A guide for achieving an enlightened mind through the art of non-doing
• Details meditation practices, focused on stillness of the mind, along with Patanjali's yoga methods to maintain a consciousness referred to as "being in the zone"
• Builds on Taoist, Confucian, and Hindu principles along with scientific findings to support wu-wei--the art of non-doing, non-forcing--as a way of life
• Explains how wu-wei practitioners cultivate intelligent spontaneity and effortless action to allow the natural harmony of the cosmos to prevail
The practice of non-doing, non-forcing is an essential aspect of Taoism known as wu-wei. Attributed to the great sage Lao-tzu, the philosophy of wu-wei teaches you how to develop a natural state of consciousness not bound by thought or preconceived limitations. Experienced by the greatest artists, athletes, musicians, and writers, this heightened state of consciousness, referred to as "being in the zone," is where intelligent spontaneity and effortless action flourish via a practice rooted in permitting the natural harmony of the cosmos to prevail.
Merging Taoist philosophy, Hindu principles, and Confucianism along with scientific findings, Jason Gregory outlines the practice of wu-wei as a vehicle to realize our innate freedom, revealing that when we release our ego and allow life to unfold as it will, we align ourselves more closely with our goals and cultivate skill and mastery along the way. Equating "being in the zone" with a stillness of the mind, Gregory shares meditation practices coupled with yoga exercises from Patanjali that allow you to approach life with a mastery of acceptance, releasing deluded beliefs of how to achieve success that make your mind "sticky" and poised for conflict. The author shows how practicing wu-wei paradoxically empowers you to accomplish all that you desire by having no intention to do so, as well as allowing you to become receptive to nature's blueprint for expressing beauty.
Revealing wisdom utilized by renowned sages, artists, and athletes who have adapted "being in the zone" as a way of life, the author shows that wu-wei can yield a renewed sense of trust in many aspects of your daily life, making each day more effortless. As an avid wu-wei practitioner, he provides keen insight on how you, too, can experience the beauty of achieving an enlightened, effortless mind while reveling in the process of life's unfolding. Jason Gregory is a teacher and international speaker specializing in the fields of Eastern and Western philosophy, comparative religion, metaphysics, and ancient cultures. Author of Fasting the Mind, Enlightenment Now, and The Science and Practice of Humility, he divides his time between Asia and Australia. Chapter 8
The Practice of Yin Cultivation and the Art of the Skillful Craftsmen
In the cosmic sphere of energy, wu-wei is the feminine (yin/passive/receptive/earth) principle of the universe. Translated into English from Lao-tzu's perspective, wu-wei means "non-doing," "non-action," or "effortless action." These translations are literally correct and lead us to the intuitive and ultimate psychological experience of wu-wei. This effortless psychological experience of wu-wei means not forcing or allowing, a state of intelligent spontaneity. The wu-wei at the core of Lao-tzu's philosophy is not something we can understand by intellectual discourse or attain by rigorous practice. On the contrary, the depth of wu-wei is only revealed to us when we are humble enough to let go of controlling our life and instead live by its spontaneous principle.
A Yin Deficient World
The perspective of the masculine principle of yang over the feminine principle of yin is promoted in our world from the earliest stages of education to our adult working life. This perspective becomes so entrenched in our mind that we exhibit it in our ordinary life. We begin to anxiously think that we should a
