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    • The Power and Potential of Equilibrium

      by
       
      Michael Goddart
      Excerpted from A NEW NOW: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self © 2020 by Michael Goddart.
      Equilibrium is dynamic balance, a spiritual center that you can live in and learn to return to again and again. Being in a state of equilibrium is wonderful. It enriches your life and helps you feel good and supports your health.
      What are the characteristics of equilibrium? Here are five key ones.
      • Quiescent ego
      • Even temperament
      • Grateful contentment
      • Healthy independence
      • Balanced desires
      Quiescence is a state of repose, being tranquil. When your ego is quiescent, it isn't raging for something it "needs" desperately. When your ego is quiescent, it isn't inflated, self-justifying, self-pitying, or wallowing in injury. It isn't driving you to take actions or say things that aren't in your best interest. Being unaware of your ego, letting it ride roughshod, is self-defeating, knocking you about in dys-ease. The antidote to ego is humility-welcome, revitalizing oxygen.
      When your temperament is even, you are not anxious or angry, negatively critical, upset, leery, or fearful. Your instincts are accessible and you're open to inner promptings. You realize that most people are entirely run by their minds and have no control over what they say and do. People who are run by their lower minds do, say, and write things that are unkind, hurtful, stupid, destructive. Their actions can readily set off your reactions, which can be angry, fearful, or one of their myriad expressions, such as annoyance and worry.
      Have you ever felt or thought that you have everything this moment that you need? One aspect of wise, clear thinking is not mistaking where you think or hope you're going for where you are now. With acceptance comes contentment. You may yearn to understand what you could do with the rest of your life, but embrace the perfection of who you are now and the intention to take each next step in your life as consciously as possible. Acceptance is a key element of consciously living in reality. Acceptance is not resignation. It's being here, now, rather than allowing yourself to be run by envy or disappointment. Grateful contentment is a feeling of ease, of peace, of everything in its own time. Regardless of your circumstances, if you attain periods of grateful contentment, more and more, in your state of equilibrium, you will cherish these simple, luxurious feelings.
      When you are able to live in a state of healthy independence, your life is not ruled by attachments. You realize that everything is ultimately temporary. People must leave your life and at times that can be unexpected. You are not the center of the solar system, with everyone revolving around you. You have a great storehouse of resourcefulness that you can access to enable your life to proceed well without unhealthy neediness that inhibits your growth.
      When your desires are not inflated or squelched down, you are aware of them, and moving at the right time and speed toward realizing them in a way that serves your growth and unfolding. We are desire machines-the mind is constantly spewing out desires. You can learn to be aware of how your desires want to drive you, and you can mentally detach from them, as well as you can, and make mental adjustments that balance your urges and put them in perspective. Being the driver of your desires creates more space for gratitude. By cultivating mental detachment from your desires, you can more readily be present in an expansive now in which you can experience a healthy independence and grateful contentment.
      Wisdom and equilibrium go hand in hand. Being in equilibrium is an optimal state in which you can best access your power and develop your potential. You more readily enjoy a positive, confident attitude because when you are in equilibrium that comes naturally. You can more easily deal with and rise above distractions. Being in equilibrium and learning how to achieve and return to it is a necessary adjunct to mastering wisdom. It facilitates the accessing and growth of wisdom.
      The more you realize and embody the five characteristics of equilibrium, the more you reduce stress. Tomes can be written on the benefits of reducing stress. Some doctors believe that stress is the root of all disease. Some spiritual masters say that ego is the root of all disease. Stress and ego are intrinsically linked. This is because when we think then feel that people and things have to be a certain way, and they're not-we stress.
      If you think you need to get three things done before you leave your home and you rush to get them done, that likely creates stress. You are letting yourself be run by a belief that is undermining your health and state of mind. Why not pause and ask yourself if you can let go of one or two of the things until the right time after you return? It's not the end of the world if, for instance, dishes remain in the sink filled with water until you can attend to them in a good frame of mind. It's important to notice what feels good, what feels right. Value your equilibrium. That is being wise. That is helping to prepare the field of your spiritual foundation.
      In these times, more than ever in our crazy world, to lead our best lives, we need to strive to achieve equilibrium and that will enable us to live in a new now.
      Michael Goddart, MFA, is the author of the newly published A NEW NOW: Your Guide to Mastering Wisdom Daily, Achieving Equilibrium, and Empowering Your Nobler Self. He is also the author of IN SEARCH OF LOST LIVES: Desire, Sanskaras, and the Evolution of a Mind&Soul, a winner of the American Book Fest Best Book Award, the Living Now Book Award, the Body Mind Spirit Book Award, and the National Indie Excellence Award. Michael Goddart took his MFA in Creative Writing at Bowling Green State University. Please visit www.goddart.com for interviews, excerpts, testimonials, and more.

