Equanimity
“In sacred geometry, the octagon portrays evenness and stability.
In the mental realm, this comes, in part, from equanimity which provides the stability of not being thrown off center.
Any strong judgment or emotional reaction can create a kind of static that interferes with clarity or perception and evenness in the mind and emotional body. Equanimity is the result of not getting caught in these judgments and reactions.
It is the evenness that comes when we neither reject nor cling to the various mental or emotional states that arises.
Fear, resentment and doubt involve contraction. If you are sensitive enough, you may notice their effect in your body. At other times, you many recognize contraction only after it has released and you find yourself in a state that is restful, free and expansive.
Our focus is on acceptance of contraction as a part of life and the cultivation of equanimity to help us deal with uncomfortable states.Equanimity is not an enforced evenness created by flattening your emotions, nor is it a blurring of perceptions.
In equanimity, you are aware of your internal distress, but don’t react to it as much, because you have evenness inside.
Practicing equanimity doesn’t mean that you never get ruffled. You can be totally triggered by an event and yet handle that turmoil with equanimity by feeling your response moment to moment and letting it go. You can put space around it and not get so caught up in the content.
It is this breathing room that allows you to avoid reacting automatically and lets you decide which action is most skillful in a situation.
There are several ways to practice equanimity. One, is to look for the good in disagreeable conditions in your life; it is easier to accept them.
Another method is to step back and observe. With greater detachment, you gain perspective. You step out of the story and see the larger pattern created by the hills and valleys of your life.
A third practice is to observe the oscillation of contractive and expansive states in meditation or in the simple act of breathing.
You may notice that if you can be completely present with a contraction. The contraction will soften and relax into a more expansive state.
It is a natural rhythm: expansion follows contraction and contraction follows expansion.
The person with equanimity honors both.”
Willow Arlenea Jasmin Lee Cori
www.ettaenterprizes.com
