Balance, The Spiritual Pillar Revisited

If one meditates regularly, the questions will come, growth will begin whether we plan for it or not. Opportunities will present themselves. We may struggle with a concept for ages then one day, the light bulb goes on and we simply know that we have found that particular answer. At least the right answer for this particular stage in our growth, since there is no ultimate answer to be found until one has scaled the mountain and stands on the pinnacle.

Much of this growth happens unnoticed. We simply accept these new ideas, truths and ways to relate to the world around us as normal. At some point, we will recognize that something is happening to us, and that we are no longer the same person who started meditating. Better health, less stress, and the results of a quiet mind have allowed our inner selves to communicate with the mundane here and now selves. Our values change and grow, our pleasures tend to be had in the simple things around us. We feel more connected to nature as well as more compassionate with our fellow travelers. We love more deeply, we think more deeply, and we are much quicker to lend a helping hand.

The platform of our lives starts to spend more time in a balanced or at least semi-balanced state. We have found our path and have begun to scale the mountain in earnest. This may be a dangerous time for us as we start to utilize more of our mental capabilities. If we manifest talents that we did not know we had, we need to remember that they are simply guideposts along the path and not to become fascinated by them. If we do become distracted, we will spend time in sort of a rest stop area, neither progressing nor regressing. Along the path, there are many of these rest areas, where we may stop and gather our thoughts, put new knowledge in it’s proper place and contemplate future endeavors. These stops will be different for each of us as we each travel a unique path, near or far from others on the slopes.

It is also possible to be so wrapped up in our spiritual growth that we neglect to nurture our physical, emotional and mental selves. As the pendulum swings beyond the balance point again, we will find ourselves in need of concentrating on these other pillars to bring ourselves back into balance. For each of us, the needs will be different. We need to pay attention to the worldly aspects of ourselves in order to embrace and nurture what needs attention. This is not a final balancing as we can not sustain perfect balance here on earth, we can only move through it like a pendulum does. Each new journey around the spiral of becoming will present it’s own challenges and it’s own rewards.

If we bear in mind that life is a spiral, we will not get discouraged, thinking we have simply come full circle and are back where we began. The territory may seem familiar but it is not exactly the same. Progress is being made, and at the proper rate for each of us. The journey is long and speed is not a requirement.

And so ends another circuit of the pillars that support our lives.