The fight for inner light – Portugal Resident Staging

In my column of last week – “2025 and beyond. A reality check” – I looked back, and forward, through the unforgiving, actually depressing, optics of geopolitics and relentless globalisation, and promised a follow-up view of life, through what I described as a psycho-spiritual lens that I suggested my offer some light in these (with apologies to Jim Carrey) ‘dim and dimmer’ times.

Looking at, and discussing with Natasha, Portugal’s remarkable award from the UK’s prestigious publication The Economist, we were mutually staggered by the gaslit scenario that has our beloved country honoured as “economy of the year 2025”, whilst everyday citizens stare into rapidly emptying purses and wallets.

This, a perfect illustration of the stark contradiction between the world ‘out there’, AKA ‘reality’, as sold to us, and our own lived experience which may bear no evidential resemblance. A contrast, or differential, so great now, for so many, as to be disturbing, dysfunctional and worthy of contempt. Reality is not what it used to be!

What bothers me about this general predicament, and even though I know I shouldn’t take it seriously, I – like most humans conditioned to keep an eye on the horizon to ensure safety and security – get affected ultimately by the relentless slop of mis- and dis-information as I try to balance a global awareness with personal wellbeing; a full-time job it would seem as the world becomes hotter in every way, by the day. Hence the urgent, but not (yet) desperate, need to find other and inner resources that might gird our loins in the face of more of this inevitable madness.

Let’s face it: There’s little chance the dismal data flow will stop or decrease any time soon, so we must find something meaningful and healthy to hold to, in its onslaught, now that simple indifference and mere disagreement are no longer enough to get us through the multi-media discourse of daily life.

Not only have we allowed our minds to be globalised by the media – social, anti-social and otherwise – it seems we must have a view on everything that is presented to us, which also demands us to know what we think, feel and are motivated to do about every issue put before us. Things that were of little consequence or no real importance to us previously have now taken on a grave sense of importance that requires constant and exhausting attention.

Worse still, if you don’t have an opinion about the drug gangs of Venezuela (for example), you are quite possibly irresponsible, uncaring or – God forbid you do offer a passing comment – are seen as far-right, far-left, or far too unaware, depending on the presuppositions and prejudices of your accuser.

Surely I can’t be the only one tiring of this? And honestly, it’s not that I don’t care about the suffering of others, the creatures, and the planet. It’s that I only have a certain amount of empathic bandwidth, which, incidentally, is easily burnt up after a few minutes on X or Facebook, after which I become miserable enough to need a little empathy myself.

You get the picture. Too much focus on the outside world is apparently unhealthy for us and rotting the once-reasonably-healthy ties that bound us. And the result? The more we’ve been drawn into the outer (albeit led there by our own curiosity and FOMO) the less we’ve attended to our inner selves, and the subtle but endless source of nourishment that can be found there.

As an appreciator of the timeless practice of meditation and its new trendy mate, mindfulness, I know this decay only too well and look with some horror at how, in recent times, I’ve allowed my attention to be frittered away on the squeaky wheels that got the sweet oil of my consciousness, and potentially precious contemplation that I will never get back.

At this point, you may either think I’ve lost the plot (a state I cannot with any mainstream credibility deny) or that I am onto something, should you be feeling world-weary too, with the world’s woes now living full-time in your head without paying rent.

If we want to stay sane and prosper in the times ahead, this abusive relationship between so-called reality and our consciousness has to stop; with first an acknowledgement of its addictive nature, and thereafter a genuine (and seasonal) resolution to take responsibility forthwith, for our habits going forward.

Forgive me if I make it sound simple like that Eckhart Tolle fellow, who points us toward the ‘power of now’, as if it were easy to find and, once located, remain in, which we – if we’ve ever tried – know it isn’t.

The other uncomfortable problem with going within is that we meet ourselves and our self-judgements on the way there, hence the great attraction (distraction) of all the shiny and urgent things outside, which are far more appealing to us than self-doubt, disciplined introspection, and obvious inability to be still and alone for more than a few minutes.

With outer attention the norm, as well as being the business model and great commodity, of the everyday world, our inner awareness, which is interestingly and mostly negatively known as ‘mental health’, is now the realm of gurus and spiritual teachers – a telling predicament, which to me further highlights the madness of our modern world.

Inner peace is now the realm of the enigmatic and pious, and no longer necessarily a condition which children are trained or encouraged to find, as a pleasing and health-enhancing alternative to screen-based stimulation. For adults, it seems no better. But for the grown-ups, they may at least have some memory of under-stimulation or ‘boredom’ as it’s now so readily labelled.

So, what do I suggest?

As a new year dawns, take advantage of the ‘clearing’ to at least spend a few minutes in contemplative quiet. Don’t make it harder with odd postures or special clothing, simply be still enough to be able to ‘notice’ what is going on, and your part in it. See that you have an observational capability that can transcend any activity in which you are involved; to a perspective above and beyond ‘the motions’ in which you might ordinarily be engaged and consumed.

Your attention is precious, as social media developers know, but save some for yourself next year and ‘take in’ your life from slightly outside your normal self to become aware of your inner self, without evaluation or attachment.

This type of momentary and revolutionary freedom can be the start of a life-changing, life-enhancing journey, which together we can experiment with, and alone revel in – beyond the demands of others who you know are ready to hijack your awareness and hack your emotions. Don’t let them. Fly instead like a moth toward your inner light, knowing that it’s always there – offering ease, joy and glory – even if, and when, you are not.