Association of the Week: The Balance

by Paulo Coelho on February 9, 2009

The Balance is not only a zodiac sign but, more generally, the symbol of earthly and heavenly justice.
We find in many ancient religions the notion of a trial in the afterworld in which every soul is weighted according to its good and bad deeds.

In Ancient Egypt, the God Osiris in Ma’at’s presence (the goddess of Justice) would weigh the heart of the dead and then decide of its destination – either towards Aaru (equivalent of Heaven) or remain in the Duat (the equivalent of Hell). The same weighting of earthly actions can be found on Ancient Persia and in Tibet. In Christianity, the balance is the attribute of God, the Father, who shall weigh the deeds of men in the day of the Final Judgment.

The Arabic Alchemy uses the symbol of the Balance in the mind frame of the “Spiritual Alchemy”. The science of the Balance consists then in measuring the “desires of the Soul of the World” and it establishes the proper correspondences between the spiritual world and the manifested world. The balance then marks the equilibrium between light and darkness. Consequently this art also gave rise to the relation between the planets, minerals and the four elements.

Now you take the floor: what do you associate with the Balance?

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{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }

THELMA February 16, 2009 at 6:46 am

Dear friend Pandora, all those you write about ‘past lives’ are very intriguing. We will have so many things to say when you, eventually come to Cyprus!

Yes, once a friend of mine said: you may not talk much but we KNOW that you are always there for us. She is a friend from the school.. about ….a ..hundred years before[Joking]. Just …50 years ago!!

About the White Feather I did not know that it symbolizes Pure Truth. It is the sign that Paulo Coelho sees before starting writing a new book and he uses it in the ritual before starting writing.
LOVE,
Thelma

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Maru February 16, 2009 at 3:56 am

Heraclito decia algo asi:
“Como es adentro es afuera…Como es afuera es adentro”
Todo es un reflejo de algo mas, mi mundo interior se refleja en mi mundo exterior, mis sentimientos se reflejan en mis actos el balance , la balanza es tan delicada y tan fiel que muestra el mas pequeno cambio… los egipcios al pasar al inframundo pesaban el corazon contra el peso de una pluma… si el corazon pesaba mas, no lograban entrar al inframundo.
Sera acaso que la falta de fidelidad a lo que soy…. la mas minima incongruencia… se refleja mas en la balanza que en la conciencia?

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Eye! February 15, 2009 at 8:14 pm

Balance. Such an interesting and versatile subject.

We have “balancing organs” in our inner ear – extremely important in more ways than just maintaining our physical balance.

Everybody has, is trying to maintain, and/or is in search of some form of balance I guess.

I saw this definition; “Balance is a desirable point between two or more opposite forces”
Personally, I think that’s a beautiful definition, so I shall leave it at that.

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Pandora February 15, 2009 at 1:29 pm

Ma’at
Judgement – 999 (these numbers are always in my life)
She who balances the right to the left
Must be balanced in herself to hold the scales without prejudice
The heart with the feather of truth.

(a psychic once told me I had been a Priestess of Ma’at in a past life)?

Universal Law – Divine Justice.

Thelma I am Here, Venus in Ruler, would never abandon a friend. X

I once saw Ma’at in a dream, she was collossal, but was with Anubis (who had very sharp teeth), not Osiris. Powerful.

Egyptians believed that the soul resides in the heart, so when Ma’at is balancing the heart is it the soul of man, against the pure truth which is symbolised in the white feather?

Without her, all would be chaos, she restores equilibrium.

I like to feel balance in my body, by holding my arms and hands hands outsretched, my head and eyes shut, to feel the energy. When my left hand became temporarily paralysed I lost my sense of balance, kinesiology and listening to my body I am sure bought it back.

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Popi February 15, 2009 at 1:06 pm

Peace of mind…

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marie-christine February 15, 2009 at 7:16 am

Practice of martial arts
Sambo
to get a sense of balance
spiritual awareness

check this site
http:www.ussambo.com/what_is_sambo.html

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Savita Vega February 14, 2009 at 3:06 pm

When I think of the Balance, I immediately think of the Tarot card, Justice. The Justice card does not really pertain to legal “justice” as in the kind meted out by courts or defined by complex legal systems. Instead, it refers to transcedent justice, a sort of “karmic justice,” if you will. As such, it is linked to another Tarot card, the Wheel of Fortune: what goes up must come down, those on top will eventually find themselves on the bottom, and vice versa. The Justice card, on which there is the illustration of the balance, is all about the inevitable universal laws of justice that supercede and transcend mankind’s worldly attempts at punishment and reward.

