Introduction
The concept of an ‘Internal World’ is one that can help provide insight into our internal nature; The natural change of thoughts and feelings that occurs within all of us. By considering thoughts, feelings and emotions as concepts relative to the nature within our external world, we help facilitate our understanding of the way things are, which helps us to accept changes in thoughts and feelings which in turn, helps us to lift the weights that hold some of them down for longer than necessary.
The Perspective of an ‘Internal World’
The Mind can be understood as having a few different functions; producing thoughts and emotions and resting. We can liken the thinking and feeling mind to weather, and the resting mind to the sky. Breaking that down a little further, let’s suggest thoughts as being like clouds and feelings like weather.
The External World
We’re all aware that the weather is constantly changing. One day, it may be lovely and warm without a cloud in sight, the next it may be pouring down with rain, dark and gloomy. There may be a Heatwave one week, and a Storm that follows another. Regardless of the weather or how long it persists, what we all know is...
It changes.
The same is the case with our thoughts and feelings. There may be times when we feel particularly happy one day and particularly low the next. There may be times when we feel elated for weeks then a sustained low mood after that.
Again, just like the weather, thoughts and feelings change.
If in the external world it is raining for a period, if we spend all day wishing and waiting for the sun to shine again, we can be sure that we’ll either delude ourselves into believing that the sun will stay when it comes, or worry about when it will go again.
It is exactly the same with the judgements we bring to our thoughts and emotions.
It is what it is
Sometimes our thoughts arise without any feeling. Sometimes they comfort us. Sometimes they discomfort us. When they do discomfort us, we spend so much energy hoping they will one day disappear forever, and all this wishing and hoping does is turn them from molehills into mountains.
Insight into understanding the nature of thought and emotions and information of Meditation techniques to help us become more mindful of our thoughts and emotions, enabling us to better manage them can be found using these two links:
1. We are Not our Thoughts or Emotions
2. Using Thoughts and Feelings to Alleviate Emotional Pain
Drop your Judgements, Release your Pain
Sometimes, internal events can be inconvenient, but once we begin to accept our internal weather for all it is, we will come to find that it was never the thoughts and emotions themselves that caused us such problems, but our resistance to their occurrences that did.
And when the weight that our judgement on them lightens, we find a level of equanimity that gives us all of the natural confidence we need to live balanced, happy and healthy lives.
Stay tuned for more weekly wisdom!
Great read