What are your views about 'being centered?

Ummm, I don't actually think about it in those terms too much, although I do use my breathing to help me focus on the now when I feel scattered, dispersed, unbalanced. Mostly I just pay attention to the way I feel, and when I catch myself thinking about things that don't make me feel good, I look for a more harmonious approach to the subject at hand, or I simply change the direction of my thoughts to a topic that gives me greater pleasure, in some cases I have to physically remove my body from certain environments! One of my favorite 'mantras' is a bit from Louise Hay's 'You Can Heal Your Life' CDs which is just 'All is well in my world'. It's AMAZING how that one sentence can change my perception of life! On the other hand, when I was living in a motor home in California, with cops knocking on my door at all hours of the night to tell me I had to move my vehicle, that I was not allowed to sleep in it on city streets, and I had no money to get back home and no idea what I was going to do, it was a little harder to believe that all was well! I look back now and I can see how it was all part of the adventure, and helped me tremendously to identify what I wanted, but then I was too caught up in the drama of the moment, and definitely not 'centered'. Hehehe. It also is important for me to have nature around me - flowing water, trees, fresh air. Living in a city I can become very out of balance, with all the commotion and noise of traffic and other people's thoughts floating thick in the air, and such limited physical space.

Never thought of it before I guess I am always centered to get through all things I should write more but dont know what to say more about it hugs and blessings

‘Being centered’ essentially looks like being ‘focused’,’ never lose your objective’ to me. At first this is what came to mind. This is far as getting along with one’s own duties and goals in life. This is a real in-depth topic and normally whenever I read some of your topics and I start responding I do it with a bit of diffidence because I doubt if I can bring absolute clarity to such a complex topic.Anyhow,I do try and then at the end of it I feel happy. As I read through your topic twice I just tried to grasp the central idea and what struck me was the theme to balance oneself, never get muddled by clouded prejudices or biased emotional thinking. Even in a work environment, in a career growth path this is easier said than done because one’s desires come to play and desires make a person take wrong decisions. Objectivity is what is called for in any situation. Now, .soon after I read your topic I was only reminded of Vivekananda’s detachment to the effect’ and ‘work for the sake of work’ [From his discourse on Bhagavad-Gita]This is most relevant in a work scenario. This I guess is what is also elaborated by Thomas Crum .From what I understand—essentially it is the case of Arjuna [from the famous Indian epic Mahabharata’— -Once Arjuna was given lessons in archery. All other students were there and the guru pointed out to a parrot on a tree and the student had to shoot it with an arrow... Each student was summoned and asked GURU What can you see? ’Now each of them answered in the following way STUDENT 1, I can see the sky, the tree, the, parrot. STUDENT 2 I can see the blue sky, the parrot. STUDENT 3 I can see the branches and the parrot. STUDENT4 I can see the leaves and the Parrot. STUDENT5 I can see the parrot. Next came Arjuna— Here is the conversation GURU Arjuna, can you see the sky? ARJUNA-No respected sir. GURU-Can you see the tree? ARJUNA- No respected sir. GURU-Can you see the branches? ARJUNA- No respected sir. GURU. Can you see the leaves? ARJUNA- No respected sir GURU-Can you see the parrot? ARJUNA- No respected sir GURU Then what are you able to see? ARJUNA—I can see ONLY the parrot’s eye sir. It is legendary that Arjuna is the greatest warrior and an expert archer. known for his dedication and non-deviation from his objective This is focus of the first order. “With center the mind, body and spirit merge and passion and commitment unleash in a force that cannot be contained.” Thomas Crum essentially means that when a person is focused like Arjuna [the focus on the ultimate object/objective] all his thoughts, deeds, decisions, are all towards this without losing the central idea whatsoever. The determination within him drives him to achieve his goal and no obstacles can come in his way. [My son would love reading this book I am sure] Secondly when you have mentioned that this is a spiritual experience,’ ‘that occurs when one's attention and awareness form a bridge between the outer experiences and the inner core of your being. From this place it is easier to ..."live in this world but not of it" and maintain a sense of balance while going through the most daunting experiences.’ you are talking about the ‘objectivity’ in any situation that arises out of logical thinking. You look at everything with a detached eye as a spectator would do with no other personal involvement. You watch a game and you admire or criticize a player for an admirable or wrong stroke Life is an ongoing game and we are all players. We should look at all the events that come and go as different scenes. While it is easy to understand all this, let me tell you, Raia, it is very difficult for us, emotional human beings. I know you have gone through a lot and this would have hardened you a lot. Being exposed to a lot of trauma and hurt hardens a person and brings this objectivity automatically in a few cases. I myself feel this way these days though I have a long way to go. But one thing that I have seen is that people do achieve it [even with fewer traumas] and these are less emotional beings and they have had that sort of upbringing. these people have very limited desires and expectations from life. They are like yogis with a lot of detachment, just going through the motions of life with no great expectations, but have firm faith in God There are others who have had a fairly simple and uncomplicated life who are unable to live ‘off’ this world. I personally feel, a lot of all this is directly proportional to the level of attachment one has, to one’s desires and expectations from life. Ultimately we come to the same conclusion—to find the centre one must lose all attachment. This attachment is not only to people but to one’s desires, emotions, expectations, this is what you say ‘..."live in this world but not of it". This is as far as maintaining your mental equilibrium [which you had mentioned by that resorting to yoga, meditation etc.]. Your concluding paragraph is propounded as the remedy to all ills by any sensible person. I hope to get it. in fact you won’t believe it ,I was telling my husband a few days back that the day I get rid of my emotional thinking and answer in a cool , objective way to a person , would be the day I have achieved success in life. While I elaborated I am a bit unsure of the ‘centre’ which Thomas Crum has elaborated. Is it with relevance to one’s goal in life or one’s emotional and spiritual well being? I guess it is a combination [like what it is given in the Bhagavad-Gita?]-only reading the whole book can throw light on this, I guess. So, these are my thoughts on your topic and I am happy that I wrote something to my satisfaction today.

