Balance & the senses

[Guest guest]

I absolutely agree with you that " balance " is the key, and that we

need to discover and listen to our inner senses. I would only caution

that though your statement that we " rely on our 5 senses too much "

may seem to make sense on first examination, it actually not be quite

so true when we look a bit deeper.

 

Most of us no longer experience our senses as we did when we were

chidren. They have been greatly conditioned by our thoughts and

emotions, and by the picture of reality that has been imposed on us

by the particular culture, society, religious beliefs, scientific

beliefs, and so on that we have grown up in and with.

 

Ler me give a simple, yet powerful, example. Most of us when walking

or driving down the street see ourselves as actually moving toward

some object. When we were young children, however, or at moments as

adults when we were freed momentarily from our assumptions and habits

of perception, we actually experienced things moving toward us--

through our awareness. (Though we most often call this experience

an " illusion, " it may well be the other way round.) The implications

of this simple sensory experience are staggering, especially when you

start exploring some of the great spiritual traditions of the world.

The perspective that we all share the same awareness or " I AM, " and

that this awareness does not move (in Zen terms it is our " original

face " ) is one that makes a lot of sense when you begin to look

closely as what the senses actually do tell us when stripped of all

our cultural conditioning.

 

Next time you take a walk or drive, try it. As you look outwardly,

simultaneously direct your attention back toward " who is looking " and

Just watch as the objects you see move, and twist, and dance, and

turn as they move through your awareness. Watch as the sizes

constantly change (what is an object's " real " size?). the world

suddenly becomes a different place, and the experience is very

healing, since it takes one out of one's thought-structured ego and

propels one into the unknown. And, interestingly, this experience

thrusts us into some of the very important questions that physicists

are exploring today, such as the question of " nonlocal reality. " (If

any of this touches you, you might want to take a look at some of the

books of Douglas Harding, who gives many experiments for exploring

this important subject).

 

So. it may not be bad to come back to one's 5 senses (as well as any

others we discover) and to see that they actually do tell us.

 

With my best wishes,

 

Dennis Lewis

http://www.authentic-breathing.com

 

, " a_silverspirit

<a_silverspirit> " <a_silverspirit> wrote:

> It seems most of us do things to extreme, too much of one thing

and

> not enough of another. This is why we get out of balance. Too much

> work, not enough play, relaxation, time to ourselves. We rely on

our

> 5 senses too much, and not enough on the others, the inner

awareness

> so many dismiss as weird and impractical. To Indigenous peoples,

> these inner abilities were the first senses, as they are to me. My

> Spirituality is as important to me as physical wellbeing. Self

> empowerment, to think for myself, to decide what's right for me, to

> be in control of my thoughts, words and actions, are all part of

> achieving this balance, from chosing healthy foods, to choosing

time

> for meditation and prayer. When we are in Balance, we feel good,

and

> hopeful about ourselves, and the world around us. Fear causes deep

> imbalance, it's a form of polution, just as dirty air is. I pray

> we'll all find balance within us, then we can find peace within us,

> as well as peace and balance in our world.