The magic of BALANCE and the empathy of PERSPECTIVE are two of my most-effective tools for life’s essential work…
Check out this summary (ABSTRACT) of a very interesting study that shows what psychedelic medicines can do for our world!
ABSTRACT
The psychedelic experience (including psychedelic-induced ego dissolution) can effect lasting change in a person’s attitudes and beliefs. Here, we aimed to investigate the association between naturalistic psychedelic use and personality, political perspectives, and nature relatedness using an anonymous internet survey. Participants (N = 893) provided information about their naturalistic psychedelic, cocaine, and alcohol use, and answered questions relating to personality traits of openness and conscientiousness (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), nature relatedness (Nature Relatedness Scale), and political attitudes (one-item liberalism-conservatism measure and five-item libertarian-authoritarian measure). Participants also rated the degree of ego dissolution experienced during their “most intense” recalled psychedelic experience (Ego-Dissolution Inventory). Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that lifetime psychedelic use (but not lifetime cocaine use or weekly alcohol consumption) positively predicted liberal political views, openness and nature relatedness, and negatively predicted authoritarian political views, after accounting for potential confounding variables. Ego dissolution experienced during a participant’s “most intense” psychedelic experience positively predicted liberal political views, openness and nature relatedness, and negatively predicted authoritarian political views. Further work is needed to investigate the nature of the relationship between the peak psychedelic experience and openness to new experiences, egalitarian political views, and concern for the environment.
BALANCE:
I am still learning to master the Balancing Act (to remain in a state of productive joy) by practicing some of my favorite strategies that work well for me: I focus on trying to maintain a Balanced mind/body/spirit practice with a productive approach, which is essentially:
1. By teaching myself to be methodical/habitual about always doing at least one thing on my priority list, 24/7/365 (that essentially means aggressively weeding out time spent on non-priority things), AND
2. By teaching myself to avoid neglecting or overdoing any priority list item/items, AND
Whenever i have failed at using these strategies, the result is “Koyaanisqatsi,” or “life out of balance”. The constant balancing act of being productive and efficient (at sticking to doing as much as i can from my priority list) while simultaneously balancing all the things on my priority list is essentially my only job, and is a life-long learning process. One way of describing this job/goal/practice is “Always make the most of every moment.” or, as the Adbusters campaign puts it: “Live without dead time”, or *My mantra: “Live each moment to its fullest potential!”
Balance is a wonderful place located somewhere in between Neglect and Excess. This reminds me of the Goldilocks concept of “Neither too much nor too little, but just the right amount…” So, in order to achieve Balance, i need to be clear on my priorities and be disciplined to avoid wasting energy or time on non-priorities.
Productivity without overkill: I love being both productive (=get shit done) and happy/healthy (=joy), so i am grateful that i have learned that it would be counterproductive (and likely stressful) to over-do or neglect any life priorities. With these three powerful tools in my tool chest (prioritizing, weeding, and balancing my activities), the tools neatly support each other in a regenerative healthy cycle. And related to all this Balancing work, is my other favorite tool: Perspective…
“Don’t think too much about it.”
– Marina Del Artemis
PERSPECTIVE:
One of my most important favorite learnings is that there are an infinite number of possible perspectives (or ways of looking at/interpreting) any situation. My perspective will always be different from anyone else’s. With this in mind, i remember that my unique way of seeing/interpreting an occurrence, event, interaction, or situation is limited and should remain flexible. Remember: DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK! Understanding the nature of perspective has helped me to be open-minded and accepting, which helps me with my top four personal goals: learning, being humble, being graceful, and being of service to other people/the world.
All four of these goals often involve working towards being able to effortlessly let go of my perspective and being able to effortlessly accept a new/different perspective as valid, even if i don’t fully understand it or even if i disagree with it. When i can pull this off and really honor a new/different/disagreeable perspective, it really helps me with learning, humility, grace, and being of service, so it’s just as important to me as staying in Balance, and indeed it is part of mastering Balance, and Balance is part of understanding Perspective.
These are some of the things that help me gain more of a Balanced Perspective and to Accept Alternative Perspectives throughout life:
1. My main mantra: Be OK with What Is. (abbreviated BOKWWI) This is a crucial ingredient for my personal Peace of Mind, even when things are difficult or running late or not working out as planned/desired. I try to accept what is real/true and what happens, by believing/remembering that most things are really not in my control. One aspect of this practice is to find ways to “Make the Most” of even the most difficult situations. *Another way i like thinking of this is that “Shit Happens”, and i always have the choice of Smearing it on myself and/or others, OR the choice of Composting it into a nutritious growth medium.
