Five Ways of Flow

The highest truth is inexpressible.
Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.
In the last resort nothing is gained.
There is nothing much in the teaching.
In throwing punches and moving, therein lies the wonderful Tao.

1. The highest truth is inexpressible.

The highest truth, your truth, is an experience, a knowing, it is a reverberation in the soul and heart of man.

Sometimes words fail us in expressing our truth and we need to use art to share our experience. We use art as a tangible way to share the truth of our souls.

“When both the man and his surroundings are eliminated, neither man nor his surroundings are eliminated – Walk On!”

This higher truth is when you are both whole and also a part of everything at the same time, like how a drop of ocean is a part of the whole ocean, but is also a single drop.

“Between enlightenment and knowledge, in the latter a contrast exists between the knower and the known, whereas in the former, there is no such contrast.”

We do the work of self-knowledge, hacking away the inessentials, being rooted, and knowing your core, but in the space of enlightenment there is not a space between the individual and the expansive universe, we are all one.

“For at that moment (in the boat) I had achieved a state of inner feeling in which opposition had become mutually cooperative instead of mutually exclusive, in which there was no longer any conflict in my mind. The whole world to me was unitary.”

When you are in the oneness of everything, you are a part of the natural flow of the universe.

“Artistry penetrates into a deeper world in which tings inwardly experienced flow together and the harmony of the soul and cosmos in the nothingness has its outcome in reality.”

2. Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.

A punch is just a punch.
A punch is not a punch.
A punch is just a punch.

Spirituality can be cultivated in the sense that you can conscious practice around wanting to be in a more expansive, spiritual place where you can feel connected to the oneness of things. Once you’ve cultivated your spirit, then that spiritual cultivation is infused into your everyday.

After spiritual cultivation then there is a return to the ordinariness of life, but filled with the extraordinariness of life; gratitude; acceptance; allowance; flow; a return to effortlessness all become a part of your every day.

“After the completion of cultivation, one remains amid the phenomenal yet devoid of the phenomenal.”

“The aim is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities to the life rhythm of the world and nature.”

You can have wholehearted connection in your everyday life.

“To have in oneself no contraries, nothing in one that resists, to remain detached from external things – to be one thing and not to change.”

3. In the last resort nothing is gained.

When we come down to the last resort of a situation, we are reaching a sort of giving up - a place where we have reconciled ourselves with losing. By clinging to a last resort, you are giving up and showing an unwillingness to shift.

Do not hang onto a last resort, rather be willing to die. Be willing to let go.

With the last resort comes the understanding that this is the end.

“Are you a flowing entity capable to flow with circumstances?”

Being in a place of flow, is having a willingness to move through life no matter what life throws your way.

“Do not run away; let go. Do not seek; it will come when least expected.”

Clinging to a last resort is a denial of your trust in yourself and when there is no trust, there is no flow.

4. There is nothing much in the teaching.

Modeling as a form of teaching. A teacher is a guide, the student has to experience things for themselves.

“A good teacher functions as a pointer to truth but not a giver of truth. He employs a minimum of form to lead his student to the formless. Furthermore, he points out the importance of being able to enter a mold without being imprisoned by it or to follow the principles without being bound by them.”

“There is no fixed teaching. All I can provide is an appropriate medicine for a particular ailment.”

Bruce wanted his students to experience things for themselves. He did not want his students to copy him, he wanted them to explore and develop their own style.

To flow, you cannot give away your sovereignty to someone else and ask them to tell you exactly what to do, you have to teach yourself to be in flow with everything around you.

“Remember, I am no teacher; I can merely be a signpost for the traveler who is lost. It is up to you to decide the direction. All I can offer is an experience but never a conclusion so even what I have said needs to be thoroughly examined by you. I might be able to help you to discover and examine your problem by awakening your awareness of their cause and effect, but I cannot teach you, for I am no teacher, and I have no style. I don’t believe in system or in method, and without system, without method, what is to teach?”

5. In throwing punches and moving, therein lies the wonderful Tao.

In instinctual and direct movement, the flow of the universe is revealed. When you are in action, that is when the Tao is revealed. Flow is motion.

“Behind every motion is the music of the soul made visible.”

The way we move through the world is the way that we are expressing ourselves and our souls to the world.

“The spirit of the universe is instinct with contrivance which flows with purpose.”

Purpose is our essential essence, the thing that is calling us. Purpose is not from outside of ourselves, it comes from within us.

“When actions are directly related to the problem of life or death, recollection and anticipation must be given up so that they will not interfere with the fluidity of mentation and the lightning rapidity of action.”

When you can be in this state of flow, then your thinking and your actions can be quick, sharp and instant, and it feels effortless.

“Simplicity. Directness. Freedom.”

Take Action: When have you felt gratitude in your everyday? When have you felt the expansiveness of life? When have you been prepared for the transitions of life? When have these moments happened for you? Sit with these moments and consider them. Sit with your own knowing.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the 5 Ways of Flow! Write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast.

We get many emails requesting advice with “What would Bruce Lee do?” and would like to start a “What would Bruce Lee do?” section of the podcast where Shannon and Sharon respond to your emails for advice. If you need advice and are wondering, “What would Bruce Lee do?” write to us at hello@brucelee.com

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