Balance yourself for better spiritual energy

By Tishy Bruce

JAKARTA (JP): July and the beginning of August was a time when Indonesia was at a crucial point in its history: could it maintain its equilibrium or would it over-balance into economic and political chaos?

Indonesia reached some of its bleakest, most depressing moments during that period. Indonesia has survived. The 55th birthday celebrations helped, of course. But there has been a lack of balance. So far, Indonesia and its people can and have faced the energy of chaos head on.

I feel that despite dreadful events in individual areas of Indonesia most people still want change without violence, recrimination and revenge: the vision, the hope and the expectancy is still intact. Honing one's ability to balance is important at this stage because balance helps one see beyond the immediate: the "now", and into the future.

Balancing one's self allows one to step back and review situations with more impartiality and greater tolerance of other points of view. Balanced outlooks will prevail more often if, as an individual, one is balanced: that is a basic fact that reflects the energy that we are. Assessments of potential stressful situations such as office meetings, report deadlines, traffic jams, domestic problems, political and economic crises and creative "blocks" become easier and less "unsolvable".

Balance helps the "flow" of energy from one side of the brain to the other: the logical and the intuitive. It helps the growth of imagination. It allows the blend of the creative with the practical and logical, and the manifestation (bringing into being) of the duality of the two. It enables legislators and those in power to look beyond the immediate and see the longer- term effects of their individual inputs. It enables one, for example, to have greater compassion, greater wisdom and a greater sense of responsibility.

If one is balanced one can weigh the pros and cons of particular situations more easily. One can learn to respond rather than react: an enormously useful skill. Balance also helps you to listen to your intuition more, thereby enabling the "correct" path to be taken.

However, as we all know, balance is not achieved overnight. It is helpful to remember that balance is an energy - an emotional and mental state. Like all energy, therefore, balance moves in waves.

It might be useful to share some practical techniques that people can use in any situation to help restore and maintain balance.

This balancing technique is based on the ancient symbol of the labyrinth. Although in many text books labyrinths and mazes are said to be the same, in fact, they are not. The labyrinth is based on sacred geomancy and is often used as a spiritual tool. As such you might like to build one in your garden. It makes a superb doodle to use while on the telephone or in any waiting situation, as "walking" along its "paths" knits the left and right hemispheres of the brain; linking the logical, intellectual left brain with the intuitive, creative right brain.

The best way to use the labyrinth is to walk its paths at least 10 times. You can walk the paths with your finger, or with a pen or pencil if you don't have a labyrinth in your garden. The more frequently you Walk" its path, the more beneficial the effect. A labyrinth is based on a precise set of rules. Take a pencil and try this:

* Make a cross in the center of whatever you are drawing on.

* At each corner of the result square-shape, place a dot.

* Between each dot and each cross-end, draw a chevron (like a capital L).

* From the top of the central cross, draw a line to the top of the first chevron between the cross and the corner dot.

* From the left of center, draw lines connecting each left- hand most point swinging round in a big arc to the right-hand points.

You will end up with a series of these accompanying eight pictures.

As mentioned above, this labyrinth should be followed with your finger at least 10 times to achieve the desired result.

This exercise alone doubles your energy field, thereby opening you to receive higher-level vibrations -- a bonus health-wise.

Although its effect is not as dramatic as the first technique, another exercise is to draw an elongated figure eight on its side -- the infinity symbol.

Another technique to expand the brain -- awakening the sense of balance and its "sister" imagination -- which is also excellent for headaches, is to take the index finger of the right hand and the 2nd finger (the longest) of the left hand and hold the finger-tips to your temples.

Imagine a pulse of light going from one temple to the other inside your brain. Slowly increase the speed of the pulse until it is a fast zip of light. When the zip of light is zipping backwards and forwards really quickly start imagining the light making a figure eight inside your brain -- the center of the figure eight being in the center of the brain.

If the figure eight is too difficult to imagine, never mind. Do this for a moment or two and then slow the light down. If you are left-handed, reverse the fingertips - using the index anger of the left hand and the 2nd finger of the right.

As I have mentioned in my article The year 2000: Making the choice (The Jakarta Post April 5, 2000), the numerology of this new millennium indicates that balance and cooperation is vitally important! Balance is not something to reserve for playtime: being balanced is necessary for every moment of every day.