the inner world in the outer world
a friday afternoon musing
It’s worth reflecting on how physical or emotional challenges can emerge not only from the world around us but also from the depths of our inner world. Your heart and your mind. Your laughter, tears, thoughts, and memories. What you hold dear, what you have lost, and what you aspire to achieve. Your dreams and visions.
The month of January in Southern California has brought warmth, winds, and arid, fiery skies. Here, today, the air is clear and calm, as if the earth itself has paused to take a breath. I’ll note that it is the year of the Snake, a symbol of transformation and rebirth, the energy of the sun feels almost prophetic—a reminder that even in the quiet of winter, there is the promise of change, a flicker of new beginnings waiting to ignite. It is a new year, afterall. Why, this time, it must be accompanied by so much destruction and devastation, I do not know. But it seems all too often that rock bottom is the soil from which gardens grow.
In the still, soft light, I ponder the sun; that fiery nucleus at the heart of the solar system. A celestial body, in more ways than one, and the very soul of our cosmic order—a living emblem of energy, creation, and cohesion. It is the giver of life, drawing the planets into its orbit, their existence dependent upon its radiance, their movements synchronized by its gravitational grace.
Within our human bodies, our microcosmic sun, the solar plexus is anchoring the vast constellation of our inner world. It is said to be the center from which energy radiates, the axis around which our will and vitality revolve, a luminous source of power and autonomy. Here, in the interplay of light and life, of force and form, lies the unity of existence, a profound reminder that we are, in essence, the universe thinking itself alive.
The diaphragm, dynamic and resilient, meets the solar plexus at a sacred place, where breath and emotion, will and sensation shake hands, or, casually thumb war for dominance. It is a reminder that the power we seek does lie within, glowing, waiting to be felt, known, and set free.
Theories about the diaphragm and solar plexus paint an intriguing picture, one where science and spirituality seem to eye each other skeptically across the room, yet whisper the same truths in different languages. Science tells us these structures regulate breath, digestion, and energy flow, while spiritual beliefs claim they house emotions like fear, anxiety, and self-worth. But the truth is, they’re two sides of the same coin. What is felt physically—tightness in the chest, chronic tension, or digestive woes—often mirror the emotional storms we let brew unchecked. It’s not that we’re conjuring disease out of thin air, but rather that the mind, when left to wander the wrong paths, can plant seeds of imbalance that take root in the body. “Mind over matter,” we say, marveling at the human capacity to persevere. But what happens when the mind, unbridled, steers us into darker territories? Perhaps the diaphragm’s clenching and the solar plexus’ dimming are the body’s quiet rebellion, its way of saying, “Feel this. Face it.” And in that, the ancient wisdom and the revelations of scientific discovery align: our inner world has far more power over us than we often care to admit. The question is, how will we wield it?
Blue Goddess - Jennifer Parks
