The Amazons vs Us

Greek mythology describes Amazons- a female horse-rider tribe. Could there have been real tribes like them? What do I mean when I say tribes like them? It’s people who had a collective consciousness. They experienced themselves as part of a whole, without a sense of individuality. Like a flock of birds experience there journey.

They saw reality as akin to dreams. Things just appeared to them. Things like thoughts, smell, sound, speech. They didn’t strive to create a reality. Rather they lived each moment as is. This gave them wisdom beyond our comprehension. An individual neuron is impressive but its when they serve a single entity and join forces with thousands of other that they become truly powerful. Imagine hundreds of brains connecting in a similar way!

Without our technology we are not that impressive as an individual. But, people in these type of tribes could have been amazing entities without external supports. Just like a Zen master or a samurai, they could react fast and accurately to whatever challenge was in front of them. Did science and technology defeat them? Where are they now? Did their wisdom lose to our ego-centric conniving? Could they not anticipate our forest burning, mass bombing massacres? Or did they just elect to opt-out from existing in this ego-fest voluntarily?

The bee with fiery wings

There was a bee with no wings. It could conjure up wings of fire at will. Everyone hated her for that. But she was happy. She was happy because she was unique. There was no other like her and that made her happy.

A moth loved her, secretly. One day, the moth openly proposed to the bee. The bee was furious. She was too proud to ever be with a moth. The moth left silently.

One day he lit fire on his wings. The bee was impressed. She kissed the moth. The moth died. The bee wept. After weeping a little, she flew away. No body ever saw her again. Except, one day, there were little moths flying around- with fiery wings.

[ This is day one of- writing a ‘one page story’ everyday]

Here’s how I learned to play the guitar without a tutor

This is a model I use in everything I learn now. The internet is so full of information that a physical tutor is no longer necessary.

I bought my first guitar almost a decade age. I never enrolled in any learning program neither did I hire a tutor. Rather, I started to search how to play my favorite songs right away. I found websites with weird notations like chords and notes etc. and did not understand a thing. So, I googled everything I did not understand. Google found me videos that taught me how to play the G chord or D chord etc. So, I started with four basic chords- G, D, Em and C. This enabled me to play a song or two. But I didn’t know how to strum. So, I had to google that. And after watching a couple of videos and practicing for some time, I learned a basic strumming pattern. Voila! I was able to play my first song on guitar.

Next, I googled for another song that I loved. This song showed some weird chords called barre chords. I googled them. These were very painful to play as I had to really stretch my fingers. So, I searched for tips to make my fingers stronger. I found that guitar learners do some fingering exercises that stretches their grip. So, I practiced a couple of them for almost a week. After that, I was able to hold barre chords. They were still difficult to play. But It got easier as I kept playing them.

Once you learn one barre chord in guitar you can virtually play all the major and minor chords just by sliding up or down the fret board and readjusting one of your finger positions. So, soon I started to play all kinds of songs. I learned more strumming patterns. I learned how to keep up with the metronome and thus was able to play along with my friends who played other instruments.

The most important thing in learning anything is the actual doing part. Immerse yourself in the experience and google what you don’t know along the way. You will learn more efficiently than following a strict curriculum.

The Speed Reading Book is a miracle.

Want to read the whole newspaper in 10 minutes? Check. Trying to find something from a magazine in a hurry? Check. Never want to forget what you just studied? Check. Want to take super short notes yet cover everything from a course? Check. Want to reduce the time you study yet learn more? Check. The speed reading book by Tony Buzan has solid strategies to teach you all how to do all of the above!

The amount of topic this book covers is insane. It has chapters on mind maps, eye training, increasing vocabulary, skimming, paragraph structure, common reading problems, guiding techniques and a million tests! It teaches you how to count your WPM- words per minute. You can see improvements in your WPM and comprehension instantly as you complete one test after another.

This is the book each student should study as soon as possible. It improves memory along with reading speed- two of the most useful skills any student can have. There is no reason, and I repeat, absolutely no reason to put this book off for tomorrow. If you read on a daily basis, you better learn how to save time and yet remember what you read!

Each of us carry a brain. A big part of what we use it for is collecting information. But, how many of us stop and think about improving upon this ability? Trust me, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Neil Gaiman shares how he keeps writing day after day

Was listening to Neil Gaiman on the Tim Ferris show. I already admired the guy- for his silky voice, good looks, nuggets of wisdom from his masterclass and of course- his writing. This podcast didn’t change anything about that.

He shares an interesting secret here. It’s how he keeps producing so much content. I found the trick very practical yet amusing. Been giving it a try since I listened to him yesterday and trust me – it works!

He basically prepares for writing and sits down in his assigned place, blocking distractions. Then he tells himself that he has permission to write or NOT to write… but he can not do anything else.

Naturally his mind wanders around as writing can be boring and tedious if done day after day. But miraculously yet very much predictably, he picks up the pen and starts putting words onto the sheets. It turns out that, writing is more interesting than doing nothing.

