Think before you act: it’s familiar advice. But that isn’t the advice you’ll get from The World’s Most Difficult Thought. Instead, you’ll learn how good not thinking can be for your life – mentally, physically and creatively.

For centuries, Japanese art and martial arts have sought out ways to refine humanity, and their essence lies in the concept of mushin. Mushin means empty thought and is the highest level achievable in Zen Buddhism and the martial arts. Empty thought was also a crucial part of Samurai life because the heightened state we achieve when we succeed in thinking of nothing can mean the difference between victory and death on the battlefield. There is gold in empty thoughts, but if you try, you’ll quickly discover how difficult it is to do something as simple as not thinking.

The World’s Most Difficult Thought takes you on a journey via Japanese culture and modern science into the realm of empty thought. A universe where far more is possible than you may have imagined: if you’re going to get more done, you must do less. And what happens if you work to suppress your ego?