Namaste. Namaste is a word that defies any easy translation. It is a Sanskrit word meaning “to bow”. It indicates a deep respect and honoring of another person. Namaste is a generous word. When you bow to another person, you want the best for them, and you bow from your own highest intentions. Most languages and traditions have a word such as Namaste that is generous and inclusive. Hawaiians have Aloha, the Navajo have Hozho, the Jewish tradition has Shalom and the Christianity has grace.

All these words transcend any one definition. They all indicate a state of perfect equilibrium; mind, body and spirit in balance. The storms and changes of life can’t shake this balance. Not even a leaf stirs on the well rooted tree that is balance. It is a pond without the slightest ripple. It is the silence of a star filled sky.

Balance is the theme of this sermon. It is one of Dan Millman’s Laws of Spirit.

When Balance is Absent

Balance is often more recognizable when it’s absent. I get the strong sense that our world is out of balance right now. Maybe this short story will resonate.

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God.  "Where have you been?"
God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction, and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds,
"Look, Michael. Look what I've made."
Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, “What is it?"
"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place of incredible balance."
"Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.
God explained, pointing to different parts of earth.
"For example, the West will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while the East will be a place of inner wealth and rich culture. Over there I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things,"
God continued pointing to different countries.
"This one will be extremely hot and dry, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."
The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said,
"What's that one?"
"Ah," said God
"That's Washington State, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, plains, and coulees. The people from Washington State are going to be good looking, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats, and bearers of peace."
Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then proclaimed,
"What will balance this Washington State?"
God smiled,  "Ah, there is another Washington...wait until you see the idiots I put there."

If it wasn’t so frightening, it would be hilarious. Unfortunately, it is just frightening.

Our world is out of balance. We’ve multiplied our possessions, but lack the inner character to use them with integrity. Our homes are bigger and full of more gadgets, but the relationships inside them are broken. We have impressive, tall buildings, but short tempers. We have vast resources, but narrow viewpoints. We have more convenience, but less time to enjoy it. We have more medicine, but less wellness, more knowledge, but less judgment. We’ve learnt how to add years to life, but not how to fill those years with more life. We’ve conquered outer space, but our inner space is a black hole. The world is out of balance.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can have both, if only we would find the balance of inner and outer worlds.

Balance and the Economic Crisis

It didn’t have to be this way. If the appetite for financial growth over the last ten years had been balanced by a contented spirit and a little foresight, there would be no economic crisis. The very notion of credit indicates an imbalance; the desire for goods outpaces the ability to afford the goods. Credit may be necessary in our world, but if it’s not balanced with sustainable foresight, it will continue to destroy lives.

I find it sad that we call it an economic crisis once hard times hit Wall Street and the Middle Class, but we don’t call rampant poverty an economic crisis. It’s incredible that we can find 700 billion dollars to reignite the flow of credit, but we can’t find the money to save the thousands of children who die every day from preventable diseases. Where are our priorities? Where is our balance?

Balance and Ecology

It didn’t have to be this way with the environment. If only we had balanced our ability to harness natural resources with a foresight for sustainability and a respect for the earth’s own regenerative processes, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in now. The combined celebration of Harvest fest and Thanksgiving are a reminder to give thanks for the flow of nature. Some seasons yield an abundant harvest. Others are lean. That’s life. Give thanks either way for nature’s seasons. But somehow we have come to believe that we have a right to an abundant harvest every day of every year, expecting what we want, when we want it. Harvest and Thanksgiving lose their essence as a celebration of nature’s balance when we think we can control nature.

Balance and Politics

Politics doesn’t have to be this way. When a political campaign spends so much energy desperately creating dirt on opposing candidates that they incite the type of murderous hatred we have seen in rallies this past week, then it’s a clear sign that the campaign has lost its balance. Of course, each campaign is right to question the character of their opponent, but when people are calling out “kill him” at a political rally, then balance has been lost. Where are the priorities? Where is the balance?

Balance and Personal Life

Balance isn’t just a challenge for Washington. It’s a challenge for every one of us, and no doubt you have your own unique challenges when it comes to balance. Personally, I tend to be an all or nothing type of person. So my challenge is to accept both and……

Maybe for you, it’s the balance between work and play.
Maybe it’s the balance between justice and forgiveness.
Maybe it’s the balance between self worth and humility.
Maybe it’s the balance of your own needs with the needs of others.
Maybe it’s the balance between changing what you can change, and accepting what you cannot.
Maybe it’s the balance between striving and just being.
Maybe it’s the balance between discernment and acceptance.

The Bible and Balance

Balance has been an emphasis in religions, particularly Buddhism and Christianity. Balance is a major theme in Buddhism. 589 years before Christ, The Buddha coined the phrase “the Middle Path” in an address to his monks-

"Monks, these two extremes ought not to be cultivated by the recluse. What two? Sensual indulgence which is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and conducive to harm; and self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and conducive to harm. The middle path, monks, understood by the Tathâgata, avoiding the extremes, gives vision and knowledge and leads to calm, realization, enlightenment, and Nirvana. And what, monks, is that middle path? It is this Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."

