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So, Balanced View is providing an educational system, you could say
to get to know that naturally as human beings
we are mentally and emotionally stable already
and that we have within us
an incredible quality and power to be of benefit to all.
And this sounds like really big words
and the only way to get to know that
is actually to recognize that in our own experience.
And that is what this Training is about.
It’s all about our own direct instinctive recognition that that is the case.
And we all know that as human beings
we have all of these thoughts, all of these emotions
all of these sensations
all of these experiences throughout our life.
And in the Balanced View Training
we call all of that, everything that we can perceive
everything that we can experience
we call that data to just keep it very simple.
So, we don’t need to distinguish between different thoughts and emotions
it’s all just data.
And all of this data is arising in an open field of opening intelligence.
We call that opening intelligence, and that is the power to know.
It is that quality in us that perceives all of these things.
And we see that all of this data is constantly changing.
It’s just an ever flow of different thoughts and emotions
and they're completely countless, ceaseless, and completely unpredictable.
But what is experiencing all of this? This power to know doesn’t change.
That is the only thing about us that is constant
that is always present, that is always available.
And this is what we get to know in this Training.
And we can simply introduce ourselves to this complete openness
this complete stability about us in a short moment
a short moment of just stopping thinking.
That is the introduction to open intelligence
because when we stop thinking for just a moment
we recognize that there is something about us
that is perceiving our next thought.
Something about us that is completely open
completely stable.
And the practice of short moments, repeated many times
which is one of the Four Mainstays.
And in these short moments
we turn back into that acknowledgement of that basic state of ours.
By repeating that again and again
we get to see that that doesn’t change
no matter what kind of thoughts and emotions we’re having
that is constant about us.
And by repeating it again and again, we get conviction that that is the case.
We see in our own direct experience, whenever we remember to do so
that that opening intelligence is always present.
And through those repetitions, through repeating those short moments
we gain conviction in our own experience.
And that’s how I started with this Training.
I got introduced to open intelligence and I tested that in my own experience.
And I saw that there was something that gave me immediate relief
immediate benefit in that moment.
Because by stopping describing all of these data
and that’s what we’ve been trained to do
we’ve been trained to describe or emphasize these data
of different thoughts and emotions, maybe trying to sort them out
trying to understand them or trying to manage them
wanting to have better experience, better thoughts
and get rid of the negative ones.
At least that was the way I was using my mind.
Always like a constant sorting machine
sorting out all of these experiences, really being very, very busy with that.
And that is how we’ve been trained as human beings.
But then to just shift for these short moments, just to shift
and allow all of these data to be exactly as they are.
Seeing that nothing about them needs to change.
When I rely on open intelligence, I can leave them exactly as they are.
And in that moment I saw, "Wow, there is that relief right there."
Whenever I don’t get into descriptions
like for example, a negative thought arises or sadness arises
we can take that as an example.
And if I go into that sadness and try describing it
or thinking, "Where does it come from? and why do I feel sad?
and it must be because of this and this
and I need to do something about that.
But instead, just allowing that to be as it is
recognizing that at the basis of that sadness
there’s complete stability, complete ease
when I’m not getting involved in those descriptions
when I’m not getting involved in these stories.
And that for me was just something totally different.
I saw, "Wow, I don’t need to try to change all of this flow of data anymore.
I don’t need to have certain thoughts and emotions.
I don’t need to get rid of anything about myself.
There is that constant relief
and ease of being in this moment exactly as it is.
So, that was for me very powerful
just first to try out these short moments throughout my day.
And in the beginning that could be just every now and then.
In the beginning I didn’t remember these short moments very often.
And that is why in Balanced View we have this complete support structure
that is very, very unique and very, very powerful.
And that works as reminders
to more and more being able to recognize that as our experience.
And some of these reminders are these Open Meetings, or listening to talks
or asking questions to a trainer, recognizing in other people that
you know, we see in other people that
if that can be possible for others that’s also possible for us.
So, this is the complete educational system to make this our reality
to make this our lived reality.
And throughout many years of my life I was looking for something
I was looking for wellbeing; I was looking for happiness in my life.
And I tried many different things.
I tried different trainings and different practices.
And there was a lot of talking about reality
and very beautiful words that were mentioned
by so many different people all around the world.
And I was very interested in that and I read a lot of books about it.
