never ending search in the world \u2018out there\u2019 for fulfillment and happiness. You may not have yet noticed it is futile endeavour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Seventh Symptom \u2013\u00a0Thinking\u00a0and talking of \u2018what was\u2019 yesterday and what \u2018will be\u2019 tomorrow OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your attention, either mentally or conversationally, almost always swings between what happened in the past, and what should or could happen in the future. Where? Out there\u2026 in the world. The present is seldom given time or attention.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

External Signs of the Outside Inner<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If someone were to observe an average day in an average week of an \u2018outside inner\u2019 (perhaps that\u2019s YOU) there is a good chance they would see someone:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>GOES OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0searching for a \u2018good time\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>LOOKS OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0and watches others, talks about others and compares themselves with others a lot of the time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>LIVES OUTside<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0of themselves as they try to ‘project’ an image of themselves as they become \u2018appearance conscious\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>STRIVES OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0there in the world to achieve some recognized success in the eyes of others, believing that is the way to happiness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is frequently looking for opportunities to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>MAKE OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0with another\u2026 out there, consciously or subconsciously believing that that\u2019s the way to find love and therefore\u2026 happiness!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is mostly focused on what they can\u00a0<\/span><\/span>TAKE OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0of the world for themselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who regularly tries to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>OUT DO<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0others believing that life is a competitive journey so one must stay ahead of others to survive and thrive \u2018out there\u2019, or be seen as weak.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It all adds up to a not so happy life, if not a stressful journey, punctuated with many moments of disappointment, unhappiness and suffering!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Living from Inside out!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"mike<\/a><\/p>\n

Whereas, the more enlightened approach to life and living is, yes, YOU guessed, the \u2018inside out\u2019 approach. Are in YOU an \u2018inside outer\u2019?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To continue our story of YOU\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026once upon a \u2018later\u2019 time, YOU started to realize that the programme, the conditioning, was at best inadequate, and at worst, somewhat faulty! YOU started to realize that the two realities in life i.e. the world out there and the world within your consciousness, were quite distinct and YOU were confusing the primary reality in here with the secondary reality out there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU awoke to a deeper truth that happiness is not just another pleasure, that YOU are not responsible for anyone else\u2019s happiness and that authentic happiness is an inside job\u2026 so to speak!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a parent YOU realized that while YOU are responsible for the food, shelter and clothing of your children, and while YOU are responsible to \u2018guide\u2019 them into their adult life, YOU are not responsible for their thoughts and feelings in their tender years or for their decisions and choices in, well, any years! Guiding yes, controlling no! This is quite a breakthrough in your understanding of how relationships work. A breakthrough that frees YOU from much anxiety and many of the common parental relational games called \u2018emotional blackmail\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU realized that as long as YOU relied on your \u2018emotions\u2019 (stimulated by the world) to give YOU a sense of aliveness YOU were not able to choose and express your \u2018feelings\u2019 (created by you) appropriate to the needs of those around YOU. It dawned that \u2018dependence\u2019 on anything or anyone today was a guarantee of some sorrow or suffering in the some future tomorrow.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Turning in to an Inside Outer!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And so it was that YOU slowly but surely began to turn the way YOU live your life around as:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped going out for a good time and instead\u00a0<\/span><\/span>turned within<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0to re-master your ability to self-generate your own happiness and thereby feel contented within your self.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped looking out and watching others, stopped comparing your self with others, and started to become more aware of the uniqueness of each and every one, while realizing the uniqueness of your self.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped looking at a reflection of your form believing it was YOU, and started to look past the form into your own heart and mind to see the \u2018real\u2019 power and beauty of YOU is within YOU. In parallel with that realization came the insightful paradox that you cannot know your \u2018powerfulness\u2019 until you give it away from\u2026 inside out!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped being dependent on the reactions or the feedback of others for how YOU felt within your self as YOU started to take complete responsibility for ALL your feelings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped striving for success in the world just because YOU wanted the approval and applause of others and started to realize one of the greatest successes was not being dependent and therefore affected by others feedback.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped searching for the exclusive love and affection of one other in order to feel secure in your self, as YOU realized love can only be fully known when you are\u00a0<\/span><\/span>loving <\/i><\/span><\/span>towards others and cease trying to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>take<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0it from another!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped seeing and using the world as a place to acquire wealth as you started to realize the greatest wealth is internal. So YOU started seeing the world as an opportunity to give, to share your inner wealth with others. And as you did both your material wealth and inner wealth grew!