Well... you could look at it this way... Each one of us build our own life around values we believe in and cherish. We also have a set idea about our likes and dislikes. All of those form a building block. Almost like a fortress. It makes us individuals... different from everybody else... and we won't allow anyone else in unless they agree with and respect who we are. So yes... we are all centered around our particular believes and values. And when someone attempt to attack our fortress... you have war, argument, fight and divorce.

No matter what faith you embrace, I think this is a problem with today's society. I'm an oldster here, I guess. When I was kid, the focus was always supposed to be God first, family second, and everything else after that. Even for those who don't believe in God, the importance of latching onto something beyond one's self seemed to be the most important thing. We were taught that to get into a good college, one had to show balance in life - a balance of family, church, school activities. It's not surprising to me that centering and balance are terms that are used frequently in self-help books and seminars. In today's busy world, everyone needs to learn to slow down and take some time for him/herself.

I love the statement that "it is easier to live in this world but not of it" when you come from a place of centerdness. This is very true and what I am striving for at the moment. One way that I center myself is by living in the now. Sometimes it takes a little practice but when I am in a chaotic situation or a stressful one nothing helps me more than taking a deep breath and just being in the now and accepting it for what it is and then moving on to the next moment. It doesn't take a lot of time and effort but seems to help me out a lot.

Hi Perspectives, This subject is bound to be limited by ambiguity in the absence of definitions. As for harmony of mind, body and spirit, it seems to me that the three are intimately and unavoidably layered around the core essence of being, so IMO the notion of centrality loses something when referenced to that framework. I would think that our place in the world, or our understanding of it, has a bearing on our ability to accomplish whatever purpose we set ourselves. Moreover, where we perceive ourselves to be may also influence where we desire to go. So I'd be inclined to regard the concept of "centrality" as a metaphor for recognizing our position relative to our ambitions, and our faculties for dealing with it, at any point on our path through life. The closer the correlation between perception, reality and our abilities to deal with it, the more "centered" one's life may be.

The word centered comes up in politics here a lot.so for me Centered means to me that you are neither far right or far left.In other words right down the middle. I never really thought of it as a character trait. i know there are people who care calm during a crisis.And there are others who Never get too excited or depressed but I never thought of them as centered. But I guess they are.I am not. I have a hair trigger temper. And I love it.i wouldn't want to be too centered that I couldn't be happy or angry.

Hello Raia. I'm glad that you're back Mylotting. Ok, first things first. I'll try to share my views on this topic. Yet again, another challenging one. Though, I'm feeling a little out of my depth here because I'm not sure if I have the right words.Oh, and I liked the conversation you've had with Kalav. It was very informative. My family is experiencing our own emotional storms. But we all do our best to not be swept away. For me, being "centered" simply means to not lose focus. And yes, you're right, it's not an easy thing to do. There are times though that when we "stray" from that center, it can be damaging. I'm saying this based on what my family are going through right now. Sometimes, when I feel that I'm so close to being away from my "center", I do two things. Pray and give myself a little "pep talk". I pray when I feel I can't bear it anymore. The feeling of being a stranger to myself. As if I don't know who I am anymore and sometimes questioning myself, why am I still breathing and what is my purpose? When I pray, I usually do the second one afterwards. I tell myself that there will always be problems, and no living creature doesn't have one. And that my problems may be just a minor thing compared to others. And most of all, I tell myself that if I had survived the other problems before, what reasons do I have for giving up now? Those two things help me pull back on track. I'm happy to say that despite what my family's going through right now, I'm still at my center. At peace. I'm at the eye of the raging storm.

Hi Raia, You always start such interesting discussions! I'm not sure if I really understand the concept of 'centeredness', or 'being centered', but after reading your discussion a couple of times, I felt that I wanted to comment. To "live in this world but not of it" speaks to me, of living an experience, but at the same time being able to observe that you are having the experience. I think that centeredness must come from within, so in the same sense we are always aware of what is happening. Connecting with our inner self would help bring balance into every situation. Blessings.

I have been puzzling over this all morning and I keep coming back to balance. I think for me that is the key to remaining centred. I believe that we are body mind and spirit and that to remain centred it is important not to concentrate too much on one area at the expense of others. Generally I try to keep focus as much as possible through the bad times as well as the good. I try not to dwell on the negative aspects of a bad situation but rather remember the good things I still have such as family and health. I was recently given a prayer card with a picture of a rose and the words "Some people complain that roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses" I think this is a view that I have generally held throughout my life and thinking about it helps to keep me focused and centred. Similarly I do not take the good times for granted either. I try to live in the moment and absorb everything I can from it so that I can draw on it in times of need to remind me that there are good times to be had too. I suppose for me life is something of a see saw that I try to keep stable but when one side tips I do my best to bring my side back into balance through prayer, positive thinking and positive action.

I have to say that whenever life gets to be too much and it has lately in some respects, I meditate. If I don't meditate or miss a day, I seem to be way off instead of just a little off. So that is really important to me. I also write in my journal or write anything anywhere just to point my mind in a different direction or take some of the stress or hurt away. Those 2 things have always worked for me and continue to do so. Without them, I would be a mess. :)

I have read your post and got myself thinking about being centered. I think being centred is about sticking to your core values that you learn over the time in your life. Most people think centred as creating the balance but its about sticking to your values.

as a practising witch we centre before casting our circle for spells and also for relaxation too. I use my crystals/stones, music and meditation and deep breathing. I think it is important to do this as our lives are increasingly very hectic.