I am again returning to the topic of doing, after having just written an article about it a few days ago. I am still in the process of learning more about the nuances of action and inaction, as I have recently switched directions in healing. I am now aiming at not adding force or counterforce to my activities or inactivities.
Just to be clear, the force I am referring to is the exertion of energy, not coercion.
When we exert energy to effect an outcome, do we know what is causing us to desire that outcome? We could either be acting from a place of lack, or a place of abundance. If it is the former, then the energy invested into effecting the desired outcome will generate a flavor of lack. If the origin is abundance, then we will experience the flavor of abundance in our output.
When we are young, we are satisfied with earning $100. Then we need to earn $200 to feel the same level of satisfaction. Then we need $1,000, then $10,000, then $100,000, etc. In each of these step-ups, we are adding more force to our pendulum swing. Our swing gets bigger and bigger. We need to invest more and more into our reward system to derive the same level of satisfaction. Why? Because it’s a negative feedback loop.
Every single one of our efforts, if it comes from a place of lack or wound or low self-esteem, what we get out of it can only be a manifestation of what we put in.
So by not trying to do anything when I feel the urge to, I shorten the negative feedback loop. Because my urge is a balancing mechanism to compensate for the pain of my wound, inferiority, lack, etc.
You may question how it is possible to do nothing at all? It’s not doing nothing at all, it’s not doing anything from a place of negativity. This is to avoid magnifying that negativity.
So the question becomes, how to discern what is driving the urge to act or not act? Look at the underlying cause of our compulsion. When the thought to act starts to pop up and we are propelled into action, or into a series of mental activities about how to take action, we pause that process. Then we zoom in at the initial thought, that urge, that desire. Then we look behind it. What’s driving it? What makes it pop up?
Let’s walk through my example. This morning as I looked at my free afternoon time slot today, my thoughts were, ‘I got to do something,’ ‘I got a few things that I could do,’ ‘I should do something,’ ‘What should I do?’ As I tried to arrange my day, a series of mental activities came online. Without physically lifting a finger, I was already exerting a lot of energy at the mental level. None of these thoughts were part of the flow. These thoughts came from a place of necessity, logic, compulsion, uncertainty, etc.
But why would I have this kind of thoughts? It is a mental pattern I have regarding how to organize my daily life. If my day is open and has a free time slot, usually that pattern will be activated in an attempt to fill up that hole. Why do I need to fill up that hole? Because if I don’t, I would feel as if I am wasting time, that I am useless, that I should not be so lazy and unproductive, etc. See all these negative thoughts and beliefs? And imagine every single day I am reinforcing these negativities. How am I going to heal?
That’s why a couple months back I came to a place where I felt immensely frustrated and disappointed at my progress status, although at the time I didn’t understand why. I only knew that something wasn’t working. At first, I just stopped doing what was obviously not working, and switched my focus to learning about mass reality, rereading Seth Material, listening to a couple of Taiwanese spiritual teachers whose teachings were based on Seth Material, etc. Then I came to discover about the concept of doing and not doing, something that I had first encountered many years back, but apparently at that time, I didn’t understand it.
Now that I can feel the force that drives my every action or inaction, I am able to release the force as well as the accompanying emotions. By looking at the compulsion instead of acting upon the compulsion, I gain a deeper understanding of myself. That depth means more presence and more life force.
Sometimes when the compulsion is too strong and overpowering, I cannot pause to look at it but rather, am being dragged into it like being swept into a hurricane. But after being spun around by the energetic hurricane, I look at the whole kerfuffle. When I gain clarity, the strength of the hurricane drops such that next time I am less likely to be dragged into it again. In other words, next time when there is a hurricane, I would have the power to hold my ground.
Gradually, my need to convert my free time into products or productivity will decrease. Instead, I will be positioned in a place of stillness and balance, a place where I can more easily tap into the flow of life to allow that life force to move me and to let it express itself through me. That kind of doing has an ease and a natural rhythm to it. That’s where we feel joy, love, peace, abundance, bliss, personal power, self-worth, etc. It is like a boat sailing on the sea with no motor. No effort is required, and yet, we will get somewhere.
By conducting our lives in this natural and effortless way, we get to taste the true flavors of life. This is the way to self-fulfillment and self-actualization.
