We have all tasted the contrasting experiences of life :  firstly where life feels like a real struggle and it’s polar opposite where it feels easy , almost effortless. When it’s a struggle it seems like we have to give everything we have just to keep our head above water. On the other hand when life is flowing effortlessly, it seems like nothing is required from us - it just happens.

Our society is “rigged” towards effort. We frown on laziness and revere those who have risen to the top through the sweat of their own relentless toils. Work harder equals more success is a prevailing paradigm. Do whatever you need to do to become more successful,  where success mainly means having more material stuff. Unfortunately, the costs of this focus on material success are all too evident. Mental illness and depression is commonplace, loneliness and feelings of alienation are endemic, and even those who have “made it” are often deeply unhappy. Somehow we treat this as normal. We extol the virtues of our modern lives even as we watch them disintegrate.

Is life really meant to be a perpetual struggle?

Is there a viable alternative?

There certainly is, with a growing people band of people leading this movement. It means having the courage to be yourself and to truly live in accordance with your own values, rather than simply jumping on the societal bandwagon. Instead of doing what everyone else thinks you should be doing, you listen to your heart’s deepest desires and follow your own internal promptings. It doesn’t mean being reckless or careless; it means  simply living a life that matters to you.

All good in principle, but what does “being yourself” mean? How do you do that?

Here is the first clue : it’s about “being yourself” not “doing yourself”. You don’t need anything extra to be your natural self. It’s more about “letting go” than it is about becoming something better.

Letting go of caring about what other people think of you.

Letting go of imagined limitations.

Letting go of feeling negative about yourself.

Letting go of the need to conform or fit in.

Letting go of trying to please your parents or other key people in your life.

Letting go of…

The truth is we don’t know exactly what we need to let go of. It reveals itself as we take that journey. And it’s never quite what you expect - one thing leads to another. When you start to move in that direction, you will find that you are slowly stepping out of the struggle that most people are completely invested in.

Step by step life starts to flow, and ease replaces dis-ease. There are challenges to be sure but these act as tools to help you let go more deeply, more profoundly. You might need to try new things and delve into areas you have previously shunned. Meditation is a great tool for learning to let go and experiencing the “natural self”. Meditations that are completely effortless, such as Vibrant Celestial Meditation, enable you to rapidly let go of anything that may be holding you back.

Life doesn’t need to be a struggle. If you move in the direction you love and simply be who you were born to be, you will find that more and more, you are living an “effortless” life.

~Ross Corry, Australia