“Mushin” (無心) is a saying derived from Zen Buddhism that literally translates to “mind-without-mind.” Sounds wishy-washy at best and confusing at worst, right? That’s what I thought when I first heard of it, but sometime during my 9 years of martial arts training, I realized that Mushin is a very real — and very powerful concept.
You see, we all begin life as babies with an intuitive understanding of the world. As we mature, we discover and explore the validity of our emotions. Finally, as full-fledged adults, we graduate to primarily using logic to navigate our lives. Most people stop here, thinking that they have mastered the art of thinking.
Mushin states that intuition, not logic, is the highest form of understanding.
Emotions and logic, though great tools, can act as biases if overly relied upon. We think we are using them to make decisions when it is they who are using us. Paradoxically, it is only when we make the leap from using analytical logic to intuitive understanding that we become thinkers of the highest order.
Although primarily associated with Zen Buddhism and the martial arts, Mushin is a universal concept that if applied, will help you stop…
