I sometimes refer to myself as a recovering smiler, as I used to smile a lot in moments when it was inauthentic for me to smile. It was a symptom of something deeper; it was part of an unconscious ‘nice guy’ persona that I was upholding. I was already for years on my journey of shadow work before I found out I was doing this and that it was inauthentic; a mask. Most of the time, I wasn’t smiling to give love, or because I felt like smiling. I was putting on a smile to be like

Ancient, time-tested traditions like Tantra, Taoism, Buddhism, and Yoga consistently emphasize the importance of some version of ‘right...

The people who are most disciplined are often the ones who are also the most lazy. Willpower and discipline are reactions to forces like laziness, addiction, and depression. In Yogic terms: 'Tamas'. Someone who exerts a lot of discipline is trying to overcoming these forces. Otherwise, they would probably relax a little more. While discipline can accomplish enormous results, it has little to do with higher spiritual states like flow and effortlessness. Discipline is pain. It’