Wu means non. Wei means action, or more precisely execute, doing, engagement, striving, and busyness. It doesn't imply or mean doing nothing, but letting your mind alone, trusting it to work by itself trusting in life's flow.
It is a kind of effortless action, like when an athlete is in the zone. Being in harmony with nature, both natural and human, having the feeling of always meaningfully engaging in life. It is the art of effortless living.
There are plausible connections between modern science and ancient wisdom. There is a dualism in life. Neurological studies have shown that the brain is divided into two parts. The left hemisphere specializes in analytic thought, logic, language, reasoning, science, math, written and numbers skills and Right - hand control. The right hemisphere specializes in Art awareness, creativity, imagination, intuition, insight, holistic thought, music awareness, 3-D forms and Left-hand control.
The wisest way to orient yourself in the world is to find the balance of these cognitive operations, between the known and the unknown.
Describing Wu Wei is difficult. It is akin to describing a new color. Somethings can't be understood intellectually. They must be grasped intuitively.
There is a profound unavoidable mystery in our very existence. Giving up trying to control life enables one to master life. Amorfati - embrace your fate. You've been dealt the cards, now enjoy the game.
Doing things in accordance with the grain, doesn't mean you don't cut wood at all. It means that you cut wood along the lines where the wood is most easily cut.
Don't force anything. Act in accord with the pattern of things as they exist. Without a proper understanding of the subject, it is better not to act at all. An example of this is when Mao Tse-tung was confronted with the problem of birds eating chinese farmers crops, reducing the output of production; his solution was to send the army into the infected areas and shoot all the birds. This created a much larger problem because the birds ate the insects and when left unchecked, the insects destroyed all of the crops causing a great famine.
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| Chairman Mao |
Float downstream instead of struggling upstream. Eliminate all your psychic obstructions. A master's performance in any art should appear as if it was conducted effortlessly in a near unconscious state.
Albert Einstein, said that he had come up with his finest insights in physics while smoking his pipe and going into a trance like state.
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| Albert Einstein |
Be true to your original nature. Sometimes it is best to follow your instincts, they are gifts from your subconscious that can help you steer away from life's dangerous currants.
Sometimes the best way to explain what something is, is to describe that thing once it is lost. This is best illustrated through a poetic statement Ernest Hemingway made about F. Scott Fitzgerald. Hemingway referred to the period of time in Fitzgerald's life where he was unable to recreate the elegance of his earlier masterpieces like the Great Gatsby. "His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later, he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly anymore because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless".
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| Hemingway |
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| F. Scott Fitzgerald |
About the Author: Judd Bank is the president of CPI Investigations,
a multi dimensional private investigation firm with offices in
Manhattan and Paramus, NJ.
Website: http://www.privatedetectiveny.com
