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Non-doing or non-forcing?

expandingawareness.org · 1,717 words · saved by 2 readers

I want to unpick a challenge that was presented to me: why do I say non-doing, which can confuse people, instead of something more clear like non-forcing? Indeed, Alan Watts himself preferred the term forcing in translating the ‘wei’ in ‘wu-wei’: I also like the term ‘non-forcing’ and agree that it gets closer to what in Alexander Technique is called inhibition, the skill that gives us access to effortless being and action. But I still like ‘non-doing’. Why? Because I don’t want to let people off the hook so easily. I am trying to point towards an experience that is subtle. Chances are that the first thing to occur to you when thinking about non-doing is not really it. There needs to be some reason, some invitation, to dig a little deeper. If I were to suggest something like “life can be more effortless if you learn how to stop forcing”, that may immediately paint a picture of an exaggerated kind of tension. We all know people who are highly strung and ‘tight’ in everything they do, wh

Non-doing or non-forcing? Non-doing or non-forcing? By Michael Ashcroft | 7 min read 19th February 2022 --> Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash I want to unpick a challenge that was presented to me: why do I say non- doing , which can confuse people, instead of something more clear like non- forcing ? Non-doing or non-forcing? Indeed, Alan Watts himself preferred the term forcing in translating the ‘wei’ in ‘wu-wei’: “Wu-wei is the principle of not forcing in anything that you do.” Alan Watts I also like the term ‘non-forcing’ and agree that it gets closer to what in Alexander Technique i

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