Balance, a principle for happy living

[Mannyb]

@Davino

Pleasure is part of life. It’s not the enemy—it’s the imbalance that poisons us.

We live in a world overstimulated by artificial dopamine: notifications, sugar, porn, quick hits of escape.
So naturally, the healing instinct today is to fast, to quit, to return to stillness—to recalibrate.

 

But pleasure itself isn’t the problem.

 

Like Shivapuri Baba said:

“One should not live for pleasure; but, if it comes, it should not be rejected also.”

That’s the middle way.

Don’t chase it. Don’t fear it.

Let it come—and let it go.

Pleasure, when not clung to, becomes presence.

 

It’s not about denial. It’s about sovereignty—feeling your own supply and welcoming the rest without attachment.

 

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Mannyb said:

@Davino

Pleasure is part of life. It’s not the enemy—it’s the imbalance that poisons us.

We live in a world overstimulated by artificial dopamine: notifications, sugar, porn, quick hits of escape.
So naturally, the healing instinct today is to fast, to quit, to return to stillness—to recalibrate.

 

But pleasure itself isn’t the problem.

 

Like Shivapuri Baba said:

“One should not live for pleasure; but, if it comes, it should not be rejected also.”

That’s the middle way.

Don’t chase it. Don’t fear it.

Let it come—and let it go.

Pleasure, when not clung to, becomes presence.

 

It’s not about denial. It’s about sovereignty—feeling your own supply and welcoming the rest without attachment.

Are you literally just posting ChatGPT responses all the time?

 

Life is not food, but food is good.

[Mannyb]

Sometimes it’s me.

Sometimes it’s the machine.

Sometimes it’s something ancient speaking through both.

I only share what rings true.

 

But I did sense a little tension in your words…

No pressure.
Just wondering—wanna open up?

 

Edited May 10 by Mannyb

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Mannyb said:

Sometimes it’s me.

Sometimes it’s the machine.

Sometimes it’s something ancient speaking through both.

I only share what rings true.

 

But I did sense a little tension in your words…

No pressure.
Just wondering—wanna open up?

Please state when you are using AI in your post.

 

Quote

What’s NOT Allowed:

[...]

• Posting AI-generate content like text, images, or video without disclosing that it was sourced from AI

[...]

https://www.actualized.org/forum/guidelines/

[Mannyb]

@Carl-Richard

AI assists.

The voice is mine though.

Will credit when it flows so.

[Sugarcoat]

Happiness is limited to your psychology…

[Ramanujan]

@Davino check out the chapter called balance in the book the one thing by gary keller and jay papasan

[BlessedLion]

On 5/9/2025 at 6:20 PM, Davino said:

@BlessedLion Pleasure is a part of life as well. One should balance dopamine and serotonine. Although our society may be so out of balance with dopamine that the balancing tendency is to quit many sources of artificial dopamine.

I like this quote from a sage man:

 

This is a tough one, one of the toughest ones today. I agree, for most people the answer is to quit the hyper overstimulated pleasure sources. They rot your life force. Real sex pleasure is different than AI Porn pleasure

[Yimpa]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_Rhh8oSzAM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[UnbornTao]

On 5/9/2025 at 10:06 PM, Davino said:

I'd say it's the adaptive process of harmonizing all forces to perform a desired task in a unified and efficient way.

That sounds like a solid definition to start us with. An additional definition of balance, and its etymology, by GPT:

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Balance, Noun

1. A state of equilibrium or parity, especially between opposing forces or influences.
2. The distribution of weight that allows someone or something to remain upright and steady.
3. A mental or emotional steadiness.
4. A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

Balance, Verb

1. To bring into or maintain in a state of equilibrium.
2. To offset or counteract something with an equal force or amount.
3. To assess or weigh different elements to reach harmony or fairness.

Etymology of balance:

From Middle English balaunce,

From Old French balance meaning “balance, scales for weighing,”

From Latin bilanx, bilancem (nominative: bilanx):

• bi- = “two”
• lanx = “plate” or “dish” (of a scale)

Originally, the term referred to a pair of scale pans (two plates) used for weighing—hence the notion of weighing opposing things to achieve equilibrium.

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Quote

In my opinion, at every level balance happens because it's the interplay of polar opposites. Balance happens in multiplicity and it's a property of the intelligence of life. So the bottleneck of how we are able to properly balance our life and enhance our wellbeing may be intelligence and consciousness but it's balance what grounds it into action and life.

Can you provide examples of the interplay of polar opposites in life? How do you view multiplicity?

On 5/9/2025 at 4:37 PM, BlessedLion said:

@Lyubov I’ll check it out 

 

Upon further reflection it seems balance is secondary to discovery. You must first discover what produces an effective and powerful life (FOR YOU) and then balance those key components out. Do you meditate 6 hours per day leaving only a few for work, social, health, and study? Unbalanced! 
 

So it’s not only an elimination of distraction like alcohol porn and scrolling (these factors only make the ice more slippery) you need all the help you can get to balance the powerful principles in your life. 

It makes sense to me now. I feel I understand what balance truly is 

What is the principle regardless of how it might affect us? It seems balance occurs as a relationship. For example, say you prepare a dish. What would a "balanced" meal be about? Obviously, adding a pound of salt to the dish is inconsistent with balance, unless the other ingredients call for it (maybe you're cooking a huge meal). How do the ingredients relate to each other such that "balance" shows up?

Edited May 12 by UnbornTao

[Someone here]

@UnbornTao hi .so whats the discussion is about exactly ? Give me something I can start with .

Thanks !

