We live in a world of rapid change. And to engage with the many challenges this unique time can bring may leave us struggling with what it means to have a balanced life - a life of clarity and purpose of what is truly important. But what is a balanced life? A key perception is that life is a journey of coming into and going out of balance. Resisting the pressure to continually define ourselves and preserving an inner space in which we can grow, change and evolve is itself a pretty radical idea and important in this study. Join Aviv Shahar and Ofer Dotan for A Study of Balance.
We live in a world of rapid change. And to engage with the many challenges this unique time can bring may leave us struggling with what it means to have a balanced life - a life of clarity and purpose of what is truly important. But what is a balanced life? A key perception is that life is a journey of coming into and going out of balance. Resisting the pressure to continually define ourselves and preserving an inner space in which we can grow, change and evolve is itself a pretty radical idea and important in this study. Join Aviv Shahar and Ofer Dotan for A Study of Balance.
02:11 – Aviv introduces today’s topic, A Study of Balance, and welcomes Ofer Dotan to engage in this rich discussion
09:11 – Life’s journey of going in and out of balance
14:24 – The concept of balance in movement and how we define ourselves
19:32 – Balancing the Five Energy Centers
25:58 – Three Levels of Resilience
33:59 – Getting clarity on your space and defying inconsistent narratives
38:06 – The importance of ‘Tuning’ yourself
48:20 – What it means to see and treat another person justly
52:30 – Ofer describes her purpose
54:56 – What it means to treat yourself justly
56:06 – Aviv proposes the concept of ‘Three Lives’
1:04:58 – Naming and disarming Friction
1:13:53 – Faking it until you make it
1:24:07 – The Universal Life and being compassionate with yourself
1:31:51 – Final words from Aviv and Ofer
1:34:14 – Aviv thanks Ofer for joining in this discussion today
“For me, balance comes when I set the terms, when I am engaging with the world through my own center and not through the structures that are being imposed on me.” (08:31)
“We live in a society that pushes us all the time to be very critical towards ourselves and not so accepting, which has its positives because it maybe pushes us to grow in some respects. But it also has many negatives because we’re constantly under pressure to fit some narratives that maybe we’re uncomfortable with.” (32:42)
“I think for me love is treating another person justly. And what does that mean? I have this sense that it’s kind of rare that we’re doing that with one another. And it has to do with wanting to understand and not seeing others through your own eyes but trying to at least appreciate them through their own experience of this life.” (48:31)
“I think there is not one all-encompassing purpose. I feel that my purpose, and my set of skills that support me in believing that, has to do with facilitation - facilitation for people to be who they are, to have space like I’m trying to claim my own space. I’ve been told I’m pretty good at giving this space to others.” (52:37)
“Real forgiveness, for me, has to do with fairness and justice. I don’t like the everyday use of the words ‘forgiveness’ and ‘compassion’ because I feel like sometimes they are lacking.” (1:28:21)
“From my experience, I am still searching what it means for me to be compassionate towards myself without using it as a way to absolve myself from doing the work that I need to be doing.” (1:30:48)