Glossary of Wholistic Terms
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

Here are my definitions of some of wholism's key terms. Each term builds on the knowledge of previous terms and is therefore not listed in its alphabetical order.

The Creator:  The Universal Energetic Presence, the source and regulator of all life.

Compassion: The human attitudes and behaviour we display when we recognize the Creator's Presence in another living being.

Energy: The vibration or movement that defines what's alive and determines the nature of all living things.

Life: The ongoing process of transferring energy to where it is needed.

Self Awareness: The process of observing the nature of the energies that enter and leave our being and our reactions to them. Self awareness leads to choice

Relationship: The temporary connection that forms during the transfer of energy between living things. Energy moves through the universe by means of relationships.

Balance: A relationship in which all partners have satisfied their energetic needs.

Harmony: A relationship in which all partners actively work toward a common goal.

Wholistic: That which is in balance and harmony.

Wholism: A model for creating balanced and harmonious relationships.

Co-operation: An approach to relationships in which we try to satisfy the energetic needs of our relationship partners as well as our own.

Competition: An approach to relationships in which we emphasize the satisfaction of our own energetic needs without concern for those of our relationship partners.

System: An organized structure in which a group of living beings exchange energy in order to create something of mutual benefit.

The Universe: The largest system that exists.

Material: The dimension or range of vibrations in which minerals, plants, animals, and humans in physical form are designed to exist.

Spiritual: The dimension or range of vibrations in which angels and other light beings, including humans in their spiritual bodies, are designed to exist.

Wholistic Agriculture: A planned system in which a balanced mix of mineral, plant, animal, and human resources produces healthy food on a sustainable basis.

Wholistic Education: The balanced and harmonious development of all of a student's personal resources including his/her intellect, emotions, inner feelings, physical skills, social skills, etc.

Wholistic Commerce: The process of trading goods/services in a way that satisfies the needs of buyers, sellers, and the natural environments that produced those goods.

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An Introduction to Wholism
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

Wholism is a model of how to create balance and harmony in our lives. It encourages the appropriate use of our body, heart, mind, and spirit in order to create harmonious relationships within our own being and with all living things around us.

Wholism is based on the Universal Laws. Its focus is on relationships, energy, the use of all our resources, and on co-operation. Neither a spiritual practice, religion, nor a science, wholism is an integrated way of living that welcomes the many valuable contributions that science, religion, and spirituality make in creating a life of balance and harmony.

To understand wholism we need to understand the wholistic model of how the universe operates and our role in it. Here's an overview of that model:

The Wholistic Model

• Our universe has a Creator. It is the source and regulator of all life. The Creator is loving, compassionate, patient, tolerant, and just. Our own human behaviour must display these same qualities.
  
  
• Our universe is an orderly place. It operates according to a set of Universal Principles or Laws. These Laws govern all living beings and provide us with real standards on which to base our behaviour and understand the nature and purpose of life.
  
  
• Our universe is dynamic. It is filled with living beings that vibrate and exchange energy. The universe is a living system that transfers energy to where it is needed so all can experience balance and harmony. Creating balance and harmony is why the universe exists. Relationships are the mechanisms that enable this to happen
  
  
• Universal life is dependent on relationships. Relationships are energetic exchanges that connect all living beings with each other. Every form of life depends on these exchanges in order to survive. We are all interconnected and interdependent. There is no "them" and "us".
  
  
• All forms of life have their own specific design, nature, and purpose. Universal balance and harmony requires that every form of life act according to its own nature and fulfil the duties that are associated with that nature. It takes all kinds of beings with different natures to make the universe complete. No matter how great our outer differences, all living beings have value and deserve our love and respect.
  
  
• Human beings are multi-dimensional. Our original nature is spiritual. Our life in physical form on Earth is a temporary but important part of our complete life path. While on Earth we are required to maintain our spiritual connection with "home" in order to develop a compassionate heart that can form harmonious relationships with others. We are also required to fully train our mind in order to thrive in the material world. Balance occurs when our compassionate heart and clever mind develop at the same rate and we use all our spiritual and material resources appropriately.
  
  

Wholistic principles and practices encourage the development of

• spiritual connection
• self awareness
• co-operative and compassionate behaviour
• active involvement in the material world.

Wholism is both a response to and an antidote for the current levels of stress, rapid change, and unbalanced development in the world. Wholistic practices offer clear alternatives to the many unhealthy living and working conditions we are now experiencing e.g. materialistic lifestyles, competitive work places, polluted environments, etc.

