The two worlds and the third space

There are so many different guides to meditation outthere. Are some better than others? No. They are just different, focusing on different things.To do rational meditation we need a different mental map. We need to find a way to work with meditation that doesn't refer to exotic goddesses or some mystical inner presence. We do this by dividing the mental experience.

First, there's the outside world. The shared reality in which we all live. That's the First World. We have access to this world through our senses. The Second World consists of your thoughts, your sense of things and your emotions. We constantly experience thoughts and emotions. Those thoughts and emotions are the Second world.

Now, if we go scientific, these two worlds are supposedly one and the same. In the First World we find all of reality, and our mental experience is, according to the best scientific guess, a product of our biological brain. However, there's a very clear difference between the two. While everyone shares reality, no one can share the Second World. We can talk about whats going on inside us, but words is not quite enough to describe how we feel and think.

The Third Space
So, while the two worlds are most probably a result of physics of the First World, we see it differently. We experience a distinct subjective reality that we can not share with anyone. Because we can't share our emotions and thoughts that Second World is uniquely ours.

And this leads us to the Third Space. What's in the Third Space? Your eye. No, not in a mystical sense, but in a very logical sense. How come you can think about your thoughts? Because you conceptually exists outside of them. Again, if we go scientific this Third Space must be based on the brain, somehow. But conceptually, in the way you grasp your existence, we have three parts: The first world, which we share, the Second World, which only we have access to, and the Third Room, where we observe both worlds.

Atheists, buddhists and christians
The reason why this division is neccesary, is that it is the only way to embrace most people. This world view is not contrary to scientific fact and it's not contrary to any belief-system, be it religious or atheistic. In Buddhism it's all about the Third space. It's about realising that part of your world view, and be empty of thoughts and feelings and mind. In Christianity, the important thing is how the Second World decides what you do in the First World and the Third space is where you judge what is right to do. For atheist, the Third Space is just a very cool place to explore ;)

Now, whichever type of meditation takes your fancy, you can navigate the issues with these three parts. Most forms of meditation is about separating or combining these three parts. In science we try to combine the Second World with the First World. In buddhism we try to separate the three and eventually try to exist only in the Third space. In christianity we try to align the word of Christ with the way we act in the First World and the way we think in the Second World.

While we share the First World and try to make legislation that will make it possible for all of us to live together in peace, the Second World is what makes humans unique. Animals may have a 'Second World' but it seems that only people can manipulate the Second World, only we can choose what to believe and what to think. We don't have to just react on instinct. We can reflect before we act. And because of that, we are able to shape our lives. With meditation, that gets much easier.

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