The Buddha understood the Middle Path, or balance, out of his own life experience. He was brought up a prince, in affluence and free from want. When he first encountered sickness and death, he realized that his protected life had not prepared him to deal with these things. He rejected his upbringing and all worldly pleasures, and swung to the other extreme. He gave up all worldly pleasures and spent his time meditating. He discovered that this also didn’t prepare him to deal with suffering. He concluded that neither extreme, indulgence or deprivation, was the path to liberation. Instead he proposed the middle way between these two.

More recently, the Dalai Lama has been a vocal proponent of the Middle Path in the relationship between China and Tibet. He proposes neither dependence on China, nor complete independence from China, but rather a degree of cultural autonomy. He advocates non violent protest against Chinese oppression, rather than an extreme form of violent insurrection. It’s not universally accepted among Tibetan activists, some of whom are ready for more radical action, but in any case the Dalai Lama is an advocate of a form of Buddha’s Middle Path.

Christianity has a more nuanced view of balance. On first reading, Jesus proposed anything but balance. He was a radical in his teaching. He said, “If you are not for me, you are against me”, ‘Give up everything and follow me” and “If you are luke-warm, I will spit you out.” He appeared to be an advocate for extreme radicalism.
In fact the word “balance” occurs very rarely in the Bible. It appears as the Hebrew word “Mozen” and the Greek word “Zugos”. Both words refer to the poles carried across your shoulders that balance two containers. Each container needed to be a similar weight and in right position in order to maintain balance.

The Hebrew word ‘Mozen” is fascinating. It’s the same root word as “ear”. Thousands of years before science revealed that our inner ear is the control centre for human balance, the Hebrews used the same word for ear and balance. Is this coincidence or some sort of inherent wisdom?

“Mozen” also shares its roots with the Hebrew word for a Hawk, gliding in perfect balance on nature’s currents.
The ear was so important in Hebrew culture. Unlike the Greek world of sights and fine physical form, Hebrew culture emphasized sound over sight as the domain of God’s revelation. God was unknowable, and invisible, but God’s word was heard from Sinai. The tradition was passed on orally and only after some time was the law caste in stone, so to speak.

In Matthew 11; 28-30, Jesus offered balance (usually translated as yoke) to those who felt heavy with life’s demands. What did he mean?  How do you reconcile Jesus’ radical and extreme teaching with the notion of balance? Maybe its something like this; firmness without being cold, commitment without being dogmatic, love without being codependent, patience without being passive, loyalty without being blind, faith without being presumptuous, hope without being naive.

Religion and Balance

How do you retain balance in your religious views? Consider this story-

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. "What did he find?" asked the cohort. "A piece of the truth," the Devil replied. "Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?" asked the cohort. "No," said the Devil, "I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it. That will suit my purposes perfectly." 

Religions lose their balance when they confuse story with literal truth. Religions go wrong when they confuse certain knowledge of God with an experience of a mystery that many call God. Religions are deluded when they teach any form of afterlife as an absolute truth. Take heed. All of your beliefs are important, but partial truths. They must be partial, that is unless you know and have experienced everything, and no human has experienced everything.

Balance your partial truths with a commitment to curiosity and new understanding.

Some Lessons from the Science of Balance

How does balance work? There are blobs of jelly in each ear. When you move your head, the blobs of jelly move and this triggers tiny hairs to bend. When they bend, they give off electricity which runs through your nervous system into your brain. That’s why if you spin around really fast, you will lose your balance. Think wobbling jelly.

You stay balanced by keeping your centre of gravity directly above your base. The broader your base, the easier it is to stay balanced. If you stand with feet close together, or even on one leg, it’s harder to balance.

What are the spiritual lessons from the science of balance?

Lesson 1- Know your base. When all else is changing and swinging from one extreme to another, what is constant? When your ideas about how you are, and your stories about your life are in constant flux, what is unchanging? The one who witnesses the changes. The one who sees the ever changing self image for what it is, and doesn’t get caught up in the identity. This is the key to balance.

Lesson 2- See the benefit in flailing- Sometimes, when you see yourself swinging like a pendulum from one extreme to another, from one self belief to another, one story to another, that’s half the battle. Just notice it, and don’t get too attached. You aren’t likely to stay there forever, so don’t give yourself a hard time for being there. It’s the flailing that helps you to restore your balance by coming back to your centre of gravity.

Juggling Glass

Life doesn’t have to be lived with an either/ or mentality. You can have both/and. Some problems are not meant to be solved, just managed. Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling a number of balls in the air; work, family, health, friends, and your own spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon realize that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The economy is also a rubber ball. It will bounce back eventually. But the other balls - family, health, friends, and your own spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be damaged, or even shattered. They may never be the same.

Strive for balance in your life. Know what is most important. Hold the core of your life in balance as if you are juggling glass.