I invite you to read other WCN Library articles for more details. Michael Greenstein

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The Universal Laws
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

Our universe is a vast, interconnected system of living beings. In spite of the apparent chaos we may sometimes observe around us, it is an orderly place that operates according to a set of guiding Principles or Laws. These laws touch every aspect of our life and are the only constant in an ever-changing world. The Universal Laws provide us with a solid foundation on which to develop a true understanding of our self and our role in life.

Wholism is a way of living that is based on the application of these Universal Laws in daily life. Here are brief descriptions of some of these laws:

1. All living things vibrate and possess energy.
The higher our rate of vibration, the more energy we possess and the greater our ability to influence others. With higher vibrational rates comes greater responsibility for the well being of others.

2. Energy moves through the universe by means of relationships.
Relationships are energy exchanges that transfer energy to where it is needed until energetic balance and harmony are established.

3. All actions in the universe are the result of relationships.
Nothing exists or acts on its own. All living things affect and are affected by all other living things. We live in an interconnected universe in which we are all responsible to and for each other. There is no "them" and "us".

4. Balance and harmony are the goals of all relationships.
Balance results when the energetic needs of all relationship partners are met. Harmony results when all relationship partners co-operate in the energy transfer process so that all may benefit.

5. Growth and decay are natural stages of all relationships.
Continuous change is the normal state of universal life. All living beings must expect and accept change as a natural part of their life.

6. The universe is a multi-dimensional energy system.
Human beings are immersed in the energies of both spiritual and material dimensions. A life of balance and harmony requires that we participate in spiritual and material relationships i.e. work in the world and spiritual connection with the Creator

7. All living things have a specific design and purpose.
Our human design provides us with an interconnected system of physical and spiritual resources. Our human purpose is to make appropriate use of all these resources in order to develop our human qualities while helping other living beings experience balance and harmony in their own lives.

The movement of energy, the nature of relationships, interconnectivity, spiritual-material balance, harmony, change, honouring our design and purpose, these Universal Laws are the foundations of wholistic practices and lifestyles.

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Wholistic Relationships
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

I believe the greatest factor in determining how well our life unfolds is the quality of our relationships. Every aspect of our life is influenced by them. We form relationships with our body, our family and friends, our society, the material objects we work with, the food we eat, etc. Wholism is based on the creation of a number of balanced and harmonious relationships.

When we think of relationships we often associate the term with human interactions, i.e. people relating with other people. Yet this is only one aspect of a universal process. To understand relationships from a wholistic perspective, we need to look at the Big Picture.

Energy and Relationships: A Universal Perspective

The Universal Laws tell us that:

• Life is movement or vibration. All things that vibrate are "alive", even if we can't see their vibrations with our physical eyes. Rocks are alive, chairs are alive, etc.
  
  
• All movement or vibration involves energy, the animating force of life.
  
  
• Energy is constantly moving through the universe to where it is needed. It moves by being transferred from one vibrating thing to another. Relationships are the transfer mechanisms.
  
  
• All living things are dependent on relationships to sustain their lives.
  
  
• Living things can either act as energy donors or energy recipients during a relationship, depending on their relative energetic state at that moment.
  
  
• The energetic state of all living things is constantly changing as a result of our ongoing involvement in the two great processes of life: unity and separation. Therefore no relationship remains the same forever!

The universe is a living system of interconnected and constantly changing relationships. No living thing acts or exists on its own. There is no "them" and "us". We are all here together relating with each other for our mutual benefit.

The vital role of relationships is at the core of wholistic values and practices. Wholism encourages the creation of balanced and harmonious relationships, both within our own being and with all living things around us.

Relationships in Daily Life

Whenever we are in the presence of any living (vibrating) thing, a relationship is formed i.e. a temporary connection is made and energy is exchanged. It doesn't matter whether that form of life is a computer, a bowl of food, a rose, an animal, a human being, etc., energy will be transferred.

The result of these energy transfers is that something within us changes. Wholism encourages us to practice self awareness in order to notice energy-related changes as they occur and learn to understand their nature and purpose. Misinterpreting our reactions to a variety of energies can be a great source of conflict and confusion. Some examples.

Feeling "drained" after interacting with people who are very demanding or needy is about energy loss, not some form of character weakness on our part. Experiencing sadness or anger in the presence of those who are manifesting these emotions is often a reflection of their state of being, not ours. Feeling sleepy after spending many hours among plants and trees is about the effects of absorbing plant energy, not a sign of our laziness and lack of determination. Feeling "powerful" when holding a gun or knife in our hand has to do with the energy vibrating from the object we are holding, not a reflection of our degree of true strength. As part of our human training on Earth, it is our responsibility to try to be aware of the source and nature of the energies we are receiving and emitting and choose our actions in a way that reflects our human identity.

