Interiority vs. Exteriority

A Sunday Short-Post

Hello beloved reader,

I want to share

Elise Loehnen

’s post: What’s the Work for Us that brings light to the humanitarian crisis of the war in Israel. Please do give yourself the gift of clicking on the link to read her whole article.

From an emotional and psycho-spiritual perspective, each and every one of us can add our own drop to the oceanic movement of healing the world needs right now. As Loehnen writes:

We must stay present and connected with whatever capacity we can muster: We each need to process as much collective shadow as we can, and not add to it. It’s time to take back all of our own projections—our anger, irritation, impatience—and move it through our bodies so that we can hold more, including emotions that are not our own.

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For an astrological perspective — in the vein of using astrology as one of the tools in your toolbag for psychological, emotional and spiritual processing — from Avalon Astrology:

Pluto has been in its yearly retrograde motion since the beginning of May 2023. It will station direct on October 12th at 27˚ Capricorn. This shift highlights a multi-level plutonic release that has already been felt throughout the world.

Pluto, god of the underworld, symbolizes death, rebirth, transformation, and regeneration. Under its influence, profound changes are seen on the individual and collective levels. Its passage powerfully alters humanity while reshaping our lives through mass events.

 The USA has been experiencing a Pluto return to its natal chart, July 4, 1776, when it was last at 27˚ Capricorn. With a painfully slow 248 year cycle, its return back to where it was when this Nation was formed is metamorphic. The completion of this transit through November 2024, brings an increasing awareness of the necessary work in clearing out the underworld.

Much of what lies in this abyss has been well disguised by a small percentage with massive control built on a foundation of money and greed.  The light of truth is shining into these dark crevices, here and around the world, so that we may collectively witness what needs to change. Birth is a painful process. 

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Ten years ago, when I began studying the craft of creative non-fiction writing, I was introduced to the idea of writing into the interiority of a character — whether that be the “I” character of memoir and personal essay, or the interiority of a fictional character from one’s own imagination.

This interiority may be thoughts, feelings, emotions, inner struggles.

And this is in contrast to the exteriority — the place and setting of the scene in which the characters interact; the external factors impacting a character.

I remember one writing advisor saying that so many beginner writers neglect to write the interiority of the characters on the page, which leads to flat, one-dimensional writing. This shows the equal importance of both the interiority of the characters in addition to the external factors.

One of the aspects I find most interesting about the human condition is how our interiority and exteriority can be incongruous.

For example, the Buddhist monks across the road here talk about how one does not need external factors to experience inner harmony, blissful peace, equanimity. There is an aspect of our interiority that can be completely independent from our exteriority. Some of the senior Buddhist monks I’ve met seem to have the capacity to drop into an inner stillness no mater what the external factors may be. Perhaps this points towards the wisdom of valuing interiority as much as — or perhaps in contrast to our materialistic culture even more than — exteriority.

the yin yang symbol can represent the exteriority and interiority of the human experience; also labeled masculine and feminine energies which exist in every human being — reminding us that we must BRING BACK THE BALANCE. We need to honor both energies within us.

My own personal experience has shown me how cultivating an observing awareness leads me to healing my own emotional wounds and dissolving my “Pain Body”; helping me to maintain this kind of inner harmony I value too (you may read more about this in Chapter 17. The Bhagavad Gita and Healing, New Hampshire, May 2013). By cultivating a space of equanimity and harmony within, I’m able to take action from a very different place.

Perhaps these times we’re living through are inviting us to investigate the depths of our interiority. To excavate the gold from the deep, dark caves within. To transform our “muck” into the Lotus blossom. To bring light to our darkest shadows.

I believe this is what the Rising and Re-Claiming of the Divine Feminine is all about: for every human being to embrace the yin and the yang; the sacred masculine in addition to the divine feminine.

Perhaps the more we cultivate the courage to evolve in this way — of becoming deeply conscious of the depths of our interiority — the more harmony we may bring to our planet. Who knows? But I do know we need to evolve.

I invite you to consider a time when your interiority has not matched the external factors in your environment, and to share below in the comments if you feel so inspired.