Part 1:   INTRODUCTION

Great changes are now sweeping the Earth. Centuries-old beliefs and values that shaped our lives are rapidly being replaced by technologies and attitudes for a "new age". Every culture and tradition is being challenged, every aspect of life is affected.

The nature and speed of these changes has created enormous stress on all living systems. Many of us have reacted to this stress by withdrawing. We have adopted a strategy of trying to live safely within a sheltered world of our own mental creation. We have numbed our feelings and avoided intimacy in the hope of protecting ourselves from the craziness happening around us. But the price of this withdrawal is often very high i.e. loss of joy, isolation and loneliness, lack of inner growth, etc.

Do we have to withdraw from the world to be happy? Perhaps many of our personal difficulties are not about what is happening "out there" but relate to something that is missing in our own experiences of life. That something can be described as a clear sense of purpose, direction, and values that enables us to freely express who we are without being overwhelmed by the unhealthy energies of people and events around us!

The following pages are intended to help you develop a solid foundation on which to build a life of balance and harmony, a life in which you can feel real, alive, and connected with others. The information presented is based on a way of living that I call wholism.

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Michael Greenstein and I am a wholistic educator and therapist. The major themes of my work are:

- Self knowledge through self awareness
- Living with direction and purpose
- Creating spiritual - material balance
- Using all parts of our being in an integrated way

The following pages outline my core beliefs and the form in which they are communicated to the groups I work with. What isn't described are the two-way dialogues, sudden insights, the expressions of deep feelings, and the growth of mutual respect and admiration that occur when people meet together in person to learn from each other.

The material in Living in Balance and Harmony is a reflection of the dynamic process of my own growth. As such, its contents will continue to change as I am changed. The pages you are now reading are the sixth major revision since 1994.

Before proceeding, I wish to acknowledge the profound influence that a spiritual receiving known as Subud has had on my life and express my deep gratitude to Subud's founder and pioneer, Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo (1901-1987). For more information on Subud, follow this link.

I would also like to ask your forgiveness if anything that you are about to read offends your religious or spiritual beliefs in any way or distracts you in your search for a path that is right for you. That was not my intention.

Now let's get started!

My material is presented in the form of a short course on human development. I recommend that you read it in its' numerical sequence. i.e. Part 1.. then Part 2.. etc. For greater clarity and understanding in dealing with certain subtle ideas I offer the following:

Wholistic Terms

A state in which the energetic needs of each partner in a relationship is satisfied.

A state in which relationship partners co-operate in the satisfaction of common energetic needs as well as their own individual needs.

That which is in balance and harmony.

Good reading and I hope this material may make a beneficial difference in your life.  Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator and therapist

END OF PART 1.