Letting Go Of Anything Extra
In this issue:
· Insights Into Practices
· A Poem, by Naomi Shihab Nye
· Half Day Retreat
· Weekend Retreat
The Practice of Effort and Effortlessness
One of my favorite stories about effort and effortlessness is about a martial arts student who asks his teacher,
“How long will it take for me to become a black belt?”
The teacher responds, “Ten years.”
The student looks puzzled and impatient and says,
I’ll work harder and push myself to excel. I’ll be the best student. How long will it take in that case?”
The teacher pauses to consider this additional information, smiles, looks at his student and says,
“In that case, it will take 20 years.”
Aldous Huxley referred to this as the “Law of Reversed Effort” expressing that when we overly exert ourselves or try too hard to achieve a particular outcome, we may actually impede our progress.
Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki addresses this issue by saying “The most important point in our practice is to have right or perfect effort.”
He goes on to say:
“If your effort is headed in the wrong direction, especially if you are not aware of this, it is deluded effort. Our effort in our practice should be directed from achievement to non-achievement.”
Usually when you do something, you want to achieve something, you are attached to some result. Moving from achievement to non-achievement means releasing any sense of attachment and getting rid of unnecessary and bad results of effort.
When you make some special effort to achieve something, some excessive quality, some extra element is involved in it. You should get rid of extra or excessive things.
People ask what it means to practice meditation with no gaining idea, what kind of effort is necessary. The answer is: “effort to get rid of something extra.”
Practice:
For most of us, engaging with effort and effortlessness is an enormous challenge. We live in a world where accomplishment, and getting things done is essential. How paradoxical that more, or extra effort might not lead to the results we aim for.
I’ve noticed in my executive coaching practice that most leaders think they need to be really hard on themselves in order to get anything done. The experiment I suggest is to try being more kind and accepting of yourself and see how that impacts your productivity. I’ve rarely been disappointed with the outcome of this experiment: insights arise in how more awareness and kindness lead to both greater productivity and enjoyment.
As Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki describes, the practice is to bring more awareness to the way you exert effort — are you doing anything extra?
Experiment with appreciating and enjoying the process, explore a bit more kindness and appreciation of yourself and the process. See what happens.
Explore envisioning an outcome without worry, without fear, with less extra effort.
A Poem
Famous, Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
Half Day Sitting, In-Person and Online
Sunday, May 26th, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Mill Valley.
I really like half day retreats, where there is time for some extended meditation periods, some walking, and time to process with a small community. Then, time to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
Weekend Retreat at Green Gulch Farm
November 1 – 3
In our world of busyness, of more, faster, better, this retreat offers time to stop, reflect, and renew – a time to step fully into the richness of your life. Together we’ll follow a gentle schedule of sitting and walking meditation, interspersed with talks and discussions from the wisdom of Zen teaching as we explore how these stories and dialogues may be utilized in our relationships, our work, and our lives.
This retreat is open to all people interested in stopping, exploring, and bringing more awareness and mindfulness to daily life.