But none of it actually gave me a lived experience
to actually be able to recognize what was being spoken about
in my own experience throughout my everyday life.
And that is what is so important
that this Training is not just about words.
It’s not about what we are saying here or what our experience is
but it is the demonstration
of what it means to test it out in our own experience.
To see that when we are testing it out for ourselves
we notice that this beneficial potency is suddenly available to us.
You know, that we are not limited by our thoughts and emotions anymore.
We are not a victim of whatever is arising for us.
But we have this quality that we can use to live our life
however that looks like, in whatever circumstances we have
and have complete ease of being, complete mental and emotional stability.
Now that is the most powerful realization
and that just to recognize all our data as open intelligence
as simple as that.
‘Cause that means that we can live our human life
in a completely simple and completely powerful way.
I saw that I made my life so complicated by trying to fix myself
trying to, thinking that something about me was wrong
something needed to be changed
and working really *** that
changing all of these fleeting thoughts and emotions.
It was such hard work and it didn’t give me what I wanted
it didn’t give me what I was looking for.
It felt like I needed practice and practice
and I needed a lifetime of purifying myself
or thinking that I need to erase
all of these negative thoughts and emotions.
That’s what I thought, "I can’t have these negative thoughts and emotions."
These negative data need to go away
for me to be completely satisfied with my life.
They weren’t a part of my idea of how that would look like.
And that was so powerful for me to see
that none of these afflictive states needed to change
in order for me to have full life satisfaction and flourishing
in order for me to have complete mental and emotional stability.
But it did require for me that in those moments
instead of when I noticed that I was getting involved
in all these learned habits
the learned habits that I’d been trained to do all of my life
in focusing in on these different descriptions
especially with the negative ones.
You know, indulging in them
or trying to avoid them or trying to replace them
I couldn’t allow them to be as they were because I didn’t know about it.
I didn’t know that that was actually possible.
But to not spiral into that learned behavior of indulging
or doing something with these negative data
I use the Four Mainstays.
So, immediately when I saw that I started to get into my learned behavior
of emphasizing these descriptions
I turned to the other Mainstays for support.
When short moments didn’t feel enough
I listened to a talk, or I wrote to my trainer.
And when we do one of the trainings that is called the Twelve Empowerments
we get access also to a personal trainer
which we can rely on for support.
To really have another person that’s gone before us
that can share their experience, and that can empower us
to bring ourselves back to the recognition of open intelligence.
So, everything is included in open intelligence.
Nothing needs to change, nothing is left out.
It’s not like open intelligence is just in certain data.
Open intelligence and data are completely inseparable
so we cannot experience any datum without open intelligence.
And we cannot experience open intelligence without data.
So therefore, everything in our experience, everything in our life
gives us this opportunity
to recognize our basic human nature as open intelligence.
And with that we just get this increased obviousness
this increased recognition of reality as it is.
And the support structure of Balanced View is completely available.
It’s Open Meetings like this
but a lot of the support is happening online.
So wherever we are in the world
we can use the Four Mainstays as a support.
There’s a lot of Trainings, a lot of calls
where people from the community are coming together
sharing their direct experience from their everyday life.
Livestreams, we’re using the technology in Balanced View
to reach out to as many people as possible.
And making this totally available
because this is an education that is so crucial
and it is an education that is for the benefit of all.
So, I came to this Training
with just the focus that I wanted to feel fine with myself.
I wanted to feel okay as I was.
That was my starting point obviously.
I mean that's what I was looking for
in either if it was in spiritual practices
or if it was in having a good relationship
or a good set of friends, or a good job.
There was always that search
for something that would make me feel complete.
But all of that is constantly changing. We can never hold on to anything.
We cannot hold on to the good experience
and we cannot get rid of the bad ones.
It’s this constant flow of data.
And the relaxing part is that we don’t need to do anything about it.
We can allow them to be as they are.
So, what I saw then in my own experience
is that by allowing my data to be as they are
there was this natural way of relating
first of all to myself and my own data.
‘Cause I was so used to blaming myself
blaming others for the way I felt
constantly involved in criticizing myself and others
and not taking responsibility for my own thoughts and emotions.
And that was the difference.
‘Cause when I started to recognize
that I have everything that I need already.
I don’t need to look for anything.
