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When No Thing Works: A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse
Spiritual and community lessons for embracing collective care, co-creating sustainable worlds, and responsibly meeting uncertain futures—a Zen and Indigenous take on building better, more balanced ways of being
For readers of Hospicing Modernity, When Things Fall Apart, and Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
Talking story, weaving poetry, and offering wisdom at the intersections of strategy, politics, and spiritual activism, When No Thing Works is a visionary guide to co-creating new worlds from one in crisis. It asks into the ways we can live well and maintain our wholeness in an era of collective acceleration: the swiftly moving current, fed and shaped by human actions, that sweeps us toward ever uncertain futures. Grounded in Zen Buddhism, interconnection, and decades of community activism, When No Thing Works explores questions like:
- As we stand at a threshold of collective change, what leaps must we make?
- How can we push through discord and polarization and meet these critical changepoints collectively?
- What practices, strategies, and spiritualities can align to vision a sustainable future for our communities and descendents?
- How can we step out of urgency to tend to our crises with wisdom, intention, and care?
With wise and witty prose that wanders and turns, guides and reveals, Zen master and Indigenous Hawaiian leader Rōshi Norma Wong’s meditation holds our collective moment with gravity and tender care. She asks us to not only imagine but to live into a story beyond crisis and collapse—one that expands to meet our dreams of what (we hope) comes next, while facing with clarity and grace our here and now in the world we share today.
For readers of Hospicing Modernity, When Things Fall Apart, and Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
Talking story, weaving poetry, and offering wisdom at the intersections of strategy, politics, and spiritual activism, When No Thing Works is a visionary guide to co-creating new worlds from one in crisis. It asks into the ways we can live well and maintain our wholeness in an era of collective acceleration: the swiftly moving current, fed and shaped by human actions, that sweeps us toward ever uncertain futures. Grounded in Zen Buddhism, interconnection, and decades of community activism, When No Thing Works explores questions like:
- As we stand at a threshold of collective change, what leaps must we make?
- How can we push through discord and polarization and meet these critical changepoints collectively?
- What practices, strategies, and spiritualities can align to vision a sustainable future for our communities and descendents?
- How can we step out of urgency to tend to our crises with wisdom, intention, and care?
With wise and witty prose that wanders and turns, guides and reveals, Zen master and Indigenous Hawaiian leader Rōshi Norma Wong’s meditation holds our collective moment with gravity and tender care. She asks us to not only imagine but to live into a story beyond crisis and collapse—one that expands to meet our dreams of what (we hope) comes next, while facing with clarity and grace our here and now in the world we share today.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2024
102 people are currently reading
865 people want to read
About the author
Norma Wong
3 books13 followersNorma Wong (Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi) is a Native Hawaiian and Hakka life-long resident of Hawaiʻi. She is the abbot of Anko-in, an independent branch temple of Daihonzan Chozen-ji and serves practice communities in Hawai‘i, across the continental U.S., and in Toronto, Canada. She is an 86th generation Zen Master, having trained at Chozen-ji for over 40 years.
In earlier years, Wong served as a Hawai‘i state legislator, on the policy and strategy team for Governor John Waihee with federal and Native Hawaiian portfolios. She led teams to negotiate agreements on the munitions cleanup of Kahoʻolawe Island, ceded land revenue for Native Hawaiians, and the return of lands and settlement of land issues for Hawaiian Home Lands. She was active in electoral politics for over thirty years.
In recent years, Wong has been called back into service to facilitate breaking the impasse and transforming policy and governance on issues of seeming contradiction. In the conflict between native culture/science and western discovery science posing as a dispute over the construction of a telescope on Mauna Kea, Wong was a team member narrating and facilitating a path forward through mutual stewardship. She is currently an advisor to Speaker of the Hawai‘i House of Representatives Scott Saiki, serving in policy development and facilitation roles on issues such as the protection of the aquifer from fuel contamination at Red Hill, and the long-term response to the Lahaina wildfires.
