Having lived 62 years in the ecosystem of our western culture that promotes "busy-ness" and capitalistic pursuits, my quest to learn to slow down has taken judicious and intentional study. The notion of "just being" is foreign. Learning to disrupt the pressure to be productive takes real skill and a conscious effort.
My latest podcast chat with LA's Linda McShan produced an exploration of what it takes to "do nothing," and presents models from music and film, Taoist philosophy, and finally, dogs as ready references for learning to be fully present in a restful state.
Baloo the Bear taught us that if we understood the "Bare Necessities" of life (from the Disney classic "The Jungle Book"), we could learn to strip back unnecessary complications in life and greatly reduce stress and induce happiness.
Sages of the ancient Chinese Taoist tradition implore us to empty ourselves of conventional social values and cultural ideas and to cultivate wúwéi, a concept literally meaning "inexertion," "inaction," or "effortless action."
And, I draw upon the magic of dogs, the loveliest of mammalian creatures who have the utter gift of living purely in the present, and reminding us to do so in the way they show up in the world and connect to our lives, and souls...
Here is the link.
(listening time is 1 hour)
*Dedicated to Sophie the Dog