I think the practicing of having an “Abundance Mentality” is one of the keys to being “OK with what is”, because when i really remember/focus on the many abundant blessings of life, the difficult shit that happens seems like no big deal. Also, the practice of Not Taking Things Personally (as already mentioned a bit) is a big part of being OK With What Is. In fact, i’d say they both facilitate/support each other in a regenerative cycle.
Food For Thought: I believe that BOKWWI is the single most effective tool for Avoiding Stress, and it is amazingly powerful and consistent in that regard. BOKWWI reminds me that stress will only make challenging situations more difficult to handle, solve, and Move Beyond. I’m feeling on the edge of stress fairly often these days, but i believe i have been able to work my way into a pattern/system of staying on the no-stress side of that edge (largely due to BOKWWI) instead of finding myself over that edge, which would result in me feeling like situations are dismal and/or out of control, and therefore too overwhelming to solve or transform.
In this world, i believe it is easy to go to a place of stress, and i can usually recognize my slide and bail myself out ASAP (using BOKWWI), which allows me to get back to the state of being a joyful bliss puppy
I have mentioned “Relax and Trust”, which is essentially BOKWWI. Bobby McFerrin offers us what is perhaps the best-known and loved version of BOKWWI, which is “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, a powerful mantra for many. And, of course, there are several other common BOKWWI-related memes, such as: “Go With the Flow,” and “I’m Easy” and “Everything is Going to be Alright”, and “Don’t Stress it”, etc. When i effectively practice BOKWWI, i am feeling “easygoing”, or ”laid back” (and hopefully coming off that way to those around me), and that helps me avoid conflict and stress SO MUCH! Avoiding stress and conflict is essential to maintaining my deep well of joy.
2. Avoid having expectations. I have found that for me, plans & desires are inspiration and fuel, which inherently catalyze evolution (and thus do not set myself up for failure/disappointment, as my plans and desires reliably change as unpredictable reality unfolds). Whereas, on the other hand, when i have expectations i tend to set myself up for a hard swallow/frustration/stress, and in the worst case scenario: the dreaded ANGER– (yuck/oops, but anger is OK too!)… After all, we know life often seems to be unpredictable, so we might as well expect the unexpected! So, i guess my goal is to have only one expectation in life, which is that i expect unexpected things will happen, including an unpredictable diversity of (often unexpected) perspectives .
Food for thought: If i truly have no expectations, is it impossible for anything to be “unexpected” to me… or is everything “unexpected” to me? (or neither, or both?)
*It seems that #1 and #2 here (Being OK With What Is, and Avoidance of Expectations) are similar, intertwined, and mutually supportive.
3. Never underestimate the Power of a Positive Vision (this is my other main mantra): To me, this is pretty much the same concept known as the Law of Attraction. I am working on training my mind to see any situation with a positive view, or at least to remember the desired and possible positive ways a difficult situation can be transformed or simply accepted (which is Being OK with What Is). Practicing a Habitual Positive Vision, combined with a sincere BOKWWI Attitude is perhaps the most powerful and effective direct path to Joy and Wellness, IMHO!
4. Feeling and Expressing Gratitude: For me, Gratitude is like the icing on the four-layer cake of Learning, Being Humble, Being Graceful, and Being of Service! Mantra: I am so grateful for all of life’s blessings! Gratitude is a gift/offering that comes back exponentially, as it fosters Kindness, Sharing, and Love. Gratitude = Health = Joy. …And Karma belongs in there somewhere too.
Food For Thought: (Some Relevant Favorite Quotes)
“I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.”
-Rosa Parks
“Lose your mind and come to your senses.”
-Fritz Perls
“Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.”
-MLK 1968 (the day before his assassination)
“Suffering is unnecessary. Compassion removes suffering.”
-Buddha
“Being Indian is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings. It is allowing the heart to be the distributor of energy on this planet; to allow feelings and sensitivities to determine where energy goes; bringing aliveness up from the Earth and from the Sky, putting it in and giving it out from the heart.”
– Brooke Medicine Eagle
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In summary, i guess, for me, the recipe for joy/wellness is: The Balanced Use of My Precious Time, A Balanced Perspective, Self-Care, and strong Resiliency. These practices are multifaceted (as briefly and partially explained above (and on the Resilience page of this web site), and they seem to very effectively bring me closer to consistently living/achieving my main life goals, which are having deeply-rooted habits of humility, grace, generosity, service, gratitude, and being a life-long learner. Sounds like fun! – And that’s really the purpose of all this work and this short life… (fun = joy = love = me = us = we-are-all-one!)
I love you deeply.
Namasté, Munko