Norma has spent many years in the applied space – the direct application of indigenous and Zen ways, values and practices to living and transformational change critical to our times. Norma is part of the Collective Acceleration community of practice.
In earlier years, Wong served as a Hawai‘i state legislator, on the policy and strategy team for Governor John Waihee with federal and Native Hawaiian portfolios. She led teams to negotiate agreements on the munitions cleanup of Kahoʻolawe Island, ceded land revenue for Native Hawaiians, and the return of lands and settlement of land issues for Hawaiian Home Lands. She was active in electoral politics for over thirty years.
In recent years, Wong has been called back into service to facilitate breaking the impasse and transforming policy and governance on issues of seeming contradiction. In the conflict between native culture/science and western discovery science posing as a dispute over the construction of a telescope on Mauna Kea, Wong was a team member narrating and facilitating a path forward through mutual stewardship. She is currently an advisor to Speaker of the Hawai‘i House of Representatives Scott Saiki, serving in policy development and facilitation roles on issues such as the protection of the aquifer from fuel contamination at Red Hill, and the long-term response to the Lahaina wildfires.
Norma has spent many years in the applied space – the direct application of indigenous and Zen ways, values and practices to living and transformational change critical to our times. Norma is part of the Collective Acceleration community of practice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 22, 2024
This tiny book packs a punch. It has already changed my perspective on life in a few significant ways. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. It contains poetry and stories and visual aids. Parts of it are stream of conscious and others are well-ordered lists. But I am coming around to the idea that it is precisely the unconventional format which is allowing it to create shifts. Huge thanks to the author, North Atlantic Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.
When No Thing Works is part spiritual guide and part activist checklist. It uses odd sentence structures and interesting wordplays to slip between, under, and over the reader's defenses. If you, like me, read at the intersection of spirituality, self-help, community care, and politics, it is easy to eventually become numb, inured, to what should be life-giving ideas. This little book gave me back a sense of wonder and curiosity. It felt new. Not that the ideas themselves are new. But they are presented in a way which lets me see them with fresh eyes.
Ideas I want to take from this book and incorporate into my own narrative: 1. The importance of recognizing and naming one's own lens. 2. Moving my horizon "seven generations" out. 3. The value of stories. 4. Identifying values and responsibilities. 5. Identifying habits which might be detrimental to moving forward. 6. Adopting helpful practices. 7. Focus - this is the one which I find difficult. I tend to want to do all the things and save all the people (and puppies and whales and prairies).
I screenshot pages and sent them to friends. I talked to everyone about the book while I was reading it. I will obviously be buying When No Thing Works when it is published so I can highlight and annotate a paper copy. I have already reread many parts. This book slipped under my skin in the best way possible and I hope it encourages, inspires, and challenges you as well.
When No Thing Works is part spiritual guide and part activist checklist. It uses odd sentence structures and interesting wordplays to slip between, under, and over the reader's defenses. If you, like me, read at the intersection of spirituality, self-help, community care, and politics, it is easy to eventually become numb, inured, to what should be life-giving ideas. This little book gave me back a sense of wonder and curiosity. It felt new. Not that the ideas themselves are new. But they are presented in a way which lets me see them with fresh eyes.
Ideas I want to take from this book and incorporate into my own narrative: 1. The importance of recognizing and naming one's own lens. 2. Moving my horizon "seven generations" out. 3. The value of stories. 4. Identifying values and responsibilities. 5. Identifying habits which might be detrimental to moving forward. 6. Adopting helpful practices. 7. Focus - this is the one which I find difficult. I tend to want to do all the things and save all the people (and puppies and whales and prairies).
I screenshot pages and sent them to friends. I talked to everyone about the book while I was reading it. I will obviously be buying When No Thing Works when it is published so I can highlight and annotate a paper copy. I have already reread many parts. This book slipped under my skin in the best way possible and I hope it encourages, inspires, and challenges you as well.
