The Internal

My basic interest is in the Internal.
It is also my conviction that everyone’s basic interest is in the Internal, it's just that most people don't realise it.
As a teacher it is my job to awaken this interest in the people who present themselves to me as students.
Eventually, if my energy becomes good enough, it will be my job to awaken this interest in whomever.

My love of poetry is akin to my ache for the Internal.
Poetry sets off a resonance or an echo of the Internal (trembling Emily Dickinson calls it).
The Internal is like an inner secret to things.
Keats calls it a Penetralium of Mystery.
In the Tao Te Ching it is usually translated as mystery.

Empty of desire, perceive mystery (the internal).
Filled with desire, perceive manifestations (outcomes).

Of course as soon as a mystery is perceived it becomes a manifestation to which one can become attached, blocking the perception of ensuing mysteries.
The flow of mystery is the natural process.
The work at hand is to develop the discipline and selfless compassion to connect with this flow without becoming attached to outcome.

Reality is the unknown, and vice versa.

What I crave on the journey I've undertaken is companionship.
Comradeship. Fellow-feeling.
People whose company simply says abide with me.
People with whom simple togetherness brings out the Internal.
This is the giving I talk about.
It has nothing to do with effort or exertion and has everything to do with Internal common ground.

Yielding