Bringing Balance

According to Ayurveda, the medical science related to yoga, there are three natures that act on and affect our minds - rajas, tamas and sattva. Rajas means activity, that constantly moving state of mind. Too much rajas creates an imbalance in our lives, and people ruled by rajas are chaotic, crave change and are averse to stability. Tamas, on the other hand, is the heaviness of inactivity. People overcome by tamas are dull, unmotivated and dark. Fortunately for us, sattva is the nature of balance. Sattva is a light, harmonious and virtuous nature. Sattva balances activity and rest, and brings us to a place of clarity and peace. In other words, sattva is a good thing!

Whenever I read about rajas, I can clearly recall times in my life when I have been on fire with activity - moving here, moving there, busy as a bee, never sitting still. While these were exhilirating moments, the pace always burned me out, very quickly leaving me irritable and depleted. My tamasic days also stick out - lazy, dull days which usually include the television, a bottle of wine and chocolate. My sattvic moments are altogether different. These are times when I feel plugged in to the flow of life. My heart feels expansive, my mind is alert but calm, and my outlook is light. I laugh out loud when I am by myself and easily interact with others. I feel a balance between rest and activity, work and play, alone time and time with those I love. This is where I want to live my life - in Sattvic Land!

I recently came across a list of ways to increase the sattva in one's life. This list was part of the book, "Essential Ayurveda" - by far the best Ayurveda book I have ever read. Included in this list are simple, very practical steps that can be incorporated into the way one lives her life. I recognize in this list the wisdom that the way to a happy life is not the more complicated route, but rather a return to the simple path. It's the coming home to what we already know to be true, but have forgotten. It is not the, "If I do this, then maybe I will feel happy," but rather the, "This makes me feel happy so I am going to do it."

Anyway, here's the list, exactly as it is written in Essential Ayurveda:

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1. Indulge in activities that bring you pleasure. When the mind is happy in itself, it wants to spread that joy among others.

2. Conversely, do not indulge in activities that build up toxic thoughts and feelings. Don't watch violent movies or read crime fiction in excess. Don't harbor a grudge.

3. Take time to do a good deed: make a child smile, spend time with an aged person, plant hope in an unhappy heart.

4. Take a balanced approach to your relationships; love but don't nag or cling. Give without expecting in return.

5. Treat yourself gently. Don't set yourself impossible deadlines and goals. Remember, when you look at life through the glasses of materialism, you don't get the true picture.

6. Let there be moderation in every aspect of your life, be it diet, sleep, exercise, sex, work or ambition.

These habits are not cultivated overnight. But if you are mindful of their sattva-enhancing value, you can make positive changes in your day to day behavior.
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I like this list because it addresses the priorities in my life. First and foremost - be in a good place personally. When thinking of what brings me pleasure, I admit that making my bed, using my electric toothbrush and spending time in my garden bring my great pleasure. Likewise, taking time to see my best friends, walk my dog and meditate also brings my amazing joy. If I take time to do the things that truly bring me pleasure, then I start from a place of gratitude and happiness in life.

Second, if I am mindful of what actitivities don't serve me, I can focus on those that do. For example, too much time on the internet saps me of motivation. Nights spent on the couch watching TV do the same. Sitting around worrying is a favorite self sabotaging past time that I try to avoid!

Next, every time I am at work, I have the opportunity to do every one of the good deeds that she mentions. I can make a sick child smile, spend a little extra time with my elderly patients who live alone and crave human contact, and I can reassure a chronically ill patient that they are not alone in dealing with their illness. I am so lucky to be able to do this a dozen times during every work day!

Of course, the author addresses relationships - both with others and with ourselves - and encourages moderation in all activities.

The list ends with the reassuring idea that change does not happen overnight, which made me laugh. I always try to make too many changes at once - blame my imbalanced rajas - and usually become overwhelmed with my inevitable failures. This book gave me permission to go slow in my assimilation of these ideas.

I want to end this post with a challenge to my friends. Pick one of the six items on the sattva list and make it your focus for a month. Write it in dry erase marker on your bathroom mirror, put a post it with this concept over your speedometer ... okay, maybe over your oil gauge! Put it on your cell phone or desk top home screen - whatever you need to do to be reminded of your sattvic goal for the month, do it! Take note of what this practice does for your state of mind. Be a living experiment of the most honorable kind and share the goodness that follows!

Love to you all!