Not-Doing

Good Morning,

The Toltec had an interesting technique they called not-doing. Not-
doing does not mean doing nothing. Not-doing is a decision you make
to consider the opposite of what you have always been doing. Not-
doing can be liberating. Not-doing can give you a refreshing
perspective.

All of us, at one time or another go through life half-asleep with
blinders on, propelled by the engine of fear, unaware of our actions,
or caught up in habits. Not-doing requires that you NOT accept as
absolute truth all the things you think or say. The next time you
feel stressed or react emotionally, listen very carefully to the
dialog in your own mind. Is what you are saying to defend your point
of view true? Is it really true? Just that little bit of doubt opens
another way of looking at things that has very little to do with the
intellect.

Do you have habits such as saying yes when we mean no, feeling
obligated to act according to someone else's wishes, staying at a job
that holds no promise, or not having the courage to move on in a
relationship when it's over?
Not-doing is simply the act of suspending habitual unconscious doing
for the purpose of fostering awareness and regaining your balance.
Nonstop doing is driven by the language mind. Not-doing is a
perspective fostered by your awakened mind.

In the doing of daily life we are like this and like that. We operate
exclusively on the island of what we know. What is, and what we are
capable of, are neatly contained without our description of how
things are. This description is held together because we defend it,
nurture it, and insist we know what we are doing, even if we don't.
Balance, however, is holistic and contains elements far outside the
narrow path carved by rational thought and nonstop action. To harvest
the force of balance involves developing the awakened mind in equal
proportion with the language mind. Our human being is nourished by
balance, never by the imbalance caused by nonstop doing.

Not-doing opens possibilities that exist only outside the island of
what you know. Engaging in not-doing considers embraces the opposite
of your normal doing, and shines a light on the patterns and habits
we often mistake for ourselves.

Have a beautiful weekend and hold this thought - You will find as
gaze upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are
the moments when you have done things differently.

Peace and Love, Jim