The Art of Wu Wei: From Inner Stillness to True Expression – A Recap of our March Call

Our global gathering in March was a profound journey into the essence of stillness and natural being. Across time zones—from Taiwan and India to Europe and the East and West coasts of North America—we created a space to explore what it means to act from "non-doing."

Here is a retrospective of our shared journey, inviting those who could not join us this time to catch a glimpse of the field.

Welcome & Framing: Exploring Wu Wei

The session opened by welcoming the global diversity of the group, including new faces joining our circle. Inspired by a intermediate dialog between Nanne and Dirk the central theme explored was the Taoist concept of "Wu Wei" (action through non-action). The guiding question for the session was how to distinguish this present, connected non-doing from mere laziness: "Is it laziness or is it true acting from the source?".

Check-in: Voices from the Global Field

During our check-in, the rich diversity of our internal states and the world around us became visible. Participants shared vulnerable, honest, and profound insights into their current experiences:

• One participant spoke about holding opposites given the global and political climate: "I go through periods of truly being very afraid living in this country... And then another part of my reality is being absolutely at peace and knowing that everything's okay on some level.".

• Another reflected on releasing expectations: "Why do we have the expectation it's going to be this way or that way? [...] It's about letting go of that and facing it as it is.".

• Someone who had been looking forward to a period of rest honestly noted: "What came up for me is really a feeling of guilt because I've been doing so much and looking forward to this down time.".

• A voice from Europe brought us back to beautiful simplicity: "What do we really want and need? Let go of the garbage. And it's the same old story. Love. That's it. Self love, love the others... I think life is very simple.".

• Another participant gave space to the struggle for presence: "It feels so nebulous and so cloudy and so big inside of myself... the version of non-doing for me has been lying down a lot.".

• Reflecting on inner compulsion, one shared: "The whole story of what we should and have to and shouldn't this is really just old conditioning.".

• Finally, a reminder of the strength in our local and social fields: "I believe we are strong enough when we are sharing in our neighborhood in our friendship good time.".

The Practice: The 20-Minute Dance

To experience "Wu Wei" bodily rather than just discussing it conceptually, the group was invited to a "20-Minute Dance" of the Social Presencing Theater. The simple yet profound instruction was: "Be loyal to your body for 20 minutes". We began lying on the ground, connecting with the great earth body, with the sole intention to naturally rise to a standing position (or a final shape) over the course of the 20 minutes. We practiced not forcing anything, but rather observing how movement and stillness naturally iterate and alternate.

Haiku Feedback: Poetry from Movement

Following the practice, we let our experiences flow onto paper in the form of short poems. Sharing these lines anonymously created a space of dense poetry:

• Here are the short poems and reflections exactly as they were shared by the participants after the 20-minute dance practice:

  • "Being earth, sadness, suffering, stillness, and grief. Slowly I move and gaze into the garden. Lenty. abundance sensing into the regenerative places which are here already on earth. More to come more humans will join being just you."

  • "Deliciousness of movement, full body contact, comfort and relating, throwing out the garbage. Relax."

  • "Staying close to earth, leaving all effort with her. With her it becomes fertile ground while I rise softly towards the sky."

  • "Flat on yoga mat. Eye contact with beautiful cat. Unexpected little tear. Up to slice an apple. Crunch. Crunch. Munch. Munch. I am here."

  • "Pleasure releasing. Movement welcoming. Movement welcoming. Next movement alive with sensation. My body is always carried by the earth. Being part of the earth. Being part"

  • "I'm much connected to the roots. Feeling my third eye dreaming slow movement. But something happens in my arm. The arms stretched and I notice some really someone push me from the road. But then suddenly sitting up I felt really waking up and stretch my body completely and then I just watch out feel completely connected to the mother earths."

  • "Surrender surrender surrender. I was just keep coming back into that deep relaxation. It's just about surrendering. That was my experience."

Reflecting on Petra’s Drawing

While we danced and spoke, Petra captured the energy of the field in a visual scribing. As we viewed the artwork together, participants discovered deep resonances: Some saw "ying and yang" and "beauty and aliveness and plenty and peace". Others noticed a "black sculpture in the middle between guild and war," which paradoxically mixed with a feeling of "distraction and freedom". One participant beautifully summarized the essence of the image: "I'm drawn to the circle of dancers and it's kind of like they're dancing around a transparent heart, celebrating it.".

Closing Reading: The Tao Te Ching

A brief dialogue about non-doing provided the perfect conclusion. We were reminded: "Not doing as a concept... I think this is mistaking what it is. It's not a concept. It's rather a question or a koan". The session closed with a spontaneous reading from an English edition of the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 25, which exactly captured the core of our session:

"There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene, empty, solitary, unchanging, infinite. in it eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of better name, I call it the Tao. It flows through all things inside and outside and returns to the origin of all things. The Tao is great. The Universe is great. Earth is great. Man is great. There are the four great powers. Man follows the earth. Earth follows the universe. The universe follows the Tao. The Tao follows only itself.".

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Invitation to the Next Session in April

Like to continue nurturing these qualities of deep presence, authentic sharing, and intentionless being? We warmly invite you to be part of our global "Social Body" again in April - to be inspired, to listen with your body, and to jointly explore what wants to emerge in the here and now.

Date: Tuesday, April 21 Registration & Link: Please register here to be present in our next call: https://luma.com8vpg2995

If you feel the impulse to host a session yourself or guide a practice, please let us know anytime by emailing: post@movalogue.org. To stay connected between our calls, feel free to join our Movalogue Signal group: https://signal.group/#CjQKIONyW9qSGUwu7txLekvetLzYXmrpW1WQWEWaCL8IrSWvEhCZKxmv0NPFz6YUqaDH18JF

We look forward to continuing this dance with the mystery of being with you!

With warm regards, The Open Movalogue Team