OpenTube

The Japanese Art of Doing Less | 5 Ancient Principles for Modern Peace

Shizen Style

20,778 views

🎋Join Our Quiet Community- Shizen Circle: https://www.shizenstyle.com/membership
◦Newsletter: https://www.shizenstyle.com/newsletter
Discover how Japanese philosophy can transform your overwhelming life into one of intentional simplicity. From the concept of ma (strategic emptiness) to authentic ikigai (life's worth), learn 5 powerful principles that an 80-year-old pottery master taught me during my time in rural Japan.
🌿 What You'll Learn:

Strategic laziness and the power of empty space (ma)
Single-tasking mastery (ichigo ichie)
Finding beauty in imperfection (wabi-sabi)
Living with natural rhythms (mono no aware)
The true meaning of ikigai and gaman

📖 Get My Book: "Shizen Style Flow" - Deep dive into Japanese aesthetics and simple living principles → https://www.shizenstyle.com/product-p...
📧 Join 10,000+ readers: Shizen Style Weekly newsletter for Japanese wisdom, minimalism tips, and natural living insights → https://www.shizenstyle.com/newsletter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
◦The Quiet Lens: https://www.shizenstyle.com/the-quiet...
◦My Fine Art Photography and Shakuhachi: https://www.gen-setsu.com/

◦ Visit Shizen Style for learning resources like E-books, my blog, shopping etc.: https://www.shizenstyle.com

◦ Gear I use:
▹https://www.shizenstyle.com/my-gear

◦ COME SAY HI:
▹ Instagram: Instagram: gensetsu_art
▹ Facebook: Facebook: Gensetsu.Art
▹ Website: https://shizenstyle.com/

Some of those links are affiliate links (Amazon etc.), it doesn't cost you more and it helps me to continue this channel thanks to a small commission I receive. Thank you if you use them, means a lot!

20 Comments

@stephent2243 1 year ago

The older I get, the more I realise Japanese philosophy is packed with great lessons we've forgotten in this modern world.

@ClearTheDeck 1 year ago

The principle of Enough is resonating with me. In the first 3 years of retirement (that’s me), we’re told to beware Sequence of Returns risk to our investments. And I’ve come to realize that I am needlessly fretting over something over which I have limited control. I’m in a good position; I know I can and will adapt to whatever happens. I have enough, I am enough, and I am thankful.

@Jangstaad 9 months ago

I want to thank you for this beautiful explanation of ma. I first encountered the concept while sitting on a bench in New York that had a Japanese plaque. Curious, I took a photo and later looked it up, discovering the meaning of ma through Gemini. Finding your video afterwards felt like everything aligned perfectly.

What struck me most is how doing nothing became the beginning of understanding, the power of pause and silence. That quiet moment opened a doorway to see how emptiness is not absence, but presence.

Your words helped me deepen my understanding and connect that moment of reflection with the philosophy itself. I’m grateful for the clarity and peace your channel brings, and for showing how these timeless Japanese principles can guide us in modern life

@JimE-t6r 1 year ago (edited)

Your videos are slow dripping doses of knowledge and wisdom. I try to listen to them in the background but they require me to stop and fully immerse in the words. Very insightful ideas as always about how the mind works. It is true, doing 1 thing or doing things slowly lets us savor the moments better. In today’s society, everything seems rushed! My daughter sometimes listens videos on 1.5 times speed, to save time. Imagine being able to “read” a poem in 1 blink. I don’t think the brain can fully grasp the emotions at that speed.

@heartfelt-journeys 8 months ago

Thank you so much for your videos for me they have been life changing and I've only watched three of them. I noticed that today when I cleaned the house I slowed down, not so much in a rush and moved the furniture around so it would flow better. I noticed my thoughts as I was doing it. I was more present like you said and when. I finished I realized that what you were saying was access to peace. It was a natural flow and undercurrent that I felt that I didn't realize I was looking for until I experienced it. Thank you!

@ad-ross 9 months ago

Keep up the great work. Subscribed

@lelasbeslaney7724 1 year ago (edited)

I kept trying to figure out why I need to pause so often, why I always find meaning and potential in calmness and observation. I struggle with doubt and the shame of not being "productive" even though I know in my heart that "productivity" in the mainstream sense is more often a prison….a trap. Thank you, this was very helpful!

@the.bonsai.samurai 11 months ago

There's something so special about your videos!! Thank you for sharing this wisdom! The Japanese culture and way of living is so beautiful, it always brings me some peace. 🙏🙏

@w.l.kampsen7461 1 year ago

Good Sir, I am a devote Christian, but everything you have said resonates strongly with my own faith. Your channel has been absolutely wonderful. It was the inspiration that I received through your channel that I now have a beautiful Japanese garden to work in, live in, and rest in. Japanese art now decorates my walls with all its wondrous asymmetry. Thank you for sharing with your living voice what we might have been forced to find through the drudgery of many books.

@stephanieburris 1 year ago

I'm a kitchen designer by trade and can attest to the fact that the best ideas come when you step away from a project and do something else (usually its when I am asleep). I can also tell you that most people think I can walk into a difficult space filled not only with poorly functioning caninetry but all of their junk everywhere and immediately have a plan, colors, finishes figured out before I leave. Most often I tell them I need to draw the space and empty it on paper (and in my mind) so I can c9me up with the best design possible and it always involves some empty space when it allows.

@alexroc172 9 months ago

The book "Optimal Experience Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness" by Mihayli and Isabella Csikszentmihalyi, published 1988 Cambridge University Press, is essential reading for all who are interested in Flow states.

@SidBarnhoorn 1 year ago

I’m a composer and at times, after a walk in the dunes here, I go into my studio and do ambient guitar meditations where I play my guitar and just go with the flow and let whatever comes happen naturally. It’s wonderful to just flow at that moment and usually it creates a place where I have no feeling of time. I sometimes upload these to my channel.

@ST-nc3gm 1 year ago

Captivating. Tranformational. I'm really enjoying your thought-provoking videos. Thank you.🙏

@lachlanlawrence2021 1 year ago

Thank you Josh. (Just purchased your book).Your videos have been a help through my divorce and depression. Your wisdom has made it to Australia and I am grateful to have found you.