Eventually if we are diligent in the process of self observation and awareness, we may begin to understand the energy transfer patterns that occur in our interactions with others. That point marks the beginning of our ability to really make choices. We can begin to consciously choose which situations and kinds of energies we want to interact with. When we are energetically high, we can choose to be of service to others through acts of compassion, etc. When energetically depleted, we can seek out relationships that we know will nourish us. In this way we are able to maintain energetic balance and harmony.

Through thousands of years of human experience it has been observed that there are certain relationships that are vital in order to live in balance and harmony. Here's a description of four fundamental human relationships.

1. Our Relationship with Our Creator

Purposes; To receive guidance and purification during our time on Earth, to identify, develop, and maintain our human identity, to develop a sense of direction and purpose in our life, to develop our conscience, to create standards of behaviour, to awaken our feelings of love and compassion, to promote spiritual / material balance, etc.

How it develops; Through submission of will, openness to receiving guidance and purification, sincerity in acting on our received guidance, acting with compassion, kindness, and respect toward all living things, etc.

Obstacles; Conscious or unconscious choice not to be open to the process, exclusive attention placed on our material existence, inappropriate or overuse of our rational thinking and personal will, being caught up in the demands and expectations of a materialistic society, etc.

2. Our Relationships with Our Own Being
i.e. our physical body, senses, instincts, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, etc.

Purposes; To identify and understand the roles of the different parts of our being, to learn how to supervise and make best use of these different personal resources during our time on Earth, to feel connected and whole, to experience a full and active life, to self correct, to support our own healing, to identify the energies that affect our being, to be aware of our own various needs and desires, to make accurate assessments, to learn about forming healthy relationships, etc.

How it develops; Through self observation and self awareness, spiritual connection, academic study (biology, psychology, etc.), feedback from others, counselling and therapy, regular periods of mental and physical quiet, etc.

Obstacles; Lack of self observation and awareness, exaggerated focus on the lives of others, self neglect, trauma that leads to internal numbing, lack of spiritual connection, etc.

3. Our Intimate Human Relationships
i.e. with parents, siblings, life partner, children, and friends

Purposes; To develop our human qualities of compassion, self awareness, co-operation, etc. through the joys and strife of relating closely with others, to learn vital communication and social skills, to receive feedback about our state of being and actions, to create feelings of self worth, to develop confidence in our ability to function in the world, to create an awareness of separate and mutual needs, etc.

How they develop; Through regular communication and interaction with our extended family, establishing a life partnership, nurturing children, making a commitment of personal resources to create and maintain intimate friendships, practising trust, openness, non-judgement, developing good listening skills, etc.

Obstacles; Lack of suitable role models, fear of abuse, criticism, and rejection, lack of social skills, past relationship trauma, low self esteem, lack of spiritual connection, etc.

4.Our Social Relationships
i.e. with our fellow humans and the plants and animals of our natural environment

Purposes; To learn to display compassion for all living things, to give and receive energetic assistance, to receive feedback about our state of being and the nature and quality of our actions, to develop and improve our community and natural environment through the use of our skills and talents, to satisfy our material needs while helping others satisfy theirs, to learn how to work with a wide variety of energies, to increase our sensitivity to the needs of others, to acquire new skills, to develop wisdom, etc.

How they develop; Through active involvement in an enterprise, religious activities, community activities, charitable and social welfare service, political activities, etc.

Obstacles; Lack of suitable role models, fear of failure, discomfort with group energies, lack of social skills, past trauma, lack of spiritual connection, etc.

It is these four fundamental relationships; with our Creator, with our own being, with our family and intimates, and with the members of our human and natural community, that determine the quality of our life. May we all learn to recognize their importance and get them right!

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Integrating Spirituality and Science
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

Doing vs Being: The Great Debate

Do you think or feel your way through life? Which of your personal resources is dominant: your brain, your heart, your soul? Do you rely more on rational thought or intuitive feeling? Where do you place your emphasis, on doing or being? Do you always require proof or do you have faith? Whose will dominates your life: your own or that of a Higher Power?

Disagreements over the "right" way of living have been dividing human beings for centuries. The two opposing world views or belief systems in this great debate are the think-will-do proponents and their scientific model versus the feel-submit-be supporters and their spiritual model. Now an integrated approach to living I call wholism may finally put an end to this ongoing conflict. Before discussing wholism let's first look at our two world models.

The scientific approach relies on a well-developed intellect and the application of personal will. Feelings are used to motivate actions but are otherwise considered unreliable. Our relationship with a Divine Force, if we could prove that such a force exists, is to try and intellectually understand it. The ultimate aim of the scientific think-will-do approach is to constantly expand our knowledge of the material universe and successfully develop new technologies and products through the active use of intellect and will. The scientific model promotes intellectual curiosity, goal-orientation, experimental proof, and external focus.

