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Quote of the Week

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

-Lao Tzu (Creator of Tao Te Ching) 🌼

This Week's "Subconscious Success" Tip

Today I'd like to share another concept from my Daoist studies that has helped me stretch my subconscious mind. Click here for last week's share about the "Uncarved Block".

Also btw - if you don't already know - Daoism (aka Taoism) is a way of living (also called a philosophy and religion by some) that emphasizes living in accordance to nature and the ways of the Dao.

Today let's explore "Wu-Wei" - roughly translated as effortless or action-less action.

The wisdom of this is continuing to unfold for me. What I've come to experience so far is that it's like inspired action...something that arises within me spontaneously without force.

It's quite an interesting concept to apply to life when you really start to consider it...because how much of what we do is initiated by some degree of force vs. a natural sense of inspiration?

For example, a tree doesn't try hard to grow...it just does...in its own time, right?

We could try and force it to grow by dumping a bunch of fertilizer on it or blasting it with artificial lighting, but that might actually kill it or just not do anything because the tree has its own timeline.

Remember - applying force (and "Wu-Wei") doesn't mean "bad" or "good". All of these concepts are just an invitation for an expanded perspective and perception of life.

Living the "Wu-Wei" way doesn't always work if you choose to participate in modern society. A lot of us have schedules, jobs, commitments, etc. - and taking care of those things is often not done out of spontaneous inspiration.

I do invite you to consider though...where might you be able to experience even a little bit of this "non-forceful" action?

How to Apply This Tip

Here are the questions that might help you start exploring this concept:

• In the past few months (or longer) - what continuous internal nudges have you received about things to do or explore that you have not yet taken action on? What has been holding you back from taking action?

• When you consider what you do in an average day, what feels forced - even if it's a small degree of force? What feels inspiring and spontaneous?

• When you identify something that feels forced - what would it look like to move even one degree towards it being more spontaneous and non-forceful? Try it out and notice how that changes the experience of your day.

• When you consider your inner work practices specifically, what seems forced and what seems spontaneous or "organic"/natural? How do those two compare in terms of effectiveness, and what awareness have you gained from exploring these questions?

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In my experience, I was raised to believe that I had to work hard for everything and "make shit happen". A lot of this was also influenced by the "good/bad" paradigm.

Even if I did get internal signals that something didn't seem aligned, I would often just push through the discomfort and do it anyway.

I did things sometimes because society said it was "the good thing to do", even if my heart and body weren't necessarily on board (like working 70 hour weeks doing taxes for 6 months out of the year in my early 20s).

I learned a lot (and continue to learn) when I end up doing things like this.

I also notice though that most of the time when I push and force: 1) my results are temporary and not long-lasting like I would've hoped; 2) the process exerts some degree of stress on my system - sometimes leading to stress, exhaustion, and sickness/pain; and 3) I end up spending money, time, or energy in places where I later wish I hadn't.

Which opens up the questions - what becomes possible when we don't force so much? What magic could be created out of inspired action?

Why this might matter to you (the short version)

Quite simply, applying "Wu-Wei" is perhaps one of the best ways to create a perception of more ease in life.

More ease = Less stress

Less stress = More fulfillment, better health and ongoing wellbeing, and more access to all the things you want more of like love, creativity, success, etc.

In my experience, when I don't try to force things right away, sometimes something even better comes my way that I didn't think was possible. The end result is even better than what could've happened if I forced.

I'm also thinking about the time when the only way I got through a period of severe burnout was when I stopped working. It seemed so counter-intuitive at the time because I was working on large project with deadlines, however, now I see that more force was not the answer.

With my inner work, I've found that it's actually easier to work with my system and include things like resistance and discomfort vs. just pushing through it. I've noticed a cultivation of self-kindness and also greater compassion for others. I've noticed my results and ongoing wellbeing are long lasting vs. temporary. Core Transformation and Wholeness work have made applying "Wu-wei" much easier because both processes work under the principle of no-force and gentleness. And that's why I primarily use these processes with myself and my clients today.

Ready To Try It?

Take a moment this week to consider the questions I shared above and how applying "Wu-Wei" could help you have a more easeful life.

That's it! Have questions about this week's tip? Want to share something with me? Connect with me!

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Cheers to your success!

-Alina Nikishina

Transformational Coach & Mentor

P.S. What's one internal nudge you've had over the past month that keeps coming back?

Click here to connect and share with me!

For me, it's been to start reaching out to psychedelic therapy centers and pitch myself as an integration practitioner. I'm currently working on revamping my website...but it's a matter of time!

P.P.S. Did you stumble upon this blog and want to sign up for my newsletter so you get a fresh one into your inbox each week? Click here.