EASE is my Word of the Year for 2019. I’ve been practicing it for quite a while now, and writing about it here, too. This summer I’ve uncovered a whole new level of ease – and also my hidden resistance to it.
Here are some notes from the field:
There are layers of resistance to ease. These can be buried quite deeply. I’ve worked on my core beliefs a lot over the past 10 years, and yet I was recently able to pinpoint a whole new level of resistance to my work being both easy and profitable.
Keep diving deep into the shadowy parts of your subconscious mind and hauling your discoveries up into the light. EFT (aka tapping) and journaling have been invaluable in helping me to fully release my resistance and the old beliefs that provoke it.
Ease is experienced in the body. You can intellectually believe that ease is best for you, but until you ground it in your physical body, it’s just an abstract concept. Until you tune in fully, your body can be holding tension without your conscious awareness.
Make regular times throughout the day when you check in with your body’s sense of ease. Get up and do some stretches. Lie on the floor and breathe deeply. Go to yoga class, or get a massage. Swim or float in the water. Touch the earth with your bare skin.
Not many people are walking the ease-filled path. In our culture, being busy is a badge of honor. We take pride in how hard we’re working, trying, and striving. By building a life centered on ease, you’re pretty far outside the mainstream. This in itself can cause guilt and doubt to arise. Stop focusing on what others might think of your ease, and turn your attention instead to how it feels and the results you’re seeing. Your struggling doesn’t serve you or anyone else.
Also, this doesn’t mean that no one else is walking with (or toward) ease. Find your easeful tribe. Having trouble locating them? Send me an email; I’m happy to chat about my own experiences with ease.
Ease and ambition aren’t mutually exclusive. A life of ease might bring visions of retirees, the very wealthy, and nomadic hippie wanderers with no fixed address. You don’t have to be those things, or even have a slacker mentality.
For example, I’m actually a very ambitious person. My goals include being a best-selling author, leading transformational writing retreats around the globe, and becoming a philanthropist who helps fund ocean cleanup – among other things. But I’m discovering that when I approach my work with ease and joy, I get closer to those big goals. It’s when I tense up and Take Things Seriously that I get blocked and accomplish very little of meaning. Paradoxical, but true.
Keep learning new methods that help you cultivate ease. This summer I’ve learned several new tools. One of these is the “Easy World” game, which was invented by author Julia Rogers Hamrick. I learned it from my friend and mentor Jeannette Maw of Good Vibe University.
To play, just say “I choose to live in Easy World, where everything is easy, including __(fill in the blank)___.” You can use it when you notice you’re struggling with or dreading something, to reach for a seemingly impossible desire, or to uplevel your daily experience. It’s fun to play with others who are open-minded, too. BlackLion, his Mom, and I had a blast playing the Easy World game during a trip to the lake for his birthday.
All of this might make it sound like working with EASE is anything but easy. However, we’re all on a path of spiritual growth – so why not be intentional about it? You can even approach your learning about ease with ease (how meta!). Or you can treat it like a new game – how much ease can you infuse into your life over the next few weeks? Let’s play!
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