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Bruce Lee Podcast

#60 Choiceless Awareness

Bruce Lee Podcast

Shannon Lee

Tv & Film, Society & Culture

4.81.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 August 2017

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Choiceless Awareness is a path to peace of mind. It means having awareness in the moment as things are unfolding but not making a choice or judgment one way or the other about whether it’s good or bad. Bruce talks about how, “There is an awareness without choice, without demand, an awareness in which there is no anxiety and in that state of mind there is perception and it's perception alone that will resolve our problems.” Choiceless Awareness is about being the objective observer, standing back from the situation a little bit and not assign any blame one way or the other. Just say, “Here’s what’s happening, I’m perceiving what’s happening, now what am I going to do?” This not easy because you have to battle the “shoulds”--what you think should or shouldn’t be happening in the situation. Remember, Bruce Lee used “No way as way.” “Just watch choicelessly, and in the watching lies the wonder. It is not an ideal end to be desired, but watching is a state of being already and not a state of becoming.” If in this moment you can achieve this state of choiceless awareness, you can achieve wholeness because you’re just being. “Choiceless Awareness. Do not condemn, do not justify. Awareness works only if it is allowed free play without interference.” Awareness leads to discovery. Discovery leads to uncovering your potential. Bruce Lee often relates this idea of Choiceless Awareness to being in tune with “what is.” “There is what is, only when there is no comparison at all. And to live with what is, is to be peaceful.” “Awareness is never exclusive. It includes everything.” The easiest way to explain this state is as “free play.” Free play without judgment, like when you were a kid playing and pursuing what interested you. The technology we have now, such as smart phones, can bring us out of the moment. “I Bruce Lee am going to die some day with out having fulfilled all my ambitions. However, I am not afraid to die. I go on, I move forward. Because everything I’ve done, I’ve done sincerely, and wholeheartedly and to the best of my ability. What more can you ask for than that?” Take Action: Practice being the objective observer, try to remove your judgment from the present moment, and just let things be as they are. Take in everything. Create time for a place of "free play”—free of expectations and outcomes. Do something with your body to enter into the space of free play, such as running around like a kid or sing a fun song. This will help you remember what free play felt like. #AAHA This week our #AAHA is hapa Michelle Waterson who is half Thai. Michelle is an American Mixed Martial Artist and competes in the UFC. MMA is the fastest growing professional sport. Michelle is ranked #6 in the UFC strawweight division. Raised in Colorado, Michelle studied karate from the age of 10 and holds a black belt in the American Free Style Karate, and also trained in WuShu, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, and wrestling. She started out as a ring girl, and she trained really hard and made her MMA debut in 2007. She made her debut without having any amateur fights. Michelle you’re a badass, and we think you’re awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Our moment this week comes from Robby M. who shared with us this poem and his #BruceLeeMoment: Everything I know how to do, I learned first and foremost from Bruce Lee, I copied everything he did to the point where I got obsessed and erroneously thought myself to be his Reincarnation. Doing that, I realized I missed His central tenet of Life, Be Yourself! Express Yourself as creatively, profoundly, powerfully, dynamically, skillfully, and Honestly as humanly possible at all times no matter what the cost or situation.” Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi, this is Shannon, and I just wanted to take a moment before we start our episode to thank everyone who has donated to the podcast so generously.

0:10.8

I really appreciate it. It's very meaningful that you express your

0:16.2

acknowledgement of the podcast and that you enjoy it and that it's bringing something

0:21.3

good into your lives through that simple action of

0:23.6

donation and I have to say you know it really helps us out because it helps us to be

0:28.9

able to continue recording it and bringing it to you since the podcast is free and such a labor of love for us.

0:37.2

I mean, Sharon and I just love doing it and we love that you love it too.

0:41.7

So I just wanted to say thank you so much for your donations.

0:45.5

They're much appreciated.

0:46.8

Yeah, thank you so much and especially for those people

0:49.2

who are donating recurringly and for everybody who's donated it really does help out so much and if any of you would like to donate you can do so at

0:59.8

Bruce Lee.com forward slash podcast and on with our episode. shape like water more to more.

1:17.0

water.

1:18.0

Now what a floor or no?

1:21.0

Or it can crash?

1:25.0

Welcome to the Bruce Lee Podcast, a podcast about Bruce Lee's life and philosophy.

1:32.0

Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee and this is

1:35.0

Hi everyone this is Shannon Lee and this is Sharon Lee and this is

1:38.3

Sharon Lee and this is the Bruce Lee podcast welcome welcome The Bruce Lee podcast is a chance for us to discuss my

1:47.4

father's philosophy and really apply it to our lives toward living more harmonious and productive lives.

1:57.0

So what are we talking about today?

1:59.0

So today, actually this is a, so the topic topic is I'll just start there

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