To awaken one’s true self, one must awaken the entire world.
As you may gather from the sub-heading above, this is not a typical post today! (If there is a typical post in this place!) In fact, I think this is the first time in over five years of publishing Learning from Dogs that I have devoted a post solely to a full-length film.
But the film so perfectly picks up the theme of yesterday’s post, Quietening one’s self down, that it was too good an opportunity to miss.
The film is called Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds and that website explains:
Inner Worlds was created by Canadian film maker, musician and meditation teacher Daniel Schmidt. The film could be described as the external reflection of his own adventures in meditation. As Daniel came to meditative insights, he realized that these same insights were discovered over and over in spiritual traditions around the world and that all traditions share a common mystical underpinning.
He realized that it is this core experience that connects us not only to the mysterious source of all creation, but to each other as well. Along with his wife Eva, Daniel currently lives in a log home tucked away in a forest of tall pine trees located in Ontario, Canada. It is in this beautiful setting where they run a meditation and yoga center called Breathe True Yoga www.breathetrue.com.
Daniel has studied meditation from the traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, the Yogic traditions of India, as well as the mystical traditions of various cultures, and has come to his own teaching method helping point people towards their own inner wisdom and knowledge. “Meditation
is not so much a technique to master as it is a re-orientation of the heart; a selfless act of love and surrender into the mystery and stillness at the core of our being“.
Daniel has always had a strong life connection with sound and music. He has been a composer for over 20 years with an extensive library of music venturing into many genres and styles, and he is the President and CEO of REM Publishing Ltd. Music is not something to be comprehended merely with the hearing faculty. The vibratory nature of the universe is understood when we recognize that everything is music.
Eva has studied and teaches chakra yoga, hatha yoga, meditation and healing through expressive arts. She has integrated yogic traditions from around the world and attended the Pyramid Yoga Center in Thailand for extensive yoga training. Eva is a sound healer, artist and was a strong creative force in the editing room as “Inner Worlds” was being created. Together Dan and Eva were the Shiva and Shakti forces that birthed the film into the world.
It became clear during the making of the film that Inner Worlds Outer Worlds had to be released for free for the benefit of all beings. In the ancient traditions the dharma or “the truth” was always taught freely and never for personal gain or profit in order to preserve the purity of the teachings. It is Daniel and Eva’s belief that to awaken one’s true self, one must awaken the entire world. Daniel and Eva have started the Awaken the World initiative www.awakentheworld.com to bring the ancient knowledge back to the earth in order to restore balance and harmony on the planet.
If you want to dip into the film then here’s the trailer.
But many, including Jean and me, will want to watch the full film.
The website Top Documentary Films offers this summary (the links below will take you to other films on meditation):
Inner Worlds could be described as the external reflection of Daniel Schmidt’s own adventures in meditation.
Akasha is the unmanifested, the “nothing” or emptiness which fills the vacuum of space. As Einstein realized, empty space is not really empty. Saints, sages and yogis who have looked within themselves have also realized that within the emptiness is unfathomable power, a web of information or energy which connects all things.
The Spiral. The Pythagorean philosopher Plato hinted enigmatically that there was a golden key that unified all of the mysteries of the universe. The golden key is the intelligence of the logos, the source of the primordial om. One could say that it is the mind of God. The source of this divine symmetry is the greatest mystery of our existence.
The Serpent and the Lotus. The spiral has often been represented by the snake, the downward current, while the bird or blooming lotus flower has represented the upward current or transcendence.The ancient traditions taught that a human being can become a bridge extending from the outer to the inner, from gross to subtle, from the lower chakras to the higher chakras.
Beyond Thinking. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We live our lives pursuing happiness “out there” as if it is a commodity. We have become slaves to our own desires and craving. Happiness isn’t something that can be pursued or purchased like a cheap suit.
So here is the film:
Part 1 – Akasha
Part 2 – The Spiral
Part 3 – The Serpent and the Lotus
Part 4 – Beyond Thinking
To close, let me offer these links.
The Inner Worlds Movie website is here.
