In order to sharpen our reasoning skills, we must have a good grasp of our own cognitive biases, as well as the basic laws of the universe.But in a dynamic world, new laws are constantly emerging.The editors over at <a href="http://edge.org/">Edge.org </a>asked some of the most influential thinkers in the world — including neuroscientists, physicists and mathematicians — what they believe are the most important scientific concepts of the modern era.We've highlighted 35 of the concepts here (please check the website for credits to authors whose essay highlights the theory)

Background

Decades of cognitive research shows that "our minds are finite and far from noble. Knowing their limits can help us become better reasoners..."Perhaps the most dire consequence is that human beings tend to be better at remembering evidence consistent with their beliefs."

Cognitive humility

Our brains can only hold so much information at once. When there's too much "information overload," we tend to get distracted easily and not retain what we're learning."Working memory is what brain scientists call the short-term store of information where we hold the contents of our consciousness at any given moment — all the impressions and thoughts that flow into our mind as we go through the day."

Cognitive load

When presented with too many choices — no matter how beautiful or beneficial — it can be overwhelming, and we are paralyzed by indecision.That's why having constraints, or any sort of limits, is beneficial and leads to solutions. In fact, "much creativity emerges from constraint satisfaction...". Einstein had one of his major breakthroughs when he realized that "time need not pass at a constant rate."

Constraint satisfaction

"Biologists have joined with social scientists to form an altruism debunkery society" — pushing the belief that every altruistic act is done in self-interest.But a new concept, "contingent superorganisms," says that we live life on a few different hierarchies. The idea is that when you reach a higher level, you are willing to put the success of the group or a higher cause above one's own. This is what drives militaries, fire departments, and rock bands.

Contingent superorganisms

The Copernican Principal is the idea that we are not special — that the universe is much larger, and we have a rather insignificant role."The paradox of the Copernican Principle is that by properly understanding our place, even if it be humbling, we can only then truly understand our particular circumstances. And when we do, we don't seem so insignificant after all."

Copernican principle

We are attracted to ideas and concepts that are easy to accept or digest.For example, round numbers are cultural attractors — they're "easier to remember and provide better symbols for magnitudes." Efficiency is another powerful cultural attractor.But just because we are drawn to specific concepts, does not mean that they are the best ones to apply to any given situation.

Cultural attractor

When information travels through multiple channels, it's easy for some elements of the message to get distorted — by biases, or simple human error.The effect of the spread of misinformation is "cumulative error." Living in an age where information can travel across the world in nanoseconds, this concept has never been more real or dangerous.

Cumulative error

Cycles explain everything — especially, at the basic level: evolution and biology. Cycles can be disrupted. Also watch out to see which cycles are doing all the work."All the 'magic' of cognition depends, just as life itself does, on cycles within cycles of re-current, reflexive information-transformation processes, from the biochemical scale within the neuron to the whole brain sleep cycle, waves of cerebral activity and recovery revealed by EEGs."

Cycles

The belief that there is much more time before us than has already elapsed. This creates a more expansive view of the world and the potential of the universe."Our sun is less than halfway through its life. It formed 4.5 billion years ago, but it's got 6 billion more years before the fuel runs out."

Deep time

It's a tool that researchers use to prevent against subconscious bias when performing experiments.Understanding the need for double-blind experiments would help the rest of the population understand their inherent subjective, everyday biases, and guard against generalization and impress upon people the need for critical thinking.

Double-blind control experiment

"Effective theory is one of the more important notions within science — and outside it. The idea is to determine what you can actually measure and decide, given the precision and accuracy of your measuring tools, and to find a theory appropriate to those measurable quantities.

Effective theory

As technology makes us more interconnected, there are more cross-overs between groups and populations. For example, there are more intermarriages."These effects are potentially beneficial for the improvement of cognitive skills, from two perspectives. We call these the 'expanding in-group' and the 'hybrid vigour' effects."

