Finding Balance: Stepping Stones for Enlightened Living

By Gordon Rogowitz

Simple truths for people seeking happiness and freedom in life. Drawing on eastern philosophy and western wisdom, this book will expand your awareness of individual balance, relationships and genuine community.
Part I: Individual Balance
Part II: Connected Relationships
Part III: Community Balance: The Circle of Friends

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gordon Rogowitz
• Release date: Jan 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466032552

Gordon Rogowitz

Gordon's writing is about finding freedom in life. For more information, follow him on Twitter (@GordonRogowitz) or see his website: http://rogowitz.com

Book preview

Finding Balance:

Stepping Stones for Enlightened Living

Gordon Rogowitz

Finding Balance:

Stepping Stones for Enlightened Living

Copyright 2012 Gordon Rogowitz

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other Work by this Author:

A Returning Wind, a novel

QuikGuide to Independent Travel

Author’s Website:

http://rogowitz.com/

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

PART I: INDIVIDUAL BALANCE

Listening to the Inner Voice

The Power of Appreciation

Dismissing the Judge and Jury

Being Accepting

Dealing with Unpredictability

The Value of Obstacles

The Path to Freedom

A Three-Pronged Approach to Life

Living in the Now

Breaking Free of Stereotypes

The Unrealistic Goal of Perfection

The Neutral Observer

Breathing Lessons

An Invitation to Grow

Balancing the Yin & Yang

Being Someone

The Theory of Kachinks & Clunks

Imagining, Believing & Taking Action

On Becoming

Meditation & Retrospection

Keys to Finding Balance

The Unfinished Sculpture

PART II: CONNECTED RELATIONSHIPS

Building Trust

Openness & Honesty

Genuine Mindfulness

Negotiating with Compassion

Positive Introspection

Listening & Responding

Cat & Mouse Games

Simmer or Boil?

The Influences of the Past

Grounding Ourselves

Taking Responsibility

Pausing to Reflect

Flexibility & Adaptability

Respecting the Process

Not Forcing Things

Lightening up

Waking up to Ourselves

Gratitude

Intimacy

Enlightened Living

PART III: COMMUNITY BALANCE: THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

The Meaning of Small Gifts

Giving & Receiving

Compassion for Self & Others

Active & Passive Decisions

Augmenting Humanity

Transforming Reality

Holding Ground

Creation & Destruction

Being versus Getting

Facing Fears

An Ounce of Love

Cultivating the Garden

Realistic Optimism

Practical Ways to Co-create

Personal Reminders

The Connected World

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Other Work by this Author

INTRODUCTION

The aim of Finding Balance: Stepping Stones for Enlightened Living is to provide timely reminders that can help people find balance in life. The book is essentially an operator’s manual for creating an enlightened life, but one that has no prescriptions as each of our paths is uniquely our own. Instead, you will find intuitive wisdoms and a synthesis of diverse views from the east and west. Because much about balance can be learned from nature, the book is enriched with examples from the natural world.

Finding Balance is divided into brief sections that can be read and absorbed quickly. The emphasis of Part I is on finding personal balance and becoming the joyful people we were meant to be. Part II considers ways to make our personal relationships more vital and connected. Finally, Part III examines simple acts we can take to build community and enhance the feeling that we are all in this together—a circle of friends. Throughout the book you will find reflections, exercises, and meditations.

Often people spend years pursuing work-related aims while neglecting their core selves. While this busyness is understandable, it can impede the kind of personal development that allows us to be happy, fulfilled, and true to our authentic vision of ourselves.

As you read Finding Balance: Stepping Stones for Enlightened Living, bear in mind that each part of the book is interrelated. For example, by finding personal balance, we can improve our relationships. Likewise, by taking time to understand our relationships, we can ground ourselves as individuals and better contribute to our communities.

An Important Note: One could rush through this book and finish it in one evening. However, a wiser approach is to read one section at a time and spend a few hours contemplating ideas before continuing.

When you see image of The Thinker, take a moment to reflect for a while:

And when you see the Arrow in the Target, we have come to an essential point:

Finally, the following symbol indicates a useful exercise, reflection, or meditation.

PART I: INDIVIDUAL BALANCE

If you think about it, individuals are nested in relationships. Likewise, relationships are nested in communities. Hence, if we are to make sense of how we as individuals fit into our relationships and communities, a reasonable starting point is to first look at ourselves. Ultimately, it’s wise to nourish ourselves, refresh our self-concept, and become a friend to ourselves. After taking time to probe our inner world, we emerge better able to contribute to the world around us. That is, once we understand ourselves, we no longer need to invest so much energy in ourselves. At that point we can turn our attention to the world outside ourselves, making a contribution that feels intuitively satisfying to us.

So…let’s begin the journey.

Listening to the Inner Voice

Some people are better than others at getting through life with ease despite the many challenges. What is their secret? Actually, there is no secret. It only requires staying in touch with the inner voice. Balance in life has to do with the extent to which our daily actions correspond with our inner motivations (what we really want to do). Whenever there is a lack of correspondence between our actions and our inner voice, we feel a sense of disquiet as we know deep down things could be different.

Part of listening to the inner voice is doing things we feel are intuitively right—things that accord with our higher selves. We may not be perfect in all of our actions but if we can gain awareness of ourselves and take actions that feel right, we can avoid later feelings of remorse. By listening to our inner voice we are apt to feel a greater sense of self-worth knowing that we are on the right path.

Needless to say, it’s not always easy to recognize the central aspects of problems. Indeed, human nature is to bury problems rather than face them head on. However, whenever we bury problems, they tend to linger in our subconscious. Consequently, it’s useful to find quiet time in which we can examine our intentions and motivations.

Reflection: How would your life change if you listened more closely to your inner voice…and followed through on what it is telling you? Adam Smith once wrote that When we are in the middle of a paradigm it is hard to imagine another paradigm. Think a moment about the paradigms that define your life.

The Power of Appreciation

People can go through life focusing on the negative, noticing the dirt but missing the flowers. However, whenever we