I was shocked recently when I read about a man on a bus in Canada who suddenly pulled out a knife and for no apparent reason stabbed a young man next to him to death. Then he gutted him and cut his head off. After which he taunted police with the head and apparently ate some of the man he killed before being arrested.

Often it can be difficult to see how spiritual views and pursuits that aim towards states of peace, joy, love, happiness and compassion can be reconciled with the very dark and heavy bombardment we all receive from the media of terrible things that occur daily around the world.


Firstly of course the news is largely one sided. Love and compassion are not very sensational to the world. Such things are unlikely to grip the regular news junkie. And so there isn’t very much money in presenting a balanced account of the world’s happenings.

That aside, what about the very terrible things that undeniably are happening? Let me tell a little story. There was a very rich person who was a follower of a certain guru. One day the rich person asks the guru – I have a great deal of wealth and I see so many poor people suffering through their lives. Should I give all my money away to ease their suffering? The guru replied – No, right now there may be 20 poor people suffering but if you give your money away in their aid there will only then be 21 people suffering. You will only add to the suffering of the world.

The point is – when one sees suffering and pain in the world if one responds only with suffering oneself, such as by getting depressed, then one is only adding to the suffering of the world. Those who suffer should be lifted up out of suffering. One should not go down from a higher level to a lower because then there is just more people in a lower state and more suffering. Rather one should use one’s current state to bring those who are lower up out of suffering to a higher level of being.

This philosophy is the driving force behind BalancedExistence.com. I have experienced what is possible first hand. At the beginning of this year (2008) I went through what you might call a health revolution. I have always been health conscious to some degree or another. Thanks to a number of excursions into poor health. I had major open-heart surgery to close a hole in my heart when I was seven years old. Shortly after I started lifting weights. By the time I was seventeen I had been suffering from debilitating migraines daily for a number of years while trying to do well in high school. Doctors just advised me to take painkillers when the migraines came on. After consulting with a naturopath I found out I was allergic to just about every food you could imagine. Once I eliminated foods such as wheat, chicken, yeast, milk and about a hundred other things the migraines abated.

In the second part of this article I will continue with my own personal story of health battles and personal growth. I’ll show you how through your own personal transformation you can skillfully and positively have an impact upon those closest to you and the world at large.


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