Expanding in-group

We all affect each other incidentally, especially in an interconnected world. Externalities are the unintended positive and negative side effects these interactions have."Externalities are increasingly important in the present era, when actions in one place potentially affect others half a world away."

Externalities

"Failure is not something to be avoided but something to be cultivated... It is a sign of weakness and often a stigma that prohibits second chances.Yet the rise in the West is in many respects due to the rise in tolerating failure. Indeed, many immigrants trained in a failure-intolerant culture may blossom out of stagnancy once moved into a failure-tolerant culture. Failure liberates success."

Failure liberates success

Our attachment to the familiar keeps us from taking risks and making real strides and breakthroughs. We often don't accurately assess the risk/benefit ratio; our irrational fears get in the way of real progress. "If the public could be brought to a greater understanding of how to evaluate the risks inherent in exploring future technology, and the merits of accepting some short-term risk in the interests of overwhelming greater expected long-term benefit, progress in all areas of technology — especially biomedical technology — would be greatly appreciated."

Fear of the unknown

Some behaviours we exhibit we blame on instinct. But what we believe to be instinct may, in fact, be learned behaviour over time — or a "fixed-action pattern." This has many implications, including the fact that, as rational creatures, we can change what we believe to be instinctive."Given an understanding of our fixed-action pattern, and those of the individuals with whom we interact we — as humans with cognitive processing powers — could begin to rethink our behaviour patterns."

Fixed-action patterns

We often believe that a certain, different set of circumstances would dramatically change our lives. But the truth is, factors like income and health are less indicative of overall happiness."The mismatch in the allocation of attention between thinking about a life condition and actually living it is the cause of the focusing illusion."

Focusing illusion

These are the layers of understanding that exist between the external reality and our own perception of the world. These systems of layers become more interconnected as we develop habits. Learning to ride a bike was hard; but after a while it's like second nature."The general concept of hidden layers captures deep aspects of the way minds — whether human, animal, or alien; past, present, or future — do their work."

Hidden layers

"Holism is colloquially described as 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.'Perhaps the most impressive is that carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, and a few other elements, mixed in just the right way, yield life... There is a kind of awesome synergy between the parts.Just look at DNA, and other much broader systems, like cities, that operate only if each individual element does its part."Holism does not come naturally. It is an appreciation not of the simple but of the complex ."

Holism

When any single event occurs, there are many possibilities as to the cause of the event. But the truth often lies in what is the single most reasonable, best explanation for the event. "Many of our most rancorous scientific debates — say over string theory or the foundations of quantum mechanics — have been... which competing criteria for judging explanations [of] best ought to prevail."

Inference to the best explanation

The greatest insights and inventions are the product of multiple people. It's never just a single person; everyone's standing on someone's shoulders."In hindsight we often find that if one scientist did not make a particular discovery, some other individual would have done so within a few months or years of the discovery...We are reluctant to believe that great discoveries are part of a discovery kaleidoscope and are mirrored in numerous individuals at once."

Kaleidoscopic discovery engine

We give names to everything in order to understand the world. But in doing this, we sometimes undermine, or simplify, the true nature of an organism or process. "Naming" keeps us from asking further, deeper questions about the nature of something. It's also important not to over-associate words, which leads to misunderstanding — for example, "theory [is] a strong idea in science while vague in common discourse."

Name game

"Because so many scientific theories from bygone eras have turned out to be wrong, we must assume that most of today's theories will eventually prove incorrect as well ."Accepting the belief that many of our theories are "fundamentally provisional and quite possibly wrong," we can better listen to and empathize with others' ideas.

Pessimism meta-induction

In zero-sum games, there's a clear winner and a clear loser. In positive-sum games, "everyone wins.""In a positive-sum game, a rational, self-interested actor may benefit the other actor with the same choice that benefits himself or herself." Some competition will always be zero-sum — such as the competition for mates.

