Keeping Your Balance

“Each one has to find [their] peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.” —Mahatma Gandhi

In our modern world, maintaining inner balance can be difficult. It can feel like we’re walking across a tightrope, doing the best we can to stay in balance and not fall off. As the pressures of modern life build up, it’s easy to fall out of balance. For some, the current state of the world has made it even harder to stay in balance.

When most of our focus is fixated on outside circumstances, we can lose touch with our inner balance and circadian rhythms.

LIFE Wisdom with Ed Langan

Circadian rhythms are biological processes that happen on a 24 hour cycle. It’s an internal rhythm that regulates our sleepwake cycle.

Circadian rhythm is the natural rhythm of life. It can be seen the world over in plants, animals, insects, and even in some bacteria.

As we observe our world, we see that the natural order of things is to be in balance – sunrise/ sunset. Day/night. Male/female. High tide/low tide. Summer/ winter. Autumn/spring. Hot/cold. Up/down. Left/right. Sleeping/ waking. The list goes on.

A powerful example of the natural order of balance is that it takes both female and male to create new life.

When we are overly focused on outside circumstances, we can fall out of balance. Whether it’s

chasing money to keep up or get ahead, working long hours, or working at a very demanding job, these conventional societal values can knock us out of our internal balance and natural rhythms.

Other examples include the feeling of running out of hours in a day, or trying to keep everyone happy by putting the needs of others before our own. We can also fall out of balance by not being mindful of our habits surrounding food, exercise, rest, and feeding our minds and soul.

As a result of our focus on outside circumstances instead of self-care, a large portion of our society is out of balance. We have forgotten the powerful symbol of the yin/yang as a metaphor for how our life, our world, and our universe works.

When we are unaware that we are out of balance and don’t do anything to re-center, we can experience burnout, anger, frustration, or even health concerns. The Guides have said, “if you don’t stop to take care of your body, your body will stop you!”

Henry David Thoreau said, “[People] lead lives of quiet desperation.” I believe he is talking about living out of balance. Balance is about self-care. I ask people in my readings/sessions, where are you on your list of priorities? Many people, especially mothers, say that they’re at the bottom. They put everyone else first. But it’s not selfish to take care of yourself. If you’re not your own best friend, who is? Your goldfish?

With the current state in the world and everything on pause, this is a good time to look at your life and notice where you’re out of balance. As Rumi said, “Life is a balance between holding on and letting go.” Are you ready to let some things go?

In order to get yourself in balance and stay there, you have to make yourself a priority. Start with one or two easy things and work your way up from there. Here are some things you can do to get started:

Ground – Get outside and put your bare feet on the earth. This reconnects you to natural order and takes static charge out of your body. As the energy of the earth comes up through your feet, allow it to recharge your body and mind.

Meditate – Calm your mind with regular meditation. This practice pulls your brain waves out of a beta loop and puts you into a calming alpha state. There are plenty of meditations available through Star Nations. Neshi does a meditation for the Star Nations community every day.

Walk – Combine the two above for a walking meditation. Being in nature puts your brain waves into an alpha state. Simply looking at trees can balance the hemispheres of your brain.

Breathe – Breathing properly puts your body back into balance. When we get frightened, we usually hold our breath. Similarly, when you are in fight-or-flight mode, your breathing is usually very shallow. When you breathe deeply into the bottom of your lungs, you’re letting your body know that it’s okay to relax. It also pumps blood back into all of your organs including your brain, which helps you think clearly. along. I have a playlist of my favorite songs that I listen to when I feel myself getting out of balance. Singing and moving your body are easy, fun ways to shift your energy. One of my favorite quotes is, “We don’t sing to be happy, singing makes us happy.” – Anonymous Help Others – When you get stuck in the feeling that you’re out of balance, doing things for others helps change your focus and your energy. When you change your focus, your energy will do what it does naturally and start putting you back into balance. to paddle upstream? When you stop fighting against the current and stop resisting, you will return to a natural state of balance and flow.

“You came into this world a joyful, happy, balanced being. As you grew up, the adults around you taught you by example to lose your internal balance by focusing on external things. That joyful, happy, balanced state is still within you.

“Well-being is the most dominant energy in the universe. If we were in your physical shoes, we would do whatever we could to get ourselves in balance.”

The Guides want you to know that you are worthy! 

Sing or Dance – Put on your favorite music and sing/dance

Until next time, Light & Love, Ed

Let’s see what the guides have to say about this:

“Joy and balance are your natural states. When you release your focus on the external things that are putting you out of balance, your system will automatically rebalance itself. Homeostasis is your natural energetic state. It’s a matter of paying attention to where your focus is most of the time. If your focus is on external things and you’re trying to control them, that is a recipe to put yourself out of balance.