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped competing with others as YOU awakened to the greater reality that we are all together in a process of co-creating the fabric of society, based on our relationships with each other.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped \u2018waiting\u2019 for something to happen out there or \u2018wanting\u2019 something to happen out there or \u2018wondering\u2019 when something would happen out there, as you became fully focused on this moment now and how to be creative \u2018in here\u2019. You consciously set about creating a state of being that made YOU of value to the world \u2018out there\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And as YOU gradually started to live from \u2018inside out\u2019 YOU started to realize it was by the far the more natural and fulfilling way to live. How did YOU know? Simple. It just felt consistently good. It was a feeling that arose from inside out and was not dependent on anything coming from outside in!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And so it was that in making the transition to living from \u2018inside out\u2019 YOU lived happily ever after!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well\u2026 almost!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Question:<\/b><\/span><\/span> Which of the above symptoms of living from \u2018outside in\u2019 do you\u00a0think\u00a0you demonstrate the most?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection: <\/b><\/span><\/span>Why do we try to find our security and happiness in the world?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Action: <\/b><\/span><\/span>Experiment this week with living from inside out by \u2018giving\u2019 in situations\/relationships in which you are usually always wanting to acquire something.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George \u00a9 2016<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

re YOU Living from Inside OUT or Outside IN?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George takes a deeper look at the mistakes we learn to make about how life works.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>outside inner<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0or an\u00a0<\/span><\/span>inside outer<\/i><\/span><\/span>? It seems the vast majority of us live from \u2018outside in\u2019 as opposed to \u2018inside out\u2019. But we don’t know it! Few are aware it\u2019s one of the primary causes of an unhappy and unfulfilled life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But why have so many of us learned to live life the wrong way round? Once upon a time there was a little new born babe called YOU! When you arrived YOU had no idea, no awareness, that there even was an inside and an outside of YOU. In the innocent purity of your consciousness YOU were unaware of anything being separate from anything else. YOU just saw and felt a world, THE world, as one. In your awe at the world everything was a wonderous \u2018insperience\u2019 taking place within your consciousness. But YOU weren\u2019t aware of that. YOU didn\u2019t\u00a0think, \u2018This is all happening in me\u201d! YOU, life, the world, everything, were just\u2026awesomely ONE!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Inserting the Programme<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t long before the \u2018conditioning of separation\u2019 would begin. Gradually, as YOU started to use your physical senses of sight and touch, YOU would learn that people and things are separate from you. Those big people called parents, along with any big brothers or sisters, would start to teach YOU how to perceive both \u2018separateness and difference\u2019, how to place more emphasis on \u2018particular\u2019 things and people. This would inevitably induce many moments of perplexity and disorientation as they tried to guide YOU into their way of perceiving the world!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They were in the process of inserting a programme into your consciousness called <\/span><\/span>The REAL World Is Outside of YOU! <\/b><\/span><\/span>This wasn\u2019t wrong or right, it just happened. They were only passing on what they had also learned.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They taught YOU the language of words and labels and that meant separate names for separate things. YOU began to make connections, discern relationships, between things and people, between people and people and between things and other things! Early forms of ideas and concepts started to crystalize in your mind and slowly your perception became conditioned to perceive a world full or separated objects, places and people. So far so obvious!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This was then underlined and reinforced by one word that was frequently repeated in your presence. That word was \u2018important\u2019. Those big people would point outwards and say that is \u2018more important\u2019 than this, and this is \u2018more important\u2019 than that. So YOU started prioritizing ‘things’ in the world \u2018out there\u2019. As YOU did you started to ignore and\/or avoid what you learned to believe was not so important in the world\u2026out there!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018How do I Look?\u2019 Moment!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As YOU watched their behaviours YOU learned their ways of behaving, and as YOU listened to their fears and anxieties, YOU learned to be fearful of the same things. Reality was becoming fully and firmly \u2018out there\u2019. And a scary one at that!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All the while others would increasingly comment on your appearance, on how YOU looked on the outside and how YOU dressed your body! Then, one fateful day, as YOU looked in a mirror, YOU created the belief that YOU were an appearance, an image that could be enhanced and improved. YOU became increasingly concerned about how YOU looked for the benefit of others. That would eventually result in spending time and money in making sure YOU looked \u2018pleasing\u2019 to others.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before YOU started to compare your self with others \u2018out there\u2019, eventually admiring and aspiring to be and look and even live like others. Then, when someone showed their pleasure at seeing YOU look or act in a certain way YOU started to believe that YOU could make others happy. This would eventually grow into a belief that YOU were somehow \u2018responsible\u2019 for others happiness. And so YOU would become, to some extent or other, a \u2018people pleaser\u2019 thereby becoming dependent on others to do and say what YOU believed would make YOU happy too! Now YOU really were living from outside in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then it was off to school where the emphasis would be on learning to understand the world \u2018out there\u2019, on how amazing the world is \u2018out there\u2019, and how the history and geography of the world \u2018out there\u2019 were far more important than what YOU thought or felt or decided \u2018in here\u2019. Chemistry and physics would add to the illusion that learning about how the world \u2018out there\u2019 worked was of paramount importance to your future success and therefore happiness in life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It would not be long before YOU would find it hard not to enter the world of entertainment every day. A keyboard and a keypad gave you instant access to the world \u2018out there\u2019 and to people in far away places, also way out there\u2026 somewhere! Your eyes and ears would be subject to an onslaught of stimulating sights and sounds. YOU started to believe that the stimulations that aroused the \u2018pleasure\u2019 of the senses was the only way to know happiness, and therefore your happiness was always to be sought and found \u2018out there\u2019 somewhere.