What does living with grace and ease mean?

Have you noticed that life isn’t always easy, that we have challenges, issues, and problems? Me, too! I have learned, however, that there is a way of living that makes life easier and more joyful – it’s the title of this newsletter: Living in Grace and Ease. What do I mean about living in grace and ease? Let’s start with what it isn’t.

-It is not presenting a shopping list for more stuff to the Universe and then having it all fall into your lap – although it could be.

-It is not necessarily winning the lottery – although it could be.

-It is not meeting the person of your dreams, falling madly in love, and living happily ever happy – although it could be….

-It could be any of these things and more….but –

What it is, is this.

Grace is having the humility to recognize who and what you are, your place in the Universe, and then living in that state of awareness. From that awareness flows a life of ease.

It's like riding a bicycle or getting your sea legs on a ship in rough waters. It is being able to live from your center and knowing/trusting everything is okay. We can move right and left or up and down without losing focus or center. If you meditate, you know what the state of grace feels like:

Blissful...floating….free…joyful….loving……you feel this and then bring it into your everyday life and allow grace to do what you cannot. The word allow is huge when it comes to living in grace and ease. We don’t push. We don’t plot. We don’t beg. We live from our center and then allow the Universe/God/Goddess to do their thing, whatever that is. The more in our center we are, the more goodness flows our way. Yes, there will be the inevitable challenges that come from living on this planet at this time in history, but when they come we know how to handle them. We are guided in what to do or not do and when.

There is a huge but. We are expected to provide the conditions for grace to flourish, just like we provide the conditions for a garden to flourish. We plant, fertilize, pull weeds, keep pests away, and we provide water. It is by doing these things that we court grace to enter our lives on a daily, even hourly basis. And once we feel ourselves aligned with grace, we experience greater ease because we realize grace is providing for us in all ways.

How do we court grace? How do we set the conditions for grace to show up?

1. Set the intention and the willingness for it to occur.

2. Be open to its occurring – provide opportunities for it to occur – meditation and quiet time.

3. As it says in the Bhagavad Gita, “Be not the doer.” Realize this is being done through you. Be the watcher or witness to your life instead of trying to force everything to happen. We must cooperate with grace - not just sit there - but do it without trying to control everything!

4. Go on a worry fast. Give up worrying. Worry and grace do not exist together. The master Yogananda talked about our to-do lists and appointments. He pointed out that someday we will die, and all of those things will get handled or won’t matter anymore. Do what you need to do, be conscientious, but then let it all go and let grace handle it.

Living by grace instead of self-effort is simple while requiring our intention and attention. It is doable and it is my intention that the information I share here on Substack helps you move in that direction if you aren’t already living this way. Imagine a world where most people live by grace. It can happen and I believe it will happen, it’s just a matter of time.

Living in grace and ease,

Krysta