WORDS FOR THE WISE

How many times have you heard that? How many times have you tried to do it, only to find that it feels as if everything is working against you. The principles of nature have their own flow. The ebb and flow of the tides, the change of the seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon. Would it not make sense then that we have our own flow as well. The challenge appears to be harmonizing your flow with the environment around you.

The Chinese principle of "chi" clearly illustrates the importance of flow and balance. The goal of Chinese medicine and acupuncture is to restore the appropriate balance of the flow of energy or "chi". Think about it. When something is out of balance in your life you can either react to it, becoming at the effect of it and totally out of balance or respond and take steps to restore the balance. I’ll admit every once and awhile universal thwack seems to occur that looks like everything is thrown into chaos- an earthquake or other natural disaster is a good example. But truly that thwack is an addressing of balance. In a quake the earth is relieving pressure produced by constant movement. It is theorized that little quakes and eruptions let off steam and help to avoid the bigger ones.

The Chinese principles of feng shui (pronounced fung shuway) concern adjusting your environment so that energy flows and balances. Feng shui seems to be taking hold in the west as more people begin to realize the importance of their environment and how it affects their everyday lives. And this is the point. Change may indeed be an inside job and its results find their reflection in the world outside of the Self, but you can also change the environment to foster inner growth.

Many people find themselves stuck in circumstances which they feel they can not change or over which they have no power. They "accept" it thinking it is just the way things are. Even if we are "enlightened", it still happens because, in fact, this process is not "bad" and it is essential to our learning. In fung shui a simple act of moving a piece of furniture can change the flow of a whole room energy. A small shift in attitude can change your whole life. It’s important to recognize that we do have choices. They may not seem to be easy choices and we may never think we are ready to "take the chance" or "take the leap", but we nevertheless always have a choice especially in how we respond to the circumstances. That is the old "lemonade from lemons" adage. Fear of change can be the obstacle to the flow of energy- happiness, love, prosperity, peace- in your life. Believe it or not, no matter how difficult or abusive the circumstance may be, somewhere we may think that the familiar is a lot easier to deal with than the unknown and, so by default, we may repeat the same patterns in our lives. We may suffer them and we may not like them but we know them. We usually have a certain "expertise" in handling these circumstances by virtue of past experience. Not only that, but we may come to identify so heavily with our struggles that we don't know who we would be without them. Cheryl Barnes writes in her song "FREE", "So inviting, the struggle and the strife..Who am I without my suffering, define for me a life." This is not to say that life is without its challenges. The choice is in how you respond to the challenges.

The degree of fear present seems to determine the degree to which a person reacts rather than responds. It is valuable to really take an honest look to see where fear is at work in your life. Sometimes just stopping to "make a list" of what is frightening and frustrating in your life is enough to bring it to a place where you can work with it. The clearer you get the more the "flow" seems to return. This is why I think keeping a journal or diary is so helpful. It is a place of communication with your self where the thoughts get out of your head and on to paper rather than continually circling around your brain.

These principles are ancient and you can find "going with the flow" in every spiritual tradition. Faith, letting go letting God, Zen, The I Ching, the principles of homeopathy, ayurvedic medicine. Natures "nature" if you will is to grow, expand, adapt, and create. As we are living, breathing beings that too is our nature. The seasons are a good example. Before the advent of electricity certain civilizations used the hours of the sun to determine their lives. They would literally rise and set with the sun. As the days grew longer so came the planting season with more hours of light to do work. As the waning of the days came so did the harvest. The winter was a time for restoration, (a sort of hibernation). The Essene culture was very much based on honoring the laws of God and nature. Honoring nature is going with the flow. Honoring your own nature allows you an easier growth path. In the winter, everything contracts and gathers its energy and strength. When spring arrives the energy rises again to create even fuller growth. It is the natural cycle- constant expansion until death and even then, the death is a virtual expansion of the energy- a transformation.

How do we using this information practically? After being honest and clear about your fears, here are a few questions that might help you evaluate how aligned you are with your own nature.

1. Where in your life to you feel you may be going against yourself or your intuition?

2. Is their emotional or physical pain that you are just putting up with,, pushing down or trying to ignore.

3. Do you go through periods of radical highs and lows?

4. How is you digestion and elimination?

5. How is the flow of money in your life?

6. Do you get to say what you really mean?

7. Are your relationships of equal give and take?

8. Does it seem as if someone is always getting in your way?

9. Do you feel frustrated that people don't really understand you?

10. Are you recognizing any recurring patterns in your life?

11. To what extent are you fatigued or energized?

12. Are there things in your life that you are "sick" and "tired" of?

13. What excites you and stirs your passion?

14. Is my creativity fully expressed?

I am sure you get the gist of these questions and may be able to think of a few more! The answers will show you where you have choices to make. And there are choices. For example let’s take question 2. Say my neck has been bothering me for quite some time but I am doing my best to "get over it" either by pretending it isn’t there, taking aspirin, or even just complaining about it but not doing anything about it. Obviously some energy is caught up in that area of the body. Some pain is asking to be addressed. By not addressing it I continue to foster the imbalance. If, however I decide to accept that there is a problem and I stop, listen and find out what I require to take care of it and therefore myself, then balance can be restored as can the flow in my life. If you have ever put up with chronic pain of any kind than you know the horrendous effect it can have on your life. Once addressed it may be that body work, or herbs can restore the balance. Or it might call for dealing with "the pain in the neck" in your life by honest communication with a friends, relative or boss. It may even mean changing a circumstance such as quitting a job, or leaving a relationship. I can remember having constant stomach problems for a year. When I ended the relationship I was in the pain stopped. At the time however I had no idea the two could be related.

There is so much you can do to bring balance and harmony into all aspects of your life. Your thinking (how you think about yourself, what you think is possible, and how you think about problems and opportunities) is the place to start. Questioning what supports your well being and letting go of what does not. Eventually you can reach a centered and peaceful ground of being that becomes the field of play in your life. Challenges may occur but the rootedness in your own nature will allow you to respond from that centered place and in faith "go with the flow".