As each film link on YouTube notes:
All 4 parts of the film can be found at www.innerworldsmovie.com.
Music from the film can be found at www.spiritlegend.com.
Sacred geometry posters and products can be found at: http://www.zazzle.com/awakentheworld
My closing thought? I can’t do better than to repeat this from the film’s website:
It is Daniel and Eva’s belief that to awaken one’s true self, one must awaken the entire world.
This strikes me as very pertinent, for I see a world sorely in need of a new awakening.
Learning from Dogs 
There is a strong relationship between inner self and the external world, so with harmony in one brings harmony in the other.
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We watched Parts 1 and 2 last night and, overall, found the film fascinating, very interesting and remarkably profound. Primarily for the way it shone a light on the myriad of connections through nature that suggest, strongly so, that life is not random. Looking forward to watching the remaining parts this evening.
Would love to hear your reaction to the film, Alex.
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Went on to watch the concluding parts that only reinforced my previous comment.
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great video(s), covers lot of area. interesting indeed,
I believe these can look complex, or esoteric, to majority of today’s humans (due to the environment they grew up in), some even ridicule this hipster. I usually try to shy away from all concepts (particularly one’s that try to define reality), and focus on the basics. Things that can show immediate, practical results. For example, to get closer to one’s self, think of a strong habit/emotion thats more pronounced (this can even be some anxiety or petty trait you would like to get rid of); Next time it shows up, be aware of it, notice it, and try to be with it, see if you can get rid of it (make it not be), see how that plays with your mind/feelings. Keep doing this when ever you can (no force needed). After a while, you become so intimately aware(understanding) of it, you will be in full control (you transcend it). Once you conquer one such simple “mind-thing”, it becomes easier conquering other things, slowly (and eventually) “conquering your whole self”. There is saying “if you conquer your self, you conquer entire world”. This is 100% possible.
All the bad things (character/habit addictions) will naturally shed away, and all the good things (love, empathy, joy etc.etc) become naturally more intensified/amplified. World be you, and you the world. There will be nothing thats sad/humiliating, or happy/proud (split like yin-yang), everything is you (merged).
the fact is, the mind evolved to be naturally smart. If it knows touching a fire(bad stuff) burns your finger(mind), it will develop involuntary mechanisms to react to fire even without the mind doing any work. Mind can be an excellent servant, it just needs to be aware(understand) of itself more.
I will leave with another blogger(posts) I really like, who focuses exclusively on awareness (no concepts, theory). I would read all his posts dating past couple years. As we become stronger in awareness, lot of these posts resonate.
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R. Once again, I am indebted to your generous and valuable comment in this place. You make some wonderfully important points and I have no doubt that many readers of your words will feel similarly. Thank you.
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paul, thank you for the blog, the posts about these topics, and an opportunity for me to comment.
Every second i spend contemplating (or commenting) on these topics is benifiting me, so its really I who should be thankful.
There is a background to that quote about “conquering self” thats very interesting, and sheds light on the thinking in old days.
If you examine some literature of those days (in india, Buddhist + some strains of hinduism), there is lot of examples of how a common man would view somebody with this pursuit (of self conquering) as a supreme hero. Any other pursuits looked trivial, because you would be conquering only petty/trivial stuff. Becoming a masterful warrior, or Becoming wealthy (though not easy to some), billions in rich, or even becoming a king conquering some nations, Nothing would seem as important, or as useful a pursuit. Everything else looked pointless like shagging one’s dick (pardon my language), nothing more. Even scientific discoveries pale in comparison, though they helped us understand physical reality much better (but doesn’t help too much in conquering self). I am not saying anything against science, in fact we should do more. Scientists can self-conquer too, those two efforts dont contradict. Its just that the priorities and human pursuit got out of balance , to say the least.
That quote is taken from Dhammapada the seminal work of buddha’s sayings. It is a gem of a book, very useful in contemplation/mediation, good food for thought.
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R. Don’t know where to start in terms of my reply. For I’m conscious of a number of thoughts that your replies, and the links, are stirring up. So I’m not going to waffle on just now. Just allow those thoughts to run their own course.
