Trying Not to Try
The Art and Science of Spontaneity
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Narrated by:
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Marc Cashman
About this listen
A deeply original exploration of the power of spontaneity—an ancient Chinese ideal that cognitive scientists are only now beginning to understand—and why it is so essential to our well-being.
Why is it always hard to fall asleep the night before an important meeting? Or be charming and relaxed on a first date? What is it about a politician who seems wooden or a comedian whose jokes fall flat or an athlete who chokes? In all of these cases, striving seems to backfire.
In Trying Not To Try, Edward Slingerland explains why we find spontaneity so elusive, and shows how early Chinese thought points the way to happier, more authentic lives. We’ve long been told that the way to achieve our goals is through careful reasoning and conscious effort. But recent research suggests that many aspects of a satisfying life, like happiness and spontaneity, are best pursued indirectly. The early Chinese philosophers knew this, and they wrote extensively about an effortless way of being in the world, which they called wu-wei (ooo-way). They believed it was the source of all success in life, and they developed various strategies for getting it and hanging on to it.
With clarity and wit, Slingerland introduces us to these thinkers and the marvelous characters in their texts, from the butcher whose blade glides effortlessly through an ox to the wood carver who sees his sculpture simply emerge from a solid block. Slingerland uncovers a direct line from wu-wei to the Force in Star Wars, explains why wu-wei is more powerful than flow, and tells us what it all means for getting a date. He also shows how new research reveals what’s happening in the brain when we’re in a state of wu-wei—why it makes us happy and effective and trustworthy, and how it might have even made civilization possible.
Through stories of mythical creatures and drunken cart riders, jazz musicians and Japanese motorcycle gangs, Slingerland effortlessly blends Eastern thought and cutting-edge science to show us how we can live more fulfilling lives. Trying Not To Try is mind-expanding and deeply pleasurable, the perfect antidote to our striving modern culture.
©2014 Edward Slingerland (P)2014 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Looks like a self-help book, but it’s actually an insightful and lucid introduction to some of the most fruitful ideas in ancient Chinese philosophy."—Julian Baggini, The Guardian
"Edward Slingerland treats us to a work of seminal importance. Yet never was there such an important book that takes itself so lightly. Slingerland explains the correspondence between ancient Chinese philosophical ideas about wu-wei, or doing by not doing, and modern neuroscience."—Huffington Post
"Trying not to Try is an enlightening introduction to the often misunderstood mindset of wu-wei, the 'being in the moment' that is the key to Eastern wisdom. Slingerland's volume is an invaluable guide to anyone on the quest for a full life, lived spontaneously."—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow
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- By Keith Pyne-Howarth on 01-17-10
By: Alva Noe
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Discovering Your Soul's Purpose
- Finding Your Path in Life, Work, and Personal Mission the Edgar Cayce Way, Second Edition
- By: Mark Thurston PhD
- Narrated by: Richard Harries
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The medical clairvoyant Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) left the world a wealth of clairvoyant readings on everything from health and spirituality to psychology and past lives. Now the most significant teacher of Cayce's teachings, Mark Thurston, updates and revises his classic book, Discovering Your Soul's Purpose, to help you use the Cayce teachings in the 21st century to find greater purpose in your relationships, career, and overall mission in life.
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"Cayce colored Parachute"
- By Dave on 07-23-17
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Psychotherapy East and West
- By: Alan Watts
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan Watts examines the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that question the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserts that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self.
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Not what I have come to expect from Alan Watts works
- By Shiva Latchmipersad on 03-22-19
By: Alan Watts
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The Daily Laws
- 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Robert Greene
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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From the world’s foremost expert on power and strategy comes a daily devotional designed to help you seize your destiny.
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Chapters are Busted
- By Colin on 10-12-21
By: Robert Greene
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The Antidote
- Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Antidote is a series of journeys among people who share a single, surprising way of thinking about life. What they have in common is a hunch about human psychology: that it’s our constant effort to eliminate the negative that causes us to feel so anxious, insecure, and unhappy. And that there is an alternative "negative path" to happiness and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid.
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The Antidote explores the negative path.
- By Bonny on 05-15-14
By: Oliver Burkeman
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The Compassionate Achiever
- How Helping Others Fuels Success
- By: Christopher L. Kukk
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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For decades we've been told the key to prosperity is to look out for number one. But recent science shows that to achieve durable success, we need to be more than just achievers; we need to be compassionate achievers. New research in biology, neuroscience, and economics has found that compassion - recognizing a problem or caring about another's pain and making a commitment to help - not only improves others' lives; it can transform our own.
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Me me me
- By Someone or not? on 04-04-20
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Why Smart People Hurt
- A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative
- By: Eric Maisel
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The challenges smart and creative people encounter - from scientific researchers and genius award winners to best-selling novelists, Broadway actors, high-powered attorneys, and academics - often include anxiety, overthinking, mania, sadness, and despair. In Why Smart People Hurt, natural psychology specialist and creativity coach Dr. Eric Maisel draws on his many years of work with the best and the brightest to pinpoint these often devastating challenges and offer solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology.