In the Bible, there are a couple of occasions where this principle is clearly illustrated. On both occasions there is a situation where the person who has been wronged has no power to alter the situation, no chance to enforce justice on their part. So, instead, they call out to a higher power, saying: “God judge between me and thee.” In a sense, with this phrase, they call down the judgment and justice of God upon an unjust situation.

The balance is all about that – about the inevitability of an equalization, a justification that, in the end, will come. If you believe in life after death, you might say that justice will be done in the afterlife, when all the downtrodden and abused are uplifted and set above those who did them wrong. If you believe in reincarnation, you might believe that justice will be done in the next life, when the poverty stricken, the lame, the oppressed are reincarnated as the rich, the healthy, the ones on top. At any rate, this Balance is a focal point of peace, as it stands for the judgment and intervention of a higher power, and as such, promises justice to those who have no recourse to justice, no power to attain it, on their own. If there is one phrase that sums up the meaning of the Balance it is this: JUSTICE WILL BE DONE.

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Andrea February 14, 2009 at 11:04 am
joseph February 13, 2009 at 5:26 pm

I associate balance with measurement and weights. Measurements can easily be equated with judgments. We can easy measure the physics of how high or low, far and wide, motion or volume of some things, but can we measure how serious or insignificant some things, anything is?. Can injustice out weight justice? Does an equal measure of love and unloved balance? Dose an equal amount of reward balance with an equal weight of punishment? Are some things measureless? How is a soul measured? Is it so that the way we measure is the way we are measured and if we don’t measure are we not measured?

Peace to all.

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Mirela Baron February 13, 2009 at 5:15 pm

I am in zodiac Balance and in Ascendent under the same Sign.I only know that I need the equilibrium like aer breathing.If somebody try to disturb my balance ,I am able to fight till the end, to protect it.Although I use all my diplomatic abilities to reach and keep that beautiful feeling of Be Balanced.

Love
Mirela(the woman in elevator)

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guylaine February 13, 2009 at 1:54 pm

L’équilibre pour moi se reflète dans cette phrase tirée du livre la table d’émeraude d’Hernest Trismégiste : “Ce qui est en bas, est comme ce qui est en haut : et ce qui est en haut est comme ce qui est en bas, pour faire les miracles d’une seule chose.” C’est le travail quotidien que doit faire l’être humain sur lui même afin que son corps et son esprit puissent trouver l’harmonie, ne pas rejeter mon coté matériel car mes deux pieds son enracinés dans la terre tout en travaillant mon coté spirituel ma tête s’élevant vers le ciel, c’est re découvrir la lumière qui brille en moi et qui brille en chaque homme dès la naissance (cf évangile de saint Jean). Bien évidemment par moment la balance oscillera plus dans un sens que dans l’autre, à moi de retrouver le juste équilibre, je pense même que c’est par ces divers déséquilibres que je pourrai au fur et à mesure ajuster le tir et faire en sorte que cette oscillation s’amenuise. Tout chez l’être humaine est binaire pourtant dans le juste équilibre le 1+1 devient 1.
merci Paulo pour ces merveilleuses choses que vous partagées avec nous.

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Reijo February 12, 2009 at 9:44 pm

Balance is a passing moment when you feel that you’ve met the requirements of others and your own.
Cheers
Reijo

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THELMA February 12, 2009 at 8:09 pm

Oh dearest Paul from Austria, you made it sound so …dull!!! Order and Prayer used to say..;]
I hope that I am not ….. a dull Libra!! You forgot the …mighty, strong Scorpion, Ares the ‘decisions-maker’, the Ascendant!! Where are you, dear Pandora?
LOVE,
Thelma

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THELMA February 12, 2009 at 1:48 pm

In Greek, whenever we want to characterize someone with psychological problems, we say he is ‘unbalanced’. He cannot control his emotions or have equilibrium between his mind and emotion.
The aim of our existence is to achieve balance and Harmony.
I am born under the sign of Libra the Scales. People think that we are … easy going and balanced!!! No, it is the constant weighing that makes us look outside.. smiling and calm and inside we feel so moody, temperamental and worrying. We always try to find the best possible solution. A good judgement. To see other’s point of view and be fair. So far, I think, I was not unfair to anyone involuntarily.
It is said that when our three bodies vibrate in balance, harmony we will reach …theosis.[Θέωσις]
LOVE,
Thelma

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Joël February 12, 2009 at 8:27 am