November 7, 2024
a quick and impactful read on a tragic day. in this short book, i was searching for something to help me make sense of what may be on the american horizon - while i didn't find peace, i did find alternative ways of thinking - in times like these i suppose they could be one in the same
February 13, 2025
Exactly the book I needed to read right now. If you are thinking about how to create transformational change in this fraught moment, Wong Roshi’s writing might be just what you need too.
July 25, 2025
A short book of helpful insights into moving forward. I am sure I will return to this frequently.
May 5, 2025
A wise and airy read, there were some really nice bits in this slim volume. I especially appreciated Wong’s writing on how time and history are like an ocean current that sometimes pulls us in much faster than we expect. Her reflections on the importance of rest and processing as essential to progress were also welcome, as were her reflections about how each person is situated within what she calls a “timeplace” (a term that is perhaps not new, but was at least new to me).
Best of all was Wong’s instruction to envision the far horizon of our future — to think about who comes after us seven generations now — and to imagine what we want for them as a compass for our own times. She means really visualize — what they might see, smell, eat, do, feel, hear, and talk about at a gathering hundreds of years from now if we get it right. It’s an exercise that I will remember.
For me, the book did feel a bit fleeting. It was very short and had a musing sort of atmosphere. So, pleasant and intriguing and meaningful, yes. It was slow on purpose. It was slim on purpose. It communicates a great deal and has plainly had an immense impact on other readers. Still, for me, it was a bit leaner than I had hoped for.
Best of all was Wong’s instruction to envision the far horizon of our future — to think about who comes after us seven generations now — and to imagine what we want for them as a compass for our own times. She means really visualize — what they might see, smell, eat, do, feel, hear, and talk about at a gathering hundreds of years from now if we get it right. It’s an exercise that I will remember.
For me, the book did feel a bit fleeting. It was very short and had a musing sort of atmosphere. So, pleasant and intriguing and meaningful, yes. It was slow on purpose. It was slim on purpose. It communicates a great deal and has plainly had an immense impact on other readers. Still, for me, it was a bit leaner than I had hoped for.
February 10, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and North Atlantic Books for the chance to read and review this.
This feels more like an essay with big sections, mostly because the book is like 122 pages long, with around 20 pages dedicated to people praising the author. I do feel like that's already overkill.
As a whole, Norma Wong has an interesting way of writing, but it doesn't feel like she's saying much as all. It feels like someone used their notes app to ponder and then published that. I know it's terrible, but this woman has legitimately worked in policy. She can include so much on tangible things that work and help communities, but just wrote this. I do legitimately feel like someone around her pushed for the wrong thing and led her to believe this was a good idea.
She seems like a lovely person though
This feels more like an essay with big sections, mostly because the book is like 122 pages long, with around 20 pages dedicated to people praising the author. I do feel like that's already overkill.
As a whole, Norma Wong has an interesting way of writing, but it doesn't feel like she's saying much as all. It feels like someone used their notes app to ponder and then published that. I know it's terrible, but this woman has legitimately worked in policy. She can include so much on tangible things that work and help communities, but just wrote this. I do legitimately feel like someone around her pushed for the wrong thing and led her to believe this was a good idea.
She seems like a lovely person though
November 22, 2024
Too deep and too shallow all at once.
December 29, 2024
I appreciate the overall vision and message of the book. The writing style was not for me. The book takes its time and illustrates most of the ideas through subtle story telling. It's a rather short book and doesn't offer as much content as a book by Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hahn, Alan Watts, etc. Everyone else seems to like it, so I may set it down and try reading it again another time. I heard the author speak about the book in person at a local store, and was impressed. Maybe it's about her unconventional writing style and my preference for other Buddhist writers.
August 28, 2025
I probably need to come back and review this again after more time has passed.
