The Art Of Detachment
When we set goals and have ambitions in life it is easy to become attached to them. We often get attached to the point where we start believing that we have to have it in order to be happy.
Attachment can be dangerous though because we start believing in the delusion that we need X, Y and Z to experience the live we truly want.
Any time your happiness is attached to some external thing, you experience some sort of suffering.
Detachment does not mean you have no goals or ambitions. It simply means you do not need them. Having a preference instead of a need changes everything.
Set your goals. Have your ambitions. Know what you want and set your course, then detach from the outcome. Dr. Joseph Murphy often talked about this idea as Divine Indifference.
You are indifferent about the outcome because you KNOW it will come. The outcome is certain and you can step away and live your life and enjoy your life.
When you are attached you are living in fear. Theres a level of doubt which causes you to be attached. You feel like you have to make it happen and you do not surrender completely to the power of the universe.
Water is not attached to any shape. It takes on whatever shape it occupies. Water does not get upset when it is in teacup and happy when it is in a glass. It simply is.
Have A Mind That Is Open To Everything And Attached To Nothing
Water does not get set into one form. It can adapt and change WITHOUT changing what it is. People tend to believe that if they accept change it will change who they are.
The challenge is that we tend to get attached to ideas and beliefs. In the 9th century Tilopa said to Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing and this relates directly to what Bruce Lee means with be like water.
Dont become stuck in your thinking. It is your ideas and your thoughts more than anything that makes you rigid and incapable of change.
Change is scary because it represents the unknown. The familiar will always feel comfortable because it is known and familiar.
We use this idea of being open minded very loosely in our culture. Very rarely are we truly open minded.
As long as you are attached to any of your own ideas and beliefs you can not truly be open minded. When you start opening your mind you not only invite new ideas into your life but your entire perception of life changes.
Our beliefs control so much of our lives and perception that it can blind us completely.
Being like water is a great analogy as it shows us how to constantly change and adapt without changing our nature and what we truly are.
Bruce Lee Realized That He Had To Be Unattached
To be detached is an achievement. You assume you are detached from many things, but yet, these same things have power over you they bother you. When you have no attachments, you are free from the clutches of emotional bonds. To be detached like water, without clinging onto each and everything you pass by, Bruce Lee knew that he had to let go first if he wanted to improve.
Taoism is about simplicity and simplicity is about cutting down on things from your life. It is the opposite of accumulation.
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Other Famous Bruce Lee Quotes
Bruce Lee inspired with a range of poignant quotes and philosophical lessons during his time, including:
- Its like a finger pointing away to the moon. Dont concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
- I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
- Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless. Add what is essentially your own.
- Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality in your own mind.
- Using no way as way having no limitation as limitation.
- Always be yourself. Express yourself. Have faith in yourself.
- As you think, so shall you become.
- If everyone would help their neighbor, then no one would be without help.
The Origins Of Bruce Lees Be Water My Friend
In September 1971, Bruce Lee appeared in an episode of Longstreet titled The Way of The Intercepting Fist as the character Li Tsung. However, those words became iconic after his interview with Pierre Burton later that same year.
In the episode, the titular character Mike Longstreet, a blind man, hires Li Tsung to help him learn how to fight so he can defend himself. After complaining to Li that there was too much to remember, Li scolds Longstreet telling him if you try to remember, you will lose!
The sagacious Li then offers his seminal advice:
Empty your mind.Be formless, shapeless, like water.You put water into a cup it becomes the cup.You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle.You put it into a teapot it becomes the teapot.Now water can flow, or it can crash.Be water, my friend.
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You Are Gentle Yet Powerful
Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water, my friend.
Power doesnt mean having great muscles, being able to hold the highest position in office, or putting people down into submission. To be powerful means to stay standing despite the odds. Commanding authority means having people willingly follow you because they find you wise and inspiring. Like water that can bore through stones, you should be strong enough to break away at lifes challenges. At the same time, you should be gentle enough to respect life around you.