Walking between a depression and an euphoria

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marie-christine February 12, 2009 at 5:22 am

Perhaps one of the reasons why it is so difficult to grasp the concept of spirituality is because most of our teaching it done with the left brain mind, thus creating a state of imbalance.
The feminine energy is on the right side of the brain it is holistic, visual and deals in 4D+ geometry and feelings. It is magnetic and is part of the Universal language
Einstein had the perfect balance.
“I will do a flight of fantasy and work on some thinking, which is not thinking as you would understand it, but a combinatorial play od some types of imageries and sensory feelings (Feminine Energy)
The masculine energy is on the left side of the brain, it is ego-orientated and deals in 3D, algebra and intellect, it is electric.
“Only when this activity comes to some resolution would I fumble in the other side of my head for words and for algebraic statements which would permit me to communicate these insights to others.”A.Einstein (Masculine energy) where most people are.

So when you combine both – intuition and thinking – you then get balance.

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mattskills February 12, 2009 at 2:13 am

i understand balance in the same way dan millman wrote about it in “peaceful warrior” or like buddhists say “its not about this OR that but rather as well as”.

if you’re looking through those duality glasses, you may take the wrong side even though you thought its the right side. and in this thinking theres always something wrong. this means you believe half the world must be wrong otherwise there could not be a balance. but to see it through you just have to realize, that this cant really be true because knowledge is like light and wheres light there can never be darkness. the true nature of everything therefor is always true wisdom, light, good and so on. but when its good its also bad, this duality optic is as true and as wrong as any other concept. so I would say balance aint about one step left, one to the right but rather forward, it doesnt matter how. its left AND right in unison and at the same time its not.

to make an easy example:
a friend of mine has obvious problems dealing with drinking. when he starts, it seems he cant stop, he cant control it, he becomes a different person with different thoughts and views. sometimes he takes his time out, not drinking for weeks or even months by will, trying to gain controll again. but obviously this doesnt work. next time he switches back to “normal” just one party and he’s unstoppable again, like nothing happened. its the way he is, pauses doesnt mean anything.
hes not an alcoholic so he just has to find a balance. the right leverage every now. so for him balance would at best be not about partying and pauses but rather about doing both at the same time, every time.

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marie-christine February 12, 2009 at 1:49 am

Balance.
Geometry.Feminine side of the brain.
A new way of teaching mathematics.
Teaching children to dance.
Sacred geometry.
Where dreams are possible.
Square dance, circle, pirouettes,etc.

“So danco samba!”
Paulo, that’s the way to go.

Balance
La geometrie. Le cote feminin du cerveau.
Une nouvelle methode pour enseigner les maths
Apprendre aux enfants a danser.
La geometrie sacree .
Ou les reves se realisent.
La dance carre, le cercle, les pirouettes, etc.

“Je danse la samba”
Paulo, that’s the way to go.

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Alan in the UK February 11, 2009 at 6:57 pm

Hi Paulo and Everyone,

The image of on the vertical axes spirit – matter;
on the horizontal axes heart – mind.

The vertical axes is the central pillar and the balance between the oscillating heart-mind nascent as progress is made ever upwards.

The balance and the cross are one.

All four directions in a dynamic tension. Yet one axes more stable than the other.

With all my best wishes,

Alan

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Adina February 11, 2009 at 6:37 pm

Good evening,

Balance as a symbol might represent also a way for the Divine to do equilibre the energies of universe (meaning both seen and unseen worlds).

The whole universe is in a continuous transformantion, therefore all its components and mechanisms must be balances continuously for that the univers and destiny to continue existing and doing their jobs for which have been created.

Adina

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Almost Insightful February 11, 2009 at 6:18 pm

When I think of Balance, I think of Physics. I think of Newton’s “energy cannot be created not destroyed”. I think of the universe and Einstein’s theories.

I think of the speed of light and how, no matter how much acceleration you place on it, it would remain unchanged.

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Cristina February 11, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Balance in alchemic images the scale is never the equal, it means that the Big Work is still in progress and humanity must go on walking the path.
love
chris

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bAREthoughs February 11, 2009 at 12:04 pm

I assosiate it with Ying and Yang.

or my own terms based on modern world

A true riddle

I am not too found of numbers, so I use the logic instead. Someone told me that the smartest man inn the world, visited Trondheim, Norway, mathematician, nobody understood anything.

negative + positive = negative
positive + positive = positive

The sharp mind understands that a = negative I = positive maybe we need a new writing language too

My intelligence is equal to social intelligence

The mathematician counts, counts, counts, counts and gets a number, and is wondering if that is good or bad

experience in life + science + astrology + emotions = truth

or we could read all the books in the world and get the same results = truth

Life is wonderful…. lets enjoy IT

Best regards
The country of Nobel price – bAREthoughts

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Catherine February 11, 2009 at 11:26 am

like the Zodiac sign – LIbra.. though Balance is something one always seeks to achieve, the weighing up is like fine tuning which swings from one side to the other of the scales… rarely finding the balance it so requires…

like politics
like market systems ;o)
maybe?

