If you are ready to enjoy a holistic lifestyle, a critical first step is achieving  balance in your mental dimension.

Not only does mental balance allow for greater clarity, it also brings an increased ability to flow with “what is” no matter what’s happening.

And, of course, mental clarity will help you achieve emotional and physical balance, both of which are essential for living a holistic lifestyle. 

Let’s take a look at how it all works.

The Power of Mental Balance

 

Did anyone ever tell you to “get out of your head?”

Presumably they believed you were stuck there allowing your mind to dominate the way you chose to deal with whatever challenges you faced at that time. 

They may also have been reminding you that living a holistic lifestyle means relying on more than one perspective. 

One alternative to staying stuck in your head is to engage the heart and emotions. But to do so, you must first acknowledge your heart’s importance and allow it to express itself. It may not communicate in words, but through images or feelings. Often hearing it “speak” requires patience and an open mind.

And of course, you must also stay in touch with your physical body, one that speaks in yet another kind of voice. 

For example, your body’s messages may come in the form of pain due to tense muscles. Or from the sense of relief that comes when you realize all is, in fact, well allowing you to let go of long held stress.

Regardless of the source of these messages, your mental dimension has a powerful role to play. It is your head that fields the messages and helps put them into words so you can understand them and use them to make informed choices.

If your mental dimension is imbalanced, it may mislead you based on old stories that are biased or distorted. On the other hand, the more balanced your mind, the more truthful the messages.

Awareness the Key to Mental Balance

Start your path to mental balance by bringing awareness to your thoughts. 

Chances are, on any given day, they run on a continuum from the most negative at one end to the most positive at the other.

At the negative end are regrets about what happened in the past like when you tell yourself “I can’t believe I did ____(fill in the blank).”

Maybe you spent a lot of money on something you later realized you didn’t really need or turned down a great job offer for reasons you now consider ill advised. Or maybe you now face a financial crisis and wish you had saved more money.

Blame is another kind of mental negativity. You may tell yourself “If only they hadn’t treated me this way,” or “I can’t believe they stood me up…again.”

You may also worry about the future, about things that haven't happened yet and more often than not, probably won’t. But you worry about them anyway.

At the positive end of the continuum are thoughts like, “I really handled that crisis well,” or “I love my job,” or telling a friend “you are amazing,” when they cross the finish line of a marathon.

Unfortunately, maintaining those positive thoughts can be a challenge.

In fact, on any given day, your thoughts can range from positive to negative and back again, sometimes more than once. Ultimately, though, your negative thoughts probably dominate (as they do for most of us). 

It requires awareness of your negative thoughts to catch them and shift them in a positive direction. When you do, you can enjoy all of the benefits that mental balance has to offer.

The Many Benefits of Mental Balance

Achieving mental balance in our negative dominant world requires that you remain consciously aware of your thoughts and continuously shift them in a positive direction. 

The resulting mental balance lets you enjoy:

• Heightened levels of self-awareness, in which you notice your thoughts, emotions and body along with your reactions to what’s happening in and around you.
• An understanding of the patterns that cause your imbalances so you can take steps to shift them early on before they lead to a crisis.
• The ability to adapt to life’s stresses and challenges by building resilience and the ability to flow with what’s happening moment to moment. This means you don’t just survive difficult times, but thrive and learn from them.
• Clarity of mind that enables you to assess situations objectively and make informed decisions based on input from your mind, your emotions and your body.
• Enhanced emotional control so you can avoid decisions driven by impulse.
• The ability to stay focused and concentrate on tasks for longer and longer periods of time, improving your productivity and your performance.
• Reduced mental clutter due to clearing your mind of unnecessary worries and thoughts so you can stay in the present moment.
• Quicker recovery from challenging experiences, reducing the long-term impact of stress. 
• Increased ability to navigate life’s ups and downs, so you can maintain stability even when times get tough.

How to Increase Mental Balance

Any one of the following can help you start on a path to achieving increased mental balance. Why not choose one and dive in?

1. First and foremost is meditation, because it is the most powerful balancing tool there is. Meditation helps your brain generate more positive thoughts making it a good way to start or end your day, or both.
2. Pay attention to your thoughts. When you notice they are negative, redirect them with positive, truthful statements (affirmations). Speak your affirmations out loud or silently to yourself.You can also listen to the affirmations on one of our powerful Sync Up meditation soundtracks. 
3. SyncUp uses Synchronicity® Sonic Technology to create a focused meditative state that opens your mind. Now you can receive these empowering affirmations at a deep level for increased effectiveness.
4. Take advantage of unexpected opportunities to redirect your thoughts. For example, repeat affirmations silently to yourself when standing in line or doing repetitive tasks like mowing the lawn, washing the dishes or driving to work.
5. Practice conscious breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation techniques and/or yoga, all of which can help you get out of your head and stay more grounded in your body.
6. Notice when experiences or thoughts bring up negative emotions. Then acknowledge them and let them flow on through rather than stifling them or staying stuck in them.
7. Spend time in nature, which is known for helping you reduce anxiety and restore mental balance.

Your Holistic Lifestyle Awaits

As you proceed on your path to mental balance, notice how your experience begins to shift.

Your thoughts become more positive as you spend more time in the present moment rather than in the past or the future.

With your new outlook you are less likely to get caught up in your own or other peoples’ dramas. You are calmer and less reactive, able to enjoy your life regardless of the challenges you face.

With less stress in your life your body is healthier and you are more focused and productive. You are more relaxed and you smile more. 

And you recognize that, no matter what happens, all is well.