Once upon a time, the idea of a balanced life meant that everything was of equal importance and needed equal energy. It meant that if I spent an hour on my health, I should spend an hour on my finances, an hour on my spiritual connection, and an hour on my relationship. My life was compartmentalized and I didn’t see that time spent improving my health could mean that my relationship and finances would benefit. It was very difficult to live this idea of a balanced life especially when it seemed that I was spending 40 hours a week on finances and 30 minutes a day on spirituality. I became very resentful of the way it “should” be.

At this point, I began to examine what a balanced life really meant to me. Around that time, I also started the first iteration of this site. I changed the concept from a person juggling 5 distinct balls, to someone living a complete, whole, full life where any particular area works in conjunction with all the others. Rather than a juggler, I envisioned a ribbon twirler dancing gracefully with all the aspects of my life. Life, however, still had “aspects”. I still felt that there were distinct parts, not one life in balance.

Since I started actively writing, the site, and by extension my understanding of a balanced life, shifted. I didn’t realize it until my friend Paula put it into words in a comment.

When you asked what I thought a balanced life was, an image of a teeter-totter came into mind. I can remember as a child loving to ride up and down with my friends. I also remember the thrill of standing in the middle, or the fulcrum, while kids rode up and down at the ends. It was often tricky to stay standing when one person decided to push hard off the ground. But it was possible to stay balanced if you didn’t stray too far from the center.

As I contemplate what a balanced life would look like to me, I think it would mean staying at neutral through life’s ups and downs. Not getting too attached to the highs or to the lows. It is like living in the fulcrum AND enjoying the ride.

Today, a balanced life means to me a life in alignment with Spirit. A life where I am a channel of Spirit. All things that flow from that point seem to work together cohesively and easily. My life today is like a well written symphony. You can’t tell which instrument is doing which part, but it’s all beautiful together. Certainly, each aspect of my life does not get equal attention. Then again, it’s no longer a matter of an aspect of my life. My life is a whole entity ready to work in concert with a greater entity.

How you achieve a balanced life will depend on your idea of it. A balanced life might conjure any one of these ideas: the juggler, the dancer, or the channel. You might have a completely different idea. Take this moment to envision what your life would be like if it were balanced. What does it mean to you?

In Spirit,
Nneka

It began with the Islamic call to worship. A friend of a friend agreed to do the call after coming in from Europe the night before and knowing that he would head to Europe the next morning. It was followed by the choir’s rendition of the calm Kum Bah Yah. Then the entire audience joined them in John Lennon’s Imagine.

The experience continued with Buddhist chants by Tibetan monks, a Christian experience of contemplative prayer, Hindu chants, Vedic prayers, Native American music, and a Sufi remembrance. The audience sampled the many ways to connect with and deepen their experience of Spirit.

It was now time to practice being peace. Across the street, in a public park, 450 people sat in silence for 30 minutes. They were practicing any of the ways just expressed by the spiritual leaders and teachers, or one of their own, but they were all, in that half an hour, deepening their awareness of Spirit’s presence.

Two years ago, a friend of mine read an article that said that they tried this in one of the battle zones of Lebanon in the 80’s and the bombs stopped dropping in the village where one percent of the population engaged in a daily practice of meditation. They did not hold the idea of peace or “intend” to manifest peace. They just connected with the Divine.

My friend took up the challenge and thought, “What if one percent of our community, 15,000 people, engaged in this practice?” In the research, it was noted that not only did the bombs stop falling in that village in Lebanon, but the incidents of violent crime and fatal accidents went down.

Science is exploring the idea that two particles that are separated are still affected by the same by an outside influence even when they are far apart. Sociology explains that communities have impact beyond their bounds. In the global economy, the impact of code written in Indonesia is felt around the world. The message is clear across all disciplines: We are one.

When we think of brokering peace in the world, at best we think of delegations sitting in a room hashing out the complexities, at worst we think that it has to happen by the sword, or gun. Do you ever think that your meditation practice could bring about an idea so profound and, so far, evading? Do you ever think that you can bring about peace by using the Law of Attraction: bringing peace by being peace? When you practice meditation, sit with the intent of experiencing Spirit, do you feel at peace? Could it be that the peace that you experience, the peace that passes understanding, is felt by those around you when you walk out of your practice?

For about two and a half hours in downtown Raleigh this weekend, there were no egos, no treaties, no guns, just Spirit. It was the profound experience of being Spirit. I experienced peace.

In Spirit,
Nneka