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Holistic Balance is key to health and happiness-yet elusive to many of us. How about you?
Balance is within Reach!
I've started this page several times. I've edited and re-edited, because it just didn't seem right. I can't have a website about holistic health and medicine without addressing Balance and yet, it seemed to me that I was no expert. I hurried around as much as anyone else. I had too much on my plate and didn't even get to enjoy the fun times because I was thinking about the other many things left to do on 'my list.' I saw stacks of clutter that (yes, was on my list of things to do!) that just got bigger and bigger everyday. I wasn't so happy, and yet I didn't know how to get off this roller coaster. Sound familiar? I can't really tell you when it turned a corner for me, except perhaps a friend of mine said she uses the word 'enough' when she thinks to make a decision about what to do next. I pondered the questions:
Do I have enough?
Am I enough?
When will there be enough?
Holistic Balance
How do you answer these questions? I asked myself, too.
Let's see...
Did I have enough I had too much of some things and not enough of others! The things I wanted most, I didn't have enough, such as quality time, laughter and peace. Yet, my struggles to have more were never about having more 'things.' I worked harder to have more time-something to yearn for in the future without enough regard for the right NOW. By not being present right now, you miss out on the opportunity to discover yourself and find holistic balance.
Holistic Balance
Was I enough and to whom? Well, that's a question for me to ask myself and nobody else, yet how often do we look outside ourselves to know if we are enough or not?
Take a look a little lower on this page for 5 Success Secrets
When will there be enough? There was already enough! After I answered my first two questions, there was no need to look anywhere for this answer.
Holistic Balance
Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, helped me to be very clear on whether I was enough or not.
Guess what?
I didn't read anything that I didn't already know. I believe it was just all so buried, that I didn't know how to find it. You might feel the same.
Oprah has devoted a webinar and had Eckhart Tolle and he has been a guest on her show many times. I haven't seen the webinar, but, hey, it's on my LIST! I read the books on my Kindle on my breaks at work. There was a time when I had a long commute to and from work, and I listened in my car, also. I'm not one to join on the popular bandwagon, but I really recommend these books and other by the author, whether you listen or read.
Holistic Balance
Let's talk about what it means to be in balance. Certainly being in balance means that #1-you always have enough just as it is today. That's right-enjoy the day, accept it as it is and see what happens tomorrow. Adopt this perception, so as you work towards something else, you don't yearn for it so much that you lose track of what is happening right now. That doesn't mean you have to give up on goals and dreams, of course. It simply means to enjoy today-enjoy right now as it is. Take for example the 'hurried student.' You've known this person and you may even be this person. He or she is in a hurry to get through school and takes a very heavy course load that leaves very littel time for any fun. He/she knows that fun is important, but also believes that it isn't as important as getting done with school and meeting those goals. The behavior is rationalized by thinking that the end is worth the means; it is important to get done so money can be made; and there will always be time for fun in the future. So, this 'hurried student' finishes the roller coaster ride in about 3 years, but suffers with insomnia from being over-tired and over-stressed, has lost touch with friends and family and hasn't been a real joy to be around. His/her body has been fed enormous amounts of junk food and was given very little exercise. Was it all worth it?
I'm not sure. I was certainly one of those hurried students even before I had a child to support. I was just in a hurry to get moving to see what was next. What I lost was today's view. It's all such a blur now. I remember feelings and parts of events, but I don't have a lot of memory of details. Why? I was in such a rush and so tired and unhealthy that I couldn't appreciate the real joys that each day brought. If I could have gotten my education while enjoying the ride a bit more, I would have finished in a lot better shape-physically, emotionally, spiritually and with regard to my relationships. It isn't so easy, though, is it? Being an over-achiever (hard worker) is something that is rewarded and respected in many cultures. I'm not sure I knew any other way.
More about holistic balance...
Holistic Balance
If you are like me, don't beat yourself up. Even though we all learn at different times and ways, consider the following:
A MATTER OF AGE AND WISDOM
Holistic Balance
For many of us-especially women:
In our 20s we have no idea where we are going, but hey-we are going fast! We're looking for our 'perfect' mate, while having no idea what that really means. We think we do, though. We're working on a career path that just might work 'forever.' We want to feel settled, but we're not settled at all. It is all very scary, but if we keep moving fast, we'll be okay. There is usually time for some fun, though, and taking care of ourselves. It is important to look good, too!
Our 30s is a time of cementing the truths of our 20s. We may be done with school, yet there is still a lot to learn. In fact, we might just be waking up to the fact that we just didn't know what we didn't know at all! We give and give and give to our families, our careers and jobs and our other relationships. We yearn for some of the carefree times we had when we were in our 20s, but hey, there are things to get done! Sadly, taking care of ourselves is not one of those things.
Our 40s bring us back a bit to our 20s. There is a little more time for taking care and it is probably more clear that is it important to take care of yourself. Afterall, how can you take care of everyone else, if you are in bad shape yourself. The lucky ones learn this early on. This might also be the time that we are caring for children, our children's children and/or our own parents. All the added stresses of life on women the prior decades have left us with a variety of chronic illnesses such as cancer, obesity and heart disease-the #1 killer of women, by the way. You know that when you are present (you've been able to turn off some of the static in your mind) that quality and power will flow through you-this is your true essence. You learn that not only can you talk to God, but you can hear and experience God in you. Prayer is a two way street.
