Self Realisation: Why Do Some People Always Look Outside For Answers?

We live in a time that is often described as the information age. And this is largely due to the internet and how this has made information so easy to access. What was only available to a certain class of people or what could only be known trough travelling to certain parts of the world for instance, can now be learnt through going to a search engine.

And within seconds, one will be able to find answers to almost any question under the sun. The need to read a whole book to find something is no longer needed; as one can just type in a question and the answer will be found.

So while this has clearly resulted in many benefits and to more people being able to educate themselves, there has also been some down sides to it. This is applies to the majority of things in life; as there are pros and cons to most things on this earth.

Personal Growth

For the individual that is curious and wants to continually grow and develop, this is a wonderful time. No matter how curious someone is or when they want to learn, the internet is available and full of enough information to quench ones thirst.

The biggest challenge today when it comes to information is in knowing what to let in and what to reject. And so discernment is an incredibly important ability to have or if one feels it is something they lack then it will be important to develop it.

Informed Or Transformed?

So it is now very easy for one to be extremely informed about themselves. But as information is just that, information, until it is utilised very little will take place. It is often said that intellectual understanding is not the same as having an emotional understanding.

One can read a book about driving, but until they get into the car and drive, they will not truly understand what it is all about. And the same applies to information. When something is understood at a deeper level, it will then be known.

This shows that the body and ones emotional self has a big part to play when it comes to realising something.

Needs And Wants

The body is vital when it comes to understanding who one is.  Whereas the mind is basically, a memory bank and can believe or disbelieve anything, the body is very different.  Ones true needs and wants exist within the body. So many answers are contained within the body.

The Disconnection

However, in the modern day world the body is often ignored and rejected. And people then live in their heads and this means that the body’s wisdom is completely ignored. Although learning through external sources has a time and a place and can be a catalyst in ones growth, it is not meant to replace ones inner search.

One can read as much as they want and from as many different sources as they can find, but unless a change takes place at an emotional level and therefore changes ones behaviour nothing will happen.

Self Understanding

And all the information out there, as good as it is, is still another person’s opinion. The only one that can really understand oneself - is oneself. While another person could say that one needs to do such and such, it may be wrong and inaccurate. This is something that will be achieved through one getting in touch with their body.

When one looks for answers outside, they are often trying to make sense of their current life challenges. And this can relate to: why they attract certain people; are attracted to certain people; why they behave in certain way or why they feel or think as they do.

The answers to these questions are typically in the body. Knowing so many things and living in the head can inhibit one from locating these answers.

Balance

Ideally a balance would exist between looking outside and looking inside. As both have a time and a place. If one didn’t have external guidance they may not know where to look. And yet if one only looked outside then they would be constantly looking in the wrong place.

In the western world it has become normal to look outside for answers and to look within is largely unknown. But the tendency to look outside for answers is not something that just happened.

Extroversion is the norm and introversion is not as common. And as the mind is very external and the body is more internal in nature, this is just another reflection of the disconnection between the body and the mind.

Pain

One of the reasons why someone can become cut off from their body and live in their head is due to pain. This can be pain from experiences or an experience that was traumatic. And as this trauma was not processed it stayed in the body.

Therefore the body becomes a place of pain and so it then feels safer to live in the mind and to reject the body. But by doing this one loses so much of who they are. This pain needs to be embraced and released so that one can embrace their whole being.

Awareness

In today’s world pain is seen as something to be avoided and covered up. And yet when it comes to realising who one is and becoming a whole human being, pain has a vital part to play.

If it is not dealt with one can end living on the surface of themselves and never really embrace their whole nature. This is a process that can be assisted by a therapist or a healer.

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Oliver J R Cooper 
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/