Psychological Balance: 6 Points

Working through these more basic analogies allows a more abstract range of analogies as well. In the last post, I began talking about psychological balance, using physical balance as a comparison. And while I knew I was getting at something in talking about differences in how an Olympic lifter, a basketball player, and a ballerina would balance, I hadn't really formulated a clear sense of what I meant by those differences. (Sometimes these things are too obvious/"intuitive"/nonconscious/fundamental to put into words or clear concepts.)

Of course, these different athletes will have different body maps and muscle memories due to different body types and training. I'm currently working on a fascinating book: THE BODY HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN.

Alright, so if we look at what influence mindfulness has on one's psychological self-image, we get some amazing possibilities. Jon Kabat-Zinn's proposed definition of mindfulness is--paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. The interesting thing is that mindful purpose is based in physical awareness. This is a significant point, so if there is disagreement, I'd suggest reading the body map book.

If, in the course of one's meditation, one maintains awareness but allows purpose to drop out, strange things can happen. If one meditates without an intentional purpose, there is a really fascinating opening. In the same way that humans have the fascinating ability to conceive of psyches or souls that are not body-bound, we can further experience awareness that is not psyche-bound or tied directly and obviously to our sense of self, psyche, soul, etc. If I define mindfulness as, "Individual or localized awareness that is neither grasping nor aversive," that gives a stripped-down version in comparison to Kabat-Zinn's. (And we can use a different word for this if folks like Jon's definition for "mindfulness".)

Here's the jump. Kids who are about 2-5 years old correctly make a distinction between walkers and "babies". Walkers know themselves as "big kids" even if they toddle rather than moving smoothly. From the perspective of crawlers, walking would be pretty impressive if the crawlers could conceptually formulate that thought. And maybe they can--not my area of expertise. But imagine that first time when you're taking first steps--no longer bound by your whole body to the floor. Imagine how much more you could see--like being twelve feet tall or able to fly! Of course, it will take time to learn how to utilize your newfound ability to balance and move like this, but it is a wonderful process involving many spills along the way.

Psychologically, there is a similarly HUGE transition from how we normally identify--from normal self identity--when we take the perspective of individual or localized awareness that is neither grasping nor aversive. In the same way that our bodies are constantly adjusting physical balance (maintaining our normal routine of physical balance), our psyches or psychological habits are doing the same with our self identity. Once this neither grasping nor aversive perspective (and it is a limited perspective, but a less habitually limited perspective) becomes familiar, we can still "crawl", but we are unable to go back to the blissful ignorance of being "babies". At this point, being bound to the ground--in this case, habitual personalities--becomes a frustration unless we are playing at it. And for all the newfound glory in being "big", the frustration is like psychological toddling--we haven't really developed much grace with our new perspective, so there is much farther to go.

A very obvious example of this is provided in the 2005 movie "Revolver", with Jason Statham. As long as there is an identification as a persona or personality, there is a Shadow. When the identification doesn't occur, all the same physical and psychological tendencies remain (vasanas, habits, training), but there is possibility of a new sense of balance.