Shree: Two ways of looking at the world

There two ways of perceiving existence. inside - outside perspective and outside - inside perspective.

Intuition, feelings, philosophy, psychology, traditions, cultural ideas, rhizomatic thinking are ways of thinking inside-outside. It is not important what is present outside as much as what one feels inside and how one then makes sense of the world of forms or of space and time. It is perhaps the presence of consciousness one feels that just expresses for its own self. There is no point to be made, no justification, no separation and all seems one or inter related. Books such as A Pattern Language, Timeless Way of Building, Primitive Architecture, Form and Feelings, Eyes of the Skin, Places of The Soul – and many more perhaps point to that way of seeing things.

The outside-inside perspective tries to analyse, dissect, fragment, refine, control variables. Intellect is at a premium and hence it follows that justification, evaluation and clarification are kept at a premium. Things are required to be in black and white, with purposes and linearity and causal effects and history as an idea. The purpose is to “fix” something (defining and locating a problem) and then maintaining a cycle of evaluation, assessment and then fixing it again.

It seems in the evolution of humanity we seem to have moved from inside-outside perspective to outside-inside perspective with huge costs. Contemporarily societies work at both perspectives – some dipping to one side more and all in fact have a role to play.

But the most important fact is about trust and revelation of “being in the world” that probably comes from inside-outside perspective. Herein there is no comparison but only awareness of differences without trying to fix anything and by expressing one’s encounter with differences that one sees. It makes sense to live or exist in this world view for all you know, you might encounter bliss!

Hari Om.