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How to Recognize an \u2018Outside Inner\u2019!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Inevitably, YOU started to show all the signs and symptoms of someone trying to live their life from \u2018outside in\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The First Symptom \u2013 The belief that the primary reality is OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This begins to show up in an inability to find an adequate description of your own emotions and feelings. Almost all your \u2018self talk\u2019 and \u2018talk time\u2019 with others will be about \u2026others \u2018out there\u2019, or about what is happening in the world. About how you expect someone or something in the world to stimulate you and create your feelings for you!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Second Symptom \u2013 Attachment to people and possessions OUT THERE.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU spend much of your life in the various forms of worry and anxiety about the people and things \u2018out there\u2019 that YOU fear losing, or fear being affected in some way. Anxiety becomes the background noise of your life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Third Symptom \u2013 Dependency on someone or something OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU are always looking to someone or something in the world on which to base your sense of security and happiness for just a few moments (people pleasing) or for an entire lifetime (an exclusive relationship).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fourth Symptom \u2013 Blaming someone or something for loss, or for getting in the way of what you want, OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU notice one of the many faces of anger frequently arising in the form of irritation, frustration or resentment towards someone of something \u2018out there\u2019. YOU believe and perceive them to be \u2018in the way\u2019 of what you believe you need\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0the world to maintain your sense of security or your happiness\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Fifth Symptom \u2013 Emotionally reactive towards people and events OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU find your self easily \u2018triggered\u2019 into an emotional state. YOU swing between emotional states that YOU believe YOU cannot control because YOU have learned to believe your feelings are controlled by events, circumstances and others behaviour. This leads YOU to believe you are a victim of life \u2018out there\u2019 and some degree of \u2018learned helplessness\u2019 takes root in your consciousness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Sixth Symptom \u2013 Continuously \u2018searching\u2019 for happiness OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU may or may not notice that everything YOU do, everywhere YOU go, everyone YOU want to be with, every \u2018thing\u2019 that YOU want to acquire, are all symptoms of a never ending search in the world \u2018out there\u2019 for fulfillment and happiness. You may not have yet noticed it is futile endeavour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Seventh Symptom \u2013\u00a0Thinking\u00a0and talking of \u2018what was\u2019 yesterday and what \u2018will be\u2019 tomorrow OUT THERE<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your attention, either mentally or conversationally, almost always swings between what happened in the past, and what should or could happen in the future. Where? Out there\u2026 in the world. The present is seldom given time or attention.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

External Signs of the Outside Inner<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If someone were to observe an average day in an average week of an \u2018outside inner\u2019 (perhaps that\u2019s YOU) there is a good chance they would see someone:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>GOES OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0searching for a \u2018good time\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>LOOKS OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0and watches others, talks about others and compares themselves with others a lot of the time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>LIVES OUTside<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0of themselves as they try to ‘project’ an image of themselves as they become \u2018appearance conscious\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>STRIVES OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0there in the world to achieve some recognized success in the eyes of others, believing that is the way to happiness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is frequently looking for opportunities to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>MAKE OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0with another\u2026 out there, consciously or subconsciously believing that that\u2019s the way to find love and therefore\u2026 happiness!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is mostly focused on what they can\u00a0<\/span><\/span>TAKE OUT<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0of the world for themselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who regularly tries to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>OUT DO<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0others believing that life is a competitive journey so one must stay ahead of others to survive and thrive \u2018out there\u2019, or be seen as weak.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It all adds up to a not so happy life, if not a stressful journey, punctuated with many moments of disappointment, unhappiness and suffering!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Living from Inside out!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas, the more enlightened approach to life and living is, yes, YOU guessed, the \u2018inside out\u2019 approach. Are in YOU an \u2018inside outer\u2019?