You weren’t supposed to be reading this article right now.
I mean, it wasn’t in the script for it to even be written and published – because I had so many other ‘priorities’ today.
Early morning workout. Clean every room in the house. Work on that video me and Alan filmed for the YouRevolution YouTube channel. Get it all done by a 5pm deadline…in time for my mate coming round for a catch-up.
All mapped out the night before – like some sort of military operation – until the Universe stepped in.
Again.
I’ll explain exactly what happened in a moment, but first I just want to give you the heads-up that this article is all about how to find balance…in a very unbalanced world.
It’s about paying more attention to the messages we’re getting all the time, but are choosing to ignore because our minds are so busy.
And it’s about realising that sometimes we don’t have all the answers – but we can tap into a Higher Source that does.
Back to the mad-mental-busy-OCD-style Saturday I had all planned out.
That schedule went right out the window when I woke up at 6am this morning and got a surprise WhatsApp message from a friend in New York.
Kiara is someone I connected with through this YouRevolution movement. She’s on a spiritual path, she has family who live in Scotland, she’s interested in alternative health, and we recently got chatting about this kinda stuff.
Kiara is also an expert in what’s known as Human Design, which is a system combining astrology, the chakra system, Kabbalah, and quantum physics.
You basically tell a Human Design expert the date, exact time, and location of your birth, and they can give you feedback on what type of person you are, how you operate in the world, your strengths and weaknesses etc.
I’m talking scarily accurate feedback.
This can then be used as a really effective tool for self-discovery and navigating your way through life more easily.
I really don’t know enough about Human Design to elaborate more, but the good news is that Kiara has agreed to write a guest post article for this YouRevolution blog on Human Design very soon.
As I listened to Kiara’s Human Design voice message, one sentence after another, basically describing me to a tee…she then said something which really grabbed my attention. “We live in this society where we believe that, in order to be successful, we have to be in a constant state of working,” said Kiara. “We’re in a place where we’re trying to balance divine masculine and feminine energies. The divine masculine is all about doing, and the divine feminine is all about being. “Say we have a week off from work and we get out our calendar and make this big agenda. On Monday we’re going to do X,Y,Z. On Tuesday, we’re going to do A,B,C. “We have the whole week filled with people and plans. Then when we wake up on the Monday morning – the first day of our vacation from work – and we just can’t be bothered. “We just have no drive because our chakras haven’t said, ‘hey, why don’t you go do this?’
“You actually just want to have a day where you’re creative, and go for a walk. “But then you have all this guilt because you think, ‘I’m not being a productive member of society if I don’t check off all the things on my list’. “But that’s just a construct we’ve been told to buy into: that if you make a list, you’ve gotta get it all done, and it’s gotta look like this or that. “We have to embrace the fact that our downtime is just as important as our productive time.” That last sentence really hit home. The same message I’d received three or four times in the same week, and learned about in previous months also, but had chosen to ignore because I “needed to get stuff done”. Don’t know about you, but I like taking action. I thrive on getting shit done. I’m up at stupid o’clock every day and it gives me a buzz when I mentally tick stuff off my tasks list. I fly high when I feel that I’m being really productive and making progress in various areas of my life. Only up until a few months ago, I was working seven days per week, and had done it consistently for a long time because I was always working towards a seemingly important goal. (Then I’d find another goal). Working hard, moving forward, expanding your skills, and bettering yourself are all core to the self-growth journey that myself and Alan are always banging on about here at YouRevolution.
These are traits we’d admire in other people and demand of ourselves. But here’s the problem…
There’s a fine balance between working your arse off to get where you want to go, and burning yourself out to the point where you’re actually blocking progress.
Sometimes we can be so busy hunting around for the answers…that we ‘desperately’ need…and by a certain deadline…that we fail to realise that those answers can come to us more easily when we take our foot off the gas and become still.
Sometimes we get so wound up and stressed, and try to control everything, that we unconsciously block the flow of life.
And when we get so caught up in our minds, in all the busy-ness, and all the pressures we put on ourselves, then we ultimately become unbalanced and unhappy.
So, how do we find balance again? I believe there are two keys to this…
#1 Pay more attention to the subtle messages you’re always getting.
#2 Make more time for self-care.
Doing both of these things take practice, but can be hugely transformational in your life when applied consistently. Let’s look at both of them now.
#1 Pay More Attention To The Subtle Messages You’re Always Getting.
The person who thinks they can work everything out themselves is the person permanently tangled in knots.
We’re constantly getting divine guidance in this life. We hear, but we don’t always listen.
This guidance comes in many, many forms: the right book a friend mentioned in passing, the sentence you read in a magazine that really strikes a chord, the random YouTube video that pops up on your screen and you feel a weird pull to watch.