Bruce Lees Be Like Water Quote
With a strict Catholic mother and a Buddhist father, Bruce Lee always insisted that he has no religious beliefs. Most of his philosophy to life can be traced back to his martial arts training under the Chinese teacher Yip Man.
Dont get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot.
Bruce Lee
While Bruce Lee had no formal relationship or references to Taoism as a religion many of the ideas of The Tao Te Ching was firmly rooted in his training and martial arts education.
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Spring Intensives: Unleash Your Genius
Intensives are special workshops facilitated by community partners so students can explore passions. They occur the first week of every quarter. For Quarter 4, we had a variety of different sessions including: capoeira, acupuncture, songwriting, tortilla making, poetry, yoga, and discussions ranging from having a superhero mindset to exploring the philosophical aspects of art performance as a way of political protest!
Quarter 4 Remote Intensives!
How To Be Like Water: 15 Quotes From Bruce Lee
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You Will Become Fearless
One of waters most notable characteristics is its fluidity. If you spill your drink, it will scatter on the floor, filling every crevice or crack. It is unafraid to explore what lies beyond. It doesnt have a plan it will simply spread where it can. Bruce Lee was not the first to admire this fascinating ability of water. Ancient philosopher and founder of Tao principles, Lao Tzu, also believed in waters amazing ability to find its way around anything without care or anxiety.
Are there things you always dreamed of doing but were always too afraid to try? Have you thought about quitting something only to back out of your decision for fear of what comes next? Timing is certainly important, but if you always wait for that opportune moment, it might never come.
Want to switch careers but youre already in your late 30s? Interested in starting a business but you dont have a budget? Instead of over-thinking, learn to let go and simply flow. Be like water its not scared to venture into the unknown because it will simply make the rules as it goes. The minute you realize that theres nothing in your way but yourself, it will open doors to possibilities you didnt even know existed.
The Meaning Of Bruce Lees Quote Be Like Water
Be like water means that you should be formless. When Lee says to be “formless“, he means that people shouldn’t allow themselves to be trapped in a certain mindset. Instead, a person should be able to adapt to certain situations, grow, and change that’s how one can adopt the qualities of water. That’s the basic interpretation of the phrase, but there’s actually deeper meaning to be found in it, which can be more easily understood when looking at Lee’s background and his previous comments about water.
It’s important to note that many of Bruce Lee’s beliefs and ideas came from the time he spent with his martial arts master, Yip Man . Yip Man was a grandmaster of Wing Chun, a fighting style based on reflexive movements. The principles of Yip Man and Wing Chun had a lot to do with how Bruce Lee’s philosophy developed. After training under Yip Man, Bruce Lee had a realization when he would practice punching the water. According to Lee, it occurred to him that water was the “very essence of gung fu“.
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Youll Be Adaptable To Change
A lot of people mistake Bruce Lees famous quote to being a conformist. However, theres a difference: adapting means to change or be changed to fit or work better in particular scenarios whereas conforming means having the same behavior as most people in a group. Water adapts it changes based on where it is placed. If you pour it into a bowl, it will take the shape of a bowl. Its components do not change.
If you are faced with a situation that youre not familiar with , adapt but DO NOT conform! Conforming means you will obey or copy the behavior of others to gain social acceptance. Although its going to be difficult at first, aim to gain peoples respect above their approval. Respect is objective even if folks around you may not like you as much, if they respect you, this isnt likely to change even if circumstances become different.
Once you master the art of adaptability, youll have nothing to fear wherever you are. Traveling alone? Facing new responsibilities at the office? Starting a family? If youre like water, youll simply find better ways to adjust to your new environment. Your condition will not change you. In fact, you might be the one to change things around you!