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To continue our story of YOU\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026once upon a \u2018later\u2019 time, YOU started to realize that the programme, the conditioning, was at best inadequate, and at worst, somewhat faulty! YOU started to realize that the two realities in life i.e. the world out there and the world within your consciousness, were quite distinct and YOU were confusing the primary reality in here with the secondary reality out there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU awoke to a deeper truth that happiness is not just another pleasure, that YOU are not responsible for anyone else\u2019s happiness and that authentic happiness is an inside job\u2026 so to speak!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a parent YOU realized that while YOU are responsible for the food, shelter and clothing of your children, and while YOU are responsible to \u2018guide\u2019 them into their adult life, YOU are not responsible for their thoughts and feelings in their tender years or for their decisions and choices in, well, any years! Guiding yes, controlling no! This is quite a breakthrough in your understanding of how relationships work. A breakthrough that frees YOU from much anxiety and many of the common parental relational games called \u2018emotional blackmail\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU realized that as long as YOU relied on your \u2018emotions\u2019 (stimulated by the world) to give YOU a sense of aliveness YOU were not able to choose and express your \u2018feelings\u2019 (created by you) appropriate to the needs of those around YOU. It dawned that \u2018dependence\u2019 on anything or anyone today was a guarantee of some sorrow or suffering in the some future tomorrow.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Turning in to an Inside Outer!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And so it was that YOU slowly but surely began to turn the way YOU live your life around as:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped going out for a good time and instead\u00a0<\/span><\/span>turned within<\/b><\/span><\/span>\u00a0to re-master your ability to self-generate your own happiness and thereby feel contented within your self.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped looking out and watching others, stopped comparing your self with others, and started to become more aware of the uniqueness of each and every one, while realizing the uniqueness of your self.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped looking at a reflection of your form believing it was YOU, and started to look past the form into your own heart and mind to see the \u2018real\u2019 power and beauty of YOU is within YOU. In parallel with that realization came the insightful paradox that you cannot know your \u2018powerfulness\u2019 until you give it away from\u2026 inside out!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped being dependent on the reactions or the feedback of others for how YOU felt within your self as YOU started to take complete responsibility for ALL your feelings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped striving for success in the world just because YOU wanted the approval and applause of others and started to realize one of the greatest successes was not being dependent and therefore affected by others feedback.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped searching for the exclusive love and affection of one other in order to feel secure in your self, as YOU realized love can only be fully known when you are\u00a0<\/span><\/span>loving <\/i><\/span><\/span>towards others and cease trying to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>take<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u00a0it from another!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped seeing and using the world as a place to acquire wealth as you started to realize the greatest wealth is internal. So YOU started seeing the world as an opportunity to give, to share your inner wealth with others. And as you did both your material wealth and inner wealth grew!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped competing with others as YOU awakened to the greater reality that we are all together in a process of co-creating the fabric of society, based on our relationships with each other.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

YOU stopped \u2018waiting\u2019 for something to happen out there or \u2018wanting\u2019 something to happen out there or \u2018wondering\u2019 when something would happen out there, as you became fully focused on this moment now and how to be creative \u2018in here\u2019. You consciously set about creating a state of being that made YOU of value to the world \u2018out there\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And as YOU gradually started to live from \u2018inside out\u2019 YOU started to realize it was by the far the more natural and fulfilling way to live. How did YOU know? Simple. It just felt consistently good. It was a feeling that arose from inside out and was not dependent on anything coming from outside in!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And so it was that in making the transition to living from \u2018inside out\u2019 YOU lived happily ever after!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well\u2026 almost!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Question:<\/b><\/span><\/span> Which of the above symptoms of living from \u2018outside in\u2019 do you\u00a0think\u00a0you demonstrate the most?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection: <\/b><\/span><\/span>Why do we try to find our security and happiness in the world?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Action: <\/b><\/span><\/span>Experiment this week with living from inside out by \u2018giving\u2019 in situations\/relationships in which you are usually always wanting to acquire something.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George \u00a9 2016<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George is an author of 12 books on self awareness and spiritual intelligence including BEING Your Self and The Immune System of the Soul. If you would like to subscribe to Clear Thinking (monthly) go to www.relax7.com. It’s free.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mike George is an author of 12 books on self awareness and spiritual intelligence including BEING Your Self and The Immune System of the Soul. If you would like to subscribe to Clear Thinking (monthly) go to www.relax7.com. It’s free.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are YOU Living from Inside OUT or Outside IN? Mike George takes a deeper look at the mistakes we learn to make about how life works. Are you an\u00a0outside inner\u00a0or an\u00a0inside outer? It seems the vast majority of us live from \u2018outside in\u2019 as opposed to \u2018inside out\u2019. But we don’t know it! Few are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-june-2016"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1915,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions\/1915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gdt.org.za\/gdt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}