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This has helped me a lot. Data (thoughts, emotions, sensations) can be very overwhelming. Practicing/reading this has helped me not get too invested in the sensations, which is kinda like stroking a snake, the head and the tail both lead to being bitten.
Apr 14, 2022
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This is (I think?) a form of meditation, but it's what I use to calm my mind, especially when I've woken up in the night and need to get back to sleep. I learned it from my favorite dance teacher who starts every class with this exercise. What you do is just tell yourself things, in sentence form, that are true about wherever you are right now. Majority of them should be sensory things. Like, "I feel my sweat pants on my leg." "I feel the heater blowing my hair." "I hear a car passing outside." "I see a gray sky." "I taste the apple pie I had for dessert." Just statements about what is true right now -- and this is the important part: WITHOUT COMMENTARY. Of course, because you have a human brain and this is what it is hard-wired to do, your will start supplying commentary anyway. So when that happens you just notice it, and absolutely don't judge it or anything, it's just another "fact of the moment" -- "that was commentary." You acknowledge the commentary and then go back to stating other (non-commentary) facts until the next bout of commentary, which you then acknowledge and move on from -- or until you fall asleep, which happens shockingly fast for me once I notice and move on from my first bout of commentary. Eventually you might feel like you've run out of facts so you can start saying the sentences over to yourself, with more space in them to take up more time, and somewhere in there, a sense of peace develops? A place where, just for a moment, thoughts get lulled into taking a break? I find that as soon as I notice that I'm in that peace, huge thoughts come FLOODING IN, and then I have to calmly and gently be like, "this is commentary. back to the facts." It's refreshing and it takes a very passive form of discipline, like, you should be as relaxed as possible -- lying on the floor or on a couch, not holding a single part of your body up, maybe eyes closed, total release, but not *total* because the thoughts do need to be guided -- not controlled, not judged, not even stopped. Just guided, like re-routing a little rivulet of water that's rolling down a hill.
Feb 11, 2024
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But specifically that part during longer guided meditations where theyâre taking you down and then they get quite deep down and then theyâre like
âjust so you know weâre taking you down a little more and youâre about to lose the mind-body connection but donât worry it will come back if you need it toâ
like Yes get this shit Off of me let my spirit free!
and then you feel kinda like youâre submerged in a vat of custard dense air and then youâre just a thought
lovely
Feb 8, 2025
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Start with doing yoga as a moving meditation. Yin Yoga or Yoga Nidra might be a very soft introduction to bring your mind & body into a meditative state. Lie down at the end, take your time and start appreciating Shavasana.
Start feeling every body part at once by simply putting all your mental energy & thoughts into a specific area of your body. Start with your feet, move on to your knees, your stomach, chest, arms, fingers. End with your head. Start to feel thoughts as clouds passing by. After some tries you find your mind empty, released & at ease.
Every time is different. Some times it will feel very easy, on some days you wonât feel it working at all - But still you stopped 5 minutes from doing whatsoever, switched off your brain for a bit. It will help you feel calm on the long run đ
Mar 20, 2024
Top Recs from @barrett-avner
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I love living in Texas. I get that maybe it doesnât have the best reputation as a place for âcreativesâ, but I think the distance can be very beneficial. I like the open sky, lakes, bbq, and the people Iâve met here. What's that Leonardo DaVinci quote â Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look upâ. I grew up near the pacific ocean and always disliked the beach. It always felt sad to me for some reason. A lot of people here who just kind of do their own thing. The pressure from places that demand explanations, discourse, âa reason for why you do thingsâ, I think leaving that mostly behind has helped a lot personally.
Apr 14, 2022
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Legend has it this manual was found in 1986 by an employee at Boeing inside an IBM printer being sold for scrap parts. It outlines how the credit system is predicated on population reduction. It has a lot of charts and diagrams that show how consumers are misled by manufactured causes and events. I have no idea if this is made up or not. It could be like the Voynich manuscripts, which have basically been debunked as totally fake. Honestly I think made up documents are cool. It's all just interesting to me.
Apr 14, 2022
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I got this book at the Museum of Jurassic Technology when I was 19. It was written by a homeless MIT grad who would staple pamphlets of prose philosophy around UCLA in the 90âs. Itâs kind of a precursor to a lot of what you see on twitter these days, schizoposting, etc. Iâve always been inspired by guys like this, another interesting guy was Shea Zellweger. If youâre like me you sometimes get an impulse to exclude yourself from group activities, alienate yourself, etc. I like how committed he was to writing and posting this stuff.
Apr 14, 2022