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If you're interested in conscious living, then likely you're just as equally interested in Zen but simply not knowingly interested.

Usually Zen is associated with Japanese culture and religious or Buddhism practice, but true Zen (or at least the way this site uses the term) is emphasizing the value of conscious living.

Zen and conscious living come together and go hand-in-hand. Hence, conscious living without Zen is a huge oversight and vice-versa because these are not two.

"Conscious Flex: Zen & Conscious Living" is designed to offer a partnership of how these seemingly two are actually one movement.

Zen is the foundational spaciousness or presence from which conscious living derives. In the same manner that an artist, inventor or intuitive actions come from the stillness in the silence of non-movement.

In other words, Zen is a resting in the powerful space of not thinking about thought, not doing anything about doing, not trying to be the solver or understander, the knower collector but simply allowing the intelligence of life to flow through you and as you.

What is described can be thought of as meditation or accessing our intuition, but it's actually just natural living.

Often you will see kids in a natural resting space or presence and we tell them "snap out of it" because we think they are in "lala land" or "fantasy land" and not paying attention but actually they are simply being completely present with what is. It's natural to just rest and be, that's the flow from which insight and wisdom arises from.

Hence, conscious living is also the natural flow of how life organically expands upon itself. Consequently, conscious living is Zen living, when it's pure and without conceptual overlays.

Enjoy!

  • THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE: ONE UNIT

    May 19, 2016 | Posted By: Admin | Filed Under:
    I live in a small trailer on my landlord's 7 acre property. I have to walk my dog on a extendable and retractable 20 foot leash, where I can control the length of the leash from a button on the handle of the leash, because he will chase the free range chickens if he is not on a leash.

    There are a lot of trees and other things that my dog will wrap the leash around, as he's sniffing the smells on the ground and walking in circles.

    I used to either follow the same path he went, to get the leash unwrapped, or I would go to the obstacle that he wrapped himself around and shift the leash from one hand to another, unwinding the wrap.

    I day, while walking him, I felt it was time to teach him to not wrap the leash around trees and other objects. So, as soon as he was about to go around in a circle, beginning to wrap the leash around something, I would push the button to stop the leash from extending. He noticed the resistance and the fact that he was unable to move forward, but he would keep trying anyhow.

    After a while of trying to force through the resistance, it dawned on him that he couldn't go forward anymore, no matter how hard he tried. He was just digging into the ground, going nowhere.

    Then, he tried something else. He looked at me and barked. Trying to get me to extend the leash or fix the problem he is having. I attempted to point to the other side of the object, trying to point out that he is stuck becuase he wrapped the leash around the object. All he had to do was take 3 steps and go around to the other side of the object.

    I couldn't tell if he didn't like that idea or if he couldn't tell what I was trying to point out, but he started staring at me and whining.

    He still had some of his weight on the leash, even though he was now sitting on the ground, giving up. Not trying to push forward through walking anymore, but still resisting by putting his weight forward and also resisting by giving up.

    After a while, he got wore out and stopped resisting with his weight forward and he instantly noticed the difference because the pressure on his harness stopped, since he was no longer pushing his weight forward and the leash gave slack.

    I couldn't tell if he thought that freed him up or if he thought I gave in to his whining, but he stood up and tried to continue to push forward, but with one lean, he felt the resistance again.

    I knew if I just stood still, he would eventually figure it out by going with the path of the least resistance.
    In a similar way, life is much like this example. Life is a still and unmoved truth; life is the truth and the way. Life is constantly trying to show us what it is and what is happening, but we refuse to listen and want to go about it our own way.

    For a while, it can feel like life is doing all the work for us, so when it asks us to pay attention and invites us to start taking responsibility for the stuckness we feel and start taking responsibility for the wrapping-up we find ourselves in, we create resistance.

    We think the resistance is life but it's really that we don't care to find out what is causing the seemingly resistance. We have our favorite way, which is anyway we like and we want to continue that way.

    We create resistance by pushing forward into a direction that we want to go. We are not open to listen to what life wants for us. If we just go the way of least resistance, we will find the way life set out for us.

    And we will discover that the way with least resistance is the way which is towards truth. With that discovery comes an effortlessness, and as soon as we hit any resistance, then we know that's not the way. It becomes very simple to be guided by life. It's easy to flow with what is, because "what is not" will feel like resistance and inner conflict. Even emotional or mental resistance fits well into this example.

    My dog now knows that I will not give in to what he wants and so there is no other choice for him. Hence, he naturally chooses the path which is choiceless (simply because he doesn't have another choice, unless he wants to pout and be in resistance).

    Sometimes my dog will still want to pout and that is okay, he can choose that, if he wants to and he can pout however long he wants to, but instead he quickly remembers that he is happier when he is not resisting and happier when simply taking the route with no resistance. Now, we have a flow, a relationship of one movement and act as one unit; one body.

    Similarly, you may think you have desires and wants that are different than how life is appearing, but only when you flow with life do you discover that life's desires for you, are actually your desires for you, absolutely no difference. You are not separate from life; you are Life itSelf. One Life.

    When you're flowing with life, the One Life becomes very apparent, because when you're not flow with life, then the resistance becomes very apparent. When you see this clearly, there is no choice but to flow with life; no choice but to Be as Life is.

    If you identify with resistance, rather it feels like a choice or not, then resistance is still necessary. Resistance is Grace, it helps us see that resistance is not necessary. Life will get its way, eventually, because it is the truth and the way. We can resist for a long time, even lifetimes, but not forever. ~Conscious Flex admin