“For example, how stressful is it to get into a canoe in a river that has a very strong current, and then use all of your energy Ed Langan is a psychic channel for ascended masters, a law of attraction expert, and a spiritual teacher. He feels people’s energy and helps them shift that energy to allow: • More Money • Finding A Soulmate • Improved Relationships • Finding Your Life’s Purpose • Business Growth Join Ed on the second Thursday each month at 4pm EST for his Star Nations live stream show: LIFE Wisdom with Ed Langan and check out his book, Creating With The Law of Attraction: 10 Principles That Will Change Your Life, and his CD, Meditations for Improved Well Being. Website: www.edwardlangan.com Facebook: LIFE Wisdom with Ed Langan

Angel Therapy By Maureen Mann

Balancing Solitude & Connection

When I read the topics for this activate and indulge our feelversus abandoning her by engagmonth’s magazine, I got a ings by sinking further into our ing in self-defeating behaviors. visual of the words - Balance, Loneliness, and Friendship, all interwoven together on an infinity loop. Most of us have felt the pain of loneliness, the elusiveness of seeking balance, and the intimacy of friendship. Each of these states provide us with tremendous learning experiences in our dualistic world. Let us explore each one in terms of its light and shadow sides. wounded inner child’s narrative, telling us we are not worthy of connection. We can become almost paralyzed with grief and see the world through the hurt child we once were. This skewed perspective uses evidence from previous and anticipated interactions with others to prove we are unloved, thus isolating us further. How does being alone relate to friendship? Those we attract into our lives as friends offer us soul lessons often having to do with boundaries, mirroring, connection, and compassion. In order to be in healthy relationships with others, we need to love ourselves enough be able to establish and maintain healthy boundaries. Boundaries are the energetic Loneliness is a state of being during which we feel disconnected from ourselves and the divine. If we are not comfortable with ourselves, being alone can be an anxiety-provoking or depressing experience. The ego will do anything to escape these Embracing solitude is a light side practice of aloneness. Solitude is essential for processing, reflection, and growth. With a healthy sense of self, we are able to know our worth regardless of whether we are engaged with others or not. Solitude is a gift. messages we give to the universe for what and whom we give permission. If one operates from a place of loneliness, or low selfworth, the messages are often inconsistent or codependent. Without clear boundaries, you give the message you will accept feelings. Sometimes our outer child will engage in destructive Embracing solitude gives our inner child the message that we anyone as a friend and often attract people who will not be or self-sabotaging behaviors. are worthy of spending time with respectful of you or your time. We may choose to numb ourselves with food, substances, shopping, tv, or scrolling through social media. Other times we ourselves. We enjoy our own company. We choose loving thoughts and actions. We are able to comfort and nurture our inner child when feelings arise, You may find yourself feeling guilty saying no to someone, because you’re afraid they will be upset with you or not want to be your friend.

When we have clear boundaries, we do not take people’s behavior personally, or as a reflection of our desirability as a human being. Because we are comfortable being alone, we don’t worry about having enough friends, or missing out on opportunities.

We know we are worthy of friendships that mirror high self-regard and are at ease waiting for those people to enter our lives. There is healthy respect and autonomy in our interactions versus possessive enmeshment.

Balancing our need for solitude and friendship can be challenging. The human struggle with balance is a hallmark of our dualistic world. If we are constantly trying to keep the seesaw of life perfectly even, our ego is going to tell us we are failing at life almost all of the time.

In our friendships, with ourselves, and others, the seesaw is not meant to remain static. If we honor life’s natural ups and downs, we will not feel the need to judge the times when we are alone versus in connection.

When you have judged yourself as being a good or bad friend, what are you judging yourself for? Chances are these are the indicators of what is unhealed within you. It is important to regularly ask yourself in times of solitude how good of a friend you are being to yourself.

If you are ignoring your needs and desires, that is likely going to be reflected in your friendships. If you are practicing self-care, practicing gratitude for yourself, and your inner narrative is giving you loving messages, then you are more likely to have balanced, healthy friendships.

Balance accepts that some days we are going to have more to give of ourselves, and on others we will be more reclusive. Balance allows us to be compassionate and understanding when life’s unpredictable events arise in others’ lives which may take them away from us. Balance helps us see patterns in our friendships and to ask for what we need without fear of recourse.

As The Byrds have told us in their song, Turn! Turn! Turn! - “To everything there is a season”.

To everything, turn, turn, turn There is a season, turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap A time to laugh, a time to weep

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything, turn, turn, turn There is a season, turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven A time to build up, a time to break down A time to dance, a time to mourn A time to cast away stones

A time to gather stones together

To everything, turn, turn, turn There is a season, turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate

A time of war, a time of peace A time you may embrace

A time to refrain from embracing

To everything, turn, turn, turn There is a season, turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose A time to rend, a time to sew

A time for love, a time for hate A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late!

Wishing you the ability to find peace within yourself in the coming months, so your outer world can be a reflection of selflove, nourishing friendships, and a knowing that change supports balance.  Take care, Maureen

Maureen Mann Private practice specialties include navigating life transitions; stress management; and developing a spiritual practice to support a healthy and fulfilling life. AAP, EMP, LICSW, RMT maureenmann.com FB: Angel Therapy with Maureen Mann FB: maureenmannlicsw