Modern Day Macro-Part 4: Living in Balance
Woohoo! You've made it to the 4th and final installment on Modern Day Macrobiotics. In Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we explored the importance of keeping your body aligned with nature, the role of food and the concept of Complementary Opposites. Today, let's take it one step further and look at how aligning with our higher self is crucial for optimal health.
Most of us believe the term "medicine" refers to taking a pill to fix an ailment. I certainly bought into that for years, looking to fix an internal problem with an external solution. Modern Day Macrobiotic Medicine is a very different approach. It asks us to take out our magnifying glass and do the deep, uncomfortable, introspective work. It isn’t about fixing a health condition; it’s about living in balance. I am not claiming that macrobiotics will fix every ailment, but the philosophy does help us to identify which of our 5 Pillars is out of balance and address it. We are then able to align with our higher selves. This, ultimately, is what optimal health is all about.
As we previously discussed, aligning and balancing our health allows us to live in accordance with nature and the greater universe.
We are then able to live as our true selves without fear.
According to Osawa, the founder of Macrobiotics, the easiest way to see if we are out of balance is looking at three indicators. If we are in sync, we should have:
- Healthy energy without fatigue
- A good appetite for life
- Restful sleep
Looking at these three simple elements will help you as you address the imbalances in your life’s pillars. Eventually, you will intuitively know when you are not aligned and what needs to shift to return you to a balanced state.
I know I am out of balance then I don’t feel connected to myself, or I simply feel “stuck.”
Old School Macrobiotics is often frowned upon because of its rigidity, but the true tenets of the macrobiotic lifestyle are quite freeing. Casually stated, Modern Day Macro says:
Do and eat whatever you want as long as you remain in balance. To do this, align with your higher self. Tune into your body's needs. Quit silencing that voice.
When you listen to your higher self, you will eat as though you are a part of nature because you are! It won't feel like "trying." You will crave foods that are as close to nature as possible without having to think too much. And honestly, who wants to think all the time about their food choices?
Let's Dig Deeper.
Balance is more than food. Complementary opposites exist to balance more than our bodies, but the Universe as a whole. The Universe is created by matter and spirit. As complementary opposites, one cannot exist without the other. They are both essential in creating our experience. When we are not healthy and happy, we are violating the laws of the Universe and we are not free as we were meant to be.
Everything: plants, animals, mountains are free as they are part of the universe. As humans, we are also free, but we violate nature and are not free when we go against these principles. We are in a self-contained prison, unable to choose happiness. When we feel trapped or stuck, we can look within and heal ourselves whether that be our mind or bodies that need healing.
Often, an illness is a gift.
It is a spiritual assignment and an opportunity to look within. It can be an amazing chance to know ourselves on a deeper level and to address an imbalance that will lead us to optimal health and happiness.
For example, on the dark days when I feel confused and lost, I look within to heal myself so I can help others and feel joyful again. Thus, the dark is essential to the light. The yin and yang complement each other inside me.
It is your responsibility to yourself and others and the Universe to maintain balance.
I am grateful for the dark and the negative experiences as they served me and helped me to create light. Living in balance means you must have gratitude for the exact moment where you are in your journey and trust that it exists to serve you more deeply.
The Takeaway: Modern Day Macro is more than a way of eating. It offers us a way to live a joyful life and maintain feelings of happiness so that we can share it with others.