Modern humans are in constant motion. We seem to be forever seeking balance but we don’t seem to find it. Kara Thompson explores how we can work with our yang and yin energies and bring them into harmony to achieve true balance in our lives.
We now live our lives in almost constant motion, amidst relentless stimulation. Tweets and Facebook posts update us to the minute, and we have instantaneous communication with texts or phones wherever we are. Our minds are constantly stimulated.
We work long hours, and as we take action in the world; we pride ourselves on being intelligent, successful and overachieving.
But what about that nagging sense of not feeling deeply satisfied? Has all our communicating and achieving made us happier?
In our rare still moments, many of us know we are out of balance. We know that we would like to feel a deeper sense of satisfaction with our lives, but we may not feel like we know how.
Part of the problem is that we tend to only honor our yang energy — our busy-ness. Yang energy is hard, fast and aggressive energy. But we have trouble remembering that to achieve balance we also need yin energy in our lives — soft, open, receiving energy.
Perhaps yin just isn’t as sexy as yang. But even in sex itself, isn’t it an interplay of giving and receiving? Perhaps we just don’t feel comfortable these days with being more subdued, receiving as opposed to giving, being, as opposed to doing.
The problem is that yin and yang are rooted in each other. When you look at the yin/yang symbol, you see the white eye dot in the black fish, and the black eye dot in the white fish. The symbolic meaning, of course, is that there is no yin without yang, and no yang without yin.
Nothing is totally black and nothing is totally white. We do not find equilibrium unless we have both types of energy in our lives. Only together do yin and yang make a whole. Only with both types of energy are we whole humans.
Humans are designed to hold both of these characteristics. The better we find this equilibrium, the more mentally, emotionally and physically healthy we become.
So how the heck do we do this?
When we are in a healthy balance, yin female energy receives intuition and inspiration from the Divine. The yang masculine energy takes action on these intuitive nudges. The deep, dark mystery of the void comes into the light only with action to bring it into the light, and into the physical world.
Balance of our yin and yang happens when we allow our masculine energy to support our female energy. Our actions must support our feelings and intuitive urges. Balance occurs when we honor our feelings and feel them.
To achieve yin/yang balance means paying attention to your needs and desires, pausing for reflection, and then making time to act upon them.
In a balanced state, you ask for help when you need it. You rest and take care of your physical needs. You have creative and emotional outlets, and you ensure you give yourself equal priority with the others in your life.
When your yin and yang is balanced, the Divine speaks to you through your feelings and you act upon these inspirations. You are in the Divine flow, and you live your soul’s plan and in harmony with the world and all within it.
Practical yin experiences could be those of receiving from others — receiving cranio-sacral therapy, reflexology or massage. Receiving experiences could also be from the Divine — drinking in nature’s beauty, meditating, or writing a poem.
To get back in balance, slow down and reflect. Pay attention to your intuition. Practice receiving from others and the Divine.
It is only by striving to balance these two energies, that we have all we need to respond to all the changes in our world. By being balanced within ourselves first, we have the qualities necessary to transform ourselves and our world.
You have everything to gain by being in harmony with yourself and the world.
Photo Credit
“The Balance” Dia™ @ Flickr.com. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
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