Non-forcing
- Non-forcing refers to a kind of spontaneous, intuitive, natural and flexible way of acting
- as opposed to action that is consciously willed, deliberate, contrived, and rigid.
- without clinging to or straining for desired outcomes
- It’s like brrathing in mindfulness. You don’t control it. You just take the back seat and let the unconscious do it’s thing
- Neurologically, i attribute it to the right hemisphere, since the right frontal lobes allow for flexibility in thought and behavior. It also may involve decreased activity in the posterior cingulate cortex. With the successful practice of non-forcing one can achieve flow.
Non-forcing is also said to be a behavioral characteristic of the Monad. In the words of Lao Tzu:
“The softest things [in nature] … [overcome] the hardest things … That which [lacks] substance enters into that which [lacks] openings. From this I know the benefits of non-forcing”
- The Monad produces the world spontaneously without deliberation and without knowing how it does it. Nature moves without deliberation.
Water carves through stone simply by following gravity and seeping into its cracks; electricity flows through a block of metal. Thus, the Monad can permeate all things, even if they appear to be solid, without any cracks or openings. We can extrapolate from this to understand life. The Monad acts without forcing and achieves effortlessly. We find inspiration in this and see the possibility to act without forcing and achieve great works without friction or resistance.
References
- LIn, Derek. (2006). Tao Te Ching Annotated and Explained (p. 76, 157, 163). Woodstock, VT: Skylight Illuminations.
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Type: 🔵 Tags: Philosophy / Psychology Status:⛅️