What does it mean to Live Lightly? I’ll begin here with a simple definition of Lightly. It means with little weight or force—without care or concern—in a way that is not overtly serious—in a quick and graceful way.

I learned to Let go and Live Lightly while on two-year sabbatical in Greece many years ago. Yes, I literally let go of everything I had ever owned and was looking for a new beginning. I had everything I could want as far as material goods, but I was never going to be indicted into the “happiness hall of fame” by pretending I was happy when I was not.

Greece is beautiful and I had been there many times but one of the things I realized quite quickly, is that I didn’t need to go to away anywhere for my spiritual quest.  Why?  Well first off, we always take ourselves with us…. interesting that I never thought about this before I left!

Second, because we could be anywhere on this wonderful planet of ours, perhaps on a mountain or by the sea. We might feast on the canopy of the blue sky and puffy white clouds or look at the waves cresting and falling back on the water. We might take in the incredible views from the mountaintop, but if we try to contain or grasp these wonders, we will only be grabbing at the air. However, if we try to push them away, we will find they do not resist.

There is Nothing to Grasp

The best way to seize our human essence is to realize that there is nothing to grasp. It is the pulling and pushing in life that causes so much suffering, our own, and that of others. For most of us this usually includes dragging a bag of emotional garbage along with us. Or it might mean that our fearful friend and constant companion known as our inner-critic is holding us back from our true power!

Living Lightly means we STOP doing that.  We let go of the pushing and pulling of energy, we let go of relying on our inner critic to direct us in life. We let go and feel the essence of the void—the emptiness—and then we fulfill the purpose of our human life.

Begin by experiencing the beauty around you, feel how easy it is to slip into total serenity and bliss. Live this essence, share this essence, and you will be able to bring others along with you to experience through your example, increasing their Life Force Energy as well.

Productive Seeking

To Live Lightly, is to live in the present moment and to accept things as they are. You need to live within that framework mindfully. Live in the wonder of it all and develop a strong curiosity of yourself. No longer expect good or bad things to happen; simply take in life as it happens and be content with whatever comes.

When I began my real work of inner self-realization and discovery, I learned, experientially, that one of the most important aspects of healing self is our willingness to accept all the parts of our self. This means the aspects we like and the aspects we fear. We will need to face and accept even our own shadow side. These are the feelings and parts of ourselves that we have rejected, repressed, or disowned. It is inner work, not the seeking of anything external to our being.

Productive seeking requires not only that we clear up all the emotional garbage we have been holding onto; but also, any assumptions that there is a prize to be won. This means acting without an attachment to the outcome of rising to some ideal self. Hoping or wishing that you will get somewhere better than the place you started from. We are starting from our self, wherever we are in the present moment, and it is that self that contains all the answers.

Avoid the Pitfalls

My feeling is that there are pitfalls associated with knowing where you are going and struggling to get there, often using someone else’s map. It is better to remain in the not knowing. So, we must give up on the idea that we must go from one place to another. In fact, there is no linear path when the goal isn’t somewhere else.

We must discard any fixed judgments about high and low, good and evil, holy and profane. There is only one reality and that reality contains everything in its tangle of life’s experiences. The wise thing to do is to seek help at the level where the problem exists by confronting the shadow energies within.

I’ve met many people who give up on spirituality because they felt it wasn’t working for them or it didn’t happen fast enough. The best way to avoid this pitfall is not to set a timetable. Simply allow the process to unfold while giving support to our self in the process of spiritual growth. Don’t wait for a miracle. There is only one reality.

Don’t Get Stuck in the Mire

Although self-improvement is real, and it does help, don’t make the spiritual path a self-improvement project. We don’t need to get there. In other words, we do our inner work, but don’t get stuck in the mire.

It takes a strong sense of self to confront the many obstacles and challenges on the path. Expanded self awareness comes at a price. We will have to let go of our limitations and sometimes our feelings of being victimized as these limitations will slow down the spiritual progress.

Our task is to break through boundaries of division and separation. Watching for and waiting for a miracle keeps the boundaries in place. There is no separation, there never was. There is only one Unity of all there is.

Seeking can’t get anyone out of the tangle because EVERYTHING is tangled up, everything is ONE. The only thing that will ever be pure and pristine is our own Awareness and the mystery of it all. As our Awareness grows, the opposites, the separation, and division begin to calm down and something else emerges—a world we will feel at home in. Awareness offers an alternative beyond the fray. It is a place where we meet our self and we will be able to create anything in existence.

The Ripening

Spiritual growth is spontaneous and both the big and small events come along unexpectedly. A single word can open your heart. A single glance can tell you who you really are. Awakening doesn’t happen according to some plan. Don’t struggle to get there. None of our plans and goals can prepare us for the moment when we ripen.

What we can do is try not to define ourselves by all the layers covering us. When we are ripe within, our soul fills out like a mature peach and once ripened, we are able to feel compassion and joy underneath the soft warm fuzzy covering of the stories we tell ourselves, for nothing matters to the peach except the sweetness within.

There comes a moment when our endless dreams and goals have served their purpose. It will be a time when we have experienced the cave or the solstice and solitude of a long journey. And just like the peach, we realize that we are full enough. We will feel a rejuvenated sweetness that has incubated within us, like the sun rays bursting and propelling us forward into a new understanding of our self. In the ripeness of renewal, we will find that we have set ourselves free in the mist of this great change.

…. Love and Light, Christina