The Path to Mastery: Energy Efficiency and Effortless Ease

[ardacigin]

The Path to Mastery: Energy Efficiency and Effortless Ease

If you want to get anywhere on the spiritual path , understanding energy efficieny and effortless ease are absolutely fundamental.

Let’s call this dysfuntion of physical and mental tension that pervades each moment as ‘The Spiritual Block’ – TSB.

There are highly unconscious aspects of TSB which is manifested as mental effort without awareness and physical tension.

In simple terms, this is why you feel chronic fatigue. Especially the deep sort where no amount of ‘detox’ protocols or diet changes have any perceptible effect.

This is why you can’t look people in the eye. Your shoulders and body tense up and feel this anxiety that appears to have invaded your DNA.

This is why just the act of going to the fridge and getting a soda is such a tiring and ‘high effort-no reward’ activity filled with aversion, boredom and lack of motivation.

So how do we deal with it?

TSB is a form of complex suffering that certain forms of art has tried to address in order to optimize performance.

Martial arts is a very clear and masterful sport that incorporates deep spiritual systems in its core operating system.

You use the momentum of the opponent to conserve as much energy as possible while only utilizing muscles that needs to be contracted for the completion of the movement and completely relaxing all the other muscle groups that is not necessary for the task at hand. Which in turn conserves more  energy and increases efficiency.

When you look at any master at any field, you see that they have this inspiring energy efficiency. Not loose relaxation but the perfect levels of tension and relaxation dancing within.

Relaxed Alertness is a requirement to the path to mastery.

So here is a very tangible practice regimen to practice relaxed alertness.

1-      When you are doing any form of passive acitivity (watching TV, Youtube sitting down, laying down etc), make sure that your entire body, especially shoulders, arms and torso are completely relaxed and restful. Not even a little bit of tension should be allowed. Drop them down if you tighten  up.

2-      When you are doing any form of active movement-related activity (having converstion with someone, playing video games, typing on keyboard etc.) make sure that only the muscle groups that is required for the activity is used and all the other muscle groups are fully relaxed and restful.

 Not even a little bit of tension should be allowed. If you can drop it, then practice dropping it. In active movements, energy efficiency and tension becomes a deeper issue that requires careful investigation. Here is an example:

When you are typing on a keyboard, you don’t want to unnecessarily spend energy with shoulder tension, legs, stomach convulsing as you are thinking about a complex topic.

The only muscle group that needs to be used is fingers, hand and elbow. Even then, you should make sure you are not tightening the shoulders to hold the weight of your hands.

This is an example when even when you are using the required muscle groups, you need to utilize as much efficiency as possible.

Efficiency is defined as the least amount of effort and energy needed to complete any given task. When you see the ‘efficiency’ switch in your nervous system, integration of this efficiency to all life activities will get easier.

To see this switch, you need to practice much more physical relaxation. You need to see tension in each movement.  And you need to see that 'you' are generating it. Not the external circumstances and people.

If you think ‘Oh yeah! I’ve heard of this a million times. I’m doing it but it is not working so well’, just accept that you aren’t practicing any of this to the level that you need to experience any of the benefits that this practice offers.

You need to develop this continuous introspective awareness of tension and relaxation and that will lead to positive feedback loop.

Let the masters of their respective fields provide you with inspiration. Always attend to how such a high level they’ve mastered energy efficiency and relaxed alertness.

Meditation is actually the deepest form of mastery where you can bring this relaxed alertness axiom of mastery to all activities of life.

To all young people, ask yourself the question: Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could play Red Dead Redemption 2 like Mozart playing the piano?

To all adults, ask yourself this question: Wouldn't it be amazing to attend that social event your boss forces you to in a state of bliss and joy? Not dreading what you are going to say if you see this or that person.

Well, you can do that with spiritual training.

Do the process I’ve described for all passive and active states in daily life for as much as you can do, slowly your conscious power and awareness will heighten to extremely impressive levels. To such a level that your aura in life will tranform and people's perception of you will dramatically change.

Take this very seriously and practice it with resolve. 

Much love,

Arda

Edited November 3, 2021 by ardacigin

[softlyblossoming]

@ardacigin Will you be my Enlightenment coach? 

[BipolarGrowth]

Is micro-managing my muscles at all times a bit neurotic? It seems a bit neurotic. Why can’t I just be present and happy as I already am? 