This is another book where I honestly think I’ve only been able to get tiny glimpses into the full scope of it. The author is Indigenous Hawaiian/zen master and normally delivers all of her teachings via in person story telling. In writing this book, one goal she had was to mimic that flow in the writing. The flow and the content seemed so foreign to how I know how to think and learn that often I felt at a loss to grasp what was being said. By the way, I do not at this time consider it a flaw with the book, but rather sort of a largely unbridgeable (at least by me, at least at this time) distance between what I know how to know and to imagine and dream and what the author is encouraging us to know and imagine and dream.
The author is addressing the hopelessness and helplessness that (many) feel in these times, after we’ve tried (perhaps) organizing and other plans to “change the world” with little or no success. In fact the opposite of success: it seems like we are watching things spiral into chaos and darkness despite our most fervent wishes and best efforts.
She speaks of the far horizon, the human quotient, the crisis point, and the slipstream. She addresses how to move forward with and without others. She speaks of physical knowingness and doingness. And it makes sense *sort of*. It feels like guidance *in a certain way*. But it also feels confusing and left me asking the question many times “but how?!” And even still, as soon as I asked it, I remembered bits from the practices chapter, and the habits chapter, and saw that again my eyes had become focused on the near horizon.
I guess I would say in summary that even understanding this book feels like a practice of its own. It’s a book I need to think about for a long time and let it bypass my fact-seeking mind and settle into my bones. It sparked lots of good conversation and even relationship in my little book discussion group, and though it often seemed unrelated, I don’t believe that it was. I believe reading the book in common opened up the space for those particular conversations and relational moments to happen.
Would I recommend it? Only if you’re okay not having the wisdom delivered door-dash style at the end with a receipt and a money back guarantee. If you’re okay wading in waters that are unfamiliar and therefore can feel murky just to see what is there, then yes. But remember that it’s a discipline to read works written in another thought way and another knowledge way than your own. Well worth it if it’s what you want and are willing to do.
This is another book where I honestly think I’ve only been able to get tiny glimpses into the full scope of it. The author is Indigenous Hawaiian/zen master and normally delivers all of her teachings via in person story telling. In writing this book, one goal she had was to mimic that flow in the writing. The flow and the content seemed so foreign to how I know how to think and learn that often I felt at a loss to grasp what was being said. By the way, I do not at this time consider it a flaw with the book, but rather sort of a largely unbridgeable (at least by me, at least at this time) distance between what I know how to know and to imagine and dream and what the author is encouraging us to know and imagine and dream.
The author is addressing the hopelessness and helplessness that (many) feel in these times, after we’ve tried (perhaps) organizing and other plans to “change the world” with little or no success. In fact the opposite of success: it seems like we are watching things spiral into chaos and darkness despite our most fervent wishes and best efforts.
She speaks of the far horizon, the human quotient, the crisis point, and the slipstream. She addresses how to move forward with and without others. She speaks of physical knowingness and doingness. And it makes sense *sort of*. It feels like guidance *in a certain way*. But it also feels confusing and left me asking the question many times “but how?!” And even still, as soon as I asked it, I remembered bits from the practices chapter, and the habits chapter, and saw that again my eyes had become focused on the near horizon.
I guess I would say in summary that even understanding this book feels like a practice of its own. It’s a book I need to think about for a long time and let it bypass my fact-seeking mind and settle into my bones. It sparked lots of good conversation and even relationship in my little book discussion group, and though it often seemed unrelated, I don’t believe that it was. I believe reading the book in common opened up the space for those particular conversations and relational moments to happen.
Would I recommend it? Only if you’re okay not having the wisdom delivered door-dash style at the end with a receipt and a money back guarantee. If you’re okay wading in waters that are unfamiliar and therefore can feel murky just to see what is there, then yes. But remember that it’s a discipline to read works written in another thought way and another knowledge way than your own. Well worth it if it’s what you want and are willing to do.
