What does it take to practice the art of living, and live in a state of flow, rather than resistance, on the river of life to enjoy ultimate wellbeing? Balance.

All life and universal laws operate based on balance. Your body has its own balance - homeostasis, and always does whatever is needed to maintain that balance. Nature also operates according to the laws of balance, which like the workings of our body are not always understood by us on the surface level but function to create balance in every organism and system nonetheless.

The more we learn how to create and maintain balance in our minds and in our lives, the more things flow smoothly for us on the river of life. As the ancient spiritual masters taught, a state of equanimity is the key, which helps us avoid the suffering that comes from extreme highs and lows, from our attachments and our aversions.

When we lack balance, anything that is repressed will result in something else getting over expressed, and vice versa. Growth requires decay. Activity requires rest. Strength requires sensitivity. Masculine (yang) energy requires balance with feminine (yin) energy within each person, between people, and within our society and Earth system as a whole.

But we cannot mistaken balance for moderation, the latter of which is all too often used as a faulty concept to justify negative habits or used to suppress natural human tendencies. And while the concept of balance is universal, we each have our own unique personal state of balance. Your needs for balance are your own, dependent on your state of consciousness, and should never be compared to or mistaken with somebody else’s. It is also essential to always keep in mind that balance is dynamic and not any kind of static state.

How is balanced achieved? Via change. Look within to regularly fine tune your personal balance by changing your thoughts, beliefs, perceptions, actions, choices, and habits in order to live in a state of optimal physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual balance.