“As LHS and RHS each have unique interpretations of situations these signals allow for discussion and an ultimate decision to be made. This interaction is called hemispheric rivalry.” ~ Steven M. Miller
The two hemispheres of the brain work in symbiosis yet are also engaged in ‘hemispheric rivalry,’ and so are our Yin and Yang energies.
In Chinese philosophy, these tangible dualities provide a constant and shifting dance in the natural world; they complement each other and are ultimately interdependent, yet when one is enlarged or out of balance and overtakes the other, then disease and a rejection of the Universal Dialectic occur.
“What men dislike is to be orphans, to have little virtue, to be as carriages without naves; and yet these are the designations kings and princes use for themselves. So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.” ~ Tao Te Ching
This increasing and diminishing of energies may be the Universal dance that we play into, and the Universal Dialectic a transcendental goal or ‘Supreme Ultimate’. And so, inspired by this ontology of self-organization that existence enjoys, we can assume that anything that encourages the balancing of these energies will aid us.
While the perpetual, shifting dance of those tangible dualities describes the beauty of life, to master the balance of our Yin and Yang energies may give us the key to unlock our inner Supreme Ultimate. But how can we do this?
Balance your Yin and Yang
Through the Body.
Balancing the two hemispheres and the energies of Yin and Yang through the body is the swiftest way to reap an instant reward so that you may enjoy the experience of balance for yourself. Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and various alternative therapies such as Applied Kinesiology and other therapies that work with the Meridians of the body will provide this experience.
But you don’t even need to introduce such disciplines or fork out for therapies (unless of course you have a particular affinity for one); becoming aware of your daily habits and how you might favour one side over another will help you to readdress the balance between Yin and Yang.
Do you find yourself always bending to pick things up with one side, or eat with a particular hand?
Rudolph Steiner believed that left-handedness reflected a karmic weakness and so encouraged educators to teach children to be right-handed for writing but ambidextrous in their general being. Whether this is true or not, watch yourself and how you favour one side over the other.
One fascinating practise is conducting a conversation with yourself using both hands. First write with your dominant hand ten attributes you can call your own. Then write ten attributes with the other hand.
Then ask a question (by writing it on paper) with your dominant hand and ‘answer’ with your other hand. Don’t analyze the response, just do it. Have a whole conversation with that unused hemisphere. You might be surprised at the results.
Another method of balancing through the body is to adopt the medicinal beliefs of Chinese Medicine and transform your diet. If you already have an inclination as to which hemisphere is out of balance. For example if you have too much Yin, then try eating more Yang foods such as eggs, root vegetables and grains.
Asking ourselves about which areas we have imbalance is essential.
“My observation is that humans love to categorize, create rules, and make lists. It is therefore tempting to make lists of everything, sorting from yin to yang… The advantage is that we quickly get to see how it all can work in real life, but the disadvantage is that we could end up operating out of someone else’s yin and yang list” ~ Simon Brown
Through the Mind.
Meditation as a daily practice is the best route to rebalancing these energies and how they manifest themselves in our self image and identities. The practice of sitting is begun with the body, as above; sitting in balance of crossed legs which should be swapped over and used in rotation, with the palms resting lightly on the knees or facing up.
During our practice we can visualize our two hemispheres working in balance, or use the breath to channel light and love equally into both sides of the body.
When doing this you may find emotions and certain thoughts arising and it’s important to adopt a nurturing position as the observer of these, as you would in any meditation.
Another meditational practice that heals certain elements of the polarities existent in us is to hold a pillow on the side you are rebalancing and talk to it, hold it as you would a child and give it some much needed nurturing.
While we bring these ‘selves’ outside of ourselves, we mustn’t get too caught up in the detachment from them and always keep them close, recognizing them as elements of the same person.
Chakra and colour meditations can also give us a lot of insight into which energies are depleted or need working on.
While the chakras don’t directly relate to Yin or Yang, by focusing on them you might get a sense of how they are directed. For example, the throat chakra may need more Yin energy if it is too fragmented or choppy.
Visualizing cooler, loving watery textures passing through it will help redress that balance and create compassionate words and receptive energies in your area of speech where before you may have been using oppositional, angry language that was causing conflict. You may also like to talk directly to your father and mother energies through journeying.
Through the Spirit.
Integration and non-duality are practises which question the very fabric of what we believe we know and can work towards rewriting our perception of reality completely. Non-Duality means letting all of our perceptions of polarity flake away and questioning our reality down to the nuts and bolts of it; we believe we have a brain that sends information to the rest of our bodies so that they may function.
We know this because we were taught it in school and this is a result of hours and hours of scientific research carried out before we were even born. But have you ever seen your brain? If you have never seen it then how do you know it’s there? Our whole perception of reality, when you think about it is based on hear-say and our acceptance of other’s experiences.
This kind of enforced spiritual enquiry can also work with our knowledge of death, and as a powerful Tibetan Buddhist Powa, meditating on the moment of death can enrich our lives endlessly.
The duality of light/dark, life/death, male/female can be dissolved through meditation, and death is one such moment of integration.
If gender is illusionary, then so are all dualities, and in our rebalancing of them we might let them then fall away. If we accept only reality as it is constantly born and reborn through our senses then we might get closer to the ‘truth’, or an experience of the ‘Supreme Ultimate’.
“If everything is changing, if everything is impermanent, what is there that really lasts or survives?” When one really asks that question deeper and deeper, one realizes that everything in this life is interdependent. Nothing has any inherent existing nature, but yet since everything is impermanent, nature itself is empty.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche
In rebalancing the Yin and Yang energies within us, we may move through this dualistic existence to the blue sky beyond. That which is always there, beyond life and death.
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“If you don’t occasionally contradict yourself, your position isn’t nearly complex enough.” ~ Terrence McKenna
From my perspective, a well-developed sensitivity should be our highest wish. It isn’t necessarily easy to live in our society today being highly sensitive, but it is a skill that is needed to find and follow 
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