The 50s should be a time of looking back at all this, patting ourselves on the back for making it in one peice and for sharing big hugs. We've learned that success brings about happiness, yet the continual yearning for more diminishes the pleasure we got from our successes. You are starting to know a little of what you thought you knew when you were 20 and 30! This is a time of forgiveness, compassion and joy. That forgiveness and compassion is toward others AND yourself.
What about the 60s and beyond? I'm not sure yet-I haven't been there yet-in age or maturity!
Holistic Balance and Enough
It sounds so easy, yet if it was, we would all be in good shape-happy and at peace. It's about being happy with what you have and how your life is, while keeping an eye to the future. It is more about living today with joy, peace, happiness and enjoying Today's blessings.
Holistic Balance and Enough
It is about taking care of yourself AND doing the things you want and have to. It is about deciding what you really need to. I'm pretty sure most people I know (this includes myself) do way more than we really need to. We can't seem to ever feel like it is just 'enough.' There is always more to do, more to learn-just more, more more. I try to live each day as if it were my last, and I sometimes try to do too much to make the most of each day. That is where balance comes in-body care (food, rest, exercise), mind (focus, reasoning, thoughts), spirit (humor, creativity, connectedness). Striving for more is about the mind taking up so much energy (wants, desires, worries, anxiety) that the body and spirit get left behind. Sound familiar?
It is fair to say that we know that things may bring happiness-assuming you use the definition of happiness as a fleeting emotion. Pretty things can bring about the fleeting emotion of happiness. We want more than something that is fleeting,though. We want long lasting happiness-I call this long lasting happiness peace. Peace and joy can only come from within. It cannot come about as the result of an external event. Peace that comes from within will always be with you inspite of the circumstances. Happiness is great, but it is fleeting. Have you known people that always seem to be at peace no matter what is going on around them. They've discovered the real secret to success!
Holistic Balance
Finding Holistic Balance is aligning your thoughts so that your desires are in line with how you live your everyday life. In other words, it is not about changing your behaviors to achieve balance. It is about changing your thoughts. No secret: This is not EASY! But, it is totally possible, so don't give up.
I've read several books and listened to books on tape (CD or MP3) about Balance. Wayne Dyer's Book, 'Being in Balance' is a wonderful little gem.
Dyer begins his book with this statement: One of the huge imbalances in life is the disparity between your daily existence, with its routines and habits, and the dream you have deep within yourself of some extraordinarily satisfying way of living."
Have you ever been deep into the 'must do' list of your life and take a little bit of time to remember the dreams of your past? Are you where you thought you would be? Are you living the life you want? Do you have the courage to find those dreams again? You might think that living your 'dream life' would mean working even harder or getting more outg of balance. Consider this: Most of us don't really yearn for more 'things' or more 'toys.' We might try to get more of that because the real important things in life (those dreams!) seem out of reach. Those dreams I'm writing about are loving relationships with families, spouses or signficant others, work that is satisfying and fulfilling, and a home that reflects our real selves. Instead we are a society of families that often don't share meals or enjoyable time together. Some of us don't really know what is going on with our spouses. A home that reflects how we feel might be filled with lots of clutter and too much stuff. A home that reflects how we want to feel might be cozy, warm with details and reminders of the things we love-photos and other memorabilia of our lives such as gifts from friends and small memorabilia from a place or time that you loved. Remember to make it all about enjoying TODAY, though. It is okay to think about the past once in awhile, but you really want to find joy in today.
Holistic Balance
A few points to consider:
Are you living your life with purpose-do you feel like you are contributing the way you want to? If not, why not? This is not a dress rehearsal afterall-this is it.
I learned with experience that I didn't have to abandon my dreams completely just because I had other dreams to pursue.
What dreams did you abandon? How can they look today?
Holistic Balance and how our Mind gets in the way!
Some have suffered some kind of a tragic loss in their lives that seemed to put all else in perspective. They may have lost material things, while people were spared. They may have lost one or more people in their lives. Whatever the loss, their persective about what is really important AND what is NOT important was changed forever.
Holistic Balance: Give up the Illusion
Who you believe yourself to be may be an illusion. Who are you really? You are not a mother, a daughter, a son, a doctor, a nurse and so on. You are not poor and you are not rich. You are not (fill in your own label). That's right-those are labels AND your perception of who you believe you are. You are so much more. You are a spiritual being who has experiences, perceptions, thoughts and feelings-all of which are fleeting. What is left when you wipe that all away? Your true essence is left. In order to really know this, you've got to Want to know this and, yes, wipe away the thoughts and feelings. See that what happens in your life is only of relative importance. Who you are in in life and how you do it is of upmost importance. Looking beyond the illusion is no easy task, but learning to live in holistic balance is a first step.
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It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. Always take the advice of your healthcare before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program. We will not be liable for any complications, or other medical accidents arising from the use of any information on this web site.
