Intelligence Archives - Page 2 of 4

Wu Wei

September 16, 2021

There is a principle called Wu Wei. Wu – Non Wei – Forcing Force is artificial. The opposite is natural. It doesn’t mean that we do nothing and stay passive. It’s the opposite. It’s like a sailor who knows the tide. As philosopher Alan Watts said – Wu Wei is the art of sailing rather than the art of rowing. Sailing – Like water flowing down the stream. Like a child playing. Like a great actor on stage. Natural. Spontaneous. Playful. Wu – Not Wei – Serious

Some Questions Are Answers

September 11, 2021

Many a time, life throws a problem at us. And then we grapple with finding answers. Sometimes – Asking the right question IS the answer. Some questions we could ask – Do I have control over it? What is the worst that can happen? Where is the anxiety coming from? Is this my ego seeking a resolution? What happens if I leave this alone for a while? Who wins at the end of this? Is this the real problem? What if silence was my answer? Finally, one more important question – Is this a problem to be solved, Or a

I Don’t Know

August 24, 2021

An Emperor visited a Zen master to ask about the afterlife. “When an enlightened man dies, what happens to his soul?” Asked the Emperor. All the Zen master had to say was: “I have no idea.” “How could you not know?” Demanded the Emperor. “You’re a Zen master!” “But I am not a dead Zen master!” He proclaimed. Socratic ignorance refers, paradoxically, to a kind of knowledge – a person’s frank acknowledgement of what they don’t know. To acknowledge our ignorance is the beginning of the journey to awareness. Most of us think we know ourselves, whereas the fact is

Absolute Freedom

August 21, 2021

Good is the opposite of bad. So, good is then the product of bad. Because if bad goes away, good will go away too. The opposite of something is embedded in it. In choosing one, we choose the other by default. Good-Bad. Beautiful-Ugly. Joy-Sorrow. Excitement-Boredom. The entire world around us is designed in binary mode. The vital question to table here – Is freedom the opposite of bondage? Or is freedom the freedom from the game of opposites? Freedom and Love are interesting concepts. They can live in the binary and also beyond it. There is relative freedom. Then there

Understanding Before Believing

July 27, 2021

The famous actor and atheist W. C. Fields was doing a tour of the United States. One day his manager came into his hotel room and was shocked to see him reading a copy of the Bible.“Bill!” he said, “What the hell are you doing? I thought you were an atheist.” Fields replied, “Just looking for loopholes, just looking for loopholes.” We must understand an idea or ideology before believing in it or disbelieving it. Understanding why we believe or disbelieve it will help develop self-knowledge. Understanding why others believe in it will help develop compassion. Truth, as we know,

Mind Type

July 23, 2021

Doctors tell us that we have a particular body type. A body type results from genetic inheritance, what we have physically and emotionally experienced, and the habits & behaviours we have adopted through our life. They also tell us that our body type is unique to each of us. What applies to our body-type type also applies to our mind-type. As a result of genetics, evolutionary biology, childhood experiences, adult life experiences and other cultural influences- each of us has a unique mind-type. Zodiac profiles, personality tests and palm readings slot us into a type. We believe them because we

The Highest Award

July 16, 2021

When Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, he didn’t acknowledge it for weeks. No statement, no interviews. He did not attend the awards ceremony. One can assume that he couldn’t care less about the world’s most prestigious prize. Grigori Perelman is considered the greatest living mathematician. In 2002 he solved one of the seven mathematical “Millennium Problems.” He was selected for the Fields Medal, a Nobel Prize for mathematics—which he declined. Nobel Prize, Oscar…Facebook likes… The need for validation is coded into us through evolutionary biology – to retain or gain status in the tribe.

Moving One End Of A Stick

July 7, 2021

If there is no punishment, no one will talk about rewards. If there is no defeat, no one will yearn for victory. If there is no scarcity, no one will hoard. If there is no suffering, no one will search for happiness. If we want to move one end of a stick, the other moves naturally. Left defines Right. Down defines Up. Dark defines Light. …And that’s how the game plays out. Our quest for meaning is not defined by choosing the better over worse. Because good and bad are two ends of the same stick. It is perhaps about

Grand Redesign

June 21, 2021

West Germany and Japan endured widespread devastation during World War II. Yet, in the years after the war, both countries experienced miraculous economic growth that sustained over decades and shaped their new position in the world. In his book “The Rise and Decline of Nations,” Mancur Olson writes that both countries drove exponential growth primarily because their old ideologies and beliefs had been disrupted. That disruption opened space for something fresh and new. The pandemic has been a force of disruption. There has been disruption outside and inside. We have been forced to reevaluate aspects of our lives, work, relationships… As we sketch the

Travelling Light

June 8, 2021

There is a story about a teacher asking a student to hold a book with her stretched hand and guess its weight. The teacher then asks another student to hold the book for a bit longer and then guess its weight. The weight of the book was the same. But it weighed heavier when held longer. Physical weight. Emotional weight. They both tend to get heavier as we carry them with us. Grief, trauma, grudge, regrets… They all weigh on us, slowing us down in our journey. And it’s not easy to release some of the deeper, heavier memories we

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