Is it true that the outside world is a reflection of what we create on the inside?

Question

And does this mean that the outside is really just a creation of our own mind. Which would mean we have complete control over what we experience in the outside world.

Answer 1

Yes and no... sort of.

There are 2 forms of reality:

Objective (fundamental) (absolute) reality... what IS

Subjective (personal) reality... what we THINK is, or PERCEIVE to be.

Our senses can perceive only a tiny fraction of a billionth of a billionth of the stimuli that is provided by the universe. Most of what we DO perceive (see, feel, hear, smell, touch) gets filtered out by the subconscious, beneath our level of awareness. The little bit that DOES make it past the subconscious gets processed through the internal filters that make up our 'self-description':

* Misconceptions
* Prejudices
* Beliefs
* Experiential reference
* Knowledge base

It is from THAT process that 'subjective reality' emerges... our own personal view of the world... an interpretation of the universe, shaped by our self-description.

There is only ONE 'objective reality'. There are as many 'subjective realities' as there are sentient minds.

The ways in which we perceive the world owe much more to what goes on in our brains that to what actually goes on in the universe. Take vision, for example. Think of a pencil, for example. We perceive it as a solid, opaque object. But, it is opaque ONLY with respect to a narrow part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to which 'light' belongs. The pencil is made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms. If you consider a hydrogen atom (the simplest), and imagine it blown up to the size of our Solar System, the 'nucleus' (sun) would be about the size of a grapefruit, and its single electron would be about the size of a pea, somewhere out around the orbit of Pluto.

Now think about a Uranium atom... one of the heavier ones. In that case, the nucleus would be about the size of a Volkswagen 'Beetle' (the sun)... and the atoms would be like a bunch of peas, starting out around the orbit of Pluto, and extending far, far beyond.

(For those readers who know that I have just described a model of the atom that was known to be obsolete around 100 years ago... so what? Consider the audience. We know that it would be more like a 'ghost-pea', smeared out around the entire solar system, and it would not actually 'become' a pea until you looked for it.)

So, the pencil (anything else we perceive as a 'solid' object) consists mostly of space. In fact, for all practical purposes, there is just as much actual space in the pencil as there is in an equal pencil-sized volume in the depths of outer space. Yet we can pick it up, write with it, chew on it.

So, now... pick up a pencil, look at it, then close your eyes. When your eyes are closed, do you still imagine the pencil is as you perceived it to be when you were 'looking' at it? Yes? No? Well, it isn't. NOTHING is the same as what you 'perceive' it to be, when you are looking at it. Pencils have the POTENTIAL to be perceived as an opaque object when somebody is looking at it. By the act of 'looking', you are transforming POTENTIALITY into ACTUALITY... but ONLY in your own mind... in your own subjective reality. The rest of the universe does not care that you are temporarily deluding yourself.

Now think about abstract information. Ideas. Interactions with other people. Understanding what you are sensing, hearing, being told. Remember those filters:

* Misconceptions
* Prejudices
* Beliefs
* Experiential reference
* Knowledge base
      |
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Subjective reality

Your world view... your 'subjective reality'... is the OUTPUT of those filters. But, just to complicate things... those filters are interactive. Each of them is affected (infected?) and influenced by the others. I guess the simplest way to consider that is to imagine another arrow emerging from 'knowledge base' and going back up to the top of the list, as an INPUT for 'misconceptions'.

This isn't entirely hopeless, though. Since we are pretty much wired the same, and share in a common culture and heritage, the gross outlines of our 'subjective realities' have a high degree of congruity. For example, if I point at a tree and say "That's a tree," you aren't likely to disagree with me.

The ONLY WAY for a person to EVOLVE, spiritually and personally, is to clean up those filters. There are only TWO of those filters that are worth a hill of beans... 'knowledge base' and 'experiential reference'. Unfortunately, those two are shaped... and contaminated... by the outputs of the other three. So, it is ESSENTIAL for anyone who desires to evolve spiritually and personally is to consistently and constantly work at minimizing and eventually ELIMINATING those first three filters. The most detrimental and insidious of those three filters is 'beliefs'... because therein lies DELUSION... the conviction that one knows the 'truth' about some aspect of existence and reality, when (in fact) ya don't know squat. People's world view... subjective reality... is distorted because the conscious mind seems to be unable to distinguish between 'knowledge' (facts) and 'beliefs' (delusions). The only sensible course, then, is to ELIMINATE 'beliefs' right along with prejudices and misconceptions. 'Knowledge' can take the form of 'I don't know'. However, 'belief' can create a form of FALSE 'knowledge', substituting gods, demons, angels, in place of 'I don't know'.

But that course isn't for everybody. It requires rationality, critical thought, intellectual honesty, and desire. Most people are content to shape their world view by regarding the world as being consistent with their own subjective reality... ALL of which is an illusion constructed by the mind, and MUCH of it consisting of the delusional interpretations created from their 'beliefs'.

I seem to have gotten carried away with this. Let's wrap it up. Looking now at the second part of your question: "Which would mean we have complete control over what we experience in the outside world."... No. But you do have control over HOW you INTERPRET the outside world. Unfortunately, considering the tools that you have to work with... I wouldn't get to hung up on the idea that it has very much to do with what IS.

Answer 2

I believe that because I am seeing the world through my eyes, the world I see is a reflection of something inside of me. Now, I may or may not have "created" that. For instance when I see a kind person I recognize that because I am a kind person too. I didn't make myself a kind person.(I think my grammy did). Also when someones behavior is getting on my nerves it is usually because I have some unresolved conflict within me that mirrors that persons behavior. I am not sure that we have complete control over what we expierence in the outside world. But I do believe that we can manifest different things in our life.

Answer 3

I think something like this. . .that all that we see is the smoke, and the fire is somewhere within.

But if you go deep enough, you can GO PAST the point of creation into something that is permanent. See, everything with a beginning will have an ending, and anything with an ending is not real (that is. . .permanent, and worth our love).

And once there, you'll see that all the pleasures and pains of this world are like the blown soap bubbles of a young child. . .fleeting and shallow.

But this is a VERY high level. . .but worth pursuing, I say.

At least that's what I'm told.

Answer 4

Yes it is. The physical world is a holograph, with our thoughts the software programming it. Get some books on creative visualization for more info.

Answer 5

Galatians 6:7 basically says you reap what you sow. So whatever you do is going to affect what you experience.

Answer 6

Only if you deny the existence of a God who is separate from you who created everything around you.

Answer 7

Yes, unfortunately.

Answer 8

yes,
micro affects the macro & vice versa

Answer 9

no. were that true, I would be rich