The spiritual approach relies on a compassionate heart and a will aligned with a Higher Power. The use of the intellect is restricted to daily material concerns while our soul is encouraged to grow through feelings of love, acts of kindness, and an ongoing relationship with our Creator. Developing compassionate relationships with all living things is the ultimate goal of the feel-submit-be approach to life. The spiritual model is relationship-driven, internally focused, reliant on faith, and based on sensitized inner feelings.

This past century has clearly been dominated by the think-will-do approach. Modern societies rely on and actively promote the scientific model. Many of us, whether we are conscious of it or not, have accepted this model and have chosen to think and will our way through life. This collective decision has had enormous consequences. Our emphasis on mental skills and personal will is producing great scientific and technological achievements, made at the expense of our ability to experience harmonious relationships with all living things.

While we can thank our increasingly clever brains for the existence of harnessed electricity, cars, computers, vaccines, lasers, etc. we may need to acknowledge that something's gone wrong! Our total reliance on thinking without the supervision of compassionate feeling has resulted in centuries of wars, gender and ethnic conflicts, social injustice, ecological destruction, materialistic and competitive values, etc.

So what is wholism's contribution to this great debate on how to live? Rely less on intellect and science and more on feeling and spirituality? Perhaps, but there's a lot more to it than that!

The Wholistic model recognizes the existence of both a spiritual and a material reality. It encourages us to integrate the actions of body, mind, and spirit in order to create a balanced and harmonious life. The foundation of the wholistic approach is the understanding that both realities and every part of our being have equally important roles to play in our life. Therefore it is not a question of which resource should dominate but rather how to use each of our resources at the appropriate time and in the appropriate life area in which they were designed to function. Here are some examples:

When working in the material world, thinking is totally appropriate. When facing an immediate physical threat, the body's physical senses, reflexes, and instincts should be activated. When dealing intimately with people, compassionate feelings must guide our actions. When seeking meaning and purpose in our life, spiritual guidance can be asked for. Each part of our being takes a leadership role in certain areas and a supporting one in others. The Wholistic model implicitly cautions us to be aware of the consequences of habitually relying on just one of our resources in responding to a variety of life situations. This warning has not been heeded in recent human history.

One of the critical human problems that now exists is the unbalanced relationship between our dominant use of thinking and will and our declining ability to experience and manifest our compassionate feelings and spiritual guidance. As modern, information-age, city-dwelling men and women we tend to react to every situation by "thinking about it". The wholistic model suggests that thinking is appropriate in some situations, but not all! Thinking and wilful actions must be balanced with sensing, feeling, acts of submission, the use of conscience and spiritual receiving. Until this correct balance is achieved, it will continue to be extremely difficult for many of us to experience a state of balance and harmony, both in our personal lives and in our collective social, political, or economic interactions.

The appearance and growing presence of wholism in the world today is no coincidence. Wholistic practices create healing relationships that help transfer energy to weakened or ailing systems. Perhaps we can all agree that both our natural environment (the Earth) and its guardians (us) are ailing in many areas at the moment.

Wholistic Practices and Approaches are Spreading

Wholism points the way to the integration of science and spirituality, thinking and feeling, being and doing. It declares that all resources and approaches are equally valuable aspects of one Universal Truth. Spiritually inspired teachings have been describing this Truth for thousands of years. Now science, through the use of increasingly sophisticated research instruments and methods, is confirming and validating these teachings. Now the shaman or mystic can state "We are all brothers and sisters of the Creator and must live together in peace" and the scientist can agree by replying "Yes, the universe is a created and unified system of interconnected energetic actions that seeks to establish and maintain a state of dynamic equilibrium".

The integration of different knowledge and belief systems is already happening in many fields of human endeavour. Biologists and psychologists are discovering the body-mind connection through such new fields as psychoneuroimmunology, biological psychology, etc.

The Environmental Sciences acknowledge the interconnected "web of life" that links the actions of different species and natural systems. In Education there is a growing emphasis on the development of a student as a whole person. Moral values, social skills, physical well-being, are receiving more balanced emphasis along with intellectual development. In Business, the concepts of ethical trading and environmental sustainability are helping businessmen and women express their compassionate side and see a bigger picture of life.

In Health Care and Medicine, alternative therapies are a growing response to health systems that treat separate parts and symptoms instead of the whole person. Many wholistic practices integrate techniques found in Psychotherapy, Massage/Bodywork, Subtle Energy Transfer, etc so that all parts of our being can participate in and benefit from the healing process.