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Catherine February 11, 2009 at 11:20 am

In addition to my comment above – I just saw an advert: driving business advantage (whilst reading about Darwin’s survival of the fittest article) and it shows two men each on one scale of a balance.
http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13059028&fsrc=nwlgafree
the article itself is interesting:
as in our market system now, there is unfair advantage in competition: perhaps competition is NOT the right way to go. Darwin says that the fittest outwit the weak…
but I consider this: that the fittest don’t always go by the book… and that if they do evolve to create a new species, then, well…. is it really the best survivalist in the long run.

i’ll take a child’s recretional playground toy for an example: the see-saw:
a balance.

one kid sits on each end and by gravity and momentum, bob up and down on the see-saw.
if one kid gets bored, the other one hits the ground – thump.
the see-saw requires both kids to play the game, without selfish interest and in co-operation. without the other, the see-saw doesn’t really give the same joy-factor.
you have to be friends, have a friend nearby… and – as it turns out – not a parent.. who weigh in double… so one of equal measure.
I worry that aside from the global markets being competitatively unadvantageous for many – that the generation of youth also continue to perpetuate social tendencies that are not truelly mutually co-operative, rather competitative … and competition (as I know it anyhow) is rarely ever more than one winner.

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Catherine February 11, 2009 at 10:50 am

yes the balance is of weighing out the correct value of something…
but I really see it in practical terms – as man-made it is:
in cooking – for weighing out margarine, flour, sugar etc…

so it is a symbol of market systems ..

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tekla February 11, 2009 at 9:38 am

so I associate balance with the harmony between person and the world around him, and every person should must be searching for right balance with the atmosphere, situation around him, and the balance with the world is harmony and I think when you find it, you become happy. and the balance must be happyness

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Dave February 11, 2009 at 8:55 am

I think of the Taiji. Complementary forces. Stability. Dynamic stasis. The beauty of a gyroscope. Good dancers. Kids playing on a see-saw. Peace

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toni j February 11, 2009 at 7:24 am

Balance. From earth to sky, but you need keys to get back! Escapism, can be a form to leave, but you need something to keep you in the here and now, this is how you get back. I like to use escapism in situations at work, where it’s a bottomless pit of complaining. They ask, but don’t listen. The bliss is nice…*

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peter February 11, 2009 at 7:22 am

of american culture making weak women worry about their physical weight, of high school wrestlers and rowers sweating off pounds to make the weight, of my grandmother’s scale in her apartment with little colored markers you could move with your sensitive toes to help remember what you last weighed yourself at.

nothing deep, just personal memories and a dichotomy of absolute value.

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Julie February 11, 2009 at 5:38 am

Makes me think of The Tao and harmony. ^^;

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Milane February 11, 2009 at 4:04 am

@sunshine: Balance isn’t our work, it’s inside of us… it is nature. :o)

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Milane February 11, 2009 at 4:03 am

BALANCE is like CHAOS: Good and Bad are required, to make it whole.

Like Yin and Yan, Sun and Moon, White and Black… so on.

That is why i am wearing a tattoo of the chinese sign for Chaos on the back of my neck, to remind me that without Bad there wouldn’t ever be Good.

I believe that Chaos is the basic for anything.
(Think about the greek godess coming with the boat, bringing some structure to the world, singing… Her voice becomes a dove.)

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Roro February 11, 2009 at 2:17 am

Balance is Perfect..
Hard to be achieved..but can be subjective thing. One maybe perfect for someone, subjectively. As someone could think that he achieved the balance in his life..

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sunshine February 10, 2009 at 3:47 pm

I think balance is a fictional concept,it is an illusion.We all wish for it,but can someone truly find it?We can try to reach it but even if we think we did,how can we be sure that we have achieved?

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luce February 10, 2009 at 12:08 pm

I am zoodiac’s Balance

Balance for me means search for equilibrium.

Lives duality as jin/jang, day/night, right/wrong, good/bad, wise/foolish….for me is not balance.

