Here’s an interesting quote from Christian Larson, continuing last week’s email on Poise:
“Poise may be defined as peace and power combined; a state of being wherein you feel perfectly serene and exceedingly strong at the same time. Why peace and power must combine in the formation of Poise is very evident when we realize that all disturbed action of power means loss of power.
The mere act of being quiet, however, is not sufficient to prevent the loss of power. A quiet person is not any stronger than a restless or strenuous person.
The fact that both peace and power may exist in the system at the same time does not prove that the person has Poise, nor that any power is being saved. To acquire Poise, peace and power must combine in consciousness, and not simply exist, side by side.
A person may undertake to live the serene life, and may become so quiet in mind that a large number of the faculties become dormant. During all this time enormous energies are being generated in his system; but his peace has not been united with his power; therefore, the power is lost.
Power is saved and Poise attained only when the energies of the system work in a state of calm. It will therefore be seen that practically all the mental and physical actions of the average person are wasteful. Even the three most valuable actions of mind in the formation of advancement scatter forces to an extent that is startling. These three are ambition, enthusiasm and determination; all indispensable, but most detrimental, as ordinarily employed.
The ambition that is not calm produces a stir in the mind by a letting loose of mighty forces. A sudden determination to do something remarkable is usually a similar phenomena, and is followed by reactions of “what’s the use.” Periodical outbursts of enthusiasm belong in the same category; simply another way of getting rid of energy that we do not know how to hold nor employ. When the natural enthusiast acquires Poise and learns how to use his powers constructively, he will become a genius.
All forms of nervous feeling and nervous action indicate a lack of Poise, and are therefore channels through which a great deal of energy is lost. That phase of joy which is usually called ecstasy is another channel through which energy slips away; and the fact that practically all emotional minds run frequently into ecstasy, makes the matter serious indeed.”
