livewei

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About livewei

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  1. What is Wu Wei?

    Thank you for your though-full reply. I now understand your point of view, we had a different perspective on the concept of free will. I understand that you meant that whatever you did was a conscious decision of the "I" while you were not in a state of wu wei. If you were in a state of wu wei the decision would not be made by "you" but by the wu wei, or nature, it would be a perfect action and you would just follow that. And this would not be free will of the "I" so from a certain perspective it is not free will. However, I believe that the concept of I is just built by our mind, so I don't mind if the author is "I" or the wu wei for a perfect action. In any case when this concept of "I" dissolves the only possible author of the actions is the wu wei. Apart from that there is another different perspective that I now realized from this sentence: "one who knows the person who is in the state of wu wei could pretty accurately perdict" My point of view was not of pretty accurately predict but of *perfectly* predict an action. An example would be a super computer that has access to every possible scientifically available variable. In theory he could say what would be the exact trayectory of every hand movement etc. This is something that would only be possible (from my idea of wu wei) when a person is not in a state of wu wei. In fact when you would be in that state (to any degree) the action is not decided by the variables only, but nature itself would help you in doing it. This is something that it is not possible to predict and it is a concept that escape the prison of predetermination and makes life interesting to live. Being able to tap into the wiseness of wu wei when one really needs it (or all the time if you are a perfect being, but I don't believe anyone can be totally perfect in this earth so even an enlightened person could follow it for 99% of the time, which is a good approximation). Now to the examples where I see wu wei in real life so to give an example to why I think about this concept so highly, (however I believe that a person can have an intuition of wu wei, but then a little blockage doesn't let him execute it in the way he thought and when this happens I consider that the person is connected to the wu wei to a certain degree): -. If you are trying to throw a tennis ball in a net that it is only 1 cm smaller than a net from 20 meters and you try to do it by thinking about it. With your normal aim skills and all the calculation about the wind etc you would have no chance to speak of to do it right in 1 shot. The only way to have a chance is not to think about anything and connect with the wu wey when you throw the ball. -. An interview to a composer about how he composed his most successfull songs he replied that the best songs did not come up from him actively thinking about them but they would just present to him already formed in certain moment of his life. The same apply to all forms of art. -. Even in being funny to make the best jokes I believe that they come up when in a state of wu-wei, which is being spontaneous to the maximum and let the path unfold. -. Even when one dances and forgets about all the moves and just flows connects to a certain degree to this force and can dance much better than in a normal state. -. Also the deepest thoughts as it is well known come when one is not thinking about anything, meditating. Do you think all those are example of wu wei? Or am I mixing something up? Naturally the same can be seen also in actions that are normally achievable when one is not connected to the wu-wei, like for everyday actions like cleaning the plates. I gave those examples to show actions that normally are outside of the possibility of the I in question and are only possible because of the wu wei. Nobody normally cares or is interested about the best possible movements to clean the plates . In short I believe that every moment when one is present to a certain degree to it and can connect to the wu wei to a certain degree it is a moment that is worth living. Every other moment it is a mechanical action of the I that has no much meaning and it is indifferent if one lives it or not.
  2. What is Wu Wei?

    I have just joined this community and I am also new to the Tao. I am looking into what extent it is compatible with my current philosophy and understanding of the world and at the moment it seems like a perfect match. After a 10 days Vipassana retreat that I did 6 months ago one of my two biggest takeaway, that changed my way of looking at the world, is a concept that naturally came up to me and became very important in my life. From my current understanding of Tao and lack of better words I'll call it wu wei. However, I have the opposite view on it than that of Marblehead that says: Instead I believe that whenever we happen to follow wu wei (that everybody does from time to time) it is the only time that we are not under the laws of cause and effect. This means that our actions cannot be predicted in any way. And this is the only time when we have real free will. Every other moment we are doing something because of other reasons, being them internal (psycological, biological etc) or external. We are "limited" every time we don't follow wu wei, and we act like robots. The meaning of life is following wu wei as much as possible and it is the best way to maximize happiness and live fully. Why would wu wei be a direct result of cause and effect? Is this a taoist concept or a personal spin to the common interpretation of it? If you want I could give you a better description of my concept of wu wei and practical examples. So you can tell me if it actually can be assimilated to the Taoist wu wei.
  3. Hello everybody

    I want to contribute to this great community. Sharing the little wisdom I hope to have. peace