Positive-sum games

Much of the world operates in powers of 10. Understanding scaling laws, like Richter scales that measure earthquakes or of "that between the volume of the brain's cortical white matter" — where computing takes place — would give us more perspective on the depth of events, matter, and ourselves."The spatial scales are also immense. Our space-time trajectory is a very tiny part of the universe, but we can at least attach powers of 10 to it and put it into perspective."

Powers of 10

Our expectations — and if they are met or not — greatly influence how we perceive the world, and ultimately, our quality of life.Predictive coding "concerns the way the brain exploits prediction and anticipation in making sense of incoming signals and using them to guide perception, thought and action."

Predictive coding

"Randomness is a fundamental limit to our intuition ; it says that there are processes we can't predict fully. It's a concept that we have a hard time accepting, even though it's an essential part of the way the cosmos works."But some random events — like random collections of atoms — are so absolute, that we can predict the outcome of that "randomness" with pure certainty.

Randomness

Freud inspired the idea of the irrational subconscious, but many of today's scientists dispute that idea.Instead they are bridging the conscious and unconscious — and insisting that we operate on both levels, and have an awareness of this connection, more than we think. "Our conscious understanding of probability, for example, is truly awful, in spite of the fact that we unconsciously make subtle probabilistic judgments all the time."

Rational unconsciousness

The idea that we perceive ourselves to be better than we are; to claim responsibility for success and blame others for failure ."In everyday life, more than nine in ten drivers are above-average drivers, or so they presume. In surveys of college faculty, 90 percent or more have rated themselves as superior to their average colleague."

Self-serving bias

The belief that what we perceive is what's normal, not taking into account the full extend of the past nor potential for future events.The syndrome is named after scientist Daniel Pauly, who said that each generation accepts "as a baseline the stock size and species composition that occurred at the beginning of their careers, and uses this to evaluate changes. When the next generation starts its career, the stocks have further declined, but it is the stocks at that time that serve as the new baseline."Therefore what is "normal" is constantly changing.

Shifting baseline syndrome

"Skeptical empiricism, the kind exemplified by the carefully thought-out and tested research in science at its best. It differs from plain empiricism" — which is simply the observation of results of the world around us.Put more simply, it is important for us to be skeptical about the world around us and not blindly accept what we believe to be "truths."

Skeptical empiricism

We overly-attribute breakthroughs to luck. But successful people regularly put themselves in positions — by studying, relentlessly working, pursuing the truth — where they encounter luck ."We should each invest a few hours a week in reading research that ostensibly has nothing to do with our day jobs, in a setting that has nothing to do with our day jobs, in a setting that has nothing in common with our regular workspaces."

Structured serendipity

The belief that we have a single self is false. In fact, we have multiple identities, or "subselves." "Each of us has a set of functional subselves — one dedicated to getting along with our friends, one dedicated to self-protection, one dedicated to winning status, another to finding mates..."

Subselves and the modular mind

Umwelt is the idea that we blindly accept the reality of the world around us ."It would be useful if the concept of the umwelt were embedded in the public lexicon. It neatly captures that idea of limited knowledge, of unobtainable information, of unimagined possibilities."

Umwelt

"We humans are terrible at dealing with probability. ... Our irrational fears and inclinations are costly ."We place too great a weight on the possibility of rare, major events occurring to us — for example, the lottery, or a plane crash — but not enough weight into the effects of lesser events."Making good decisions requires concentrated mental effort, and if we overdo it, we run the risk of being counterproductive through increased stress and wasted time. So it's best to balance and play, and take healthy risks."

Uncalculated risk

When I found this article, I didn't expect to not know most of these ideas from school already. These concepts are interesting in the way that they either perfectly describe the world we live in, or puts it in a whole new light- either way, it was enlightening!

philosophy

Philosophy

communication

Communication

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

35 Scientific Concepts That Will Help You Understand The World

Jordan Peterson suggests that Good is simply the prevention of Evil, and good rules that reduce unnecessary human suffering will help us to live better lives. The 12 Rules of Life in this book are built on the fundamental rule that we must each take responsibility for our own lives. Get your life in order and do the best for yourself, your society, and the world at large. Only then will you discover the true extent of your potential and resilience, while helping mankind to thrive collectively.

