BE IN BALANCE

 

An old Cherokee is telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside himself.

 

The fight is between 2 wolves

 

--One is negative: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

 

--The other is positive: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

 

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one I feed."

 

We have both positive and negative within in us.
Is one evil and the other good or are they just different?
What would we be like without the balance of both?
Yes, if we feed our negativity, it will grow and if we feed positive thoughts and attitudes, they too will grow. BALANCE. Does anger not give us strength and fortitude? Does wisdom not balance that to make right actions?

Some would see cold winters heavy with snow as a bad thing...but that snow will melt, replenishing Mother Earth with life giving waters.
Some see death with fear and emotional pain, but death is just the completion of the Circle of life. We mourn the loss of a loved one...why? Perhaps because we feel they were taken from us, even though they were not ours to begin with? Because we feel more alone, insecure?

Why do we sometimes get angry? What reactions does our body have then?
Is our anger out of fear? Resentment?
What is fear?
False
Expectations
Appearing
Real

What causes resentment?
What we learned as a child when our expectations were not met?
Is that now our reaction toward others?

Just an old Indian

Dan ni' gya soh

 

Anything done to excess causes IMBALANCE and leads to problems. Let the negative balance to allow the positive to work. Do not be frozen in place with fear of action.

Stress is good for you. Stress is often thought of in a negative light--and with good reason. However, stress, both physical and emotional, also helps your body stay active and alert, more prepared for obstacles it may face.  It is when stress gets out of balance that it causes negative effects, like the feeling of being overwhelmed.

…let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. – Psalms 17:2

 

A just weight and balance are the Lord's – Proverbs 16:11

 

…a false balance is not good. – Proverbs 20:23

 

Don’t let the negative side get out of control (don’t feed it to excess). Don’t be defiled by doing negative things, by living with excess, by being imbalanced.

 

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed… murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  These are the things which defile a man... - Matthew 15:18-20

 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. – Matthew 23:25-26

 

 

And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed… adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these… things come from within, and defile the man. – Mark 7:20-23

 

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law… If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:19-25

 

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; - Ephesians 5:17-18

 

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, …when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries… run not with them to the same excess of riot - I Peter 4:2-4

 

Rather feed the positive in balance, do nothing to excess. Do not harm your body, mind, or spirit. Do not harm the Earth. Live in BALANCE with yourself and your surroundings.

A warm breeze blows across an open field. The tall blades of green grass and brightly colored wildflowers that fill this open space bow their heads gingerly, allowing the heated air to rush by. Then as if orchestrated, these precious gems one by one return to their original position, standing proudly, basking in the afternoon sun. They have returned to their center and are maintaining the delicate balance between their internal needs and the environment. They are living in their wholeness.

We as humans also must bend and flow to the demands placed upon us by our environment. On a physical level, this is referred to as homeostasis. Homeostasis is defined as the body's ability to maintain an inner balance in the face of changing conditions of our environment. This is a very important concept to understand if we are to understand the true nature of our being. We are constantly responding to external stimuli. The temperature of our bodies, for example, must be held within a narrow temperature band. If our environment is significantly heated, the body automatically responds, and we begin to perspire.

When we don't treat our bodies as we should, when we ignore its telltale signs of aches and pains, our body tries to compensate. Internally, we are like a teeter-totter, where the many systems of our bodies are players in a perpetual dance, moving together with a mutual goal, to maintain balance. When we continually ignore the warnings our bodies give us and we push our delicate systems to their limits, the body breaks down and we experience disease. Our bodies have now become compromised and it will require much work to assist it in getting back into balance. That is, when it is not too late.

It is as if that very same wind, as it blows across the open field, the tall green grass and wildflowers that once moved and swayed in the warm breeze now lay down on their sides, then struggle to raise their heads to the sun.

But we are more than just a body. We are Spirit that has chosen to exist within the physical, filled with thoughts, feelings and emotions. How are we as unique individuals affected by our environment on these levels?

When we are in balance, we are able to have, feel and experience emotions. To want, to need, to laugh, to cry, to hope, to desire, to despair, to pity, the ability to know love or joy from the depths of our hearts and souls. These feelings are a direct response to external stimuli. When we see a awe-inspiring vista, hear a good joke, or receive a tender kiss from someone we love. How do we respond? For many of us, we own these feelings. We feel breathless as we look at the stunning view, we laugh deeply and whole-heartily at the joke, or we feel the warmth, love and caring of our partner.

But what about the other emotions that we experience - emotions such as fear, anger, loneliness, jealousy, or pain. What do we do with these feelings? As a society, we have been taught what feelings are " good" or " appropriate" to express. We have been trained from an early age to repress, suppress, and deny feelings of anger, sadness, or pain as if they are bad. While it is considered ok to express emotions of happiness, joy, and love, there is no permission for us to express emotions that are perceived as being negative. But aren't these "negative" feelings your feelings also?

Instead, what have we chosen to do with these feelings? We stuffed them. We invalidated them. We got busy. We try to take our mind off our problems. We fight ourselves so that we don't have to experience these feelings. We shove them deep into our being, pushing them deeper and deeper into ourselves, until after a while we can no longer see them. We think "Well, I'm over that one". But are we really? Did we actually release the emotions or did we just hide them from ourselves?

When we suppress vs. experience and release our emotions, we go into resistance. Resistance puts unnecessary stress and strain on the body. It takes enormous amounts of physical energy to maintain the dam that we have created in order to hold back our emotions so we don't have to look at them, feel them, or experience them. We add bricks to an energetic wall that surrounds us until we have no feelings, good or bad, negative or positive at all. It is not that we have stopped the flow of our "negative" emotions. It is because we have stopped the flow of our emotional energy altogether.

When we give ourselves permission to express all our feelings (both positive and negative ones), when we allow them to run their course, we always feel lighter, fresher, and more centered. When our emotions are balanced, we can experience all of them to their fullest. It is easier for us to own them and then process them quickly and effortlessly. They are allowed to flow through us. We breathe them in, we experience them, and we let them go. It is the beauty of our existence. - Rita Louise

 

You can use meditation as a way to get in touch with your spirituality - be it Shamanisn, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Universal, or some combination right for you. Meditation can be termed as being spiritual, relaxation, peace of mind, fitness, or an ongoing state of mind of mindfulness or awareness. The energy of your body will not be balanced and free-flowing if you do not have good emotional balance, good physical health, and good relationships with your surroundings and yourself. However you need to achieve the state, BE IN BALANCE.