{"id":1010,"date":"2012-03-13T06:41:22","date_gmt":"2012-03-13T10:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=1010"},"modified":"2012-03-05T17:01:52","modified_gmt":"2012-03-05T22:01:52","slug":"balance-on-the-spiritual-path-waiting-to-see-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/03\/balance-on-the-spiritual-path-waiting-to-see-what-comes-next.html","title":{"rendered":"Balance on the Spiritual Path: Waiting to See What Comes Next"},"content":{"rendered":"

Equanimity is a key teaching in Buddhist practices. Teacher and Tibetan Lama, Sogyal Rinpoche often spoke of the skill of maintaining equanimity in all situations. This is a term not often used in the West. We fly between extremes, seeking extreme emotions through the news and entertainment. But maintaining balance in emotions, in the mental realm, in relationships and in spiritual aspirations is a way to move into a sphere of peace.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love this story to illustrate the power of equanimity. An old farmer who needs his horse to plow the land and grow crops discovers that his horse has disappeared. His neighbors lament for him, \u201cOh how terrible. You will have such hardship.\u201d The old farmer looked at them and simply said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d The horse returned with a mare and all the neighbors said, \u201cOh how lucky you are. You now have two horses.\u201d The farmer contemplated and said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d The farmer\u2019s son rode the feisty, new mare, fell off and broke his leg. \u201cOh how dreadful,\u201d the neighbors said. \u201cYou\u2019ll lose a hand to work the land.\u201d Again the farmer shrugged and said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d Finally some soldiers came to the farmer\u2019s house looking for army recruits. When they saw the son\u2019s broken leg, they let him be.<\/p>\n

The farmer never got bent out of shape regardless of the events that befell him. He did not become overly ecstatic or terribly upset. He maintained equilibrium. As a practice it means thinking before reacting and remaining anchored in the Divine.<\/p>\n

Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Equanimity is a key teaching in Buddhist practices. Teacher and Tibetan Lama, Sogyal Rinpoche often spoke of the skill of maintaining equanimity in all situations. This is a term not often used in the West. We fly between extremes, seeking extreme emotions through the news and entertainment. But maintaining balance in emotions, in the mental…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10,4,26,125,3],"tags":[346,345,97,636],"class_list":["post-1010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-spiritual-practice","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-sogyal-rinpoche","tag-story-of-equanimity"],"yoast_head":"\nBalance on the Spiritual Path: Waiting to See What Comes Next - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/03\/balance-on-the-spiritual-path-waiting-to-see-what-comes-next.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Balance on the Spiritual Path: Waiting to See What Comes Next - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Equanimity is a key teaching in Buddhist practices. 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