Online Communities About Flow Like Water Bruce Lee You Should Join
the idea that we are flow is often seen as a negative connotation, but to me it is one of the most important qualities to learn about. The ability to flow is a skill that is necessary for success in all areas of our lives. We all know that things can be challenging, but when you learn to flow and focus on the present moment, you are able to handle anything life throws your way.
Flow is a quality that is created through practice. Achieving flow is all about being able to change our minds and our habits. If we can just change our habits, our habits will change us. This is why it is so crucial to learn flow.
Flow is an important skill to learn as it is one that the people who are usually the most successful in life tend to have. The reason for this is that the people who are most successful also tend to have the most flow. This is why being successful has nothing to do with how successful you get, but how much you can learn to flow.
When you learn to flow, when youre used to it, and when youre used to it, it helps you make more progress. Flow is a great way to make yourself more conscious of your habits, but you also get more awareness of how you are doing it. Flow is a way to get the most out of your own habits, but thats not all you can learn by yourself.
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The Be Like Water Meaning Conclusion
Much of Bruce Lees early training in martial arts involved water. He spent many hours punching water and many more hours contemplating the nature of water.
No matter how hard he punched the water, he could not hurt it. Water is the strongest force in the world and it can carve out paths through solid rock yet he can punch straight through it with little effort.
Bruce Lee believed that water was the essence of Kung Fu. Not using force but being powerful is the essence of water.
Bruce Lees be like water meaning is firmly rooted in Taoism and Chinese philosophy but is also a very practical philosophy.
The analogy with water is a great way to look at life and whenever you feel stuck or like your life is out of control, come back to these lessons.
About The Creative Team
Producer Jessica Kantor brought together the award-winning creative and interaction design team.
Creative Direction is led by the immersive duo Lola Tango Eve Weston and Jessica Kantor who is best known for their work in immersive media.
Art Direction by Nicole McDonald, known for her stunning visuals and interaction design, had her most recent work premiere at the Venice Biennale.
Illustration was created by Andy McDonald and Graphic Effects by Jeremy Albucher.
The interactive component is built by lead engineer Leo Brown, interactive projection expert Chris Beran, and computer vision expert Charles Tuttle using RealSense depth-sensing cameras and Touch Designer. Leo, Charles, and Chris work together at the premiere interactive art experience, Meow Wolf.
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What Is Bruce Lees Legacy
Bruce Lee had a wide-reaching, long-lasting impact on popular culture, the kung fu movie industry, and martial arts in general. Admittedly, the kung fu genre was already starting to pick up steam when Lee made The Big Boss, but what he brought to the table revolutionized the industry, made it much bigger, and created a new set of expectations for how movies approached martial arts choreography. For a time, interest in Lee was so great that studios started hiring Bruce Lee look-alikes and using variations of his name to push their films. Though this turned out to be a passing phase, Bruce Lee’s legacy and influence lingered and grew beyond just Hong Kong movies. His unique ideas, image, fighting style, and contributions to cinema made him a cultural icon in both the East and the West. Despite having starred in only four completed kung fu films, Lee is still the most popular and most recognizable martial arts actor in history.
Flow With The Current Of Life
The idea of going with the flow is often seen as a careless hippy-type idea. We think that achievement and success comes from taking a stand and facing the storm and working hard to carve a path through it.
Working hard and facing opposition and challenges has its own value and merit. There is a fine line between going against the current and facing opposition.
When water carves its way through rock, there is opposition but the water does not fight the rock. It just keeps flowing.
The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.It flows to low places loathed by all men.Therefore, it is like the Tao.Live in accordance with the nature of things.In dwelling, be close to the land.In meditation, go deep in the heart.In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.In speech, be true.In action, watch the timingNo fight: No blameOne who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things.He moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.
Chapter 8
Life is forever flowing and changing. If you remain fixed, rigid and stuck then you can not move with life.
Fighting the current will leave you tired and exhausted and in most cases you simply can not win.
Going with the flow simply means you dance with life. You dont try to fight the current of life but use the energy of its flow to direct it and move with it.
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