In my review of Steven Kotler's book The Rise of Superman, we looked at a Western psychological conception of flow. Now, we will explore a more Eastern conception on this topic; one that has been articulated centuries ago in foundational texts of Chinese philosophy.

In this essay, we will take a close look at Edward Slingerland's book Tying Not To Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity, with additional insights from an interview that we conducted with the author. Slingerland is a professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. One of his areas of concentration is Chinese thought and religious studies.