A "not doing" practice

A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2005 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

 
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“Not doing” is about stepping “out of mind.” That is, to step out of what we think and believe to become different than who and what we think we are. It is used to become aware of where we lack freedom in our life and become aware of how and where we have given away our creative power/Creative Power to someone or something that lies out side our being

“Not doing” is a simply set of exercises where we create an identity or a set of experiences that are completely different from how we define ourselves. The “not doing” exercises that we do are things that we, as we have defined ourselves, would not do or not normally do. “Not doing” is simply choosing a pattern of action that it outside our characteristic mode of acting. The purpose is to break habits and show to our ego we are more than who we think you are and how it defines as us.

A “not doing” practice allows us to go beyond our established limits, boundaries and barriers and create the space for new ways of actions and creation. In this way “not doing” activities allow us to expand ourselves beyond the limits and barriers as to how we have defined ourselves. By stepping outside the established patterns it helps to break the habits of existing patterns. It is a way of proving to ourselves we are more that who we think we are.

To understanding what a “not doing” practice may look like in our life, we can ask ourselves, “Is there is anything in life where I said, ‘I would never be caught dead doing that!’” If so, well, then do it. That is “not doing.” It is doing what we would never dream of doing if we lived within the limits and boundaries that we have created and impose on ourselves that define our ego. The purpose of “not doing” is only to show to our own psyche, we are capable of acting, being and doing more than what we have defined ourselves to be able to do.

The “not doing” practice can be anything. It can run the spectrum of doing something that is only a little different than who we are and defined ourselves to be to something that is tremendously opposite. For example something simple is we never take the bus to work when we can do so. “Not doing” would be to take the bus to and from work one day. Something “not dong”can be more difficult and radical. Suppose you are a man. You feel it is entirely inappropriate to get dressed up like a woman and be seen in public. “Not doing” could be to get dressed up like a woman and be seen in public - ever if it is on stage as part of a theatrical performance..

It needs to be clearly understood, “Not doing” not just about doing things different in our life or being different. When we do the “not doing” practice, we should become very aware of what we are thinking and feeling about what we are doing. We especially need to become aware of the judgments and feelings of uncomfortableness that we may have. We may even have some physical reactions in our body and/or suddenly surface memories from the past. Whatever happens and arise, we need to become aware of it. We need to pull the string and ask ourselves to understand why we have the reaction or reactions that we do and why the particular reaction we have as opposed to any other.

If we are free, we can do anything as thought we are in the spontaneous innocent playfulness of a child. Very young children are capable of dressing up and imaging things all the time. However, when we do the same types and kinds of things later in life a whole series of feelings, judgements, opinions and concerns suddenly arise. We can use this information to understand why we are not free to just be who and what we are and live in the freedom to do what we feel like doing. We did it as a child to explore and discover the world in which we found ourselves. It is how we learned about our world. It can be said to play and experiment are our primary learning styles. The question is. “Why can’t we have the freedom to explore and discover as an adult in the same way we did as a child?”

When we become aware of where we lack freedom in our life, we will become aware of how and where we have given away our creative power to someone or something that lies out side our being. We cannot take back our creative power until we become aware of were we have given our power away. “Not doing” helps us to transcend the limits and boundaries of who we think you are. It also can assist us to identify what controls we have placed on our life even if that area of life lies outside our normal boundaries.

One of the easiest ways to implement a “not doing” practice is to use meta-theater. It is to create some type and kind of theatrics or play as we would perform on a stage. However, what we create allows us to play a role we would not normally play in life. We play the part as if it were real and see what reaction within ourselves that we get in playing the role. It is meta-theater in that it is a theatrics we create but it is “meta” in the sense we are using it for more that just entertainment. Rather we are using it to explore our inner world.

Since any true creative effort takes us into the unknown, no matter what we try and create, “not doing” is going to be integral to our efforts whether we realize it or not. We will be required in one way or another to become different than who or what we have defined ourselves to be. If we don’t do it, we cannot create. “Not doing” is essential for transforming one’s being and some type of a “not doing” practice will need to be incorporated.

The “not doing” practice should have some elements at all levels of being (spiritual, emotional, mental and physical) relative to the intention we are trying to manifest. What needs to be understood is that any creation requires us to be original. To be original is to bring into the world something that did not exist before. Anything and everything we can think or say about ourselves is based on the past. Hence in some way we will have to become different than we are. Exactly how we need to become different we cannot know before hand. By consciously choose some way of “not doing” that takes us totally out of being who we are and who we think we are we free ourselves from our own limitation and allow the universe to lead us where we need to go.

“Not doing” is one place where a guide or an initiator can be most effective. Everything that we can think of “not-doing” will be biased by our conscious and subconscious mind and what we already know. If we have a trustworthy guide, one who we can place our complete trust, they can create for us an adequate “not doing” activity appropriate to the intention that we set. The fact the “not doing” activities are arranged by a mind other than ours with the specific intention of taking us out of our mind helps to create a set of experiences that guarantee our mind does not bias what is chosen to be done. Of course it needs to be recognized the guide should working within what we feel is a safe and secure space.

It needs to be understood, if we fear the unknown and/or try and have a safe and secure space that looks like what we think is safe and secure, we will not move past our current thinking. In looking into what will make a safe and secure space we need to identify the attributes to such a space rather than the details. The details will always be based on the past and what we currently think. But it is our current thinking that we wish to transcend. For example, we can describe a ball by the particular size, shape and color of a ball that we have experienced or we can describe a ball by its attributes without particulars. In this second way, we then have available an infinite number of ball to use. That is balls of other sizes, shapes and colors, that meet the requirements for a ball that is not locked into what we think.

For many creative efforts, it is often entirely appropriate and even necessary to move beyond “not doing” and shattering the vessel of ego that we have constructed. Here we desire to create a completely new creation where the current ego cannot support the type and kind of creativity activity we wish to pursue. The most common example is a military boot camp. The most obvious reason why someone would desire to shatter their ego is to claim their birthright as a being of infinite and unlimited creativity. To claim our birthright, we need to replace the existing vessel of our creativity, our ego, with something much more appropriate to our infinite being. Although the suggest to destroy our ego look frightening, actually is only in keeping with the nature of consciousness and its ability to recreate itself as the phoenix and how it created our current reality.

Related topics
Who am I questions
Question about our essence
Recapitulation of our life
Reprogramming the past
Life map

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