Some philosophers say that "Every man is a whole world", emphasizing the
depth and diversity of each person's spiritual world. According to these
ideas, an inner world exists subconsciously in every
single one of us. This world is made up of memories and concepts about
the real world mixed with various thoughts, fantasies, feelings and the
like. The inner world can very well reflect the fears, hopes and beliefs
of its "maker".

Understandably, some people (especially those with a strong imagination)
have far bigger and drawn-out inner worlds, filled with the strangest of
imagest. Others have a less developed inner world (which doesn't mean
it's not there). If you're having trouble understanding what such a world
would like, try to imagine, that you've just found yourself inside a
person's subconscious.

There we have a country of foggy memories, there -
the state of delirious fantasies, inhabited by our greatest fears, there
- a village of images stuck in the subconscious and together it's all a
whole world, which you can travel and enjoy the... sights. And the "God"
of such would be that very person.

The composition and contents of the
inner world are completely dependent on the personality and psychic
condition of its "maker" (each person's world is completely unique) - it
could become Paradise, but it has all the potential to be a Hell. It all
depends on the persons system values, world view, desires etc.


It's only reasonable to say that if separate thoughts and feelings have
"power" and "psychic energy", an inner world must also must have such
power, being able to affect the real world and other people. Accordingly,
after the death of its owner, the inner world should be able to continue
to exist as resident psychic energy in a particular place (for example,
Silent Hill), being something like a parallel world (although that's not
a very good analogy, I admit) on the border, where reality and unreality
intersect ("After all, there is no wall between here and there. It lies
on the borders where reality and unreality intersect. It is a place both
close and distant" - an explanation of a subconscious world given by a
doctor in Brookhaven hospital). The fact that such a world can actually
constitute a different reality of sorts leads us adopt the term used in
Lost Memories - "Otherworld".


To try and make understanding the concept a little easier, here's a
practical example from SH4: the inner world of a serial killer,
consisting of his memories, stereotypes and twisted fantasies continues
to exist in an apartment, influencing and drawing in the other tenants.
The mental instability of the world's creator leads to the chaotic and
confusing nature of the world ("If the subject's mind is in a state of
turmoil, the state of the otherworld will be chaotic as well" - LM).


Laws and limitations of the inner world.
The subconscious world also bows to certain laws and is subjects to some
limitations. What defines them?

"His universe is different than ours --
it has limits. And in the limits of that universe, he rules as a king...
It is a world in extreme flux. Unexpected doors or walls, moving floors,
odd creatures, a world only he can control..." - the Crimson Tome tells
us of the seemingly chaotic inner world of a man.


Only the "maker" of
this world can control it and establish the laws, which govern the
world's existance. It is not a conscious action (just as the very
creation of this world isn't). The laws form around the preconceptions
followed by the maker of the world (these preconceptions are manifested
in the inner world as these laws).

Let's take a look at the Silent Hill games:
a) SH1: A little girl, influenced by the religious teachings of her
mother, truly believed in God and in her world this God existed.
B) SH1: A little girl believed that a certain liquid called "Aglaophtis"
can banish demons and this liquid (being just some sort of herbal mixture
in the real world) really does work in her world.


c) SH1: The same girl believed that a magical sign called "The Seal of
Metatron" possessed great power to destroy magic and "otherworlds" and
the drawing, *useless in the real world*, becomes a an artifact of great
importance in hers.
d) SH3: The Seal of Metatron loses its power, because the "maker" no
longer believes in its power (her belief in that the symbol is just a
piece of junk destroys its power).
e) SH4: A religious fanatic's beliefs in sacred swords, holy candles,
silver bullets that can kill ghosts etc. are reflected in his inner world.


Comparison of the subconscious world and reality.
After reading the above, we can distinguish two separate types of worlds:
a) Reality, objective world.
The outer world, that exists independent of the person psychic state.
This world is cruel and crushes anyone who opposes it. It is possible
that the cruelty of this world comes from the people that inhabit it -
tainted by sin, incapable of compassion, caring only about their personal
goals. "Why do they cling to this corrupt world?" But what happens if a
person can't bear to live in such a world?

B) Subconscious (subjective, inner) world.
What to do if a person can't accept the cruel reality the way it is? If
they can't exist in it? Heather gives us the answer to that question:
"Suffering is a fact of life. Either you learn to deal with that or you
go under. You can stay in your little dream world...". And that's just
it: You can stay in your little dream world. And when reality brings
nothing but suffering, when it surrounds the person with darkness, the
mind struggles to create a new reality to exist in.

One, where it may be
possible to find happiness. "For him there is simply no other reality,
furthemore, he is happy there" - this is how a doctor in Brookhaven
hospital describes a patient, who has found happiness in denying the real
world and running away into the world of his own fantasies and delusions.
But what is this world?


It is created by the subconscious and can make
any wish come true. Or rather, this world IS the subconscious - a mixture
of a person's memories, desires, hopes, a reflection of the true nature
of a person...

It is like a perfect mirror, or a lake surface, reflecting
the one looking in, combining the subtlety of the image with the depth of
thought... But how does one get into that world?

How does one climb into the rabbit hole?

To fully transfer into the subconscious world, one must
first sever all connections to reality. In part, this resembles autism -
a condition when the afflicted has problems making outside contacts and
prefers to dwell in the world of their personal thoughts.

Midnit has been really burning the midnight oil to post all these long, long essays in MB threads.
If this has been a thesis for a PhD, you would have definitely got an A for effort.
rozrokz