WORDS: JELENA VUJAČIĆ,
psychologist, psychological advisor and practitioner of Bach’s floral essences
Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
The true nature of beauty has been debated for centuries, from philosophical theories and speculations, through mathematical calculations, spiritual concepts, to the temporal earthly life, which attributed great importance to the beauty through the whole history. It is known that, for the sake of beauty, wars have been waged, people have fallen in love fatally, died and been manipulated. All in all, the beauty is, both before and today, a very important and omnipresent phenomenon, set as a standard, almost a requirement, of social acceptability, attractiveness, promotion in business, public and private context. Well, let’s explore the roots and the true nature of beauty…
As for the external beauty, as it turns out after multi century analysis, it comes down to symmetry and proportion, and the application of the law of the „golden intersection“, the so-called divine proportions. This law is recognized in many natural forms, and it takes on the most perfect form in shell of seashells. For achieving aesthetic ideals, this principle has been used very often in art (da Vinci, Dali, Le Corbusier, Mondrian) and architecture (the Taj Mahal, Giza pyramids, the Parthenon, the Gothic cathedrals), in order to contribute to the impression of symmetry and harmony, harmony and beauty. Calculated proportion of the golden intersection is 1.618 and represents the proportion of each major part of the whole in relation to the smaller ones, and this law appears to exist in representation of human body and face. Namely, the persons whose facial and body features approach to this ideal proportion are perceived as a nicer and more pleasant. The studies have even shown that beautiful people often are attributed inner qualities such as goodness, honesty, reliability and the like, and it is inevitable that today outer beauty indeed is a significant phenomenon, but not sufficient.
We, as human beings, besides outer appearance, symmetry and exterior beauty, are adorned with a far larger and more powerful world of inner reality, which is so large, spacious and powerful, that, to the great extent, it colours our whole subjective reality, and so does the „trace“ that we leave behind in the world.
How would you describe, define and evoke the elusive phenomenon of inner beauty? Many thoughtful people, poets and sages have written about it. Em says that expressionless beauty tires, Schopenhauer that the physical beauty is something animal if behind it there is no sense, Hebel that the beauty is the depth of the surface (!), and Oscar Wilde’s description notes that the beauty of the face is in the beauty of the character.
Indeed, what is the substance that, regardless of the external characteristics, makes us truly beautiful, attractive, magnetic, and even irresistible? That is nothing but the beauty of our Soul, its depth and generosity, joy, love, lightness and deep peace that it radiates a higher principle of Truth and Beauty that manifests itself in our being, our view and expression.
How to achieve this subtle and powerful form of beauty? By working on yourself! Both psychology and spirituality, as well as all the new-age movements, emphasize the primary importance and necessity of work on our inner being. Psychology called it personality, spiritual schools divine spark or soul, but they all agree on one thing – it is building ourselves towards more positive emotions and thoughts, increasing harmony and integrity, ease and joy of existence, peace, sophistication and depth. Let’s look at children, are there some ugly among them? They are a perfect example of that true joy and lightness of being. They are all adorable and beautiful, and if we are able, at least for a moment, to step out of our fears, concerns and expectations, we can note their unrestrained spark of Life. They celebrate life, enjoy the moment, play, rejoice, sing and dance. According to a saying, „We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”.
Everything that disturbs the state of our body, soul and spirit, also undermines our beauty. Constant worries and fears, envy, vindictiveness, jealousy, possessiveness, ego-maniacness, insecurity, intolerance, tension and negative thoughts, affect the overall colour scheme by which we colour our inner world, and it again makes our whole reality. People often mistakenly think that their world of thoughts and emotions is only a part of the whole reality, but they actually are our whole reality, because they colour every perception, every adventure and every experience, completely and inevitably. And so the first step toward achieving inner beauty is unbinding and releasing all negative inner content, persistent and unwavering work on achieving the beauty of our inner being. There are a lot of techniques, from psychotherapy and Bach’s flower essences, to do ho’oponopono, hypnotherapy, yoga and meditation, prayer and forgiveness, morality and conscious pursuit of the principles of the common good, reading books on self-development, books that spread the depth of perception of our reality and cognition of our own power and so on. Available techniques are endless, more than ever. They all have in common only one thing and that is liberation of all the negative beliefs and programs, experiences and emotional charge on one hand and reaching the state of joy and love, lightness and inner glow on the other. „Beauty will save the world“, as said by Dostoevsky. And there is a true, vibrant, inner beauty. Only a step away from us. And only then are we no longer dark seeking the light of other being to be shined by on, but become a source of beauty and inspiration, joy and poetry. Good luck in the exciting process of inner growth and do not forget that this is the only truly valuable and a lifelong project, which provides us with imminent fulfillment, happiness and satisfaction with every step made towards the big, shining sun that shines in each of us.