We mistakenly think these events are coincidences. There’s no such thing as a coincidence.
These messages also come in dreams – they especially come in dreams.
If you’d like to learn more about understanding the importance of your dreams and meanings behind them, then I’d highly recommend watching our YouRevolution episode with dreams expert Juliette Lee: How To Interpret Your Dreams.
The guidance we’re getting daily is from something bigger, but part, of us…our Higher Self/The Universe/God/The Creator…whatever you want to call it.
I don’t do religion, but I do spirituality – and I’ve seen mountains of undeniable evidence that we can tap into this Higher Power to better direct our lives.
But how can we become more ‘in tune’ with it? Below I’ve listed four key steps.
A Healthier Diet
Firstly, a healthier diet is very important. Mind, body and spirit are all connected, of course. If you’re regularly feeding your body junk food, alcohol, smoking cigarettes etc, then that’s like having a rusty antenna for connection.
A cleaner body = a cleaner connection and getting the guidance you need more clearly.
Dreams Journaling
Start journaling your dreams. When we chatted to dreams expert Juliette Lee last year, we were blown away by what she said about our dreams and how they are a mirror of your psyche at this present moment.
And there’s also the infamous powerful quote from Carl Jung, the revered Swiss psychiatrist whose contribution to understanding the human condition and psychology is immeasurable.
Get Out In Nature More
This message is gonna be on my headstone. I’m always encouraging the people I love to get out in nature more to properly look after their health and wellbeing.
There are now over 1,000 scientific studies proving that getting out in nature is so beneficial for our physical, emotional, and mental health.
It lowers blood pressure, calms the nervous system, brings down inflammation in the body, and elevates mood.
Ultimately, nature brings us into balance. When we’re more balanced, our minds are less frantic and more receptive to the important guidance coming our way. Listen To Your Gut Feelings I once read that “feelings are the language of the soul”, and that your soul “already knows the answer to everything”. I’m sure you can remember a time when you made a decision after over-thinking something really hard – despite your gut feelings telling you to do the opposite. You look back with regret – and wish you’d listened to your gut. Maybe there’s absolute truth in this notion that our soul knows the answer to everything and, if we tune into our gut feelings more than our busy minds, then perhaps we’ll make better decisions in our life? #2 Make More Time For Self-Care. When we’re unbalanced it essentially means we are out of alignment in mind, body, and spirit. Too much mind: stressed out with work, worrying about the past, trying to control the future, or needlessly repeating negative thought patterns. Too much body: over-eating to unconsciously stuff down emotions we don’t want to face. Drinking too much alcohol to drown out emotions we don’t want to feel. Obsessing over how we look…to distract ourselves from those emotions we’re not keen on acknowledging. Not enough spirit: our spirit, or soul as you may prefer to call it, always wants to be creative. Whether that’s through painting, dancing, writing, photography, martial arts…any number of activities where your soul gets to express itself. That’s why when we’re doing what we love to do, we feel most alive. It also highlights why the common term “soul-destroying job” is so accurate. There are many people who are unfortunately working jobs they hate. It pays the bills, but it makes them feel miserable. Why? Because they’re doing, boring repetitive tasks that don’t allow for creativity and the soul to express itself. I’m not saying it’s possible for us all to have dream jobs and be skipping about around the office and doing photocopying with a big cheesy grin Monday-Friday. However, it’s hugely important that you make time in the evenings, and at weekends, to do more of the stuff your soul loves. You need to nourish your soul just as much as you look after your body and mind. Getting out in nature (yep, I’m banging on about it again) is fantastic for bringing you into alignment because this also feeds the soul.
We feel at peace when out hillwalking, or strolling through a park with the birds chirping, or walking alongside a flowing burn. We feel connected to nature – because we are part of nature.
We are not really part of built-up housing schemes or hectic town centres where there are all sorts of energies flying around, sometimes affecting our own and knocking us off balance.
So, it’s extremely important for our health and wellbeing that we extract ourselves from the madness when we can, explore the outdoors, engage in more hobbies we love, and consciously bring ourselves back into balance.
Mind, body, spirit. Aligned A.F.
So, today the usual script got ripped up. Cleaning my flat can wait. Doing the video editing work I’d planned can wait. The self-imposed deadlines have been ditched.
Instead, I started today by writing this article. I love writing. This is one of my favourite ways of being creative.
As I finish typing this last sentence, I’m officially balanced again…as my soul is no longer screaming for attention.
Marc McLean is an author and co-founder of YouRevolution. Following his own long journey to wellness, Marc is ridiculously passionate about alternative health, wellbeing and self-development. Marc’s hobbies include hillwalking, getting out in nature, going to the gym, dancing (mostly to techno), eating, and video production. Instagram: @marc_mclean1982; @yourevolution2 * Photo by Gareth Walsh.
