THE BOX CANNOT BE SEEN FROM THE INSIDE by Lourens Janse van Rensburg

The Himalayans speak of a place called "Shambhala" (Shangri-La).
The Celts speak of a place called "Tir-na-nog" (pronounced "tee-nah-noogh").
Places full of wonder, which can be found only by those who already know the way.
They can never be found by one who does not already know where it is.
One might pass right beside it without seeing it.

The Capitalists speak of a place called "The-Outside-Of-The-Box".
This too, is a place full of wonder, which can only be found by those who already know the way.
This too, can never be found by one who does not already know where it is.
Many pass right beside it without seeing it, every day.

Like an ancient sage, seemingly speaking in contradictions: "The answer is hidden in the question...", "The answer lies within you..." Thus says Hannes Dreyer to his students: "Think outside the box...", "The answer is in your hand..."

And the student quietly replies: "Yes, Mentor", but everything inside him screams: "I AM THINKING AS HARD AS I CAN, BUT I DON`T SEE THIS BOX!!! HOW CAN I THINK OUTSIDE OF SOMETHING THAT DOESN`T EXIST???"

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Imagine two parallel mirrors, facing each other -- the reflection of one is bounced back to the other, and back again to itself, back and forth ad infinitum. Looking into them, it seems as if one can see into infinity.

Imagine a baby born and raised inside a room like this, with mirrors on all walls, never allowed to leave the mirrored room. The baby thinks he can see into infinity in all directions. But no matter how far he stares into the distance, he can never see more than the objects beside him in the room, reflected a million times.

Like Jim Carrey’s character in "The Truman Show", people born and raised inside The Box cannot comprehend anything outside of it.

Yet they always have that nagging feeling that there must be more to life than just this...Consider this:One cannot see a mirror by looking at it from the front. One can only see the objects reflected in it.The mirror is not invisible, but un-seeable.The mirror itself can only be seen from the back!!!The Box is lined with mirrors on all sides. People inside it are convinced they can see into infinity, oblivious to the concept of the outside.

But some are crazy enough to listen to others even crazier.

They listen to people crazy enough to stand on the street corners shouting out about the place called The-Outside-of-The-Box.

They are crazy enough to believe these crazier-than-thou`s.

Then one day, when they cannot sleep in the middle of the night, when they brush their teeth in the morning, when they are on their way to work, they get struck by enlightenment, as if by lightning.

And they instantly realize: like a mirror, The Box can only be seen from the outside!!!From the inside, it is un-seeable!!!They step out of it, and they look upon The Box, and the people trapped inside.They realize something more: from the outside, The Box is not only visible, but also transparent!!!

The Box is not a room with mirrors on the walls. In fact it has no walls, only mirrors. One-way mirrors, so one can see in from the outside.The people inside are not trapped by the walls at all -- there are no walls.They are only trapped by the illusion created by the mirrors.They are only trapped by the shallowness of their own imaginations.They only need a tool to smash the mirrors, the will to do it, and the courage to step through to the outside.

If you have the will, Hannes Dreyer provides you with the tool, and helps you to gather the courage.

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A good friend once asked me a riddle: "What has a great volume, and can hold many things inside, yet it does not posess an outside?"

I replied: "I don`t know, my friend. Please tell me."

He said: "The universe!"

I smiled back: "Just because your mind cannot imagine the outside of the universe, does not mean that it has no outside!"

My friend did not understand what I said, as if I spoke in a strange and unknown tongue.

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To find Shangri-La, travel with someone who knows the way.To find Tir-na-nog, travel with someone who has already completed the journey.To find The-Outside-Of-The-Box, travel with Hannes Dreyer...