trying/not trying

I spend a lot of my time trying to understand things. People, ideas, images, structures: I contemplate and dissect and question and review. But maybe this is a largely foolish way to spend my time. Maybe I should let time pass by, and let my mind rest and become "automatic." Cy Twombly used to sketch in the dark. Paul Bowles used what he called "automatic writing," a technique of turning off the conscious brain (although I am not quite sure how that is accomplished) and writing from the subconscious. Buddhism suggests a kind of existential neutrality. I am fascinated by this idea, but it does not seem at all practical. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. Any suggestions?