Consciously trying to try less hard has been a theme for me lately. I’ve been consistently meditating for 20 minutes a day but I’m working to expand it to twice per day. Once I focus on my aural mantra, I become very calm and focused on - well, nothing. And this is good. But then the thoughts creep in to my mind. I know to gently acknowledge the thoughts as they arise and then return to the mantra to re-focus. I find myself trying to increase the stretches of time that I am very calm. I’ve had similar experiences in the past. I spent most of my high school and college years trying to become a better drummer - more specifically - a snare drummer in a drum corps. I was taught to strive for a full quality of sound (ie/ create a great sound yet remain relaxed). The less I worked, the fuller the sound I created. The same happened for driving a golf ball further. When I tightened up my muscles, I hit the ball a shorter distance. When I worked on my technique to allowed the ball or drum to vibrate naturally, I got the best results. The first step is to become aware that you’re not as relaxed as you could be. The tricky part is surrendering control. I often think if I muscle it out, I’ll get the best result - but it never works. At once you expend the maximum energy while remaining as effortless as possible. When have you achieved more with less effort?