
The Effortless Nature of Everything
by John Astin
This guided meditation explores the effortless nature of everything. Just relax. There is nothing else you need to do.
Meet your Teacher

Santa Cruz, CA, USA

by John Astin
This guided meditation explores the effortless nature of everything. Just relax. There is nothing else you need to do.
Meet your Teacher

Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Transcript
So in this meditation, I'd like to invite you into just relaxing, Just relaxing this habit we have of trying to keep our experience within a certain parameter. This habit we have of trying to keep our thoughts, Our feelings, And our sensations in a certain way, Trying to manage them, Trying to modulate them, To regulate them in some way in order to feel okay, In order to feel a sense of well-being, A sense of peace, Or if we're spiritual seekers, In order to discover a more enlightened, Realized, Awake state. So the quality I'd like to invite you to experience and explore in this time is that of effortlessness, Of not needing to do anything. To simply notice, Without any effort, What is already happening, What is already occurring, Without our needing to in any way intervene to make it happen. Notice how effortless it is to simply be, How no effort is required to exist. Existence is happening, Life is happening, Aliveness is happening, And it's effortless. Life moves effortlessly, Changes effortlessly, Becomes the next thing effortlessly. It becomes the next thing effortlessly. Whether your eyes are open or closed, Just notice how seeing is happening effortlessly. The faculty of seeing is here, Without any effort on our part to see, Seeing is arising, A natural function of life itself, Seeing. You may be seeing many different things, But the seeing itself is effortless. And as with seeing, So with hearing, The hearing of sound within and around us is effortless. Hearing is simply happening, Spontaneously. A natural function of life itself in us, Hearing, Listening. Sounds entering the sphere, The space of hearing, Immediately, With nothing needing to be done. And we can just relax in that effortlessness. And pervading all of our experience, The hearing, The seeing, Touching, The tasting, The feeling, The sensing, There is this stream flowing, This stream of knowing, This stream of awareness, This stream of being aware that flows without our doing anything. This current, This river of knowing, Flowing within all of experience, Lighting up each moment that is known. And this happens effortlessly, Moment by moment. This moment being known, Whatever the texture or taste of this moment is, It is known, Effortlessly. Awareness shining within each experience with nothing needing to be done to make it shine. It is self-shining. Just enjoying the effortlessness of being aware, The effortlessness of knowing, The effortlessness of simply being. Life, Existence, Sustaining itself effortlessly, Knowing itself in each experience effortlessly, Being itself through each experience effortlessly. Life appearing as you, Appearing as every aspect of you, Every thought, Every feeling, Every sensation, Appearing, Arising effortlessly. Each moment arising and vanishing effortlessly. Every perception appearing and then disappearing effortlessly. Every feeling becoming and then dissolving effortlessly. Experience flowing, Changing, Shape-shifting, Moment by moment, Effortlessly. Thank you.
4.6 (172)
Fleur-Anne
August 10, 2020
Wow! So relaxing... Thank you for this gift!
****Michelle
January 31, 2020
Relaxing and inspiring. Excellent slow pace and voice. Thank you !
Pam
September 22, 2019
Thank you for this beautiful introspection. ❤️
LP
April 13, 2019
Thank you for this space to consider the beauty of effortlessness. We are socialized to believe that our worth is found in the doing. But effort is a deceptive mistress, keeping us distracted from profound messages that are available to us if we just slow down.
Jan-a-Doodle
February 23, 2019
Thankyou soooo much for this Meditation – it’s about time that we had one on needing to do nothing!!!!
Joy
December 25, 2018
Merry Christmas, John. This reminds me of Taoism, everything is done by not doing. Notice the earth and the horizon always meeting perfectly. I think that effort is a blanket people use to prevent the dread from rising up. I know that when I am not scheduled and exhausted from work, the meaninglessness can be overwhelming.
Kirsten
December 8, 2018
Lovely thanks John
Bonnie
November 20, 2018
Great awareness — thank you for sharing. I look forward to experiencing it again! 🙏😊
Anthony
September 12, 2018
This was exactly what I needed to hear today. Wonderful clarity. Thank you
Byron
September 2, 2018
excellent, beautiful male voice, very relaxed.
Neet
September 1, 2018
Not much quiet time for effortless reflection, mostly narrative so this is not for me but Thank you 😊
Jillian
August 27, 2018
Very clear, relaxing, and simple. Thank you!
ruth
August 27, 2018
Great! Thank you.
Ya'akov
August 27, 2018
Wonderful! Thank you! Namaste😀✌🙏
