Effortless Effort

Another common question has to do with effort and effortlessness. I talk a lot about ease and effortlessness, and sometimes people get confused and think I am saying you should almost be lazy. Meditating in an effortless way is not the same as being lazy, and it's not the same as being hazy. In fact, one of the most beautiful and profound instructions my teacher used to give me when I talked to her about meditation came in the form of a question: Is it vivid? Is it alive? This is a very good instruction. If we're simply making no effort in a way that's lazy, then our meditation gets dreamy and foggy. It's almost like we're in a trance state or even in a drug-induced state. That's not what is meant by effortlessness. Effortless doesn't mean no effort; effortless means just enough effort to be vivid, to be present, to be here, to be now. To be bright. My teacher used to call this 'effortless effort.' We each need to find out for ourselves what this means. Too much effort and we get too tight; too little effort and we get dreamy. Somewhere in the middle is a state of vividness and clarity and inner brightness. This is what I mean when I suggest that people not make too much effort. You must find out for yourself how much that is.