Very few people stay true to the natural way of being. Most people, in varying degrees, sacrifice their natural tendencies to “fit in” to their culture, society, family, friends, relationships or career. When you are not being your natural self, you will always need to struggle, and make effort, to move through life. You will never feel at ease when you are constantly trying to be someone you are not. The path to a life of joy is to become aligned with your natural way of being and let go of the fears, in the mind, that prevent you from doing so.
What is my natural way of being?
Your natural way of being will always feel “effortless” to you; it will always feel like ease. Each body, every living being, has a natural conditioning (encoded in it so to speak). This natural conditioning causes the body-mind to have a certain “tendencies” that feel like the “right” thing to do, and the “right” way to be. For example, your body-mind might naturally have an inclination for enjoying literature but it may not feel inclined towards mathematics. This is just one small example of how your natural conditioning causes your preferences.
You may notice that you have a natural inclination towards certain hobbies, certain drinks, certain food, certain jobs, certain people, certain views, certain desires and a certain lifestyle. This natural inclination defines your natural preference, which is the path towards your natural expression.
In most societies, a child is usually not allowed the freedom too express his/her natural preferences. Rather the parents and the teachers usually force their preferences on the kids. A child who loves music and has no liking for mathematical studies, is made to focus on school work and is kept away from playing music, by his parents, because they believe that it’s “right” for him. The child eventually stops following his inner guidance and allows the society to tell him what to do.
When you lose touch with your inner guidance, you are always confused about what’s the right thing to do in life. You might find yourself in the wrong job, in the wrong relationship, in the wrong environment, with the wrong people. By “wrong” I just mean that which is not a good match for you. The reason why this happens is because you are not longer going with your natural guidance, or natural preference, but you are allowing your “conditioned” mind to plan your life. Your mind was conditioned by people who themselves lost touch with their natural guidance, and hence the conflict.
It needs courage to get back to your natural way of being
It’s not always easy to get back in touch with your natural state of being, especially when your mind is deeply conditioned by the opinions and beliefs of your external environment. One needs to make a “choice” – Do I continue to struggle and make effort to sustain a reality that is unnatural to me or Do I let go into being the person I naturally am and let life bring me the reality that is natural to me.
All renowned sportsmen, painters, engineers, mathematicians, writers, chefs etc are the ones that followed their heart and did not allow the society to tell them otherwise. When you follow your heart, you might need to move against the “common” trends in the society, and stay true to your own calling. You may not always become a “renowned” personality (that’s not the point), but your life will be a saga of ease, abundance and joy. The key here is “effortless” existence, when you are being natural everything feels effortless.
Your purpose in life is to stay true to your natural way of being, only then can you express the potential within you fully. Every seed has the potential to express as a unique tree – different in its structure and make up. Two mango seeds don’t blossom into “identical” trees (same type but different structures of growth), each seed expresses as a different tree structure. Each human seed has the potential to express in a unique manner, don’t curb this uniqueness in you by trying to copy others. Be who you really are, that’s your true calling.
This is a great article but, I’m wondering what type of exercises you could do to slowly get yourself back into this “Natural way of being”. I feel like simply telling yourself to be more courageous can have an adverse effect and result in you being less of your natural self because every one has their own interpretation of when to be courageous and when not to. I don’t want to be completely impulsive.
Mike, you can read the below posts on how to connect with your inner stability which is the foundation for allowing your natural expression
http://www.calmdownmind.com/reaching-a-place-of-total-allowing/
http://www.calmdownmind.com/faq-on-the-state-of-allowing/
http://www.calmdownmind.com/the-basis-of-inner-freedom/