Read these simple tools that can help you to stay balanced in life.
It is a law of nature that things are in constant motion. Everything around you and within you is a flow of energy down to the very atoms. This constant change is seen throughout the fractals of our existence.
Even a mountain may look absolutely still but you know that the earth is moving ever so slightly, and as you zoom in you will see the trees growing, birds flying, mycelium spreading, bacteria thriving, and the wind blowing.
As humans, one of the major ways we perceive the world is through the way we feel. The hormones in our bodies that are in constant flux send signals to our senses that we then interpret as emotions. When you start taking these emotions personally is when you can get caught in the lower realms of existence. Purely ruled by your primal urges and emotional reactions.
Knowing Thyself
The more we observe ourselves as an organism through a lens of logic, the easier it is to navigate our behaviours. When we have a repeated behaviour that we want to get to the bottom of, instead of reacting with guilt and shame, let’s start asking why we, as an animal, behave this way.
For example, something maybe we can all relate to is overeating. You ate too much last night and now you feel bloated, guilty, and you have a stomach ache.
Instead of looking in the mirror and saying really awful things to yourself, staring at your protruding belly and calling yourself names, how about this instead? Ask yourself why would a person overeat to the point of discomfort?
Hmm…the person could have been stressed out and after a long day found comfort in food, maybe they were out with company at the dinner and got carried away, or perhaps they were distracted with a screen during the meal and were not fully engaged in the experience and listening to their body.
From here, you eliminate all of the unhelpful emotions and get straight to the root of the problem. You are now observing yourself in a way where you can go directly to the solution without having to go through the whole cycle of helplessness.
Getting to know yourself from a detached perspective can help you get unstuck from a vicious cycle.
Practice Physical Balance
As above, so below. When you practice balance in your physical body, you are fully in the moment. Imagine being in a yoga class or surfing lesson, when you are in that moment of staying balanced, you are so immersed in that moment because once you let your mind get distracted, you lose your balance.
This is a metaphor for life, and only one of the many things that practicing physical balance can teach you.
Observe your thoughts, and observe how you are able to find balance just by changing the contents of your mind. Your body will follow and you achieve balance. This teaches you a lot!
A Shortcut to Centre
When you are centred, you feel stable and calm—this is the effect of being in balance. When you are not in centre, you tend to end up making wrong decisions, being ruled by emotions, or you lose our keys.
We can familiarise ourselves with this being centred through meditation. Being mindful of when our thoughts are pulling us away from the centre, and anchoring to the present moment through connecting with the breath.
The more we practice, the more we train ourselves to spend more time in this centred state. And once we know the method to keep us staying balanced, through time what used to take 20 minutes of full concentration can be shortened to three deep breaths.
For the advanced, maybe even just one.
Find an accessible method that you can do anywhere, no matter what.
Tools to Explore for a Lifetime
These three simple tools for staying balanced can be explored deeply. You can use these for the rest of your life, getting you closer to your true and supreme self as you master the balance within yourself and in life.
It can open many doors for you and discover more universal truths. I’ve observed that life will keep giving you more wisdom for as long as you continue your search.
Practice these or even just choose one. Let me know how you get on. Happy balancing!
