To discipline or not.

I don't like the word discipline. It sounds hard and I resist it. I have tried to discipline myself to do all kinds of things: sleep less, eat less, eat differently, meditate, exercise, to be non-judgemental, etc. And it hasn't ever worked well. I can for a while but then it fades and I feel bad. I failed.

I notice that when I really know why I am doing something, absolutely why this is right for me, on my own authority then it works to do a discipline. And I can't even call it a discipline. It is just something I do.

The absolute internal understanding of "why" is the most important part. It is not just an intellectual thing. You also know it in your bones. The rest follows. You read and talk to people, you test out, and you find out for yourself what works for you.

We don't usually do this. There are so many authorities out there and we follow. Follow your own authority. Who says that you are not wise enough?

We have to find out what is agreeable to ourselves, what nourishes us. We need to learn our rhythm. When we do things which we don't understand or which we don't completely see the significance to our lives then it becomes a discipline and a burden. And we resist burdens.

Find out why you eat this. Find out why you exercise and why you walk. Why you do this job. Find out why you meditate. Then, there will be no resistance and it will be a spontaneous action that springs forth from understanding. And it will be easy to do what you want.