[Consilience]

6 minutes ago, BipolarGrowth said:

Is micro-managing my muscles at all times a bit neurotic? It seems a bit neurotic. Why can’t I just be present and happy as I already am? 

The mind fuck is the tension is you’re unconscious micromanagement of the muscles. Why can’t you be present and happy as you are? Because you’re all tensed up and unconsciously suffering. Not specifically “you” but most people.

Great post!

[BipolarGrowth]

20 minutes ago, Consilience said:

The mind fuck is the tension is you’re unconscious micromanagement of the muscles. Why can’t you be present and happy as you are? Because you’re all tensed up and unconsciously suffering. Not specifically “you” but most people.

Great post!

I think you misinterpreted my last sentence. I was saying: I am already happy and present, so why would I spend my mental faculties focusing on this? 

[gettoefl]

@ardacigin

this is so spot on, needed the reminder thanks much, enlightenment is just complete relaxation so you vanish

[ardacigin]

3 hours ago, BipolarGrowth said:

I think you misinterpreted my last sentence. I was saying: I am already happy and present, so why would I spend my mental faculties focusing on this? 

I suggest not making assumptions. 'Happiness' and being 'present' have a deep continuum of range and scale. Both depth and breadth.

You might feel that currently, everything is fine, I'm happy and present but then a circumstance arises which makes you doubt the stability, mastery or the experience 'happiness' or 'presence'.

As more skill and awareness is gained, the more you work through the kinks in the armour and the further potential is seen left unexplored. Then you say 'I was nowhere near done'.

The value of this exercise will be seen after you put in the work to develop the awareness. 

As Consilience has pointed out, you are already intervening and micro-managing by generating unconscious physical and mental tension. This practice allows you to let go of that and  change the core programming with time by making the process more conscious.

Then you realize you didn't even know what effortlessness, happiness or presence was prior to engaging in complex looking practices like this one.  It is much less 'systematic' or 'complex' than it sounds. Just try practicing relaxation and keep my suggestions in mind. 

Hope this helps,

Much love,

Edited November 3, 2021 by ardacigin

[Nahm]

Awesome share. So effortless, so easy in fact, there’s no master or mastery. 

[BipolarGrowth]

10 hours ago, ardacigin said:

I suggest not making assumptions. 'Happiness' and being 'present' have a deep continuum of range and scale. Both depth and breadth.

You might feel that currently, everything is fine, I'm happy and present but then a circumstance arises which makes you doubt the stability, mastery or the experience 'happiness' or 'presence'.

As more skill and awareness is gained, the more you work through the kinks in the armour and the further potential is seen left unexplored. Then you say 'I was nowhere near done'.

The value of this exercise will be seen after you put in the work to develop the awareness. 

As Consilience has pointed out, you are already intervening and micro-managing by generating unconscious physical and mental tension. This practice allows you to let go of that and  change the core programming with time by making the process more conscious.

Then you realize you didn't even know what effortlessness, happiness or presence was prior to engaging in complex looking practices like this one.  It is much less 'systematic' or 'complex' than it sounds. Just try practicing relaxation and keep my suggestions in mind. 

Hope this helps,

Much love,

I’ll try to give it a shot. 

[ardacigin]

@Consilience That is right Ethan  The more you realize those subliminal tensions are of your own doing, the more you get confused: 'Why the hell am I doing this to myself?'

Then the trick is to connect this reduced craving to the self who is behind this entire process. Self-clinging reduces along with craving and some real progress is made towards awakening. 

But this entire exercise is worth it on its own. You'll get the reduced craving and higher potential of happiness through systematic relaxation. Unlike certain other techniques in zen or Self-enquiry where unless you absolutely succeed, you are left with little to nothing. But if they do work, they REALLY work.

All strategies have their pros and cons.

Edited November 4, 2021 by ardacigin

[softlyblossoming]

22 hours ago, ardacigin said:

But this entire exercise is worth it on its own. You'll get the reduced craving and higher potential of happiness through systematic relaxation. Unlike certain other techniques in zen or Self-enquiry where unless you absolutely succeed, you are left with little to nothing. But if they do work, they REALLY work.

All strategies have their pros and cons.

That's a really cool rational analysis of the different methods. Can't wait to go deep into experimenting with this technique.