Our last contributor is one of the most multi-faceted, multi-talented people we have ever met. We recently dubbed him, "The Patron Saint of Balance" and asked him to share his immense wisdom in this series. Raj Wiseman teaches Yoga, meditation, and contemplative studies at his TRIN - STAR, Wholistic Nexus and Yoga Center, in Lakewood.
"Balance, life's greatest virtue; imbalance, it's only real vice."
I'm glad to have the opportunity to put forward that humble notion into the public record (and hopefully into your hearts, minds, and bodies as well). After half a lifetime in seminary as well as ghetto, spiritual community as well as prisons, fixing plumbing as well as playing Beethoven cello sonatas, in the ecstasy of relationship as well as months in contemplative seclusion, I've come away with alot. And I can only hope, friends, that you are willing to pause for a moment and hear this pith wisdom and consider its value in your own life to date, as well as watch it work every moment of every day henceforth.
In addressing balance I am not talking about some kind of sterile 50/50 notion rigidly applied to relationships, business deals, or disciplining the kids. Life is too complex for that. But its exactly because cosmos is now proven to be about the enrichment that comes through complexity, with its ebbs and flows (just like the eastern traditions have long taught) that we should get hip to its necessity and intentions. Arising in the midst of that creative tension is its natural complement that serves as the centering virtue. Integrating the diversity (which sometimes spills over into randomness and chaos) is that subtle and illusive, but very real and ever present, floating point of balance. It must be there, in the midst of every system, quietly abiding, giving us the opportunity maintain awareness of all that is happening and suggesting a way through the conflicts that are going to arise, especially when other egos bend circumstances out of shape.
We don't have to plumb the esoteric to see how we embrace balance amidst the ebbs and flows of everyday opposites -when cold we reach for another pair of socks or turn up the heat, too bright the sunlight and we pull down our sun glasses, if our mouth feels dry we reach for our favorite beverage, when lonely we seek out loved ones or the comfort that satisfies.
Relating to balance as a central premise is a virtue generally recognized and applied but by a very few, and too bad, because understanding its profound importance is not a part of any religious doctrinal base, the focal point of education at any level, or the stated mission purpose of no business I'm familiar with (and no one mentions it as "the greatest thing my grandparents ever left me"). In short modern culture does not support any such notion -its simply not stimulating enough (even though its the true basis of physical health and mental sanity). Notice that every other sales pitch promotes "extreme this", "grab the gusto", "ultimate rush/sensation", or "go crazy for that". The failure to recognize nature's pervasive dialectical laws (there is no such thing as up without down, left without right, hot without cold, masculine without feminine, etc.) results in the mistaken ego that one can pursue such pet extremes, pushed to any limit one can get away with, without eventually running up against its own complementary opposite that we in fact called up by our own choices. We simply cannot not ultimately escape the karma of imbalance, prompting us to regain balance, often through the experiences of pain or psychological suffering of some ilk. To see balance as a working natural principle I'll invoke two different examples that should be pretty poignant.
Consider basketball superstar Michael Jordan, who many vote the single greatest athlete who ever lived. What's his secret? ... he was simply the most complete package ever. Every facet of his person and his game was fully present -no holes!
My second example comes from a study I saw in Scientific American magazine. Anthropologists scanned the shape of thousands of faces in dozens of cultures from around the globe in a survey of what different peoples considered aesthetically beautiful. Then they compiled the data into one 'average face' -the sum total mean appearance. When later showing each respective tribe their own pictures the scientists inserted the composite face into the group (with that tribes distinctive colorings, hair style, etc. so as to look like them). In each case the tribe or racial group chose the average composite as the most beautiful. In other words, the most balanced face was the most desirable and attractive!
Turning to how imbalances in decisions and lifestyle translate into ill health, the underlying mechanism progresses in this wise: imbalance > disease> dysfunction. Granted there are genetic factors and inherited predispositions participating in every physical and mental health situation, but one's day to day decision making is a major influence on how certain basic structures operate or are fleshed out. By way of analogy, an architect may indeed design a perfectly competent building on paper, but if the contractor erects the design with inferior quality materials the initial building cannot hope to operate well or have a carefree lifespan. If one adds to this poor maintenance over the years, still with inferior materials, what kind of condition would one expect the originally sound design to be in?
The human constitution is not a diamond, impervious to whatsoever we throw at or into it. In fact quite to the contrary, as one scientific study after another is now conforming regarding the profound influence mind and spiritual endeavors have on even basic chemistry. Thus our approach to balance and wholeness should encompass not just issues surrounding our immediate personality (the horizontal axis) but the equally important extension into the transpersonal spirit (the vertical axis). This is true health: balance > wholeness > holiness. This is the opposite of the downward spiral outlined above. Instead we can wake up to an inspired ascent into health, the empathy to properly love, the patience to respect others, and the enthusiasm and deep security that allows one to freely give your dreams away.
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