Idea

Remove distractions, then fill with the person I want to be.

Inspiration

Mu (Chinese: wu) can have many translations when applied to the famous zen Dog Nature koan. David Hinton's No-Gate Gateway suggests "absence" as appropriate to the meaning of the koan.

A monk asked Master Visitation-Land: "A dog too has Buddha-nature, no?"
"Absence," Land replied.

Possibly: "You're asking the wrong question, bud."

Set up

We all have our distractions. I may not ask the right question, but maybe I can remove the wrong ones. For the whole month, I'm eliminating the worst offenders, the flickering demons: the shiny objects to my OCD-ish-ness.

Gone

  • I've canceled Netflix. I can always come back to it.
  • No Facebook. No Facebook notifications.
  • No news, no YouTube. In short, no TV-like media at all.
  • No movie soundtracks.

Keep

  • I still use Facebook as my messaging/texting app.
  • Scan Morning Dew daily for articles, because it's part of my career.

This Week

  • Breathing meditation twice each day.
  • More breaks to walk outside.
  • Read a physical book (the amazing The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood)

Why Am I Doing This, Again?

My wife put it best. I used to be actively creative, and now I passively take in creativity (in the form of movies and TV).

I think this negatively affects my work productivity, my mood, and my marriage.

I'm reclaiming (the best of) my life.