January 9, 2025
Though this is a “short” book, it demands - as a practice — that you slow way down to read it. And that you show up with a reverence for: possibility; the not-knowing mind; and understanding that you’re sitting at the feet of a teacher who teaches DEEPLY and rigorously and emmergently. If you are willing to allow Roshi’s work to disorient you, there are generations and generations of wisdom within the pages. But you will need to surrender, and embrace confusion, and resist your own status quo (whatever that might be for you) ways of processing, and be willing to go slow enough (and slower than that) to allow the wisdom here to penetrate who you are and how you move through the world.
November 14, 2024
In these times marked by constant threats of despair, hatred, authoritarian control, and climate doom, different perspectives and worldviews can lead to revitalizing habits and practices. "When No Thing Works" by Norma Kaweloku Wong Roshi, a Rinzai Zen priest and native Hawaiian community leader, offers a courageous speculative approach to building collective efforts of resilience and resistance. Drawing from her decades-long experiences in policy work, Wong emphasizes the power of imagination in co-creating sustainable solutions and shaping our future amid the certainty of collapse. When disruption and discontent are the status quo, there are ways to approach social problems through practices and strategies that center oneness, cooperation and collective thriving.
As a student of Zen Buddhism and a lifelong seeker on the path of decolonization, I was excited to read this book. Wong’s profound insights reflect the metaphysical aspects of Zen as she discusses timeplace and slipstream. The Indigenous values of sustainability and responsibility to each other have relevant applications to our current contexts and challenges.
While "When No Thing Works" shares applicable tenets of both Indigenous and Zen traditions, it does so without being prescriptive. The lessons of interdependence and meeting uncertainty with anticipation and hopefulness would be particularly relevant to activists and movement-builders, empowering them to interpret and apply these lessons in their unique contexts.
As a student of Zen Buddhism and a lifelong seeker on the path of decolonization, I was excited to read this book. Wong’s profound insights reflect the metaphysical aspects of Zen as she discusses timeplace and slipstream. The Indigenous values of sustainability and responsibility to each other have relevant applications to our current contexts and challenges.
While "When No Thing Works" shares applicable tenets of both Indigenous and Zen traditions, it does so without being prescriptive. The lessons of interdependence and meeting uncertainty with anticipation and hopefulness would be particularly relevant to activists and movement-builders, empowering them to interpret and apply these lessons in their unique contexts.
August 19, 2025
The title caught my eye because it certainly sometimes feels like this at times. I had never heard of the author, but was intrigued at her background and wanted to read what a Zen and Native Hawaiian perspective would be. When it seems like it is all falling apart, when we need to build new ways of being and working, and pushing through the hard times, this seemed like a view like this is needed.
In a bunch of poems, what feels like blog posts, poems, etc. Wong talks about various things: for what it could like, reminders of what matters, of how to push through. Sometimes it is just regular prose, sometimes it is in a stream of consciousness. But depending on your point of view, you might find it useful when Wong talks about identifying your lens of viewing the world to what practices may work, what needs changing and what needs updating.
Ultimately, though, I don't think the book really worked for me. Some of it resonated but sometimes it didn't. I am not for the stream of consciousness or the poems, etc. It felt like it was a mishmash of things half-baked as well as some items that really hit hard.
Some people will really like it (and did) and others won't. It is a relatively short book so it does not take a long time to work through.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
In a bunch of poems, what feels like blog posts, poems, etc. Wong talks about various things: for what it could like, reminders of what matters, of how to push through. Sometimes it is just regular prose, sometimes it is in a stream of consciousness. But depending on your point of view, you might find it useful when Wong talks about identifying your lens of viewing the world to what practices may work, what needs changing and what needs updating.
Ultimately, though, I don't think the book really worked for me. Some of it resonated but sometimes it didn't. I am not for the stream of consciousness or the poems, etc. It felt like it was a mishmash of things half-baked as well as some items that really hit hard.
Some people will really like it (and did) and others won't. It is a relatively short book so it does not take a long time to work through.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
November 26, 2024
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is very helpful for the increased stressors of the modern world while connecting us to older spiritual practices and communities. I found the bits of poetry beautiful and the illustrations were helpful additions to the text.