So wholism answers the question of how best to move through our life by encouraging us to make full use of all our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual resources: each one used appropriately at the right time and in the right area of life. In today's world, learning to balance the actions of these different parts of our being and bringing a spiritual presence into the body-mind-spirit connection are the two greatest personal challenges we now face. I believe a growing number of us can and will meet this challenge.

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Wholistic Growth and Healing
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

Self Awareness: The foundation for my personal growth and healing is self awareness, my ability to monitor my state of being from moment to moment. Whenever I stop my habitual mental wandering and focus my attention on just one thing, that thing begins to change. I've observed a pattern in my growth and healing. First my awareness is directed to something within me that needs to change. The mechanisms that caught my attention have included a traumatic incident, a therapeutic relationship, and several forms of energetic stimulation. When my awareness and energy became focused, a self-healing or growth mechanism was activated that began to bring about the desired changes. This process was at times assisted and supported by some gentle outside intervention. With self awareness came growth, healing, and choice.

Choice: I can only be free when I am able to consciously choose my actions. Reacting automatically to the sensations within my being without being aware of their nature and purpose turns over the responsibility for my actions to other forces, situations, and people.

I now understand that every action in my life can be performed in a number of different ways. I can consciously choose how I sit, how I think, how I vote, how I breathe, how I work, how I listen, etc. Choice is the conscious decision I make in that precious moment that follows awareness and precedes action. The more I am aware in each moment, the greater my ability to choose my actions and ultimately my destiny. From my awareness, comes choice, followed by the appropriate application of will.

Submission and Use of Will:  I am trying to live in a way that incorporates both spiritual connection and active involvement in the material world. One of the critical choices I have to regularly make is when to submit a situation to a Higher Will and when to actively involve my own will. I have found this to be a very subtle, and challenging process.

The process of knowing that I actually had a choice in applying my will began when I became more aware of how the various parts of my being functioned and what their respective roles and responsibilities actually were in my life. This awareness, based on self observation, many mistakes, and years of personal struggle, led to the following conclusion. I don't have the power or ability to "do" spiritual work and the Creator won't deprive me of my opportunities for growth by doing my material work for me! The delegation of life responsibilities became very clear. I was responsible for my material relationships and the Creator was responsible for my spiritual purification and guidance!

Spiritual connection requires that I totally submit my heart, mind, body and will to the Creator. There are no active things that I can do to increase my spiritual development other than to co-operate with the process and keep my mind and heart fully occupied in the world around me. The Creator's Presence is already within my being. It is this Presence, assisted by an all-encompassing Universal Energy, Universal Laws, and a hierarchy of spiritual beings, that provides for my spiritual needs. In spiritual matters, I don't will; it is willed. I don't try; I am tried. I don't take; I receive!

My full involvement in the material world requires that I totally apply my heart, mind, body and will to the creation of balanced and harmonious relationships with all the material objects, plants, animals, and fellow humans beings I meet in my daily life. Getting my material relationships "right" allows me to materially prosper while co-operating with the universal process of transferring energy to where it is needed! Knowing when to submit and when to be active means I've chosen to co-operate with the universe, not compete with it.

Co-operation:  The successful relationships I have had are the result of my willingness and ability to be mindful of the needs of my relationship partners as well as my own. When I have been able to co-operate in helping my partners meet their needs, our relationships have usually been in balance and harmony. I now understand that this spirit of co-operation is essential for my own growth and healing. All of the intellectual, emotional, physical, social, financial, and spiritual parts of my being must be working in harmony if complete growth and healing is to occur. A powerful unifying tool in gaining that co-operation is a clear life purpose or mission, one that is supported by all parts of my being.

When the spirit of co-operation is not part of my awareness, I act according to my own interests and often forget the needs of others. I discovered something very interesting recently. I observed that there is a direct correlation between my state of spiritual connection and the degree to which I compete with others. Without feeling the Presence of the Creator I tend to feel more separated from others and view them as a "them" instead of an "us".

My growth and healing are processes that require self awareness, the ability to choose my actions, the appropriate application or submission of my will, co-operation with all living things, and compassion.

Compassion:  Compassion is my ability to recognize the inherent beauty and dignity of every living thing, regardless of the circumstances I find them in. In religious or philosophical terms, it's finding the presence of the Christ, Buddha, Tao, etc., in everyone I encounter. I discovered that my sense of compassion is the product of my connection with the Creator. I cannot feel compassionate with my intellect or will alone, although I have tried.

Compassion is not necessarily about the actions I perform, but rather the spirit behind them. My constantly changing needs and situations require different action responses, sometimes gentleness and affection, other times a more assertive stance. Compassion is the underlying belief and attitude I bring to all my relationships. It is a recognition that I am dealing with a fellow living being who shares the same Creator's love. Compassion permits me to criticize another person's hurtful behaviour without attacking their character.

During my ongoing process of personal growth and healing, the object that most required my compassion has been myself! The more compassionate and gentle I am with myself, the easier it has been to heal and grow. May we all grow, heal, and be gentle with ourselves and each other!

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A Healthy Spiritual Practices Guide
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator   michael@wholcom.net

Introduction: Wholism is a way of living that encourages us to adopt some form of spiritual practice as an important step in creating balance and harmony in our life. The intent of this guide is to offer some characteristics to look for and standards to apply when choosing a new spiritual practice or evaluating one we are currently following. Please note that this material is biased by my own nature and life experiences and is meant to be helpful rather than true for everyone.

Section A    Personal Benefits:

Healthy spiritual practices provide personal benefits. They help us:

• connect with something greater than our physical selves and this material world
• quiet overactive thoughts and feelings and experience periods of inner calm
• observe and change unhealthy beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours
• receive guidance and direction in our daily life
  

Section B    Positive Effects on Our Community:

Healthy spiritual practices have a positive effect on our community. They enable us to:

• express feelings of love and compassion for all forms of life in our community
• treat all forms of life in our community with kindness, dignity and respect
• co-operate with all living things in our community rather than compete with them
• see the unity of all living things and eliminate "us" versus "them" thinking

Section C     Empowerment: The Key Component

Healthy spiritual practices empower us, they don't enslave us. They:

• provide us with a direct personal connection with the Universal Life Force which we sometimes call God or the Creator, without the need of a human intermediary, a "spirit guide", or a spiritual group's "process". If after adopting a spiritual practice we start to have less personal freedom and choices in our life than before, something needs to be carefully looked at!

Section D    Distractions and Dangers:

Be watchful for and consider avoiding spiritual practices that:

• rely on "props" such as costumes, symbols, crystals, emotional music, etc.
• are led by spiritual teachers or gurus who do more than motivate and encourage
• use mental or emotional "techniques" to gain power and advantage over others
• focus on the "spirits" of material objects, plants, animals, and human beings
• ask for large financial or other commitments for more than facility upkeep or general operating expenses

Section E     A Simple Test

One way of finding out if our current spiritual practice is right for us is:

• after giving our practice enough time to have an "effect" on us, we can ask ourself if we are now treating ourself and others in a more loving, kind, and gentle way then before we began this practice. Gaining new insights and wisdom are wonderful benefits of being on a spiritual path, but its ultimate value can be seen in the love and kindness we are able to show in our daily actions. If our practice is making us more clever than kind, something is wrong. In the end it's always about love.

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The Balancing Act
Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator   michael@wholcom.net

Section 1  Introduction

Within every action in life, from the simplest to the most complex, there is an energetic balance point that can be found. Our understanding of our self and the world begins to change when we experience life in terms of flowing or blocked energy, energetic needs, and balance points.

As I approach my sixty- second year of life, I now understand that I can never really be sure if anything I write or say is true in the Universal sense. I can only hope that this article may prove helpful to you. Michael

Section 2  Key Concepts

Energy: Like the wind that cannot be seen but whose presence is felt in all that it touches, energy moves through our universe stirring everyone and everything into action. Wherever energy is present there is life, vibration, movement. Energy moves with purpose to where it is needed. It flows from high to low, from abundance to scarcity, from donor to recipient. Understanding the many kinds of energies that exist and how we are enlivened by their presence within and around us is a vital part of understanding our life.

Relationships: Moving energy to where it is needed is done through energetic transfers or exchanges. I simply use the term "relationships" to describe these ongoing transfers. The goal of every relationship in our universe, whether it involves humans, animals, chemicals, etc. is to create energetic balance and harmony for each of the relationship participants. When we are "low" in energy we often look for human connections as well as food, music, exercise, etc. to help lift us energetically. When we are highly energized we often transfer some of our excess energy to other living beings through acts of service, expressions of joy or anger, artistic expression, etc. We are all dependent on a variety of relationships for our complete wellbeing.

Balance Points: Life is a balancing act involving our dual roles as energy donors and recipients. Each of us is continually radiating and absorbing a wide range of energies. Whether we are a donor or recipient depends on our energetic state at a particular moment. A balance point occurs in our relationships when both we and our relationship partners are each getting our energetic needs met. As human beings it is vital that we learn to identify and create balance points in our life in order to contribute to our own state of harmony as well as the harmony of other living beings around us.

Section 3  The Three Vital Balance Points In Human Life

1. Balancing The Use of All Parts of Our Being

Within our own being we have everything we need to become aware of and derive meaning from the many energetic relationships happening within and around us each day. We have our visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses that provide us with raw information. Our interpretive assistants work with this information and produce thoughts, beliefs, emotions, intuitive understanding, and more. Each part of our being provides us with specific feedback and assistance according to its own specialty. A balanced understanding of this world requires a complete mix of sights, sounds, touches, tastes, smells, temperatures, pressures, etc., transformed into a wide range of rational thoughts, specific feelings, intuitive understandings, and spiritual insights. If we rely only on a limited number of these resources as our primary sources of information we will get an unbalanced and distorted picture of what life on Earth is like.

Imagine working in a garden on a warm, sunny, day with sound as our only sensory input. No bright colours, or wonderful smells, or the feel of the rich earth in our hands. What an incomplete experience it would be! Not only would we lose many flavors and experiences but we would not be able to recognize the needs of the plants we're working with. Or imagine forming loving relationships with our family members, life partner, and friends through the use of our rational thoughts alone. No feelings of admiration and affection, no enjoyment and connection through hugs, just logical reasons for forming or dissolving the relationship. What if we tried to run a computer business by relying on our emotions alone; could it be successful? Extreme examples, perhaps, but you might be surprised to learn how many of us go through our lives limiting our life experiences by using only a small part of our complete package of personal resources.

When we make use of all parts of our being we get a complete picture of what life is like at any given moment, not only for ourselves but, equally important, for our relationship partners. Using all our personal resources requires the regular practice of self observation and self awareness; the "being" part of the doing-being spectrum. We need to observe the different energies we are receiving, how we are interpreting them, and how they are being transmitted to others. If this sounds like we have to be observers of our own life, then you have understood my meaning. We must supervise all our relationship assistants, ensuring that they are all actively "checking in" with us and providing us with a complete picture of life.

With careful self observation and awareness we can identify when one part of our being is either underactive or overactive and take action to correct this unbalanced state. Taking action is the "doing" part of the doing-being spectrum. We can consciously decide to adopt some form of meditative or calming practice to quiet our overactive thoughts, make use of massage and gardening to stimulate our underused sense of touch, work in a food bank to stimulate our feelings of compassion, start an exercise or dance program to strengthen underused muscles, get involved in politics to transform noble thoughts into concrete actions, etc.

Today our industrialized societies promote the dominant use of our visual sense and rational thinking as our two primary feedback and interpretive mechanisms. This approach has led to an unbalanced world of advancing technology and deteriorating relationships. Rational thinking is a wonderful tool for "doing" things but needs the help of our "being" and feeling resources to help us remain in harmony with our self and others.

The balance point is the full and active involvement of all parts of our being, each in an appropriate way, in order to become people who are both clever and kind. May you find that balance point in your life.

2. Balancing Our Needs and the Needs of Others

Wholism encourages us to stop relating to other living beings in terms of "them" and "us" and recognize that we are all interconnected and dependent on each other for our wellbeing. Therefore co-operation must be a guiding principle in all our daily interactions with others.

Co-operation means going about the daily business of getting our energetic needs met while simultaneously being aware and supporting others in obtaining what they need. It is a state of being that requires the necessary self awareness to identify our own energetic state at a given moment and the willingness to manifest love, compassion, and sensitivity in assisting others. Living with self awareness, love, compassion, and a willingness to help others are the actions of a spiritually mature person.

Co-operation is a vital part of creating a life of balance and harmony. It's not only the human thing to do but it makes common sense since we are all totally dependent on each other for our wellbeing and survival. There is however one important condition required before we can fully co-operate with others; we must have our own house in order first. A mother cannot nurse her child if she doesn't take care of herself by eating and drinking adequately. A socially aware business cannot make charitable donations until it has made a profit to distribute. A therapist can't continue to work with troubled people without taking time for regular periods of recreation and re-energizing. A municipality can't create parks, libraries, sports facilities, etc. unless it generates sufficient resources in the form of taxes, volunteer labour, etc.

The balance point is ensuring our own needs are met and, from that healthy state, helping others meet their needs. May you find that balance point in your life.

3. Balancing Our Doing and Being

We are on Earth in physical bodies in order to form mutually satisfying relationships with plants, animals, material objects and other humans beings. To form these relationships we need to act; to do things. We need to physically move around, meet other living beings, make plans, discuss things, read, study, develop new skills, eat, drink, exercise, etc. Without this active involvement in the world we are limited in the number of relationships we can form. Forming a rich variety of relationships is the doing part of our life and requires activities and actions.

This rich variety of relationships provides us with the raw experiences we need to learn what it means to be human, what our needs are, and how we can be of service to others. I use the term "raw" because our experiences have to be "processed" in order for us to derive meaning, understanding, and wisdom from them. Processing means becoming aware of what is really going on in our relationships, i.e. the types of energies being exchanged, how these energies are effecting us, and how our energies are effecting our relationship partners. If this all sounds like a lot of work, you're right! Working on ourselves can be hard work and creates more complexity and choices than simply moving through the world without self awareness. The good news is that once processing becomes a daily habit, it gets easier to do as the months and years pass and provides us with the ability to really choose our actions instead of just reacting to the energies and agendas of others.

Processing can either take place while a relationship is actually occurring or at a later time. It is vital for our growth as human beings to stop our normal doing at regular intervals and give ourselves the time to process what has and is happening in our life. We can have quiet periods at the beginning or end of each day, go on multi-day retreats, use hourly "check ins" to sense what's happening within our body, etc. Deriving meaning, understanding, and wisdom from our relationships is the being part of our life.

The balance point in the doing-being spectrum is an active involvement in the world accompanied by continuous self observation and regular periods of quiet reflection. Some specific examples of the doing-being theme are:

• balancing work, family, and community responsibilities with our need for personal re-creation and reflection
• balancing the guidance of a spiritual practice with the apllication of scientific principles and practices
• balancing the active use of our will with the submission of our will to a higher power

May you find all of these balance points in your life.

Section 4  Using The Balance Point Approach In Daily Life

The balance point approach is not a theoretical idea. It is a realistic and practical way of moving through the world. Like all new approaches and behaviours it takes time and practice until it becomes a beneficial habit. This approach involves looking at energetic flow, blockages, and the mutual satisfying of energetic needs. Here are examples of using the balance point approach in two important life areas:

Resolving Conflicts: We can choose to get caught up in personality conflicts with others or we can see things in terms of balancing the energetic needs of our relationship partners and our own. This approach changes the nature of potential conflicts from reacting to the "bad behaviour" of others to recognizing needs and mutual co-operation. Focusing on personality traits; "He is so selfish" or "She is always angry" does not help resolve conflicts. We need to look at what any undesirable behaviour tell us about excess, insufficient, or blocked energy and what energetic actions are needed to balance and harmonize the situation. This approach transforms character assassination to a process of creating energetic win-win situations. We may not always be able to satisfy the needs of others but the sincere effort of trying to do so makes us more compassionate human beings.

Meaningful Communication: When communicating with others or processing what others are communicating to us it may be helpful to not only consider the content of the message but also the motivating energetic needs being expressed. Communication is the art and science of expressing and getting our needs met. When we can clearly identify our energetic state and real needs before we communicate, our communications will be more authentic and congruent. When we can identify what others really need as they communicate with us, we can make a more conscious choice of whether we can or want to satisfy those needs. Freud was wrong, a cigar is never simply a cigar, there's always something more to it! Lets learn to see-listen-feel behind the content to the underlying need.

Section 5  Conclusion

The universe, as I understand it, has been designed to give every living being the opportunity to experience a life of energetic balance and harmony. All systems and all relationships are constantly working toward this goal. As human beings we all have this same wonderful opportunity as long as we act according to our true human nature and work with the natural flow of energy, not against it. It's so simple and yet so challenging at times!

It' s especially difficult these days because of the widespread presence of three human plagues, materialism, competiveness, and egoism, that are damaging individuals and communities around the world. If we happen to become infected with any of these diseases our behaviour will certainly lose its human quality and our unbalanced state will block the mutually beneficial flow of energy between ourselves and all living beings around us. [Note: An article on the three human plagues and their destructive nature will appear on the WCN website in July 2008]

If our life is not in balance and harmony at the moment we need to look at how the universe operates and use three of its guiding principles; awareness, compassion, and co-operation. We can start by practicing self-observation and become more aware of what's really going on within our own being and around us. We can then use our will and the Creator's help to train our heart and mind to manifest compassion for our self and all living things. Finally we can develop the habit of co-operating, not competing, with all the living beings we encounter in our daily relationships. Through the complete use of all parts of our being, balancing our doing and being, and working to satisfy our partners needs as well as our own, we can and will create a life of balance and harmony. That's just how the universe wants it!

May what we want and what the Creator knows we need both be the same. Michael Greenstein, wholistic educator

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About Michael Greenstein:  Michael facilitates talks and workshops and participates in conferences in which he describes the universal paradigm or model he calls wholism and how its principles and practices can be applied through the use of practical 21st century lifeskills. He is the founder of the Wholistic Community Network (WCN) and is currently living in British Columbia, Canada. E-mail contact: michael@wholcom.net

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