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Stunningly Unintelligent
- By john burke on 05-22-21
By: Eric Maisel
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Riveted
- The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One with the Universe
- By: Jim Davies
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor Jim Davies's fascinating and highly accessible book, Riveted, reveals the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling. Drawing on work from philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, economics, computer science, and biology, Davies offers a comprehensive explanation to show that in spite of the differences between the many things that we find compelling, they have similar effects on our minds and brains.
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Fun and excellent listen!
- By Alejandro Franco on 04-13-18
By: Jim Davies
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The Buddha Walks into the Office
- A Guide to Livelihood for a New Generation
- By: Lodro Rinzler
- Narrated by: Lodro Rinzler
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The question "What do I want to do with my life?" is more difficult to answer for today's 20-somethings than it was for their parents - not only do today's jobs look different, but career paths are altogether less of a sure thing. It's in this modern context that Lodro Rinzler provides Generation Y with wisdom for approaching the whole issue of livelihood - not only how to find work, but how to bring compassion and meaning into the job once you’ve got it. It’s wisdom from the Buddhist tradition that works for anyone.
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Not just applicable to work
- By Peter Burgos on 01-23-15
By: Lodro Rinzler
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Curious?
- By: Todd Kashdan
- Narrated by: Todd Kashdan
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Abridged
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Dead cats. That's the image many people conjure up when you mention curiosity. An image perpetuated by a dusty old proverb that has long represented the extent of our understanding of the term. This book might not put the proverb to rest, but it will flip it upside down: far from killing anything, curiosity breathes new life into almost everything it touches.
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Transformative & Engaging
- By Hans on 04-29-09
By: Todd Kashdan
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How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain
- The New Science of Transformation
- By: Andrew Newberg M.D., Mark Robert Waldman
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In this original and groundbreaking book, Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman turn their attention to the pinnacle of the human experience: enlightenment. Through his brain-scan studies on Brazilian psychic mediums, Sufi mystics, Buddhist meditators, Franciscan nuns, Pentecostals, and participants in secular spirituality rituals, Newberg has discovered the specific neurological mechanisms associated with the enlightenment experience - and how we might activate those circuits in our own brains.
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Nothing Special Here.
- By Richard J. Langer on 03-22-16
By: Andrew Newberg M.D., and others
What listeners say about Trying Not to Try
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gerald W. 'Jerry' LaFleur
- 12-16-22
Excellent resource for better life
Also though provoking introduction to Chinese culture plus a guide to improving our education culture
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- Chris Brooks
- 06-20-24
Wuwei and/is Beginner's Mind
An excellent balancing of ancient scholarship and everday modern experience. The author demystifies the topic while maintaining its complexity.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-23-17
Insightful look at Eastern "enlightenment"
As someone rais ed as a fentalist form of Christianity from conception, and having later practicrd. Zen, Kundelini Yoga land more, it was very insightful!
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- JB
- 07-07-22
Confuciusion
A reasonably useful commentary on Wu Wei. The many references to Confucius were a distraction.
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- J. Floyd
- 04-14-23
Wooden performance
Couldn’t finish it. Narrator was either a robot or overly processed. Distracted from content. Might be lovely to others, but made it hard to engage.
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- KMM
- 03-09-16
excellent discussion of ancient Chinese philosophy
excellent discussion of the truth-bits of ancient Chinese philosophy and contemporary science to support it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-02-21
delightful-more history blended with science
I didn't know what to expect from this book but I found myself pleasantly surprised, engrossed and have discovered a new interest in ancient Chinese religious philosophy
I thought it was going to be a pop science book. the first chapeter or two makes you think "this is going to turn into a weird self help book"
but then it doesn't and it's a fascinating ride through various Chinese philosophies with occasional side bars into neuroscience. highly recommend
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-08-15
Another X-Ray Through the Crystal of Being Human
Strongly resonated with me, and have me a glimpse into Chinese philosophy and worldview. Gave me permission to relax more and let things just happen.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Elisabeth Doherty
- 06-27-14
Description misleading
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The history of Chinese philosophy is no doubt interesting and I enjoyed learning about these thinkers. But the book falls far short of the mark when it comes to practical applications for contemporary life. In addition, I found it deeply strange the amount of times dating strategies are mentioned; the author even addresses "The System"and "The Rules".
What could Edward Slingerland have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Made the book a more even split between philosophy and practical advice.
What does Marc Cashman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He reads with a sense of humor that made the long summaries of history more enjoyable.
Do you think Trying Not to Try needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Not really, it just wasn't interesting enough for me to justify reading another book by Slingerland.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Vincent Nance
- 09-06-18
GREAT foray into a classic paradox
This book is a detailed, fascinating, well researched discussion of how we can remedy an ages old philosophical paradox.
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