12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson

All animals, including humans, are governed by dominance hierarchies and involuntary biochemical responses. Lobsters, for example, the battle for dominance. During a confrontation, 2 lobsters size each other up using their body/claw sizes and chemical secretions (which signal their health, strength, and mood). Dominant lobsters have higher serotonin levels, project greater confidence, a better posture, and can fight longer. An alpha lobster typically “wins” without even having to fight physically.

Rule 1: Fix your Posture

After each confrontation, a lobster’s brain changes—the loser avoids further conflict, whereas the victor gains even higher confidence and serotonin levels. Similar patterns can be found in other animal species—generally, stronger animals get more food, better “homes”, higher status, better mates, and greater cooperation from others. That’s nature’s way of distributing scarce resources.Likewise, humans have a dominance detector in our brains. How we perceive our social/economic status affects our well-being which reinforces our status in a positive feedback loop.

People with strong self-esteem feel/transmit a sense of security and confidence, which makes them more attractive and respected. This improves their productivity and well-being, which further reinforces their self-perception. Higher serotonin levels are associated with greater resilience, happiness, health, lifespan, pro-social behavior, and leadership.• On the other hand, people with a low self-perception feel insecure. They’re more likely to be stressed, jumpy, and reactive. They make poor decisions, fail to command respect/resources, which reinforce their loser complex.

In short, our self-perception affects the vibes we transmit to create a self-reinforcing loop. If you feel like a loser for whatever reason, the first step is to break the negative cycle by correcting your posture.• Don’t slouch. It conveys defeat and low status, which prompts others to treat you poorly and reinforces your low self-perception.

• Fix your posture. Stand straight, push your shoulders back, speak up and make eye contact. This signals confidence to yourself and others. You’ll feel better, others will show you more respect, and it starts a virtuous cycle. It’s about standing tall, facing up to reality, and taking responsibility to become all you can be.

We tend to take better care of our pets than we do ourselves. When a pet is sick, we diligently follow the prescribed care. Yet, when we’re sick, we fail to fill/take our prescriptions.

Rule 2: Care for yourself like how you’d care for someone else

We become the average of the people we spend the most time with. In the wrong company, we can end up in crime or even suicide. So, why do we hang around people who drag us down?

Rule 3: Surround yourself with people who want the best for you

In a highly-connected, populous world, you can always find someone who’s better than you—be it in looks, wealth, status, or relationships. No matter what you’ve achieved, you can still feel miserably inferior compared to others.

Rule 4: Improve your own game instead of playing others’

children aren’t born with social-cultural skills—they must be taught how the world works and how to navigate human society. Parents who don’t set clear boundaries for their young kids actually end up hurting them in the long run.

Rule 5: Teach your children to abide by society’s rules

Setbacks and suffering are inevitable in life. Some people respond with denial, helplessness, anger, or even acts of vengeance (e.g. genocide). Yet, others are positively transformed by adversity—they make peace with what happened and devote themselves to making a positive difference. Which type are you?

Rule 6: Get your own house in order before criticizing others

We can use suffering as an excuse to live carelessly in the moment, or we can do something meaningful to minimize the suffering.

Rule 7: Focus on a higher purpose, not instant gratification

All of us are guilty of lying to ourselves and others. Find out why we lie, how we get stuck in a “life-lie” because, and what it means to find and live your personal truth.

Rule 8: Find your personal truth and live it

People need a listening ear. As a good listener, you can learn while helping others to solve problems.

Rule 9: Learn to be a good listener

We avoid looking deeply into a problem in hope that it’ll go away by itself, but this only causes the doubts and uncertainties to build up into a catastrophic failure.