[UnbornTao]

@Someone here What is balance as a principle? How does it show up? What are we referring to when we say something is balanced? What is not balance (for something to be out of balance)? 

Edited May 13 by UnbornTao

[Someone here]

4 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

 

@Someone here What is balance as a principle? How does it show up? What are we referring to when we say something is balanced? What is not balance? 

OK. Well ..I think I will have easy time answering these questions because if you allow them to be as they are they are indeed very simple and answerable.  But i know your habit of overcomplicating stuff .are there any nuances or cautions you wanna make before I answer so that I can be aware of while answering? 

[UnbornTao]

@Someone here It's not about having an answer. Consider: What did it take for Newton to grasp the principle of gravity? Remember, he was a genius, so it might not be a simplistic matter. 

Edited May 13 by UnbornTao

[Someone here]

20 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

What is balance as a principle? 

Equilibrium or homeostasis. An example would be just as you told me to strike balance between acting arrogantly and "free-styling " and writing maturely. 

21 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

How does it show up?

You mean how is it applied practically?  You can apply it your in your lifestyle. In one word listening to how you feel. Hungry ? Eat .not hungry?  Don't eat .sleepy ?sleep .not sleepy ?don't sleep .etc . As simple as that .

23 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

What are we referring to when we say something is balanced

"Something " implies one thing .I think for something to be balanced it has be two or at least be divisible. Or simply put have two sides .you can balance an object on the table by making the sum total of physical forces applied on the object equal zero.

25 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

What is not balance? 

Balance is not not balance. And not balance is not balance. 

[Someone here]

 

20 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

What did it take for Newton to grasp the principle of gravity

Gravity is not a "principle " .it is classified as a physical law .Newton grasped it by wondering why the apple falls on the ground or why objects Don't fly to the sky but instead fall back on the ground when you throw them upward. 

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Balance is not not balance. And not balance is not balance. 

Wow 

Edited May 13 by Carl-Richard

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Gravity is not a "principle " .it is classified as a physical law .Newton grasped it by wondering why the apple falls on the ground or why objects Don't fly to the sky but instead fall back on the ground when you throw them upward. 

What is a physical law?

Here is an insight I had about gravity (an "original" insight):

People often say gravity is not a force but an acceleration. But when I jump off a 10 foot diving board, I don't feel like I'm accelerating as if I'm sitting in a car that is pumping the gas (there is no feeling of inertia). I just feel like I'm weightless, in free fall. But still, my speed relative to the ground is increasing by the second (m/s^2), so I am indeed "accelerating" relative to the ground, but there is still no feeling of inertia. So what is more accurate to say is that when you're falling towards the ground, the ground is accelerating towards you rather than you accelerating towards it (but that is also not accurate if acceleration requires inertia in some part of the system, because the Earth certainly doesn't experience inertia either in that case).

And now I just realized that the reason they say gravity is not a force is for the same reason that I experience inertia in the car but not when jumping off the diving board:

When you are acted upon by a force (which can be expressed as "Force = mass x acceleration") and it causes you to move, you experience inertia. But you only experience inertia when moving relative to your own reference frame ("inertial frame"). The fact that you experience no distinction between the ground accelerating towards you and you accelerating towards the ground when jumping off the diving board, is because they are equivalent with respect to your reference frame. And not coincidentally, The Equivalence Principle states "there is no difference between an accelerating frame of reference and a gravitational field". So when accelerating due to a gravitational field, it's actually your reference frame that is accelerating, i.e. the thing you use to judge whether something else is accelerating, which is the same as experiencing something else accelerating towards you. Holy shit Einstein is a genius.

Edited May 13 by Carl-Richard

[UnbornTao]

17 hours ago, Someone here said:

Equilibrium or homeostasis. An example would be just as you told me to strike balance between acting arrogantly and "free-styling " and writing maturely. 

Not a bad definition, but it sounds like: balance is balance. 

17 hours ago, Someone here said:

You mean how is it applied practically?  You can apply it your in your lifestyle. In one word listening to how you feel. Hungry ? Eat .not hungry?  Don't eat .sleepy ?sleep .not sleepy ?don't sleep .etc . As simple as that .

 

17 hours ago, Someone here said:

"Something " implies one thing .I think for something to be balanced it has be two or at least be divisible. Or simply put have two sides .you can balance an object on the table by making the sum total of physical forces applied on the object equal zero.

Sounds good. This might be pointing at the "relationship" aspect. Clearly it doesn't happen in isolation but in how various elements interact with each other. 

17 hours ago, Someone here said:

Balance is not not balance. And not balance is not balance. 

You've been reading the Lankavatara Sutra?

[UnbornTao]

17 hours ago, Someone here said:

Gravity is not a "principle " .it is classified as a physical law .Newton grasped it by wondering why the apple falls on the ground or why objects Don't fly to the sky but instead fall back on the ground when you throw them upward. 

We can understand the explanation in retrospect but imagine you are Newton prior to the discovery of that.

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"Principle", by GPT:

1. Beginning or starting point of something.

Example: The beginning of the movie was very striking.

2. Fundamental basis or foundation of a system, theory, or process.

Example: The principles of Euclidean geometry.

3. Moral rule or standard that guides behavior.

Example: He acted according to his principles.

4. Cause or origin of something.

Example: The principle of motion.

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From Latin principium, meaning “beginning, origin, foundation.” Derived from princeps (“first, foremost”), which is composed of:

• primus = first
• capere = to take or seize

So principium literally means “that which is taken first,” pointing to what comes first in order, logic, or importance.