Balance is typically viewed as a state where opposites are not at play, or an assimilation of differing elements. But balance is not just a centre-point between extremes. Nor is it just a matter of looking at the bigger picture and seeing that overall extremes cancel themselves out. It is a state of being in itself. It is a key quality of awareness. As such it’s inherent in every sub-atomic particle of existence. Now quantum physicists would say there’s nothing balanced about quanta. They are always in movement and this movement appears at first glance to be erratic. We’ve all used the phrase ‘organised chaos’. The organisation of the chaos is owed to the quality of balance. So balance is inherent to awareness and you can see its expression most clearly in Nature.
If we look at nature we see that there is no lack of diversity. There’s no lack of complexity either. There’s a fullness of expression. Nothing holds back. Look at the fantastic colours of tropical fish or an African sunset. The complex and ingenious structure of hedgehog spines or the grandeur of a Californian redwood. Nature isn’t afraid of moving deeply into form because there’s nothing inherently limiting about form. It doesn’t automatically signal an imbalance. Because mathematical balance is inherent to the energy particles creating the forms in nature, the quality of balance is found right through the centre of form, throughout all of creation. And as there is no thought limiting its alignment, forms in nature are free to express diversity fully without ever losing balance. So far from being a restrictive quality limiting free expression and holding opposites in stasis, balance is the underpinning quality that supports the diverse expression of form – and makes it possible.
And this is the aspect of balance I want to emphasise here, the wonderfully supportive role of balance in our lives. How its presence allows us to drink deeply of life whilst simultaneously being held in the centre of awareness. If you think of all the times you’ve felt really balanced, you may have noticed it’s a buoyant state of being fully engaged and centered at the same time. Everything seems manageable, doable. And it is this aspect that makes it a close relative of wisdom. Because there is balance inherent in wisdom and wisdom inherent in balance.
Existence is a field of energy. The whole field is sentient. It is living intelligence. To be this vast, this diverse and this expansive requires an organising principle. Balance provides that organisation. For this reason, it is the basis of unity. Unified consciousness recognises awareness as the unifying principle of existence. There is no fear of one element dominating another. All elements exist in harmony, in balance. And this is why balance is so harmonious as an experience.
Now compare that description with how many people experience their existence in today’s world. We can see that overwhelm, stress, alienation, depression and confusion are symptoms of imbalance. Our reference point for balance comes from familiarity with its opposite state. The present imbalance in humankind’s experience arises out of our reliance on thought to navigate our way through life and make sense of the world for us. When we use the faculty of thought for this purpose, we are limited by the nature of thought itself. It forms in ‘this’ or ‘that’ statements. Each statement by nature excludes other options. And these fixed statements cause us to perceive existence in fixed expressions. There’s no ability within thought to experience apparent opposites simultaneously and without contradiction. The result is the paradigm of separation.
The paradigm of separation is created with belief in opposites. Victim/aggressor, healthy/unhealthy, rich/poor, successful/unsuccessful. Imbalance is adhered to as the norm in the distribution of wealth, power and resources across the planet. We long for a sane, healthy, compassionate society where human beings consistently make expansive choices but often fail to make the connection between our own thoughts and the planet around us. Imbalance has become so ingrained that we rarely question its presence. The separation paradigm is perpetuated by placing one’s own needs far higher up the scale of importance than anyone else’s. We fail to see how balance can assist us when we are more concerned with getting our fill first. A fair society is seen as one where the discrepancies are simply not as glaring as in others. In this context, balance is seen as socialist idealism, not realising that its roots are much deeper than any philosophy.
If we look at the areas of human endeavour where we see the greatest imbalance, they are the areas where we rely most heavily on thought for interpretation - where we have agreed to fixed expressions of conduct and interpretation. And humankind relies so heavily on these fixed statements precisely in order to find balance – and yet this approach leads to greater imbalance. Because the fundamental nature of thought leads to separation and separation is essentially destabilising as an experience. Over time it can lead to nervousness at the unpredictability of life, to a lack of trust in life.
So how do we employ this vital quality? It helps to have first hand experience of the innate balance within awareness. The experience of existential balance far surpasses any notion of it – however lofty. When you feel the exquisite blending of elements in a state of balance, it is a powerfully instructive experience – one that can influence your choices for a long time afterwards. The beauty of the experience is that it allows you to enter into the state at will. Balance can be used at any time for any purpose. Its presence is so fundamental. When you invite the state of balance, you can feel the innate wisdom of awareness much more noticeably present. Over time you can self-correct any thought, feeling, action, situation or event that feels imbalanced. And this gives us a greater reliance on our internal mechanics. As a result we feel more centred, more present and more grounded. And like all states of being, balance is infinitely reliable so we can access it at any moment, no matter how out of balance we might feel at that moment.
As I mentioned earlier, existence is a sentient field of energy. Because we are made from this sentient field, when we access a state of being within it {the field} with our conscious attention, and step into that state, we automatically influence the whole field. This has enormous implications! Conscious attention draws out the innate patterning in the sentient field. The more conscious attention, the more momentum or influence it has within the sentient field. The more people accessing a state of being, the easier it is for others to access it. Whatever state of being you feel the planet needs right now, step into that yourself. You will be doing the world, and yourself, the ultimate service.
Comentários