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A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

nytimes.com

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Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#11

Post by hownottowrite »

Socially, many people are trained to react and fill the gaps created by others. We fill awkward pauses in conversations with chatter. We feel compelled to do work that some other leaves unfinished.

Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting.

You can test this pretty easily the next time you talk to someone by saying nothing. Just leave a gap on purpose. Take no action. The person across from you will feel the pause and will most likely fill it. Sometimes, if the pause is long enough, they will fill it with personal details they would otherwise never share.

One feels drawn to a person like this because their inaction creates a gap we feel compelled to fill. This is the "charismatic" effect the author mentions in the article. In reality, it's more or less a passive aggressive technique to get people to do your work for you through willful negligence.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#12

Post by quonn »

hownottowrite wrote: post #11

Socially, many people are trained to react and fill the gaps created by others. We fill awkward pauses in conversations with chatter. We feel compelled to do work that some other leaves unfinished. Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting. You can t…

I strongly disagree. Is this just your personal idea, or can you point me to anyone or anything making similar claims, especially any research? Many charismatic leaders, including most religious ones actually produce a sense of calmness.

Calling it passive-agressive is not helpful either. Too many things already get reduce to that one.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#13

Post by popee »

louwrentius wrote: post #2

I'm sorry, I do catch the idea, but it really sounds like fluff to me. As with many of these type of articles, I see some discussion and history, but no content or true insight whatsoever. Only some anekdotes and religion-style stories.

Went to isolated island for one month to finish project and decided to relax for few weeks. 10 days of relaxation was most fruitful, but in a sense that solutions just popped up in my mind during sunbathing and doing nothing. Anyway, in one moment i saw things from new perspective with clear vision on what has to be done, and at that point things were so simple and beautiful it was easier to just rewrite from scratch.

Conciousness is overrated, subconciousness is the key - works even after working hours. It only needs will, time and little bit of work ;-)

Funny fact, didn't know anything about wu wei back then.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#14

Post by insickness »

hownottowrite wrote: post #11

Socially, many people are trained to react and fill the gaps created by others. We fill awkward pauses in conversations with chatter. We feel compelled to do work that some other leaves unfinished. Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting. You can t…

The success of this tactic will depend on how much power you currently have in relation to others. If you are a wallflower or extremely shy, choosing to remain silent will only serve to disempower you further. If you do have a lot of social anxiety, your first priority should be to practice taking social initiative rather than remaining silent. Because unless you have some type of social status, people may rarely take initiative with you.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#15

Post by thewarrior »

thewarrior wrote: post #9

Tl;dr There is no try. Only Do. Practical advice from The way to approach this concept it to first understand your struggle. Beneath the need to struggle is a fear that the world is an unfriendly place and you are not supported. This view arises from the mind rather from the way, which teaches that the flow, the ever present essence of life, is the way. You can trust that the way will lead you. In truth, the mind-mad…

This video also has some explanations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq10ZvZgxy4

It's part of a course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Gjc0RG2y8&list=PLii66kkyf4...

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#16

Post by nsomaru »

thewarrior wrote: post #9

Tl;dr There is no try. Only Do. Practical advice from The way to approach this concept it to first understand your struggle. Beneath the need to struggle is a fear that the world is an unfriendly place and you are not supported. This view arises from the mind rather from the way, which teaches that the flow, the ever present essence of life, is the way. You can trust that the way will lead you. In truth, the mind-mad…

[edit: formatting]

Well, yes. But there are different levels of "doing." In particular, Vedantic metaphysics divides the human being into body, mind, intellect; corresponding with perceptions & actions, emotions & impulses, and rational thought, respectively.

The body finds its impetus to act from either the mind, the intellect, or a combination of both. For an action to be "perfect" (to the best of one's ability), one needs to focus the mind in the moment.

Most new-age analysis ends here, but Vedanta goes further to say that the mind naturally moves into the past (via worries) and the future (via anxieties), and that it is the intellect alone which may focus the mind in the present moment via a "higher" ideal.

"Higher", in this context, simply means that one should have a goal that goes beyond one's selfish, self-centred interest. For example, in the context of an employee, this might mean working for the sake of one's company and its betterment, rather than selfishly working solely for a paycheck.

When working thus, the set of conditions for one's own happiness become broader, and thus the mind is more easily able to focus on the present moment, rendering an action "perfect."