But of one thing I am sure. This feels like a new vista appearing in my journey. Thank you.
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A bit off topic maybe, but following Paul’s worry about the Quantum mind, a number of comments on my Quantum Consciousness essay, including:
@ Paul, Eugen:
…..no time to go in this right now in depth. I tried to address these issues in the original essay. First:
“…these systems of superposition and entanglement can’t be controlled, but rather influenced by observer, without to give him tools of control.”
That’s exactly what most physicists will say. Most Quantum physicists. Conclusion: they understood NOTHING. They missed the main point of Quantum Mechanics, following Von Neumann. The whole idea of the Quantum Computer is precisely that this dumb idea is not true, and that’s why most mainline Quantum Physicists and String and other Loopy maniacs ignore the Quantum Computer.
Second: the Quantum gives the OPPORTUNITY for free will. Classical Mechanics DOES NOT. That’s the point I made explicitly in the essay, and Paul Handover, unfortunately, did not understand. The Quantum makes the “secret garden“of the mind, to speak like Paul, possible.
So it can be read, but it’s still secret. When “particles” go through the Quantum Process, it’s AS IF they had a MIND OF THEIR OWN.
The “particle” “INSPECTS” space (Feynman claimed it inspected “history” too, I believe that NOT!)
What I am oozing towards?
Consciousness could well be an EMERGING PROPERTY from… Quantum Non-Locality!
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But did you watch the film, Patrice?
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You probably don’t want to know the answer, Paul! 😉
New Age stuff, repeating the old age, is the oldest business. Nice music, though.
I’m not exactly into repeating Aristotle/Pythagoras/Buddha… As if they were wiser than all living today, and me in particular…
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My guess is that you did not watch the film! The “old age” is clearly broken.
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Buddha’s focus was exclusively on the human condition…which hasn’t changed a bit, and it won’t change a bit in the future too. In fact, the new age people got a lot dumber (of course, we will leave out you, me and this blog’s readers 🙂 ).
Buddha simply points out a way (“process”) to make peace with our self/existence. This is one thing every human can benefit from, use on a daily/life-long basis (even every instant). Can’t say that about anything else.
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Once again, I feel incompetent to reply other than to say that my instinct, my innate sense of life, is to agree with you, R.
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paul, i believe we are all going through same life journey. One of the things i like about this mind/self stuff (which buddha exclusively talks about) is precisely that we dont have to go with instincts, or let some external scientific theory tell or prove it to us; It is self-explorable, observable, realized. It is not random, but predictable, with math like certainty. And any body with a mind can do this. Doesn’t matter they were born in africa of today (with litlle or no education), or 1000 yrs ago when humans were still thinking earth is flat, or 500 years from now when humans turn to what ever they turn in to. Because, ultimately, you can rely on only things that you can realize (without somebody else teaching or conditioning to think certain way). And this actually deals with REAL stuff – like morals, emotions, feelings, injustice, nature, reality. Science misses 90% of those, currently (it just pretends to focus on physical reality, which some eminent scientists keep saying its not done yet or ultimate, it has be redefined, and redefined, until infinity and beyond. So that whole science thing sounds like some voodoo and superstitions, to be frank. Though, i do agree it has some good benifits to humanity like for example the keyboard i am typing on). Anyway, it misses a big chunk of it.
Imagine, you woke up one day and all the modern/external invented stuff is gone (internet, all the books on science, lets say), poofff (just imagine), THEN WHAT ? humans start over ? So the nature pretty much wasted its time then ?? you think nature is that stupid ? leaving the destiny of humanity to plutocratic(wealth, monied interests) and defense industry of 21st century ??? (as mainly those 2 drive the scientific reasearch). there are several of these quandaries that come up when you start to rely on external stuff (like science, quantum or what not) for your self-problems/destiny. This is just food for thought, nothing more. I am 100% convinced about mind/self stuff, on the other hand.
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I feel like those yawning wolves, out of empathy of course….. 😉
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