Everything in moderation, including moderation!

There is a lot of peace and contentment to be found in balance. Living a spiritual life does not necessarily mean living a ascetic life! It is good to enjoy good wine, great chocolate, beautiful clothes with texture and form that feel good on the body, pampering, exercise, money flow... And yet, one should not overly focus on any one of these life's enjoyments for overindulgence brings a lack of balance - even overindulgence in meditative states!

You come out of centre when your life is all play and no work or the other extreme; when you overspend without the means to pay your bills; when you overeat or drink too much without any form of exercise; when you study too much without experiencing; when you are more in the spiritual realm through meditation or prayer and forget that you are living a physical existence; when you worry so much about others and you give so much of yourself and you forget or refuse to receive help, love and time-outs...

Moderation is a spiritual discipline. It allows you to enjoy everything life has to offer, without guilt or shame. As long as you don't let the sensual experiences overrun your good sense, you'll find life more robust and round - like a good red wine (cabernet franc?) followed by dark chocolate... (you know where my preferences are).

Many people who consider themselves "spiritual" tend to develop very narrow mindsets and unknowingly separate themselves from the One Love. They make such statements as "You should never drink coffee", or "Everyone should be vegetarian", or "You have to meditate 2 hours a day, or else"... They become so rigorous in applying their spiritual discipline and because it's a lot of work they start to believe that only their way is the right way, and those who don't have the same point of view are wrong. They start judging others, or because self-righteous. And when they miss their routine they feel all out of sorts because they have become dependant on the routine rather the the flexible flow of life and energy. They can feel headaches, body pains and anxiety if they miss their carefully set-up routine... those withdrawal symptoms are the same as for those coming off narcotics or coffee!

Life is about living, and having fun while we're learning our lessons. It's not about being perfect. Life won't always be pleasant and some lessons are tougher than others, but if we restrict our experience of life through our thinking and our judgements, we are doing ourselves a disservice and making life even more difficult for our soul. Nature is so bountiful and beautiful; it's by exploring and experiencing that we can find what works for us - and our own individual path might not be like everyone else's.

Honour yourself, your needs and your desires. Align yourself with Spirit and flow with its adapting energy. Bite into life and let that morsel melt in your mouth as you breathe and smile... Instead of chanting "OM", you might chant "YUM" today, just for fun.