‘Clarity. We just return over and over to this calm, unpressured Blue Sky Mind. We begin to see that it is always there, even when apparently obscured by passing clouds.” – Ta Hui

As an experience, a state of perfect balance resonates closely with this vast, serene and simple state of the ‘Blue Sky Mind’. Like the blue sky, it is light and bright. The lighter we carry ourselves, the more aligned we are in the present.

However, as simple and clear as this state is, it is hard for us to reach or sustain it. Either too much force or a slackening, and we lose our balance. The hurried step, the raised voice, a tension in the body, and the pressure is too much. Or else, becoming too relaxed and inattentive so as to sink into a heavy sleep. What is more, an effort that might have been appropriate at an earlier time may no longer ring true as one continues with inner work. 

Training for Agility

“You on trembling scales, forever changing.” – Rilke

The acrobat or the dancer trains himself day after day, week after week, over years, to become agile, flexible and strong. They train and practice individual groups of muscles, and when the moment arrives, all their daily drills come together. They can set themselves to every change in beat or rhythm. Spiritual work, similarly, involves keeping pace and making adjustments to the needs of the moment. The student focuses and practices on a little bit at a time, and higher forces guide one’s direction of efforts. One cannot afford to get static. It takes the utmost courage to embrace the shifting, unknown nature of the Work. Much that is unnecessary is shed as one goes along. A place for not-knowing must come before we establish a new balance on a lighter scaffolding.  

In Perfect Balance Turning

“Like a wheel in perfect balance turning, I felt my will and my desire impelled by the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.” – Dante

If we develop a steward in this work, it performs much of the effort to maintain an inner balance The steward decides how to spend one’s time and energy. He monitors the activities of the lower centers and keeps them healthy to support higher centers. He tries to be consistent and in good householder, and makes efforts to complete octaves. But even when all these efforts seem right, sometimes they do not add up. Routines become regimented; we miss seeing the magic in the daily miracles around us, or we are not open enough. The nine of hearts and the steward now have to learn new lessons, go deeper, and tune in once again to the changing  needs of essence presence as it grows inside us. Balance comes only when the higher centers are alight with lightness of joy and conscious love.   

Radhika Shah is a writer in India, and a student of the Fourth Way for several decades. See her earlier article for FourthWayToday.org at https://fourthwaytoday.org/who-am-i/.