Balance in hand of Godess of Justice (sword as well).

Balance so difficult to reach and so easy to loose.

Love
Luce

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Viv February 10, 2009 at 10:17 am

a see-saw.

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austere February 10, 2009 at 7:59 am

A process.
A perpetual tilting of the scales.
Unnerving.Craxy. Edgy.
Till that finite point of equilibrium.

Yes, I’m Libran.

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marie-christine February 10, 2009 at 5:44 am

gravity
involves all the senses
hearing – ( equilibre )
gross and fine motor skills (eye and hand co-ordination)
tactile
emotional
olfactory
social skills
cognitive
linguistic

out of balance : the world

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Khushboo February 10, 2009 at 5:16 am

Balance:
That particular point, time where you, in your purest state just exist- where happiness or sadness, rich or poor, profit or loss – nothing matters. You just are!

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Nancy February 9, 2009 at 11:09 pm

Balance-placing another item on the opposite side so one side will not fall down. On Earth paying attention to the internal as much as the physical.

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Monika February 9, 2009 at 9:17 pm

A balance which is out of equilibrium is balancing between the extrems – but she knows it is only a matter of time she is in her equilibrium again.

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T.K. February 9, 2009 at 7:58 pm

Balance – I associate war with balance. A difficulty in maintaining peace.

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Pavlik February 9, 2009 at 4:39 pm

balance of life
jing/jang
point in the space – can’t be seen
everybody seeks it
its difficult to find this point
once you reached it, you can easily loose it
like walking on the edge

best situation – awaring to be in this point,and being glad to maintain in it…

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Mariëlle February 9, 2009 at 3:22 pm

I love everything about the balance! Live my life by the balance!

But even though I do believe in having a balance-day/judgement day at the moment of dying, I also think balance sorts things out even when alive.

When someone treats me horrible while knowing better, I just know justice will be done. And it’s not me that has to take revenge for that, it takes care of itself. And often that happens quick enough!

And when I treat someone (person/animal/anything alive) wrong myself, it does slap me back in the face, also often quite quickly.

I think if one sees that happening through his/her life, and LISTENS to it, most of the balancing is already done before dying, and one has nothing to worry about in the Final Judgement.
(Which isn’t Final anyway in my opinion… if we mess up in this life I think God sends us back to earth for a new life, with circumstances adjusted to what one did wrong in the previous life, to try again).

Lots of love,
Marielle

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Alexandra February 9, 2009 at 3:18 pm

Yeah,not original,but I think at the zodiacal sign.Is a sign that fits mine.Is true.
Otherwise,balance is the best thing in life.

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Candie February 9, 2009 at 2:35 pm

When I think of a balance,I think first of justice.Te star sign of course,although I do not know much about it.The good and the bad,just like you wrote last week about a person who has good and bad sides.Also about chemical balance that Mrs Dubois is evocking in her books.And the Tarot card of Justice of course.Also about how we need to balance things in our life,how we need to find the perfect amount of everything about ourselves and in our life.

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Laudy February 9, 2009 at 2:11 pm

Very interesting topic Paulo, I love it!

Perhaps one can look at balance as the weight, or the difference in life that one measures his/her destiny by. How much do you rely on fate or destiny alone, versus how much of it is fought for? Is it safer then to leave your life and destiny in the hands of the supreme being, or do you go out there and ‘make it happen’?

That is what I associate with The Balance.
Personally, I think it needs to be a perfect mix. My favourite line of all time is ‘Trust that you will be taken care of’, but at the same time, that each man is the architect of his own future… the balance must be perfect.

Much Love,
Laudy

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karen February 9, 2009 at 1:43 pm

BALANCE.
Balance would not exist if we did not have an incarnated world.
The base of this incarnated world is duality.
And because everything that exists is an expression of duality, including us, then balance becomes a reality and necessity.
Balance is the harmony within duality.
It is part of the alchemy that makes duality – or division – into a harmonious single, whole entity.
It is the gateway, the portal, to a higher level of existence, beyond duality.
I suppose Buhda was saying this, and so too Jesus.
Achieve balance, and the Gate to a greater, truer, reality will open to us – The Kingdom of Heaven, Nirvana.
Because duality is just the base, the beginning of a greater reality which is beyond duality.
I think God’s name is Mr God Paradox Almighty.
Address: Heaven, Universe.
Karen.

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marie-christine February 9, 2009 at 1:17 pm

Libra or balance – one foot on the right and one foot on the left – You described it quite well.Thank you. :D

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