Female

28

So this is what I've been thinking. It's not that the whole world is an illusion, but that what we see of it is only a limited part, the part we already contain within ourselves. You know how color works, right? White light contains all the other colors of the rainbow. The objects that light hits absorb some colors and reflect others. The colors that are reflected are the colors we see. It's the same thing spiritually: We see reflected in others everything that we see in ourselves. Reaching Buddahood when we are able to recognize in ourselves our infinite potential, we also would be able to see the infinite potential of the world and people around us. As it is, for whatever reason, we currently see only a very limited part of our own true potential and so what we see in others is a reflection of what we recognize in ourselves.
I have often thought that I contain a city inside me, peopled by the ghosts of every expirience I've had. I often feel very much controlled by the things that have happened to me, that have scared or saddened me. My body carries these memories and I automatically do what needs to be done to avoid similar situations. I now think that we also carry the people who've had strong impacts on our lives inside us as well. These people have strong impacts because they reflect an important part of ourselves and our destinies here on earth. There are so many people I've put on pedestals because they have some quality I wish I had. But the fact is, I have these qualities - how else would I recognize them? Maybe it is my work to uncover these qualities- maybe these people reflect a part of myself that I have'nt fully realized yet and that is why I feel so desperate when I encounter them. And I've begun to learn to use these images, to name my own qualities after these people to help me recognize that they are there. For example, when I need strength, when I need to feel whole, I call on my sister, Mary, to help me out. That way I can always have her with me. Remmembering her, and the other people in me who have given me love and support, allows me to always come back to myself.