#168 Effort in Moderation - Right Effort

     "Following your breath is not effortful. When you find yourself making an effort, you are adding to something that is already complete. Try giving your focused, alert awareness 50 percent less effort. The effort is brought simply to the intention and action of becoming still, so that the silt may begin naturally to settle in the stillness of the mind, like water becoming clear. Coming home is letting go, allowing resistance to drop away as it softens in the mind of breathing. Is it effortful to let go? Letting go is already dropping effort." 

        Murphy S. Upside-down zen. Finding the marvelous in the ordinary. Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2006.    - a truly wonderful book - highly recommended


     “Remember, this is not a mental struggle – it is not about thinking differently; rather it comes from getting out of our heads and into our bodies – that is, into the physical experience of the present moment.”                  Ezra Bayda

Photo: Alessandra Meniconzi    www.smithsonianmag.com