We really don't have to practice anything to live an acceptable life but we do have to become aware of our true nature or natural state which is far from medial.

As Vesuvius pointed out, those who are spiritually awake are well aware of their true nature and I'm sure many of them have daily spiritual practices and most live their spirituality every moment by being mindful in all their interactions.

Becoming self aware does for most of us involve a lot of inner mental work.However, the more we can integrate our spiritual learning into our everyday living, the more natural it becomes and it does reach a point where it begins to no longer feel like a chore or an effort.

Most things worth learning usually require some sort of practice to begin with but the outcome is usually always worth it and I don't think you can do anything greater for yourself than devote the time it takes to awaken to your true nature.

Do I wish I could have the outcome without the effort? Honestly, I really don't know because I don't think I'd be learning and acquiring all the wisdom that I am. There are times I could do without the obstacles and challenges but I know my greatest learning has come from these so I'm not even sure I'd change those times if I could.

When you learn to ride a bicycle you start with training wheels and then you boldly remove them. You ride threw your childhood and its something you don't forget. So being spiritual is like riding a bike you have learned to keep your balance when your on the bike you practice balance, life throws you a few bumps and and dips in the road.Some people lose their balance and fall, others ride on.And the more we ride the better we get and the less we need to think about keeping our balance it just comes naturally. So keep on riding and enjoy it

peace

Upon reading Vesuvius and Michaela's wonderful answers I remembered some moments in my childhood.
I remember being very young (before kindergarten) & enjoying my presence within myself. The person within me looking out through these eyes was exactly the same person right now. I remember looking and contemplating without the use of the complex words and sentences that I use today. I was alone more often than I was with other kids. I remember waiting for playtime with other kids to end so that I could also enjoy some alone time with my self. The presence that accompanied my moments alone was very curious & wide awake (that's the best way I can describe it) When ever an adult would engage me in conversation I had to quickly snap out of that mode and that moment of snapping out felt like I was quickly hiding myself from the world.

Somewhere along the way I lost that ability and didn't realize that I would spend many years to re-discover what I lost. I don't think I ever re-discovered that person within me again.

There are glimpses of familiarity of what used to be.

I think all of us have experienced this. I am fortunate in that I retained some memories of that point in my childhood. But I am positive that we have all forgotten the innocence & pure un-blemished consciousness of our childhood.

I think that all the layers of understanding and knowledge that we have acquired since our childhood is great & should not be dismissed. It is important for our survival and existence.

I think it is this memory of innocence and pure wonderment that later surprises us in the guise of an interest in spirituality. But we have become too complex in our adulthood to even dare venture into this un-known without our trustworthy analytical mind. We are trying to snag a fish of spiritual awakening with a rod of intellectual complexity.

The child is fascinated by the act of fishing. The adult is fascinated by the fish that was caught. The child didn't know what was going to happen. The adult wrote the script before getting started.

Why does the body have to have 85% water for us to maintain good health? Why do we have to born as infants, before we can mature into adulthood etc?

We do have choices in life, and we get to choose what we want to be when we grow up. So, we are not compelled to do anything out of the ordinary that does not interest us.

Life goes on, one way, or another, so do what is comfortable for you, and you will still get what is coming to you. Meaning: you can still manifest your desires without indulging in practicing extra exercises. I was manifesting before I learned about the LOA, but now that I understand the process of using the LOA, I know what to expect, and I am better prepared to manifest my desire!

I believe that it is natures way of making sure that we do not forget where we came from.

Here's a really nice quote I just read yesterday, and I think it's so relevant to the discussions here.

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way."

Whatever it takes to make ourselves happy...

Cheers =)

Ok so what happens is that the mind is easily programmable. It was once our natural state to feel good but as we got older- we were bombarded with all kinds of conditioning- from our parents, teachers, society as often faulty models- usually programming various types of victimhood or fear associations.

These pathways get impressioned heavily in our neurocurcitry- so once you realize that after a certain point "life is wayy too shitty and overwhelming" (and thus you attracted that back into your reality with those habitual feelings/thinking patterns) you had to come to an apex to make a decision to feel better, find a way out- and that takes training. If you can start on "a rampage of appreciation"- that's what gets the positive pathways embedded in your brain- and your life starts to change, and just like feelings of past victimhood or fear- the opposite, love and happiness and joy become habit- its just a matter of switching the feelings that get embedded over and over-to create a new habit. After a while you no longer need to be conscious of "avoiding fearful thoughts" as you will just naturally be relaxed and repell the bad. Feeling good continually and upping that feeling of good in a positive upward spiral= repelling the bad + training the pathways to appreciate and love and relax and flow.

