The way of effortless living is a paradox of life. The only effort we need to make is the effort to relax. We labor to enter into rest. We strive to let go and relax. The only tension we need to maintain is the least amount necessary to release energy for action. Usually it is the slightest amount we need in order to move effectively.

When we talk about doing, we mean excessive effort which is excessive tension. Excessive tension always leads to inefficiency and mistakes. Effortlessness does not mean no effort but it means effort without struggle. Nondoing is effortlessness. In practicing the way of nondoing something is shed everyday. That something is excessive effort and action. Less and less do we need to do until when nothing is done, nothing is left undone. Our actions are non-acting actions. This is known as "zero effort", maximum results.

Relaxation involves the ability to live fully but without struggle. The more you relax, the more you flow.

There is no proven relationship between being in a rush and being vocationally successful. Being in a rush has no relationship to getting things done, even though the person who is in a rush may think so. We may not be aware of it, but when we tell ourselves we have to rush in order to succeed, we lie. Highly effective people master the illusion of being chased by time. The more haste you are in, the more mistakes you make.

You can tell how well a tennis player would do on the next point by noting how relaxed his body and face were. He monitors his mental and physical state and works to achieve a quiet mind and an alertly relaxed body. He knows that these are synonymous with concentration and confidence. He knows that moment by moment poise creates the proper conditions for achieving a maximum result with minimum effort. He doesn't give his desire for the goal greater importance than the process he uses to achieve the goal. He knows that if we keep on thinking about where we want to get to, we lose our ability to be one hundred percent involved with what is happening.

There are four characteristics of effortless performance. First, when we are effortless, we focus more on how we feel inside than on the results we want to achieve. Second, we keep our attention on maintaining an internal state of calm, and not giving way to anxiety. Third, we refuse to lose our composure in the face of external pressures. Instead, we use those pressures of the situation to strengthen our ability to maintain internal balance. Fourth, we connect performance to pleasure, and keep our attention on finding enjoyment in our activities.

We normally use far more effort than necessary to accomplish a thing. God created us with a nature of incredible economy. It is natural for us to do things the least effortful way and not in a way that expends excess energy. We notice this when we observe infants learning to crawl, sit, stand and roll over. They find out exactly what level of strength they require for the movement. They don't force it. It is all about effectiveness and efficiency so that you can accomplish more yet do less.

There is a direct connection between releasing tension form your body and improving your concentration. The more physically calm you are, the more powerful your concentration is. Mental focus depends on physical relaxation. The more physically relaxed you are, the more you can concentrate and the more effortless you become. Physical relaxation, concentration and effortlessness go together.

True concentration happens when we stop thinking. Thinking creates physical tension and in the moment of concentration we cease to think for awhile and just act. Stop thinking and just act, in the moment when you need to concentrate on what is before you. The true meaning of relaxation is a combination of inner calmness, complete self expression and being present. To stop thinking doesn't mean we try to shut our thoughts away completely. We may still be thinking but we let our thoughts be in the periphery of our awareness and keep our focus on the thing we are focusing on

When you are effortless, you feel as though what you are doing is happening without you having to make it happen. That's why you feel effortless. You are experiencing life as though a force is manifesting itself through you and you're just a channel for that force. True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way. It can't be gained by interfering.

The experience of effortlessness is sometimes called being "in the zone". A speaker is not thinking and then speaking. His speaking is his thinking, the words simply flow through him. A person's running and dancing becomes effortless when the body gets into its own rhythm and takes over. Making love becomes effortless when two people forget about pleasing each other and enter into the current of rising energy. Something is happening but we aren't making it happen. It is happening by itself and we're letting it happen. This is the flow of God in us and the situation.

That which is supple lives, that which is stiff dies. Unlike children whose bodies are supple, our bodies have become stiff from years of holding back on self expression and authenticity. Eventually, it becomes impossible to perform even the simplest movement without excessive tension. Our rigidity makes it difficult for us to feel our bodies. Rigidity, tension and loss of sensation go together. The key to being effortless in life then, is to let go and don't hold back. Allow ourselves to be authentic and to express ourselves completely. The key to effortless action is to do things from the heart.

Authenticity is the ultimate way to success. Instead of fronting like you have the power, the wealth and the status, get on a path such that you really have the power, the wealth and the status. The process of growth and development is one of refining, of getting rid of all the fluff, until you arrive at the authentic being. Your authentic self, is already inside you. It's just a matter of getting rid of all the fluff and pretense.