The Five Priorities to Attaining Balance

By Rev. David-Uriel Ibarra, N.D., CHt, CBT, RMT
Originally written on October 24, 2006

Up to this point in my life, learning all that can be learned about life, love, happiness, as well as learning about the world of alternative health and wellness, I’ve come to realize that nature has a set of rules if not followed will create chaos in our lives. When we try to live life outside of nature’s rules we create circumstances that attract chaos into our lives. This chaos begs us to make lifestyle changes to bring our body, mind, and soul back into balance with nature. These life style changes may include the use of various types of healing modalities, which include reflexology, Reiki, massage, and Jin Shin Jyutsu®. When we don’t heed nature’s calling to eliminate chaos then this chaos manifest dis-ease within our bodies. To begin the process of attaining balance we first must know what our priorities are.

There are many priorities that we as humans feel are important and need to be addressed in our lives but the following are five that for me have emerged as most important in attaining balance in my life:

• Be mindful of self.

• Be aware of life within and around you.

• Honor yourself and others.

• Be in service to others.

• Take time out for reflecting on the day’s events.

Each of the priorities opens a door into knowing me and my brethren. In knowing myself I will know all others and in knowing others I know myself. This process helps us in being mindful of ourselves and being aware of life that exists around us here on Earth and in the universe. The journey of knowing thyself is the path to knowing the universe. So the first step in achieving greater balance is being mindful of self.

The second is being aware of life within and around you. Life provides wonderful and life altering lessons when we take the time to listen. Some of these lessons can be utilized in helping you and others at all levels of body, mind, and spirit. This priority can also create a sense of being one with all that is. Life teaches us how to live life to its fullest with minimal effort and maximum enjoyment.

The third step is honoring yourself and others, which includes the animal kingdom. Honoring yourself ranges from eating and drinking healthy, relaxing when your body says it’s time to relax, exercising for greater health and not for vanity, and taking time for playtime. In honoring yourself you become aware of other people’s needs. This leads us to the fourth step…being in service to others.

Being in service to others, which includes nature, allows us to exercise what we have learned about ourselves and pass it on to others. In educating others about our personal experiences we reinforce the lessons learned for ourselves. Finally, the last step in attaining greater balance in life is taking time out for reflecting on the day’s events.

When we reflect on the day’s events from the observer’s unbiased point of view we’re able to see where we were successful in achieving our goals and where we still need more work. We’re also able to see if our success is for the greater good of all or did it just serve the greater greed of self. When we see that there’s still a need for more work then we can begin to enact positive change. Hopefully, this change will produce positive fruits for the benefit of all, including self.

Chaos and disease, as well as methods of combating disease, has been prevalent throughout human history. But the real issue here is how to recognize when we begin to lose our balanced so we can then seek out the various healing modalities that help us attain and maintain balance. The key to recognizing when we’re losing our balance is first finding, and setting, our priorities in attaining balance within our lives, five of which I have stated in this article. Once our priorities are addressed then the process of attaining balance, as well as the road to healing, begins.

Blessings To All