Rule 10: Define your problem precisely to make it manageable

Some post-modernists argue that gender is entirely a social construct or a tool for men to oppress women and that hierarchies are created by the rich to exploit the poor. Peterson disagrees :)

Rule 11: Accept that inequality exists

Suffering is inevitable and some people just seem to have a worse lot in life than others. Peterson’s own daughter suffered from a rare juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and was plagued with years of chronic pain. If you find yourself wondering about the seemingly-pointless suffering around us, this last rule from the 12 Rules of Life helps us to see things from a different perspective and to balance the good and bad in life so life seems worth living.

Rule 12: Take time to appreciate the good things in life

Fantastic, it’s everything you expect from Jordan B. Peterson. A “self-help” style book, it beautifully interweaves history, religion, science, and philosophy into a highly pragmatic book on how to be a fulfilled, successful, better human being.

productivity

Productivity

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Book Summary – 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote To Chaos

You need a meaning to offset the tragedy of life... otherwise, you will just suffer stupidly.

Responsibility. 

Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching, stated that the world governs itself. It doesn't need our intervention. Lao Tzu wrote: "When you arrive at non-action, nothing will be left undone."
The idea resembles the basic understanding of the paradoxical concept "we-wei." Wu-wei means "non-doing", "doing nothing", or "effortless action." It is about aligning our actions with nature and not forcing anything.

Wu-wei

The ancient art of "letting things happen" doesn't make us passive. Lao Tzu stated that using force, "forcing the flow of nature" always leads to unseen troubles. Nature has its course and is always working in the background to create and recreate the 10,000 things.

Wu-wei can enhance our relationship with the world

Today's society focuses on the importance of conscious human effort. We celebrate effort, despite its actual effectiveness, as we aim to always be busy for the sake of being busy.  Hard work is necessary and action is often reasonable, but on many occasions, it isn't. That is why we often experience that "forcing things" leads to ruin, and pushing our luck beyond nature's constraints often backfires. Conversely, situations often solve themselves when we don't intervene.

Human effort

Spending our lives fighting against nature is a waste of time, no matter how much people celebrate us for engaging in the effort. We are really better off accepting what is and navigate through it like water, flowing through a rocky surface.

Navigate through life like water

With effortless action, we are not so much doing, but rather going. We start on a river stream without considering where it leads us. We're setting sail into unchartered territory, without getting worried about the great unknown. We swim with the current, not against it, making our way smooth. For example, going on a date means you want to get to know the person. But many people overprepare, overanalyze, and rehearse causing them to become nervous and come across as staged.

Effortless action

We often focus too much on the results.  Zhuangzi talks about how different prospects can influence our actions and emotional states if we attach ourselves to them. In the context of a date, we want the other person to like us, and if we don't succeed, we feel miserable. Instead of just enjoying the evening out, it becomes a stressful event with lots of mental preparations. However, entering a date unprepared lets you act natural. You are present in the moment and most people love that.If we let go of the results, we can act more effortlessly and responsively.

Letting go of the result

Ego often distorts how we perceive reality. For example, when we converse with a spouse, the ego tends to fill the unknown gaps with prejudices, fantasies, and convictions. The larger the ego, the more it will dominate the situation and close us off from what's really going on. That's why Lao Tzu urges us to return to a more unprocessed state he calls "the uncarved block" where the person is unencumbered by intellectual baggage.

The ego

We need to be brave enough to let go of what we've learned and ignore our assumptions.  As Lao Tu puts it, "Renounce knowledge and your problems will end. What is the difference between yes and no? What is the difference between good and evil? Must you fear what others fear? Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark!"

The need for courage

Confucius described "fasting of the heart" as a form of meditation, which leads to letting our preconceptions go and making room to receive.  Understanding wu-wei helps us to let go of the ego, so we can act with the situation at hand, as it is. We let things happen and act responsibly, unrestrained by our preconceived ideas.

"Fasting of the heart"

Wu Wei is the responsive way of action from a clear openness in yourself.

