"To find the balance you want, this is
what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth
that it's like you have 4 legs instead of 2. That way, you can stay in the
world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look
through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God."
In Gilbert’s journey, she
travels the world to find something she’s lost and something she’s dreamed of
but never had. In the holistic healing world, three terms are used extensively:
grounded, intuitive, and balanced. Some people focus on helping us become more
grounded in our lives, while others help us develop our intuition, and others
focus on helping us achieve balance. But what do these mean, and which one
should we seek? Gilbert’s words from Eat,
Pray, Love encapsulate the issue for us.
Grounding, such that we stay in
this world is what we need to be part of the physical world and to manifest our
dreams in the world. If we focus only on intuition, transcendence,
other-worldly and after-life benefits, we lose our footing in the manifested
world, which includes careers, relationships, and manifesting dreams.
Intuition brings us above and
beyond the limitations of the physical world. Joseph Campbell would tell the
story of two stone masons working on a large cathedral. One stone mason, when
asked what he was doing, said he was laying stone. Another stone mason, when
asked, said he was building a cathedral. How we view our physical world depends
on our ability to transcend the physical and impart meaning to what we do and
experience. Intuitively connecting with our deepest selves, the depths of
others, and the divine gives us the ability seek the healing and meaning that
can be experienced in this world.
Balance is sometimes interpreted
as a tight rope walker who is balancing twirling plates on the ends of sticks.
This kind of balance is about keeping as many things in the air as possible,
which is really hyper-performance, more than balance. True balance is something
that allows for the natural cycles of life, allowing for flow, flux, seasons,
weather, and orbital rotations. Balance allows for being grounded, active, and
manifesting as well as being visionary, receptive, and intuitive.
Balance is that place where we
honor ourselves, who we are, what we need, when we need it, and when we truly
befriend who we are inside and out. When we learn to love ourselves is when
we’re ready to be loved by others.
In Gilbert’s journey, she
travels the world to find something she’s lost and something she’s dreamed of
but never had. In the holistic healing world, three terms are used extensively:
grounded, intuitive, and balanced. Some people focus on helping us become more
grounded in our lives, while others help us develop our intuition, and others
focus on helping us achieve balance. But what do these mean, and which one
should we seek? Gilbert’s words from Eat,
Pray, Love encapsulate the issue for us.