XDredg3 wrote:Your "life process" is a circle. You start out surrounded in the middle of it, influenced by everything. As you age, mentally, you move towards the outside edge; where there is more freedom. You're not surrounded anymore, then you have the opportunity of the "other side," a higher consciousness of one's self and their enviroment. Some-times though people get consumed in the middle and never reach the other side.

There are many perspectives to reality.

It seems the above describes the typical normal life process of any person. First the child is confined in the womb, in a room, house, neighbourhood, planet, universe and one's consciousness expands as one widens one's horizon to the 'outer edges' with age. In this case, there is a freedom of thought and physical movements.

However, with the incremental expansion of knowledge and physical access to the outer edges, there is also the possibility of increasing neurosis and psychosis. This is because the individual human is so fallible and fragile in contrast to a knowledge of the complex external world at the outer edges. When one cannot cope with such reality, there is anxiety, escapism, pessimism, etc. In this case, moving to the outside edge increases on anxieties.

To cope with the above anxieties, there is the recommended 'know thyself' (Socrates, et. al). This is an inward journey into oneself rather than moving into the outer edges.

Buddhism do have the concept of the 'other shore', but it has to do with letting go of the existing baggage when reaching the 'other shore' which do not imply any outer edge. Buddhism is about developing higher consciousness of one's self to the extent of realizing there is actually no self. In anycase, it more of an inward journey rather than an outer one.

It would appear there is a necessity for an inward journey in addition to an outer one.