Despite humanity’s technological developments and will to progress, we’re still utterly dependent on nature. Human effort has its limitations and is always in conjunction with nature. We cannot grow a plant, for example, completely isolated from natural growth, even though we can influence and manipulate it. The reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, stated that the world governs itself. It doesn’t need our intervention. As Lao Tzu wrote: “When you arrive at non-action, nothing will be left undone.” End quote. This idea resembles the basic understanding of the paradoxical concept “wu-wei.” But when we look for a definition of wu-wei, we quickly discover that there isn’t one fixed meaning. Some translate wu-wei as “non-action,” or “doing nothing,” others as “actionless action,” and others as “effortless action.” We find out that Taoism offers several layers, if you will, regarding how wu-wei can enhance our relationship with the world. And how this ancient art of “letting things happen” doesn’t necessarily make us passive, ignorant bystanders but can actually improve how we act, leading to better outcomes. This video (Wu-wei | The Art of Letting Things Happen) serves as a humble attempt to make the depth of this philosophical idea clear and practical. Support the channel: ✔️ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/einzelgangerco ✔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/einzelgangster ✔️ Bitcoin: 3HQnEz1LQ4G6dqN2LdZgzc7qoJjJCyWjTC (Donated BTC and want in the credits? Send me an email with the amount/address) 🎞️ Animations by Munkaa: https://www.youtube.com/user/jus7y Purchase Stoicism for Inner Peace (affiliate links): 📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/3wB9iHb 💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/2RdjbKV Purchase Unoffendable (affiliate links): 📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/2RJYfti 💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/35e23a5 Merchandise: 🛍️ Shop: teespring.com/stores/einzelgangerstore 🛍️ Merchandise design by Punksthetic Art: https://www.youtube.com/user/JRStoneart All music used is licensed and paid for. Creative Commons (attributions): Laozi (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ping_Sien_Si_-_016_Lao_zi_(16135526115).jpg Laozi (2): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Lao_Tzu_in_Quanzhou.jpg Laozi (3): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netsuke,_elderly_man_(51370482573).jpg Confucius (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Confucian_Figures_-_Painting_of_Kongzi_by_Kan%C5%8D_Sansetsu.jpg China painting: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MS-SchwarzlacktablettGoldeneLackmalereiLushan1595-03.JPG Zhuangzi: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wang_Jianzhang_-_Solitary_Colors_of_the_Autumn_Woods_-_1972.68_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif #TAOISM #WUWEI #LAOTZU 00:00 - Intro 02:05 - Wrestling with nature 05:19 - Acting for the act itself 07:57 - The uncarved block

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Religion & Spirituality

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Personal Development

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Motivation & Inspiration

videos

Videos

Despite humanity’s technological developments and will to progress, we’re still utterly dependent on nature. Human effort has its limitations and is always in conjunction with nature. We cannot grow a plant, for example, completely isolated from natural growth, even though we can influence and manipulate it.

The reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, stated that the world governs itself. It doesn’t need our intervention. As Lao Tzu wrote: “When you arrive at non-action, nothing will be left undone.” End quote. This idea resembles the basic understanding of the paradoxical concept “wu-wei.” 
But when we look for a definition of wu-wei, we quickly discover that there isn’t one fixed meaning.

Some translate wu-wei as “non-action,” or “doing nothing,” others as “actionless action,” and others as “effortless action.”
We find out that Taoism offers several layers, if you will, regarding how wu-wei can enhance our relationship with the world. And how this ancient art of “letting things happen” doesn’t necessarily make us passive, ignorant bystanders but can actually improve how we act, leading to better outcomes.

This video (Wu-wei | The Art of Letting Things Happen) serves as a humble attempt to make the depth of this philosophical idea clear and practical.

Support the channel:
✔️ PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/einzelgangerco
✔️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/einzelgangster
✔️ Bitcoin: 3HQnEz1LQ4G6dqN2LdZgzc7qoJjJCyWjTC
(Donated BTC and want in the credits? Send me an email with the amount/address)

🎞️ Animations by Munkaa:
https://www.youtube.com/user/jus7y

Purchase Stoicism for Inner Peace (affiliate links):
📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/3wB9iHb
💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/2RdjbKV

Purchase Unoffendable (affiliate links):
📘 Paperback: https://amzn.to/2RJYfti
💻 Ebook: https://amzn.to/35e23a5

Merchandise:
🛍️ Shop: teespring.com/stores/einzelgangerstore
🛍️ Merchandise design by Punksthetic Art:
https://www.youtube.com/user/JRStoneart

All music used is licensed and paid for.

