Living in Balance: A Mindful Guide for Thriving in a Complex World

by Joel Levey, Michelle Levey

Overview

THE QUINTESSENTIAL MANUAL FOR LIVING IN HARMONY AND BALANCE. Living in Balance is a timely, powerful, inspiring, and profoundly practical guide for everyone seeking to realize greater wisdom, compassion, resilience, creativity, well-being, and health in their lives. Drawing insights from nearly 50 years of field-tested experience, internationally acclaimed mind-science researchers, wellness educators, and corporate consultants Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey offer a rare synthesis of ancient wisdom traditions with cutting-edge research on extraordinary human performance pointing toward mindfulness, personal mastery, and resilience as being the keys to thriving and living in balance. With a myriad of principles and practices that can be woven into the fabric of daily life, it's the ultimate manual for living in a complex, uncertain, and rapidly changing world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781736754733
Publisher:	Wisdom at Work
Publication date:	03/28/2021
Series:	Wisdom at Work
Edition description:	Leveys' Wisdom at Work ed.
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey, Founders of Wisdom at Work, are regarded as an early pioneers in the global mindfulness revolution, as well as helping to spearhead the mind-fitness, change resilience, VUCA capability and preparedness and collective wisdom movements. They were among the very first people in the world to introduce Mindful Leadership and Advanced Mind Fitness based programs for realizing higher levels of human potential and wellness in mainstream business, medical, higher education, sports, government, and military arenas, beginning in the mid-1970s. Their inspired work demonstrates the wisdom of integrating interpersonal neurobiology and advanced mind-fitness training for developing the extra-ordinary capacities of leader, teams, and organizations in these complex times. Over the past 40+ years Joel and Michelle, have worked with thousands of leaders in hundreds of organizations around the globe. The well documented results of their work have led to enduring and inspiring business results and personal transformations. Their clients include: NASA; Google; British Parliament; World Government Summit; U.S. Army Special Forces; West Point Military Academy; Clinton Global Initiative; Boeing; Microsoft; Prime Minister's Office of Dubai; NHS; NIH; Intel; Hewlett Packard; M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center; M.I.T.; Stanford Research Institute International; U.S. Surgeon General's Office; U.S. Federal Court, Washington Athletic Club; SportsMind; and World Bank. The Leveys were honored to serve as advisors for the Mindfulness All-Parliamentary Group (MAPPG) at British Parliament in their development of the historic Mindful Nation UK Report, and to speak at their recent hearing on The Vital Role of Mindfulness in the Military and Emergency Blue-Light Services. Michelle and Joel have served as faculty at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Indian Institute of Management, Mahidol University (Thailand), Antioch University, and the World Business Academy, Co-Chairpersons for the Institute for Health and Productivity Management's Corporate Culture and Organizational Health Task Force, and are on the the Curriculum for Life Advisory Board. They were invited by military leaders at the Pentagon to design and guide the once secret Jedi Warrior program for the U.S. Army Special Forces. This historic program was described by leaders in the military and human potential movement as, The most exquisite orchestra1on of human technology we have ever seen, and the most intensive and advanced leadership and human development program to be offered in modern times. This historic six-month long, full-time program included a month-long mindfulness retreat and a state of the art mind fitness laboratory with nearly a quarter of a million dollars' worth of biofeedback and neurofeedback technology for teaching participants to refine their mindfulness and neurological integration in order to realize extra-ordinary levels of awareness and self-mastery. After the success of Google's acclaimed Search Inside Yourself Program, the Leveys were sought out by leadership at Google to develop their follow-up program - the Global Mindfulness and Meditation Laboratory. Michelle and Joel have also been honored by the Institute for Noetic Sciences (founded by Stanford's Willis Harman and astronaut Edgar Mitchell) as leading transformational teachers of our times. The Dalai Lama, an advisor on a number of the Leveys' projects praised their work saying: You are presently engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the inner-transformational sciences to people who may not under ordinary circumstances come into contact with these teachings.

Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey, Founders of Wisdom at Work, are regarded as an early pioneers in the global mindfulness revolution, as well as helping to spearhead the mind-fitness, change resilience, VUCA capability and preparedness and collective wisdom movements. They were among the very first people in the world to introduce Mindful Leadership and Advanced Mind Fitness based programs for realizing higher levels of human potential and wellness in mainstream business, medical, higher education, sports, government, and military arenas, beginning in the mid-1970s. Their inspired work demonstrates the wisdom of integrating interpersonal neurobiology and advanced mind-fitness training for developing the extra-ordinary capacities of leader, teams, and organizations in these complex times. Over the past 40+ years Joel and Michelle, have worked with thousands of leaders in hundreds of organizations around the globe. The well documented results of their work have led to enduring and inspiring business results and personal transformations. Their clients include: NASA; Google; British Parliament; World Government Summit; U.S. Army Special Forces; West Point Military Academy; Clinton Global Initiative; Boeing; Microsoft; Prime Minister's Office of Dubai; NHS; NIH; Intel; Hewlett Packard; M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center; M.I.T.; Stanford Research Institute International; U.S. Surgeon General's Office; U.S. Federal Court, Washington Athletic Club; SportsMind; and World Bank. The Leveys were honored to serve as advisors for the Mindfulness All-Parliamentary Group (MAPPG) at British Parliament in their development of the historic Mindful Nation UK Report, and to speak at their recent hearing on The Vital Role of Mindfulness in the Military and Emergency Blue-Light Services. Michelle and Joel have served as faculty at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Indian Institute of Management, Mahidol University (Thailand), Antioch University, and the World Business Academy, Co-Chairpersons for the Institute for Health and Productivity Management's Corporate Culture and Organizational Health Task Force, and are on the the Curriculum For Life Advisory Board. They were invited by military leaders at the Pentagon to design and guide the once secret Jedi Warrior program for the U.S. Army Special Forces. This historic program was described by leaders in the military and human potential movement as, The most exquisite orchestra1on of human technology we have ever seen, and the most intensive and advanced leadership and human development program to be offered in modern times. This historic six-month long, full-time program included a month-long mindfulness retreat and a state of the art mind fitness laboratory with nearly a quarter of a million dollars' worth of biofeedback and neurofeedback technology for teaching participants to refine their mindfulness and neurological integration in order to realize extra-ordinary levels of awareness and self-mastery. After the success of Google's acclaimed Search Inside Yourself Program, the Leveys were sought out by leadership at Google to develop their follow-up program - the Global Mindfulness and Meditation Laboratory. Michelle and Joel have also been honored by the Institute for Noetic Sciences (founded by Stanford's Willis Harman and astronaut Edgar Mitchell) as leading transformational teachers of our times. The Dalai Lama, an advisor on a number of the Leveys' projects praised their work saying: You are presently engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the inner-transformational sciences to people who may not under ordinary circumstances come into contact with these teachings.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama ix

Authors Preface to the New Edition xi

Staying Centered in Challenging Times 1

SECTION ONE

An Inside-Out Approach to Balanced Living

1. It's All About Balance 11

2. Glimpses of Wholeness 16

3. Life as a Learning Expedition: A Model for Balance 39

4. Mindfulness: The Gateway to Balance 56

5. The Science of Balance 94

SECTION TWO

Mind-Body-Spirit Harmony: Fine-Tuning our Primary Instrument

6. Physical Balance: Lessons from and for the Body 109

7. Emotional Balance: A Peaceful Heart 133

8. The Balanced Mindstate 151

9. Catching the Waves: Balancing the Harmonics of

Subtle Energy 174

10. Balanced in Spirit 192

11. Breathing into Balance 216

SECTION THREE

Expanding the Circle of Balance: Home, Play, Work, and World

12. All My Relations 235

13. Life-Work Balance 258

14. Finding Yourself in the World 294

SECTION FOUR

Reclaiming Our Balance, Embracing the Whole

15. Seven Principles for Living in Balance 313

16. Earthwalk: Essential Reminders for a Balanced Life 322

Our Invitation to You 337

Permissions 338

Acknowledgments 340

About the Authors 342

Editorial Reviews

•"The Leveys are engaged in work that has great prospects for bringing the inner sciences to a wide section of people who may not under ordinary circumstances come in contact with the inner technologies of mental development and transformation." -The Dalai Lama

•"This book, like its luminous authors, brings refreshment to mind and heart. It invites us to open to our own inner wisdom, and brings us tools, visions, and whispered counsel that restore the blessed balance we each deserve." -Joanna Macy, author, Coming Back to Life.

•"The wisest, most practical, and inspiring book that I have read in years. This is one book that really does have the power to help

you change your life." -Joan Borysenko, PhD, author of Inner Peace for Busy People

•"A beautiful book that brings wisdom and love into a world that longs for balance." -Roshi Joan Halifax, author of Standing at the Edge

"Living in Balance is an absolute treasure, filled with an abundance of insights and practices that lead the reader into depths of peace. But with all these riches, I was most affected by the love, compassion, and wisdom Joel and Michelle present in every page. Their embrace of the reader is the best testimony that these practices lead to lives of wholeness and harmony." -Margaret J. Wheatley, author of So Far from Home, Perseverance, and Leadership and the New Science

•"Living in Balance gives each of us tools that not only will allow us to navigate through a complex world but allow us to thrive."

-James R. Doty, M.D., founder and director of Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

•"Living in Balance invites us to return to the inner source of serenity and wisdom within. Never before have we so urgently needed the clear, compassionate teachings that are so lovingly described in this book." -Larry Dossey, MD, author of Healing Words; executive editor, Explore

•"The benefit of Living in Balance is in the skillful weaving of the personal, interpersonal, and ecological perspectives with the fields of wisdom, faith traditions, daily life, and science. It's a pleasant combination of practical advice and inspiration that is very helpful as we seek to develop wiser relationships with ourselves, our community, our technology, and our world." -Bill Duane, senior manager, Well Being and Sustainable High Performance Development Programs at Google

•"Joel and Michelle are not just experts in this field, but two of the most balanced people I have ever met. In Living in Balance, they offer not only cutting edge science and their own experience, but wisdom from the ages on living wisely and well. A must read for all of us seeking calm in the chaos of our times." -M.J. Ryan, author of This Year I Will and How to Survive Change You Didn't Ask For

From the Publisher