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    • Double Vision: She Keeps Dreaming of Lover from 25 Years Ago

      I've been dreaming of a boyfriend from 25 years ago. The relationship was intense over a five-year period. It feels like he keeps coming to me in dreams even though I try to put it out there that I don't want to see him in my dreams. I try to get him to tell me what he wants in the dreams as well. The dreams are vivid and I often wake up with a start; as soon as I fall back asleep, the dream continues. I have a strong feeling that there is something going on, for these are unlike most of my dreams. Is this sort of thing possible? Could he be trying to communicate through the dream? Are our subconsious minds trying to communicate? I just don't think I would have any huge unresolved feelings after 25 years, for it wasn't a bad break-up and was a good time while it lasted. Thank you for any light you can shed on this.

      LeeAnn

      Susyn:

      It would be nice if we had more control over our dreams and could choose who and what we will dream about. Unfortunately, in the dream state, our subconscious minds determine the images and messages we receive. The dreams you describe appear to be very vivid and profound, which suggests that they are trying to tell you something.

      When we experience recurring dreams, our subconscious is trying to send us an important message. At times it might feel like perhaps your ex-boyfriend is trying to communicate with you spiritually, but until he actually reaches out and contacts you, it is best to treat these dreams as symbolic of unfinished business.

      These dreams are taking you back to the past, when you were a different person. Perhaps you were more light-hearted, spontaneous and trusting then. It may be that your subconscious is asking you to reconnect with the young girl you once were, to embrace aspects of yourself that have been lost over the last 25 years. Spend some time meditating on who you were during that time period, and then consider integrating some of those aspects of yourself into your current life.

      It is also possible that you continue to carry feelings about this man and the relationship you once had. Because it was so full of promise, there might be a part of you that continues to hold on and wonder if things might have somehow worked out. What if things had turned out differently? Sometimes such questions can be triggered by general unhappiness.

      If your current relationship is unsatisfying, you may tend to hold it up and compare it to the one in your dreams. It is time to look a bit closer at this, for when we are not happy in our current circumstances, we often try to escape via our dreams. Ask yourself how you feel about this idea and if there are any problems you are experiencing with your current partner that need to be addressed.

      If in fact you are without a partner at this time, it's natural for your mind and heart to return to the most powerful relationship in your past as you long to experience that connection again. We all do this; when we find ourselves in a holding pattern or lacking in companionship, our thoughts fill with wistful longings for the past.

      I don't feel that you need to reach out to your boyfriend from the past unless you have maintained a friendship over the years. These dreams are asking you to look at yourself, at your current situation and what changes you can make to restore your sense of fulfillment. Once you address these matters, the dreams should subside or disappear altogether.

      *****

      Oceania:

      What stands out for me is where you describe this relationship as intense over a five-year period. When it comes to relationships, intense usually means sexually charged with ups and downs, breakups and makeups. Sometimes intense involves an element of secrecy.

      Intense relationships are transitory because they're rarely about the two people involved, and are instead a mutual reenactment of childhood wounding. Each party almost always represents for the other a parental figure who did not meet their emotional needs. Therefore, the participants find themselves in a love/hate dynamic, alternating between feelings of desperate and needy desire and rejecting rage. Such relationships often include deprivation, abuse and suffering.

      When you say it was good while it lasted and that it wasn't a bad breakup, I think there may be some denial or whitewashing going on. When we sum up a relationship in a tidy, casual way, it often means we don't want to closely examine or revisit the emotional pain involved.

      Intense relationships usually do NOT end well and are usually NOT a good time while they last, except for some memorable highlights. We enter such relationships when we're trying to avoid something challenging in our life because these trauma-drama relationships can be very distracting and time-consuming! We endlessly discuss, analyze and try to understand the other person, just as you're doing now with your dreams about this man.

      Twenty-five years ago suggests young adulthood, which is often a rocky transition period when we leave our families of origin and forge our own identities, values and goals. I believe you have resurrected this old relationship because it served you so well as a diversion in the past, and that once again, there is something significant going on in your life that requires your attention.

      Are you in a situation today that no longer serves you, like a job, marriage or routine? Mid-life is a wake-up call that brings keener awareness of mortality as we watch parents age and decline. Mid-life is a natural time to assess the current state of our lives and let go of what no longer fits. It is often a time of grieving as we realize that goals we set for ourselves long ago may not have come to fruition.

      In your dreams, you try to coax your ex into telling you what he wants. Try redirecting the question: What do YOU want? As you discover what ails you in your waking life and tackle it head-on, these intense dreams will fade away.

      Astrea:

      Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

      Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

      While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

      I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

      As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

      I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

      You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

      Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

      A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

      You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.

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