Creative Commons (attributions):

Laozi (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ping_Sien_Si_-_016_Lao_zi_(16135526115).jpg
Laozi (2): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Lao_Tzu_in_Quanzhou.jpg
Laozi (3): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netsuke,_elderly_man_(51370482573).jpg
Confucius (1): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Confucian_Figures_-_Painting_of_Kongzi_by_Kan%C5%8D_Sansetsu.jpg
China painting: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MS-SchwarzlacktablettGoldeneLackmalereiLushan1595-03.JPG
Zhuangzi: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wang_Jianzhang_-_Solitary_Colors_of_the_Autumn_Woods_-_1972.68_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif

#TAOISM #WUWEI #LAOTZU

00:00 - Intro
02:05 - Wrestling with nature
05:19 - Acting for the act itself
07:57 - The uncarved block

Einzelgänger explores a wide range of topics and ideas, with a dose of "as I see it," out of curiosity and creative urge.

Email: info(@)einzelganger.co

Einzelgänger is under the supervision of the Dutch Regulatory Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media).

*Disclaimer: The material provided by Einzelgänger isn't a clinical/medical service or replacement of mental health professionals, nor an academic resource.


Einzelgänger

Wu-wei | The Art of Letting Things Happen

Each Day Grants us a limited amount of Time Capital : 24h. Or 86.400 seconds.Similarly our daily Energy is limited : a few thousands calories every morning. Collected through our nutrition and our relationships.

Our Daily Time and Energy are Limited

Most People live in either :<ul><li>Regret of their Past : Nostalgia.</li><li>Hopes for their Future : Expectations.</li></ul>Past moments can never be retrieved. We have no Power on either Past nor Future.The only Moment we can control is the Present Moment. This instant. Be conscious & mindful ; it's already gone. Concept of Mindfulness : Our instant emotions in the present moment are the only true thing we can control.

Past Moments Are Gone Forever. Mindfulness

Each of us invest this limited Time ~ Energy Capital in various universe. Here are some examples of these investments :<ul><li>Work</li><li>Family</li><li>Friends</li><li>Children</li><li>Meals</li><li>Sleep</li><li>Meditation</li><li>Art, Creation</li><li>Exercise</li><li>Learning</li><li>Day Dreaming</li><li>Etc ;</li></ul>

We should be Free to Choose Where to Invest Our Time ~ Energy

An Employee working on a Job invests his Time & Energy in a Company.Similarly an entrepreneur invests his Time & Energy in a Project or Enterprise (synonymous in latin languages). In Reward for this investment, the Employee is granted Money. Therefore Money is a conversion vehicle ; a mean of transfer for the Time & Energy invested.This money will be Available and useful for Future Transactions into more Energy or Time.

How Can Money Be Time & Energy

Money ~ Time ~ Energy

This Powerful Equation helped me reprogram my personal relationship towards Money.

Chacune de nos journée nous accorde un capital temps limité : 24h. Ou 86.400 secondes. De la même manière nous disposons d’un capital énergie limité. Quelques milliers de calories par jours. Ce…

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

timemanagement

Time Management

Life Currencies : Time ~ Money ~ Energy

Writing. 

Find yourself a problem. Why write if you do not have a problem?

Problem. 

Have a desire to investigate a problem.

Investigate. 

Thinking. 

writing

Reading & Writing

books

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Writing is essential. 

