The Practice of Finding Equilibrium
by Starcat

“Emotional equilibrium is the result of an even balance between involvement in the material world and a spiritual detachment from it. Be in the world but with an awareness that transcends the material life.” – James Wanless, “Voyager Tarot: Way of the Great Oracle”

We have emotions for a reason – they serve to guide us through our lives. By listening to our emotions, we can use them as clues to where we wish to travel along our path. But we don’t have to let our emotions, or our thoughts, take over our experience. We can find a balance, a place of equilibrium where our life is a reflection of our deepest values and desires.

As the great spiritual teachers throughout time have advised, being “in the world but not of the world” is a beautiful way to be in harmony. We aren’t caught up in perpetual reaction to our constantly shifting feelings, nor are we coldly detached from the diverse details of daily living. Instead, we are poised on the edge of the moment, letting our experience flow.

This equilibrium isn’t a static and unchanging position to hold. Rather, it’s a sense of stillness within the movement of time. We won’t be in that place all the time, but will learn to return to it again and again. Even with practice, there will be intense moments when we lose our balance. Those times of crisis, if we allow them, will become wise teachers, showing us the way to growth and new awareness.

The beauty of this practice is that you can start right now, wherever you are. Simply stop and notice what is going on, around and within you. Find your breath, and observe as it flows in and out. Then go on with what you are doing, and remember to pause every so often, just to be. Find your center and let the moments when you feel poised and calm expand outward, rippling out into your daily life. It is incredibly simple, and yet can become a practice that enriches you throughout your lifetime, deepening and broadening as you continue to practice. Many blessings!