Of course, there's more to it than this. My guru has written entire books on the subject.

Source: Studied Vedanta for three years under A. Parthasarathy at the Vedanta Academy (http://www.vedantaworld.org)

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#17

Post by vinceguidry »

popee wrote: post #13
louwrentius wrote: post #2

I'm sorry, I do catch the idea, but it really sounds like fluff to me. As with many of these type of articles, I see some discussion and history, but no content or true insight whatsoever. Only some anekdotes and religion-style stories.

Went to isolated island for one month to finish project and decided to relax for few weeks. 10 days of relaxation was most fruitful, but in a sense that solutions just popped up in my mind during sunbathing and doing nothing. Anyway, in one moment i saw things from new perspective with clear vision on what has to be done, and at that point things were so simple and beautiful it was easier to just rewrite from scratch…

This is how I program. Whenever I have a difficulty, I'll put it down for a few minutes and wait for the essential insight I need to keep going filter through my subconscious. Once i learned to trust the process, I just let go.

One thing I learned doing this is that projects all seem to take a fixed length of time to emerge from your mind to the machine. You can spend most of that time fighting it or you can spend it doing whatever else you want to do while your subconscious is working on it.

Personally, I divide it between Internet, high-level 10,000 foot view thinking, and socializing around the company. Doesn't matter. Projects still get done on time. And better than if I'd been fighting it, because there's no wasted time going down wrong paths.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#18

Post by wsc981 »

thewarrior wrote: post #9

Tl;dr There is no try. Only Do. Practical advice from The way to approach this concept it to first understand your struggle. Beneath the need to struggle is a fear that the world is an unfriendly place and you are not supported. This view arises from the mind rather from the way, which teaches that the flow, the ever present essence of life, is the way. You can trust that the way will lead you. In truth, the mind-mad…

Your comment reminds me a bit of the lyrics from the Tool song 'Parabola' (which I personally find a beautiful song):

  So familiar and overwhelmingly warm
  This one, this form I hold now.
  Embracing you, this reality here,
  This one, this form I hold now, so
  Wide eyed and hopeful.
  Wide eyed and hopefully wild.

  We barely remember what came before this precious moment,
  Choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside...
  This body holding me, reminding me that I am not alone in

  This body makes me feel eternal. All this pain is an illusion.

  Twirling round with this familiar parabol,
  Spinning, waving with each new experience
  recognize this as our only ?
  Celebrate the chance to be 
  Alive and breathing

  One chance to be
  Alive and breathing

  We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment,
  We are choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside
  This holy reality, this holy experience.
  Choosing to be here in

  This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
  This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
  All this pain is an illusion.

  Alive, I

  In this holy reality, in this holy experience. Choosing to be here in

  This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
  This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
  All this pain is an illusion.

  Twirling round with this familiar parabol.
  Spinning, weaving round each new experience.
  Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing.

  This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
  Embrace this moment. Remember. we are eternal.
  all this pain is an illusion.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#19

Post by ekr »

thewarrior wrote: post #9

Tl;dr There is no try. Only Do. Practical advice from The way to approach this concept it to first understand your struggle. Beneath the need to struggle is a fear that the world is an unfriendly place and you are not supported. This view arises from the mind rather from the way, which teaches that the flow, the ever present essence of life, is the way. You can trust that the way will lead you. In truth, the mind-mad…

First ran into this concept (not exactly the same concept) here http://lesswrong.com/lw/uh/trying_to_try/

I still have a lot of struggle in my life, slowly I'm getting there.

Re: A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying

#20

Post by camillomiller »

insickness wrote: post #14
hownottowrite wrote: post #11

Socially, many people are trained to react and fill the gaps created by others. We fill awkward pauses in conversations with chatter. We feel compelled to do work that some other leaves unfinished. Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting. You can t…

The success of this tactic will depend on how much power you currently have in relation to others. If you are a wallflower or extremely shy, choosing to remain silent will only serve to disempower you further. If you do have a lot of social anxiety, your first priority should be to practice taking social initiative rather than remaining silent. Because unless you have some type of social status, people may rarely tak…

I agree. Ask any Apple's (high-rank) employees about Tim Cook's silences. They say they may even be worse than Steve's wraths.
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