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun

Start you day with the beautiful and calming quotes of Alan Watts for your mind and soul. This little book of quotes by Alan Watts covers his essential quotes on life, love, spirituality, and finding inner peace. Makes for a unique gift to those who love profound thoughts and ideas Highly quotable lines you can use (or take inspiration) for your own writing "People sometimes fail to live because they are always preparing to live." Alan Watts "To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float." Alan Watts

Start you day with the beautiful and calming quotes of Alan Watts for your mind and soul. <ul> <li>This little book of quotes by Alan Watts covers his essential quotes on life, love, spirituality, and finding inner peace. </li> <li>Makes for a unique gift to those who love profound thoughts and ideas </li> <li>Highly quotable lines you can use (or take inspiration) for your own writing </li> </ul> "People sometimes fail to live because they are always preparing to live." Alan Watts "To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float." Alan Watts

Little Books of Wisdom

Alan Watts

How to balance the give and take of life? A common saying in the Tamil language warns that both the one who always gives and the one who always takes will be ruined. Sadhguru responds to this aphorism, explaining that one who is in tune with the life process, who is like springtime within himself, will naturally give whatever is needed.There is a common saying in Tamil that means, “The family that always donates gets ruined, the family that always receives also gets ruined” – both the giver and the taker!

No Give & Take, Just Spring in Your Heart

<ul><li>Essentially, what they are referring to is either always receiving and living on aid, or indiscriminately giving not because of what the situation needs. </li><li>If you are giving because you feel that by giving you are being good or that you will buy a ticket to heaven, it is definitely not okay. </li><li>But when you see a need, if you are unwilling to give whatever you could give, you are not human at all.</li><li>So giving is not the problem. </li></ul>

Sadhguru On The Tamil Saying 

<ul><li>The problem arises when you give not because the situation needs it, but for your own satisfaction.</li><li>This is happening because human beings are seeking their happiness and peace in so many weird ways.</li><li>They believe that if they give today, they will get peace somewhere else.</li><li>No, peace and joy happen only within you.</li><li>If your humanity is on, you will give where you feel it is needed.</li><li>I would not even call it giving – sharing is very natural for a human being.</li><li>One’s joy multiplies in anything only by sharing.</li></ul>

Don't Give For Satisfaction 

Unfortunately, we have always tried to teach goodness to people, not human sense. Instead of stirring up the humanity in the human heart, we are always trying to teach morals of goodness.

Don’t Teach Morality, Stir up Humanity

Whether you give because you think you will go to heaven or you give because it will give you fulfillment or satisfaction, this is still a transaction. It is just business.

If you understand the process of life, there is really no give and take.<ul><li> Life is so interconnected. If you inhale and exhale, a transaction is happening between you and the plant life around you. This is not a choice. This is the way the life process happens. </li><li>If you are in tune with this constant transaction of giving and receiving – or simply sharing – in your life, you will be in tune with the life process. </li></ul>Otherwise you will create resistance against the life process by having ideas which are different from the way life happens, and slowly you will suffer.

In Tune with the Life Process

If you look at most people in this world, they do not look like springtime. They look like they are in the depths of winter. Their hearts have become frosty simply because they are not in tune with life around them. For every other creature on this planet, nature has fixed seasons. A tree flowers in a certain season. An animal mates in a certain season. For human beings, nature left you free – no seasons.

Embrace Spring Time

Nature trusted <a href="http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/video/spirit-of-eastern-wisdom-the-intelligence-within/">your intelligence </a>and awareness that, if given a choice, you will naturally choose to be in the best possible way every day of the year.Nature believed that you will be springtime 365 days, but people have chosen to be winter for all the 365 days. Off and on, springtime flashes once in a way. They smile only when they are tickled.  These ideas of giving and taking have essentially come because we have lost our life sense. If we have some life sense, we understand that life is a constant transaction. No one can live in exclusiveness. There is something beyond, which is absolute.

Life Is A Constant Transaction 

How to balance the give and take of life? A common saying in the Tamil language warns that both the one who always gives and the one who always takes will be ruined. Sadhguru responds to this aphorism, explaining that one who is in tune with the life process, who is like springtime within himself, will naturally give whatever is needed. 


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Writing is essential.

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