Consider this: something, anything really, comes from nothing. Bring to mind something you’d like to accomplish in the near future. You may have an idea of an email you want to send or a dinner you want to put together. Or, let’s expand the timeline. Call to mind a big goal you’d like to achieve or a vision of a better life that you’re working towards. Consider your favorite works of art, the most historic athletic accomplishments, or even the city or town you live in. At some point, the world exists in a state where those things don’t exist. And at another point, miraculously, it transforms into a world in which they do.
Of course there are steps in between the nothing and the something. If you want to become a gardener for example, you will increase your likelihood of success if you learn about soil, watering frequency, which plants grow best in a specific environment, and begin to take actionable steps towards your end goal.
Maybe you’re thinking, “ah yes, one step at a time, that’s how anything is accomplished.” And yes, that is true, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. The point is that nothing is a crucial, yet often overlooked precursor to anything. You will not be the all-powerful force of nature that grows the plants in your garden. Your job is to cultivate a fertile environment and allow space for growth to occur on its own accord.
The practices we’ve been employing up to this point (see: 7 practices for grounding and 7 practices for following the life force) are foundational for orienting ourselves in the direction of what we want. The intention of practices for nonproductivity is to assume a posture of receptivity. These practices are an entry point to undoing. They are the middle ground between shifting focus from action to attention.
If we’re always doing something, asserting willful action and ideas over the manner in which we think reality should unfold, then there is no opening for the path forward to come and meet us. The universe is always trying to reach us, but if we are set on the way in which we are supposed to be moving towards our dreams, then it will be impossible to even recognize the gifts and clues that inevitably come knocking at our doors.
There are at least 2 ways to go about this. The first way is to deplete all of your willpower reserves by means of exhaustion so that you have no other option but to rest into a state of allowing. You can run around tirelessly or bang your head against the wall trying to figure out a solution that just isn’t coming to you. When you don’t reach a particular goal by deliberate force, you can apply more and more deliberate force until you keel over and collapse into a puddle of porosity. If you choose this option, be sure to follow it through to its natural conclusion, where you have exhausted yourself thoroughly enough to give up. The spaciousness that results from giving up is the opening we’re looking for.
Admittedly, I am well acquainted with this access route. I’ve used this strategy for a long time through the process of training for long distance endurance events. In the late miles of extreme distance, there comes a point where all of my optimistic plans for strategy and execution become obsolete. No matter my preparation, experience, or level of fitness, my only option is to give up my ideas of success and outcome and surrender to the immediacy of the experience. Despite successful passage into the state of receptivity, this method is very time consuming and has a high demand for resources. If you happen to have an abundance of time and resources though, and a penchant for masochism, you may consider this option.
Otherwise, there is another way. As I’ve been untangling myself from the false virtue of endless productivity, I’ve been integrating this question into my consciousness: “What would this look like if it were easy?” And that leads us to the other option and the practices I have for you today.
What follows are not items to check off a to-do list. This state of energetic receptivity is unattainable if it is seen as something to do or a means to an end. Rather, the requirement of nonproductivity is of letting go.
7 Practices for Nonproductivity:
Take naps: Since this is a pretty straight forward endeavor, here’s a quote from Tricia Hersey, creator of the Nap Ministry, for emphasis: “The ‘Rest Is Resistance’ framework does not believe in the toxic idea that we are resting to recharge and rejuvenate so we can be prepared to give more output to capitalism. The distinction that must be repeated as many times as necessary is this: We are not resting to be productive. We are resting simply because it is our divine right to do so.”
If napping feels like too big of an initiative on any given day, simply close your eyes for 1-2 minutes periodically throughout the day. Notice how good it feels to turn your attention completely inward for a few minutes.
Meditate: There are so many different ways to meditate. One distinction we could make is between open attention - where the idea is to maintain a presence of mind while allowing different stimuli to pass through your awareness - and focused attention - where the idea is to keep your attention focused on one stimulus, while filtering everything else out. Given our intent to cultivate openness and receptivity, practice short open meditations every day, with or without guidance. (I use the Aura meditation app for a variety of guided meditations.)
Schedule device breaks. Make these breaks intentionally small. During a 5 minute break from your phone, you might realize how light you feel without it. During a 3 hour break, you will probably go through withdrawal. Don’t do that to your energy. Keep these goals small. And revolutionary.
Be in water. Consistent with the theme of subtraction, being in water is a temporary relief from the full burden of gravity.
Daydream: There are a few differences between daydreaming and thinking. Thinking is contrived whereas daydreaming is received. Thinking also often exists in word form and tends to be repetitive and circular. Daydreaming consists of images and flows from one image to another rather than repeating itself. Schedule short daydreaming breaks throughout your day. Keep your eyes open and watch the clouds bloom and mingle. Close your eyes and infuse your inner world with color.
Embrace mystery. You know how sometimes, like a few times per day, you become aware of something you don’t know and then you google it to find the answer? This is the opposite of that. Don’t incapacitate your curiosity. Don’t let google placate your wonder with impotent certainties. Instead, let your mind meander into divergent territory. Locate a paradox or meaningful question and carry it around with you.
I know that it can be unsettling to think about and make preparations for a world with so much uncertainty. Which is exactly why it’s so impactful to periodically stop thinking and making preparations. When I let myself rest into the idea that the world does not depend upon my personal willpower and problem-solving capacities, I am endlessly amazed by what rushes in to replace them.
There’s a quote that I think about often that says, “Great art can be measured by the quality silence it evokes.” Have you felt that quality of silence? A brilliant performance, breathtaking painting, or world-spinning story can, even when I least expect it, momentarily rob me of my very sense of self. I’ve often been left standing, mouth agape, looking out into the world from a new place. And from this new place, new sights and sounds arise as if from nowhere, as if from nothing. Next week, we’ll explore looking out from this new horizon with practices for paying attention.