Download Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity AudioBook Free
A deeply original exploration of the power of spontaneity - an ancient Chinese language ideal that cognitive scientists are only now starting to understand - and just why it is so essential to our well-being. Why is it always hard to fall asleep the night before an important meeting? Or be alluring and relaxed on an initial date? What is it about a politician who seems real wood or a comedian whose jokes fall season flat or an sportsman who chokes? In all of these conditions, striving seems to backfire. In Trying NEVER TO Try, Edward Slingerland explains why we find spontaneity so elusive, and shows how early Chinese thought things the best way to happier, more real lives. We've long been told that the best way to achieve our goals is through careful reasoning and mindful effort. But recent research suggests that many aspects of a satisfying life, like happiness and spontaneity, are best pursued indirectly. The first Chinese philosophers understood this, plus they wrote thoroughly about an effortless way of being in the world, that they called wu-wei (ooo-way). They thought it was the source of all success in life, plus they developed various strategies for setting it up and hanging on to it. With clearness and wit, Slingerland presents us to these thinkers and the wonderful heroes in their texts, from the butcher whose edge glides effortlessly via an ox to the real wood carver who considers his sculpture simply emerge from a solid block. Slingerland uncovers a primary brand from wu-wei to the Drive in Star Wars, explains why wu-wei is more powerful than flow, and instructs us what it all means for getting a particular date. He also shows how new research discloses what's taking place in the brain when we're in a state of wu-wei - why it makes us happy and effective and reputable, and how it might have even made civilization possible. Through reviews of mythical creatures and drunken cart riders, jazz musicians and Japanese motorcycle gangs, Slingerland simply mixes Eastern thought and cutting-edge research to show us how we can live more gratifying lives. Hoping NEVER TO Try is mind-expanding and deeply enjoyable, the perfect antidote to your striving modern culture.
