Get Your Hands On Gesture Of Balance: A Guide To Awareness, Self-Healing, Meditation Conceived By Tarthang Tulku Available As Textbook

you ever let yourself be totally UNPLUGGED Do you remember those times when youve just dropped EVERYTHING And let ALL the stress fall away

Thirty years ago in a frantic office, this easytoread Tibetan author gave me a real and vivid sense of what it means to have real peace in ones life.
And I fondly remembered having had that feeling before, . .

Much farther back, when I was twentythree, after graduation I had worked in an ultramodern office.
It wasnt downtown, though, and it was close to a large, undeveloped parcel of experimental farmland in which government scientists developed new methodologies for enhancing crop development.


And in that green oasis was an arboretum, a showcase for indigenous Canadian trees and shrubs.


As it was a quick and easy walk from my office building, I often took my lunch there on a halcyon day.
I sat on a hill overlooking the groves of trees, and the canal beyond in wintertime, those hills were open to the public for the amusement of junior tobogganers and delved peacefully into my lunch bag.


My reveries were totally uninterrupted, save by birdsong until, at:a Canadian National Railways train roaring through the woods below would punctually emit a loud whistle, telling me it was time to return to work.
. .

You know peace is an amazing thing!

I say is, because with the advance of old age, the presence of peace seems to be ancillary to the lettinggo of inner turmoil that happens when we choose to age NATURALLY.


From my reading, I know that this GOOD kind of seniors moment was commoner in old days.
I find it all the time inthcentury writers,

People followed the rhythms of nature back then, And we may not know it, says Tulku, but the whole brash crowd of our modern dreads and anxieties is like a drop of water in a deep pool of eternal silence, or a speck of dust in a vast expanse of space.
They saw that clearly in the old times, Now that Im elderly I see that too,

But Tulku, bless him, gave me a sneak preview of that slowmo pace of retirement in thes.
. . when I was busier than a solo wallpaper hanger! He suggests there are vast expanses of untapped empty space in our minds.
He calls it in another book Great Space, Inner freedom.

We Christians call it the freedom of the Spirit, A peace beyond comprehension.

Now, it may be that when we are young were not quite ready for that.
And thats understandable, but when in later life your experiences have beaten you up enough, it may be high time to reconsider.


I think all of us often get the sense, as we age, of time STANDING STILL.
Thats what Tulku talks about,

This is not the inner emptiness of an Alzheimers patient, either, Thats scary. This is not.

Its what Peter Kreeft so aptly calls Doors in the Wall of the World,

It is the natural fruit of a long life lived in unobtrusive gentleness this moment without selfconsciousness or anxious memories.


And yet so many of us are constantly trying to oneup the other guy to go to subtler and more cuttingedge levels of thinking.
Faster and faster. Hamsters on a treadmill. Well, its gotta stop, or else itll drive us to an early grave!

You know, there is a REAL alternative to the speed and aggression that is so prevalent in this winnertakesall world.
. . And Tulku tells us how to find it SO naturally!

By driving away the blockages of tootoosolid selfconsciousness and selfimportance.


How else are we going to live in all that empty space thats ahead of us when we die

Better get used to it, and expand and enrich that fertile vacant space in our heads while were here!

His way of meditation can do that.


We CAN live in the midst of Peace, . .

WITHOUT AGGRESSION:

Here and now

For starters, Years ago, when I first started learning about meditation, I read every book I could get my hands on about the process.
I would read the text and become excited that I had found the "right" way to practice.
Immediately, I would follow the instructions as best I could, Without fail, I would get frustrated when I couldn't sustain the right pose or hold my tongue in the proper way as I tried to breathe correctly.
Inevitably, throughout the whole exercise I worried that I couldn't stop my thoughts,

Over time, I have learned exactly what Gesture of Balance provides for those wanting to try meditation: that meditation focused on "a right way", particular goals, or the desire for special powers ultimately leads to frustration.
In fact, that is the purpose of the practice, True meditation is not about doing or practicing, it is about letting go of all expectations and just experiencing.
Meditation isn't something we undertake to impress others or to prove our value, It is an extremely personal process that asks us to question and examine everything we think, feel, or believe.


I wish I had come across this book years ago, Its guidance would have been even more valuable, Today, it reminds me of the path I've travelled and the journey I continue to experience, Gesture of Balance will definitely have a permanent place on my bookshelf of favourites, When I'm feeling anxious, low or lost, I turn to a passage in this book, Will prove useful in perpetuity, A beautifully written book full of surprising insights into the state of being, Nice summary of basic principles

regarding awareness, openness and meditation, A superb hidden gem of a book, Surprisingly practical and straight to the point, No flowery language. If it was published today and renamed, as I don't believe the title does it justice I believe more people would know of it.
Highly recommended, whether you're an experienced meditator or you're new to the practice, I studied at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, . it affected at me deeply and I'm still connected with the community great In clear, direct language, Gesture of Balance relates the profound insights of an ancient wisdom tradition to our present situation, showing us how to develop our inner resources and awaken body, mind, and senses to new horizons of experience.
Tarthang Tulku speaks to us like a good friend, offering ways to clear away confusion, strengthen selfconfidence, and brighten our lives with meaning and joy.
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