It does take training initially- just as past fear based thinking took training initially (which we often forget) but as a poster said above: Just aim to feel good constantly and make that your only focus and don't worry about society, others, your environment or anything else- what you pay attention to expands. If something shitty happens do whatever you can to feel release- ride a bike, watch a movie, go to a candy store and hang out at the park call a friend and laugh- ANYTHING- feel better and make that your only goal and you will find yourself listening to your desires- Pay attention to feeling awesome and every little amazing tiny thing and the good stuff will get better and more and it will come into your life and you will have no choice but to be like "holy shit life is amazing nothing could ever go wrong" and you would legitimately feel this without strain or falsehood- this would be your truth.

So focus on the best and make that your truth, and share and revel in what an awesome truth that goodness is- this is what will change the world- everyone starting to feel good and seeing evidence and focusing on this evidence is whats going to make positive energy just radiate everywhere. Its possible but its a rhythm of flow and listening to yourself and your desires and following them- it takes focus but after a certain time you get momentum and coast and it will just speed up the wonderfulness. So as if you are learning to ride a bike- you can go down that big hill but you better start peddling and it will all come from there! :)

Because most of us were taught ineffective ways of making choices. We have to unlearn the bad habits, and replace with an effective choice. This is not that easy. Our egos are connected to our choices rendering us helpless. What is acceptable? That depends on how one sees oneself.

because at one point you stop practicing and you live and experiance!

I would try 10 hard ways to make your life better- this is the link- http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-hard-ways-to-make-your-life-better.html Maybe what you are doing isn't satisfying you and you need a bigger challenge. We need to define for ourselves what being happy means. Research has shown that we enjoy ourselves when we are focused on a task to the exclusion of all else. A task that challenges us but doesn't overwhelm us.I learnt to cut stone a few months back and I still get a sense of enjoyment when thinking of it. It was hard but not too hard. So try something that is hard to do and master it and through that you will find enjoyment rather than transitory pleasure.

There is a difference between, trying, striving to become, learning and being. All with the exception of being takes effort. All with the exception of being is trying to move from something or someplace we are not, to something or someplace we want to be. To have something or someplace we want to be, we must then be or experience something or someplace we are not.

This creates a paradox and thus slows progression considerably. The speed with which we learn is in proportion to the to speed we give up believing we are at where we don't want to be and believe we at where we want to be. In other words, the speed of learning is tied to the speed we feel we are learning, or accepting our new reality over our old reality.

So how fast can we change a belief? The answer is as fast as we can accept that that belief is changed. So whether something is hard or easy depends on your willingness or stubbornness to accept the new belief, as it is the new reality.

The more you believe "I can" the more you experience "You can." The more you believe "I can't" the more you experience "I can't." The more you believe "I don't have" the more you experience "I don't have." The more you believe "I have" the more you experience "I have."

I can experience something as: "This is easy", or I may experience it as "This is hard." It depends on what I am wanting to experience. I am choosing every moment of my experience of what I wish to be and experience. So the choice is mine to make. Does life seem easy or difficult, does everything go my way or always against me? Also, if life seems like luck of the draw, then why do I experience good times and bad and how could I change it to be more good than bad?

This springs from our belief that we are not in control of our own thoughts, only circumstances are. This is a false notion to have, and is like living similar to an animal reacting to the environment, rather than consciously shaping their environment. A conscious being knows he is in charge. God gave us free reign over everything, but it is up to us to use that reign to choose what we want or do not want to experience. Most do so everyday unconsciously and are reactionary beings subject to circumstances beyond their control. Actually what they experience are, circumstances within what they accept and choose as what is existence and their experience of existence.

Practice Gratitude and you will be more satisfied with life. When you feel satisfied with life, you will want others to feel satisfied to and you will give to others. When you give to others, you feel happier that you made a difference and put a smile on someone's face. Giving to others is giving to yourself if All is One.

Once your beliefs are consistent with your desires, you don't need to practice any more.

Working through your resistance is the way to expose those beliefs that interfere with your fulfillment of your desire. Practice gives you the opportunity to recognize resistance.

I know that Abraham is about simply changing your focus, but I have found that to be a very short-term and inadequate solution.

If you manifest things by believing you have them already, then if you don't want to practice, you need to make sure that your "BELIEF SYSTEM" is consistent with what you want continually. Most people are utterly unaware of what is in their belief systems. This makes it necessary to continually practice.

Now I manifest when I feel insecure about something not happening automatically. I know I don't need to, but it makes me feel better as I wait or as I doubt. I don't do it very often because I spent years sorting through my beliefs. I'm in the flow. Yet I still have my goals.