Practicing Equipoise

We have three Executives. We must work at bringing them into alignment.

The three paths—Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana—are like three rivers that ultimately merge in the same ocean.
—Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

The order of things has a beginning, middle, and end. This is the shape of a story and the pattern of life. In our journey through time, we mark the past, present, and future. Christians, like Hegelians, worship a triune God.

Three is sacred. Omne trium perfectum.

Within each of us, three forces guide and govern. These may be called the Three Executives. One rules in the mind, another in the heart, and the third in the body. Each person is led naturally by one above the others:

The Executive of the Mind seeks understanding, shaping thoughts and plans through reason and reflection.

The Executive of the Heart feels deeply—attuned to the ebb and flow of relationships and emotions.

The Executive of the Gut acts swiftly, trusting instinct and moving with purpose.

To live wisely, one must not allow a single Executive to rule alone. But this requires practice. Harmony arises when all three work together. The mind must weigh, the heart must feel, and the gut must move. The wise learn to call upon their secondary and tertiary strengths, weaving them into a strong and balanced braid.

This state is equipoise.

This balance is also needed within a community. Those who gather to cooperate must not be alike in their strengths, lest they fall into folly. Three thinkers may deliberate endlessly, three feelers may get lost in sentimentality, and three doers might act rashly. A strong fellowship aligns the head, heart, and gut in stability and resilience.

In decision-making, one must integrate the Three Executives. Consider how knowledge shapes action, emotions guide resolve, and instinct urges forward. The way of wisdom is to harness them all, for neglecting one leads to disorder.

Let it be known that mastery over the self requires alignment within and without. Internally, the wise learn to hear each Executive and give it its due. Externally, we surround ourselves with others whose strengths differ, giving them due admiration.

As circumstances shift and responsibilities multiply, the burden of choice falls more heavily upon each of us. Where others once decided, and we acquiesced, we must now decide, which means we must discern. In discernment, the Three Executives must act in synchrony—reason to see the path, emotion to test the rightness of a course, and instinct to press forward with resolve.

All must be in alignment.

Only then can one find equipoise and expand, action by action, in radiative self-sovereignty.