March 19, 2025
Edit to update 3/18/25
I read through this a second time and had the book club discussion tonight. There is definitely some alchemy in this book that I was better prepared to receive the second time through. I'm excited by the perspectives and how I can apply the framework to my relationships and strategic planning for both work and my personal life.
Org thoughts 3/11/25
Read this for my BCBC (beloved community book club) And while it is brief, it may be the most challenging perspective on movement building and change I've read to date. The format was conversational, lyrical, humorous, and, for me, abstract or perhaps lacking the type of structure I'm used to. Which is probably the point of ingesting this indigenous perspective, which is so very different than my existing perspective/experience.
Lots of annotation and notes with this read. Looking forward to discussing it and may come back with additional insight/understandings.
I read through this a second time and had the book club discussion tonight. There is definitely some alchemy in this book that I was better prepared to receive the second time through. I'm excited by the perspectives and how I can apply the framework to my relationships and strategic planning for both work and my personal life.
Org thoughts 3/11/25
Read this for my BCBC (beloved community book club) And while it is brief, it may be the most challenging perspective on movement building and change I've read to date. The format was conversational, lyrical, humorous, and, for me, abstract or perhaps lacking the type of structure I'm used to. Which is probably the point of ingesting this indigenous perspective, which is so very different than my existing perspective/experience.
Lots of annotation and notes with this read. Looking forward to discussing it and may come back with additional insight/understandings.
December 13, 2024
Five stars for its importance at this juncture. The writing does not always flow in a way that would earn five stars - except that Norma comes from an oral tradition and that was beautifully translated into this book.
January 1, 2025
This book is the game plan for the future. If we want a better future, we have to first speak it into existence, and understand that it is worth the effort of starting now even though we won't see the full results/benefits in this generation, or the next. Steadying and galvanizing.
Read
January 28, 2025This was not the book I expected. Despite it's short length, it still felt very dense and I felt a little lost. Maybe I'm just so new to the world of activism- especially from a Zen perspective, but I decided to put this one down for now.
February 6, 2025
Very dense the first 35 pages or so and a meandering style of writing I had to get used to but fabulous book and I finished feeling like I had a sense of how to find light and advance progress even in times of crisis.
February 23, 2025
I read this book with competing waves of grief and inspiration. My copy is dog eared and underlined, and I will come back to this over and over. Want to borrow it? We can share tea and discuss it together.
We must remember, we have a choice to leap toward thriving interdependence.
We must remember, we have a choice to leap toward thriving interdependence.
October 10, 2025
Listened to the audio and honestly my mind kept drifting, think it was a bit too stream of consciousness for me to get much out of it. But didn't want to rate it really low as I feel it was my issue.
November 8, 2024
I read this from a leadership perspective and it’s perfect, the universe dropped it in my lap at the perfect time 💫
Read
November 29, 2024Chapters 7 through 10, and the Living in Mutuality: Governance & Stewardship infographic (around page 44) are particularly compelling.
January 9, 2025
Great illustrations from the Great Norma on how Zen and strategy interface with our real problem solving in politics and policy. She helped me zoom way out and look farther into the horizon.
February 26, 2025
This surprisingly took a long time to finish. A lot to consider. A book I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
March 3, 2025
Exceptional. One of those gems that invites the reader to pause, spin it, and examine it again. I found myself reading the same paragraph over and over. I'm very grateful to have read this.
March 21, 2025
Uplifting perspective on what is going on in the world. Definitely worth the read. I am going to reread to see what I can pull from this a second time.
April 15, 2025
A very timely book written from a really interesting perspective.
August 3, 2025
its short, but useful. little handbook in some ways. I like the framing around habits, practice, strategy, lots of inspiration
August 28, 2025
Gracias maestra 🙌🏽
September 9, 2025
love love thus book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews