On wu wei (going with the flow)…
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
As Alan Watts puts it, it's the way of cutting wood along the grain and swimming with the current.
Wu Wei is not swimming upstream.
Wu wei is the cultivation of a mental state in which our actions are quite effortlessly in alignment with the flow of life.
This means that we do the right thing effortlessly and spontaneously, without trying. Therefore the Master takes action by letting things take their course.
But the moment we actively think about what we are doing, this states seems to get compromised.
In sports many call it ‘The Zone’, when you are so focused that you become one with what you do in the moment .
Time vanishes. It is like we totally forget anything around us.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.
Wu Wei is a paradoxical term which translates to ‘effortless action’ or ‘doing without doing’.
Wu Wei describes how nature… natures. There is no active doing, yet everything gets done.
No need to force or control things, simply let life run its course.
“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and the results of proficiency come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity, of letting go as a person in order that the immanent and transcendent unknown quantity may take hold. We cannot make ourselves understand; the most we can do is to foster a state of mind, in which the understanding may come to us.”
~ Aldous Huxley
Wu Wei, or non-action, does not mean inaction or no action but rather ‘action without force’ or ‘effortless action.’
Wu Wei doesn't mean becoming passive in the face of injustice or avoiding efforts to improve your circumstances or the world around you…it's about responding to situations in a way that feels natural and effortless. It's about acting without acting, or "doing not-doing.
The approach of non-interference is not about passivity or inaction in the traditional sense, but about responding to situations with naturalness, wisdom, and balance, rather than out of reactionary emotions or ego-driven motives.
Wu wei is not about passivity but about effortless action in harmony with your true nature. If our essence and instincts guide us to correct what we perceive as misaligned or unjust, then following that path is following the Tao.
This doesn't mean you have to be a pushover when it comes to injustice and bullies. In other words, you can still follow the principles of Wu Wei while actively working to mitigate injustice and protect the innocent. It's like being a ninja with a heart of gold. You move with the flow, but you also have a moral compass that guides your actions.
Instead, it encourages a mindset that allows you to navigate challenges with grace and resilience, finding strength in the acceptance of the things you cannot change while taking action where you can make a difference.
Wu Wei isn't about passivity, it's about responding to situations in a way that feels natural and effortless. It's about acting without acting, or "doing not-doing."
It is about going with the natural flow of things, not against them.
One should ‘act’ in a way that is spontaneous and unforced, just like nature itself.
This does not mean doing nothing. It means not interfering with the course of events and not acting against the grain.
"Having said that, “doing nothing” when you are in a state of intense presence is a very powerful transformer and healer of situations and people. In Taoism, there is a term called wu wei, which is usually translated as “actionless activity” or “sitting quietly doing nothing.” In ancient China, this was regarded as one of the highest achievements or virtues. It is radically different from inactivity in the ordinary state of consciousness, or rather unconsciousness, which stems from fear, inertia, or indecision. The real “doing nothing” implies inner nonresistance and intense alertness.
On the other hand, if action is required, you will no longer react from your conditioned mind, but you will respond to the situation out of your conscious presence. In that state, your mind is free of concepts, including the concept of non- violence. So who can predict what you will do?
~ Ekchart Tolle
Wu Wei is the way of cutting wood along the grain, swimming with the current and sailing with the wind.
Wu Wei is all about approaching oneness with the flow of reality.
That flow is omnipresent; it exists everywhere and everywhen. We define it as the underlying current of existence, thus by definition reality cannot function without it.
The seeming paradox is that you can 'tap into' it only when you aren't trying to tap into it. How can one try to be effortless?
So it is not essentially inaction. It is action without action.
Just let the body do what it does.
This feeling of oneness, Wu Wei, the flow state is a phenomenological connection with the source of all.
You lose your sense of self.
Thinking ceases as I merge into oneness with what I am experiencing…be it the awe of nature, the magic of music or another sublime vibratory state.
Lost in a trance-like meditative state of euphoria, losing track of time and reality…truly existing in the moment.
Subject and object merge, revealing their shared essence.
A rare instant in which the temporal and the eternal meet…dissolving any boundaries between them.
Slipping the constraints of time…you experience momentary bliss.
Deep shit.
Wu means none, not, no, negation
Wei means action, making, forcing
Wu wei is the principal of not forcing in anything that you do, literally meaning non-action or non-doing.
The non-action of the wise man is not inaction.
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
~ Winnie the Pooh
Why do you want to be better? The reason you want to be is the reason why you aren't.
Social validation and status only exist in the minds of other people….self validation is a different story.
People who want to be something other than they are are grasping for something and in that grasping are showing they are not that thing at all, enforcing the separation.
Going with the flow of life does not mean to do nothing, to be without desire, be passive, be lazy, be lassie faire…it does NOT mean living as a couch potato.
Wu Wei is a way of doing something with full intention in thought, word and deed.
There is a time for action….spontaneous, effortless action.
Subconscious flow
Spontaneity
Going with the flow
Don’t force anything
Practically speaking, it means without meddlesome, combative or egotistical effort.
i.e. the art of sailing versus the art of rowing.
The way of wu-wei (doing nothing) is more profound than it superficially seems. Lao Tzu is arguing for deliberate (if not spontaneous) indifference to problems that you cannot work out. Do not disrupt your tranquil by obsessing over things that cannot happen otherwise.
Wu wei as an ideal can be more easily understood from the polarities we observe in life. Taoist sages have noted how fools or amateurs struggle mightily toward a particular goal but achieve little, while masters of any discipline seem to practice their craft effortlessly and achieve outstanding results. Why is that?
True martial arts masters understand wu wei as “spontaneous action” or “effortless flow”. You may know that Bruce Lee founded Jeet Kune Do, a style that, like the man himself, is imbued with an emphasis on speed and power. But you may not know that he also founded Wu Wei Gung Fu, a fighting art that expressed his ultimate philosophy: “Learn technique. Practice technique. Forget technique.” At the highest level of this discipline (as well as other martial arts), the warrior becomes one with the flow of reality around him. In that state of oneness, he is able to act without the necessity of volition. To the bystanders, he doesn’t seem to do much, and yet he delivers the exact minimum of impact at the exact right time to accomplish what needs to be done and not one iota more.
The concept of wu wei isn’t limited to Kung Fu. Every creative individual has experienced a certain “flow” at one time or another. It may be most evident when you paint or play a musical instrument, because these activities make it quite easy, indeed natural, to slip into this non-physical river of energy we are trying to describe. When you are immersed in the flow, you experienced timelessness and you let go of the idea of “self.” Your awareness expands to encompass all aspects of the activity you are engaged in, and your hands seem to develop a mind of their own, no longer requiring your conscious direction. You can even settle back in your mind, enjoy being a spectator for a while and marvel at this work that seems to be coming out of nowhere. Much later, long after the experience is over, you may realize that while within the flow, you were suffused with a pure bliss. This is all part of the power of wu wei.
“It is as if the object alone exited without anyone perceiving it, and one can thus no longer separate the perceiver from the perception, but the two have become one, the entirety of consciousness entirely filled and occupied by a single perceptual image.”
~ Schopenhauer, The World a Will and Representation
Wu wei is a state in which one is relaxed, free yet focused. It is the antithesis of strife and struggle. We only struggle to do things when we are emotionally attached to the outcome. Wu wei is all about effort without attachment. In this light we can easily see how it applies not only to martial arts and creative endeavors, but also to I-Kuan Tao’s interpretation of giving without expectations. When you give of yourself by going with the flow, you benefit others according to whatever comes naturally and feel absolutely no need for rewards or any sort of peer approval. In this realm of true altruism (which the cynical among us would argue does not exist), there is no room for concern about what other people may think. You let go of any desire to be seen as a Good Samaritan or a philanthropist, and this frees you to focus on doing the right thing.
Occasionally one can glimpse, or even be one with, the effortless grace of wu wei for a few fleeting moments, but most can’t even come close to being able to call upon it consistently.
That would require a level of mastery only sages can grasp.
Empty your mind, be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.
~ Bruce Lee
Be like water:
Adaptable, choosing the path of least resistance.
Flowing to the lowest point, it remains humble.
The river does not worry about its destination as it knows it will get to where it is supposed to be.
Having no destination one is never lost.
Stay moving and stay fresh, stop moving and stagnate.
Trust your future self to be where you are supposed to be.
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
-Margaret Atwood, from “The Penelopiad”
As Alan Watts puts it, it's the way of cutting wood along the grain and swimming with the current.
Wu wei is the cultivation of a mental state in which our actions are quite effortlessly in alignment with the flow of life.
This means that we do the right thing effortlessly and spontaneously, without trying.
But the moment we actively think about what we are doing, this states seems to get compromised. This state is clearly above thinking/consciousness.
In sports many call it ‘The Zone’, when you are so focused that you become one with what you do in the moment .
Time vanishes. It is like we totally forget anything around us.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it.
We are extremely effective in this is state in which surprisingly occurs almost without effort.
“All things are parts of one single system, which is called nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with nature.
~ Zeno
“God dwells in the hearts of everyone. According to their professions (or karmas), they carry out their duties or responsibilities. The consciousness (or God) within you, makes you aware of your duties. Surrender to it, and by His grace, you will attain the perfect peace.”
~ Bhagavad Gita