So often these days, society complains of various imbalances, high stress, low immunity function, digestive disorders, and lack of energy, while attempting to keep up with this high functioning materialistic mentality we all live in today.
Furthermore, as we deny these subtle signs our body sends us, more room we allow for toxins to grow, thus, we plow through stressful situations, denying ourselves the time to process emotions, rather, repress them, and sweep them under a metaphorical mat. Traumas from childhood, to defining life milestone events, we as society have been programmed to simply stay tough, be strong, empower oneself with your work status, financial status, friend status, relationship status, all the while trying our best to fit into some kind of norm.
So many folks recently have been also experiencing these “burnouts” of letting the kettle boil long enough that it tosses the lid off the stove. Heated, and impulsive, then we find ourselves bursting out at the seams of hope and scream on the inside with desperation for change. Change we are not even sure we seek for, but unwilling any longer to go either direction.
Most often we tend to bury ourselves with material possessions, seeking outwardly for a fulfillment. Attached to ideas and concepts that no longer fit the dream of the planet, we battle with the ‘should’s and supposed’ expectations, no longer deeming morality and ethics, but simply seeking new ways to survive.
But survival is simple really, all it takes is awareness, awareness of all that surrounds us, and how it communicates with our natural urges. Not the urges of competitive nature, or desires of the mind. Not the kind of urges that raise the ego, status, or pride. Simply, the urge to survive and urge to unleash resentments, repressions, and stagnancies. The urge to elevate your vibrations beyond the mundane, the expected, the programmed.
How does one begin to balance?
To balance oneself one must first get to know this self. Who are you without your work status, social and financial status? Who are you without your possessions, attachments, identity limitations ?
A lovely short tale of the practice of yoga as a spiritual conduit, not just the physical practice, explains very well, the ideas of modern men.
This book “Inner Paths” by Sri Swami Rama, expresses the wonderment of human nature… to always be in a hurry, for a life that is just behind a less desired job, a complex relationship, a certain financial goal, a certain social status, a certain physical look etc. always in a hurry to begin life, all the while life passes, and humanity simply misses the point.
We are riddled with questions about the universe, the mysteries of our past and future, and obscured with ideas of if’s and so’s… but really to answer the question of the universe, one must answer the question of the self. In fact, human is simply a microcosm, composed of the same elements the universe is, the macrocosm.
Sri Swami Rama, furthermore, discusses the practice of Jainism, that follows 4 basic conditions, one can reach in order to get to know oneself.
The first is to be a friend to yourself. The one who does not harm himself/herself, cannot harm others. When there’s no enemy within, there’s no enemy without, thus one is free from the cycle of birth and death.
The second is the development of appreciation. Once you appreciate oneself you appreciate others, does separate from the duality of difference of good and bad better or worse when comparing oneself to others. What you appreciate about yourself you see and appreciate in others…
This leads to the development of compassion. To fill yourself with compassion, is to understand that all there is is love, Love surpasses thought cycles, negativity. Separation of the I and others. Having compassion for yourself is having compassion for all living things.
And so the 4th development is equanimity. The understanding of oneself, appreciation and compassion for oneself leads to appreciation and compassion toward others, and the simple understanding that in a non dual concept we are all one, equal to each other in a matter and need for survival. In a manner of existence, we are simply here on this earth with the same purpose, to recognize, question and acknowledge ourselves as simply one with the universe.
Furthermore, this point closes with Sri Swami Rama’s quote of
“ Be yourself, see yourself to free yourself.
Life is happening now.
Your time is truly the only attachment we really have, as it is the only true limitation to our life. So how would you rather spend your time? How to expand your time, but simply allowing yourself to be fully present in every moment and embracing the beauty around you fully , through the daily intentions you set.
How do we develop the four principles listed above when we barely give ourselves the time of day?
I urge you to find a moment, a minute, an hour of your day to simply be with yourself, without any technical social or media distractions, be with yourself, in nature, and pay attention to the sound of birds, the swaying tree branches, the growing grass … Observe how nature lives, and soon you will find yourself with appreciation of the complexity of existence boiled down to the simple moment of observation and stillness. Begin here.
UnearthThis 