Mindful Mondays #23: Doing and Non-Doing
Effortless action, Alan Watts, martial arts, and the art of doing without doing
Good morning and welcome to Mindful Mondays! I got some nice feedback on last week’s edition, which was a little more on the personal and contemplative side. Thanks for your feedback on these emails—it helps to know I’m writing to real people who care, and not just AI chatbots! :) And if I haven’t responded to your email yet, hold tight—I’m setting aside some time this week to catch up.
Since I first encountered Asian philosophy as a teenager, I’ve been fascinated by the Chinese concept of wu wei, often translated as non-doing, doing without doing, nonaction, or effortless action. Alan Watts described it as “not forcing.” This may sound esoteric—it’s certainly paradoxical. But, if we can learn to apply it, it’s also supremely practical.
Wu wei is a kind of Platonic ideal of efficiency—but it’s also the ultimate in laziness. As a lazy person who cares about my personal efficacy, who practices mindfulness but also cares about getting things done, it naturally appeals to me. (At my old job, I had a quote from the Tao Te Ching in my email signature: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”)
But just what is wu wei? What does it look like in real life?
Let me start with an example from martial arts. Martial arts such as T’ai Chi, aikido, judo, and jiu-jitsu (the “gentle art”) focus on using an opponent’s force as leverage to defeat them using as little effort as possible.
In T’ai Chi Chuan, there’s a saying that translates as something like “moving 1000 pounds with 4 ouces of pressure.” That’s the ideal you’re reaching for. Although it sounds unrealistic, it’s possible with the right leverage. As the ancient Greek mathematician, scientist, and engineer Archimedes said, “Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand, and I will move the world.”
My first T’ai Chi teacher taught me to practice this all the time, in daily life, not just during class. For example: how could I use my body to place a dish back in the cabinet using as little effort as possible? (Hint: the movement starts in your legs and core, not your arms).
On a deeper level, “nonaction” comes when we act from awareness, not from thought. Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t have time to think before reacting, and spontaneously did the right thing? I know I’ve avoided a few car accidents in moments like that. But what if you could do this any time, and not just in emergencies?
It would then become possible to act, create, and interact from awareness, rather than the thinking mind. That kind of spontaneous elegance is the ideal in many forms of art inspired by Taoism and Zen Buddhism, such as the calligraphy of Zen master Shodo Harada Roshi:
So, how can you start putting wu wei into practice? Paradoxically, being able to act spontaneously and without effort starts with training: mindfulness practice, and practicing the skills we want to be able to perform effortlessly.
Another point of entry might be a question I learned from Tim Ferriss: “What if this were easy?” Try asking yourself this question when you’re confronted with a task that feels overwhelming to you. Is there an easier way to get it done? How could you make it more effortless for yourself?
If you try this, let me know how it goes!
Article of Interest
You Don’t Have To Work On Yourself Forever: Are you always “working on yourself?” This Vice article from 2020 is an important counterbalance for those of us who are involved in personal development, therapy, and spiritual practice. Although I personally find therapy, mindfulness practice, and other disciplines valuable, they do have their shadow sides, including spiritual bypassing and focusing overly much on ourselves, rather than helping others and making the world a better place.
Quote of the Week
“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and results come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity.”
—Aldous Huxley
That’s all for this week. As always, I appreciate your feedback on Mindful Mondays. What was your favorite thing I shared this week? What would you like to read more about? Let me know by replying to this email, commenting on Substack, or hitting me up on Twitter.
Thanks for reading,
Chris Cordry, LMFT
PS: Looking to achieve your goals with less effort and more mindfulness and ease? Let’s talk. Just reply to this email to ask me about 1:1 coaching.
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Great topic Chris. A friend of mine is a 10th degree blackbelt in Aikido. He tells a story about grocery shopping one day when a large man who wanted to return an un-returnable item started physically threatening the manager and staff. My friend who was in the check-out line walked over to the argument and recommended to the customer that things would go better for him if he calmed down. The man become more belligerent and threatening, refused to calm down, and asked my friend what he was going to do about it. My friend knew that an actual fight would only go his way, so he said, "It seems like you just want to fight. Shall we go outside and settle this?" The man hotly and eagerly agreed. So they walked to the front door of the store where my friend stood in the threshold, holding the door open courteously for his opponent to exit. Once the angry man had left the building, my friend simply stepped back inside, closed the door, and locked it. The police picked the man up a few minutes later. My friend often described his Aikido training as being about finding the shortest, easiest path to harmony in any situation.
“It would then become possible to act, create, and interact from awareness, rather than the thinking mind.” I love this as a guiding idea, to pause, consider and practice acting from awareness. Thank you! 🙏🏼