Very practical insight indeed! Just show up to your work and give yourself permission to fidget around. But, avoid the slot-machine-like addictive YouTube, Facebook or any other entertaining stuff. Just be there- alone in the workplace. Sooner or later, your mind will start searching for more fun, and the only available fun is your work!

I can’t recommend ‘The power of now’ enough!

If I had to pick only one book as a lifelong companion, it’d be ‘The power of now’ by ‘Eckhart Tolle’.

Like wine, this book gets better as it ages. I’ve had this for almost seven years now. Throughout all those years, the book has shaped me in the best possible ways.

For, anyone interested in spirituality, ‘The power of now’ is the comprehensive beginner’s guide. For those who are anxious or depressed, this book could give some practical solutions.

Here are some invaluable gems I got out of this book. Enjoy!

1. Time isn’t real:

It isn’t a philosophical statement which is subject to individual judgement. Time literally does not exist. We made it up for convenience. When we think of the past, we do that now. Same goes to the future.

2. Inner Body awareness:

It is said that, Jesus ascended to heaven with his body. He never abandoned it. This saying marks the time period when humans started seeing the body as less of a hindrance to spirituality and more of an ally.

Inner body awareness is a great practice to not lose yourself amidst the chaos of life. Eckhart Tolle dedicated a whole chapter towards the inner body and talks about how your body could be a great vessel for being more present. If you are looking for an app to help you with inner body practices, I suggest Headspace. It has a whole different section about getting in touch with the body, and its really good.

3. Sound as a portal for presence:

Sound and silence, both can be great pointers to help us be more present. Listen to the various types of sound around you. Focus, and you will feel more present. An even better exercise is to listen to the silence. This will calm your mind down.

4. Anger management:

As a young adult, I used to complain a lot and get angry at my parents all the time. But as I kept practicing inner body awareness, I started to catch myself whenever I would start getting angry, I am calmer and more peaceful. If anger doesn’t serve a purpose, we have the choice to let it go. Mindfulness practices enable us to exercise that choice.

5. Your emotions are not ‘You’:

I’ve come to realize that my emotions are just chemical reactions inside my body. They influence my mood and fuel my thoughts. But they are not me. I don’t have to act upon them. I am not sad, I feel sad. I am not lazy; I just have a habit of laziness.

Obviously, I highly recommend this book to anyone. The world would be a better place if more people got some control over their ego. At a time when we are so disconnected with reality that we are ruining our own home planet and waging war against own species, this book is a must read to regain some sanity.

 

You should read ‘The War of Art’

For the lazy, unmotivated people, ‘The war of art’ is a must. For any aspiring artist, ‘The war of art’ is like a bible. For an up and coming entrepreneur, ‘The war of art’ is the missing piece of the puzzle. Steven Pressfield is not only a bestselling writer; he is a father figure to anyone who dares to dream.

‘The war of art’ is the type of book that hooks you from the first page. After finishing the book, it will become a lifelong companion, whose wisdom will guide you through most hardships.

‘The war of art’ is practical, yet spiritual. It deals with psychology, while it preaches a philosophy. It’s a non-fiction book, yet it has a hero, a villain, a father figure and a prize. – just like any typical adventure story.

‘The war of art’ literally portrays your life as an adventure story. Where you get a call for something great, a prize that you really really want. But, the villain (named resistance) keeps you from it. Only after character development does the hero get the prize ( turning pro).

On the other hand, it is the farthest from a fiction. It portrays reality as a harsh, crude place… stripping any glamour off of it. It promises no rewards without hardship. It is not even concerned with the rewards. Rather it tells you to show up, no matter what. It tells you how to turn pro.

You are a pro when you work at Starbucks or Walmart. Because, you show up every day. Are you a pro in your own business? In your artistic endeavours?

Is the afternoon good for anything?

(You can also watch on YouTube- How to Use Your Afternoons)

Ugh! The good for nothing afternoon. You want to do nothing but lie down and doze off. There is a best time to do everything. We know mornings are awesome and it’s the best time to do difficult things. We peak somewhere before 2 or 3 pm and then there’s a crash. Then comes the dreaded afternoon.
But, hold on. The afternoon has something great going for it. Notice how you can muster great ideas in the shower? Or, before sleep at night, when you are just changing sides frequently, trying hard to sleep? There’s a reason for this. These are the times when the brain switches to the diffused mode of thinking.
As Barbara Oakley points out in her outstanding course- ‘learning how to learn’, diffused mode is when we are less focused but able to make connections to a wider range of knowledge. In other words, this is when your creativity goes up. So, get busy with that paint brush, or your favorite fountain pen. Maybe strike on the keyboard, or perhaps your guitar strings. Whatever your creative path is, the afternoon is a great time to have an adventure there. Don’t do mentally taxing things in this time-period. It may not be the best time for you to study, research or code in Python. But it’s great if you want to write jokes for your next standup.
In a sense, the afternoon is a gift. This is when the Goddess of creative muse comes down from her throne and smiles at us!