198. Therefore, it cannot be explained by a single word like "spiritual."

When you trace it back this far, explaining the modern "do-nothing" trend as being due to "spirituality" is almost meaningless. Within that, there are overlaps of religion, self-improvement, psychology, environmental thought, social movements, gender theory, anti-work ideology, consumer culture, marketing, SNS culture, communities, and a return to nature. Rather, it's better to consider it as an intersection of modern cultures.

199. If it were put on a single map, it would look like this.

If you compress everything extremely, it will become a map like this.

The First River - Realizing Desires

New Sort -> Subconscious -> Philosophy of Success -> Law of Attraction -> Attract -> "Receive".

The Second River: Religion and Eastern Thought

"Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi" + "Buddhism" + "Yoga" + "Vedanta" -> Reinterpreted by Western New Age movements -> Non-duality -> "Letting go," "There is nothing you need to do."

The Third River -- Counterculture

Hippies -> Communes -> Back-to-the-land movement -> Return to nature -> Natural farming / Permaculture -> Ecology / Hemp / Eco-village -> "Letting nature take its course" / "Leaving wage labor centered life"

The Fourth River - Self-Affirmation.

Psychology and self-improvement -> Be your true self -> Don't try too hard -> Separate achievements from self-worth -> "You have value simply by existing."

The Fifth River -- Femininity.

Female sexuality -> Acceptance -> Male = Giving / Female = Receiving -> Combination with Attraction -> Uterine system -> "Receive abundance without striving."

The Sixth River -- The Modern Market.

"SNS" + "Online salon" + "Seminar" + "Coaching" + "Influencer culture" -> Simplification of complex ideas -> Visualization of success stories -> Commercialization of the idea that "You can be rich without doing anything."

These six rivers converge at a place where there is modern spirituality that says, "You will be given everything even if you do nothing."

200. And it's not just about "where you came from."

The first question was, "Is this idea of Japanese origin, or is it from overseas?" However, as I investigated further, I realized that the question itself might need to be slightly modified.

This idea did not originate from a single thinker, one country, or one religion.

From the United States, we have things like Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), success philosophy, New Age thought, the Law of Attraction, and counterculture. From India, we have Yoga, Vedanta, and non-dualistic philosophies. From China, there is an old ideology called Laozi's Wuwei.

From Japan, influences include Zen Buddhism, natural farming, a unique spiritual world culture, self-improvement focused on "not trying too hard," and concepts related to femininity and the uterus. And ideas cross national borders repeatedly. Therefore, rather than searching for an "origin," it is more accurate to understand this idea by finding its "convergence point."

201. Japan may have been a significant "convergence point."

In that sense, Japan is a quite interesting place. It has embraced Western New Age ideas while also maintaining an affinity for Buddhism, Zen, Taoism, its natural worldview, and spiritual culture. These elements have been combined with the work ethic of the period of rapid economic growth, the economic stagnation after the bubble burst, self-help culture, the "healing" boom, and self-improvement programs targeted at women. Then, in the 2000s, the concept of "attraction" entered the scene. As a result, it is possible that a Japanese variation emerged, where success was more likely to be achieved by "stopping effort" rather than through hard work.

202. And there is also a possibility of leaving Japan again and going abroad.

Culture does not flow in one direction. Ideas that have been transformed in Japan can sometimes flow overseas through SNS, translation, residents living abroad, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms. On the other hand, in English-speaking countries, similar ideas such as "soft life," "feminine energy," and "effortless manifestation" have developed independently. In modern times, it has become difficult to simply determine which came first.

Ideas mix rapidly on the internet.

203. Therefore, modern spirituality is a "hybrid."

This is not a criticism. Culture, in essence, is basically a hybrid. Modern spirituality can be understood as a huge hybrid culture that combines the following elements.

• Religion.
• Philosophy.
• Psychology.
• Self-improvement.
• Environmental thought.
• Social movements.
• Marketing.
• SNS culture.

And because it is a hybrid, you cannot find a single doctrinal system.

204. The sender themselves may not know the lineage.

Furthermore, what is even more interesting is that the individuals who are currently saying things like "Just leave it to the universe" or "Everything will be okay without doing anything" may not necessarily have a systematic understanding of concepts such as Neo-Sort, Fukuoka Masanobu, Neo-Advaita, and 1960s counterculture. They receive fragments of these ideas from someone else's books, blogs, YouTube videos, seminars, friends, or social media posts, and combine them with their own experiences to share them. Therefore, it is better to think that ideologies are spreading not from author to author, but within the entire cultural sphere.

205. Therefore, it is often difficult to determine "who said it first" until the very end.

It might be possible to find the person who first said the phrase "something is given even if you do nothing." However, it is difficult to attribute the meaning that this word has today to a single individual. This is because concepts such as "doing nothing," "receiving," "universe," "nature," "as is," and "abundance" have gradually gathered from different places. This is more of a cultural accumulation than an invention.

206. The oldest layer and the newest layer.

It is easy to understand if you think of it like layers of sediment. The oldest layer contains Lao Tzu, trust in religious deities, and Indian non-dualistic thought. On top of that are Neo-Sotism, the subconscious mind, and success philosophy. Further on top are counterculture movements, New Age beliefs, and a return to nature. Then, concepts like "the law of attraction," self-affirmation, and femininity are added. Finally, SNS (social networking services), expensive seminars, online communities, and influencer culture are placed on top. What we see now is the surface that has been compressed from all these layers.

207. It seems strange when only looking at the surface, but it can be understood by examining its history.

On the surface, the idea that "the universe gives you money without doing anything" seems quite abrupt. However, if we trace over a century of ideological changes, it becomes understandable how such an idea emerged.

• Consciousness has power.

• → The universe and consciousness are connected.

• → It attracts the reality you desire.

• → Resisting hinders attraction.

• → Therefore, stop resisting.

• → Even trying hard is a form of resistance.

• → Therefore, don't try hard.

• → You have value simply by existing.

• → Because you have value, you are allowed to receive it.

• → Nature moves even without humans doing anything.

• → Life is the same; if you let go and follow the flow, it will work out.

• It is itself a distrust of the universe to try to manage things on your own.

• Things you need will be given to you even if you do nothing.

When looking at each paragraph individually, they all have some kind of ideological background. However, when you directly compare the first and last paragraphs, they almost seem to be expressing completely different ideologies.