I can just completely stop the search of trying to change anything.
And that’s also when I started to experience
that that beneficial potency was just our natural state.
It’s just the way we are meant to be living with each other
relating respectfully with each other.
Seeing that we can take full responsibility for whatever is coming up in us.
We don’t need to blame anyone else.
And that was also when I actually started
very practically in my everyday life
with my everyday relationships, those also started to change
because I wasn’t relating to my own data in the same way anymore.
And that happened just very naturally.
So, the benefit of all starts with ourselves
by making the simple choice in every moment.
Do I want to emphasize the descriptions?
Do I want to emphasize my thoughts and emotions?
Or do I want to recognize open intelligence?
And for me it’s been so important in this Training
to keep it to that simplicity.
Just keep it that simple.
We always have in every moment, no matter what’s coming up for us
we always have that choice
and that is the most empowering choice that we can ever make.
And that choice is for our own benefit
it’s for our own mental and emotional stability, but it doesn’t stop there.
That choice is for the benefit of all because the outcome
is that we start to actually being able to live together in harmony.
We are able to live together in whatever way we like
but the relationships that we are having
we see that they naturally start to change.
Now I was living in community
and I'd always been interested in being with other people
and finding ways how we can actually work and live together
in a way that is efficient and empowering, and, you know, loving.
Or just being.
Where everyone can just be able to thrive and be exactly as they are.
And what I found, as long as we are focusing on our different data
different opinions and different ways of doing things
there was never any harmony.
It was always a lot of time put into discussing about things
or trying to sort disputes out
and needing to fix each other.
Or someone needed to change
in order for us to be able to work and live together.
It was just a constant managing.
But in the community what I see here is
that we can all work and live together with
where everyone is allowed to be as they are.
Where everyone can show up exactly as they are
and we all can take responsibility for our data.
That is the most empowering way to live.
And seeing how that actually is happening right now.
You know that this is not just an idea
but it’s actually fully alive in so many people.
And for me, that really inspired me to test this out for myself.
Seeing other people, like
“Wow, you know, okay I wanna try it out, see what it’s like.”
So that is the invitation.
And then we also start to see that
you know, whatever hopes and fears we’ve had
and obviously hopes and fears
it’s not about getting that these things disappear
you know, the hopes and fears or the afflictive states.
But we just get so comfortable with everything
and it doesn’t have the same power to affect us anymore.
That’s what I more and more started to see.
That even if I have negative thoughts and emotions
or hopes and fears arising
there is no hope and fear in that.
So, that may sound completely contradictory
but because we're recognizing its basic nature
because we’re recognizing open intelligence in that moment
we see that there is a total opening also in these data.
So, what I see in my own life
is that I live such a life that I never thought was possible
but being completely the same person as I’ve always been.
It’s just that I’m relating to myself in a very different way.
Seeing that everything about me and everything about everyone is
completely perfect, completely complete in every moment.
And that is just the most beautiful way of looking at human beings
and looking at this life that we have
and that we can use that for the benefit of all.
You know, no need to stop, no need to try to fix ourselves anymore
but actually using that energy and power that we have to contribute
to contribute our strengths, gifts and talents.
And to be naturally caring, there is a natural, spontaneous altruism
arising when we get to know ourselves so fully and so completely.
Getting to know all of our data streams
actually getting to know what it’s like to be a human being
without pushing anything away.
And there is a natural compassion
and love for everyone that’s just spontaneous.
So, by allowing all of our data to be as it is
we can also see that we can allow everyone else to be as they are as well.
And that we don’t need to use our thinking
in order for beneficial action to come about, you know.
Unless I was feeling that I had to respond to all of this mind
all these things that happen, like these crackles, energy crackles in my head
all of these thoughts and emotions.
But actually I could rely on open intelligence
and see what response is coming from that
when I’m not focusing on the descriptions.
And that was completely new in the beginning.
Like, how does that work, how is it possible?
Because I’ve been so trained to think, and to think
and to think some more about everything.
So, it took a while to actually gain that trust, that that’s actually okay.
But I had to gain that trust in myself to
you know, no one else can say to me that this is the case
I need to test it out for myself.
That is what I found so amazing
by being in Balanced View and relying on the support structure.
That there’s always support for that to become my experience
there’s always support for that to become my lived reality.