Typical Jois of Life email with a mixed bag of content reccos
Your weekly dose of awesomeness
Hey, <<First Name>>!
Week was crazy as usual. However, the first paragraph of this week's email is not by me. It is by one of the readers of this email - let's call them - A.
'A' responded to my previous email and recommended that I try Vipassana meditation via the 10-day course. I've always been curious about it and have been waiting for a few things to get sorted out in my life before I give it a shot. So, I asked them for a description of the experience they've had so far. Here's what 'A' wrote:
"First course
My first course was in 2016, around July. What started out as a trip, ended up as a profound experience. I had a few trips with substances and my idea of meditation was just contemplation or some verbalization.
I couldn't stand the technique on the very second day. With the physical pain and endless thoughts, there is no other option but to quit. Few thoughts would never leave me, like, you get high on a substance in 20-30 mins and experience nibbanic peace, why suffer.
Somehow, I managed the next few days, but the thoughts were still endless. On the sixth day, my mind played the last trick to get me out.
I had this notion that I was sleepwalking. I tucked the mosquito net to the bed in a certain pattern to be sure that I wasn't going out in the night.
Later, on the sixth day morning, I realized that its the same mind which laid down the pattern. What if I went to the hall to meditate, and came back with the same pattern and the same thought. I freaked out. This is it.
I spoke with the teacher. He deduced the whole incident to just a thought. "Don't react to your thoughts".
Slowly it started making sense, that the more I react to thoughts, the faster they got multiplied.
"One day at a time" became my mantra for the rest of the days. The experience on the ninth and tenth day was phenomenal.
Second Course
Second course was on September 1st, 2018. Now that I was not practicing, I was counting on experiences.
First seven days were smooth. Though it was physically demanding to sit for long hours, I was mentally strong.
Eventually, the craving for experiences slowly started. I just couldn't forget that awareness and peace I had during the end of my first course, and the craving became intense.
Thoughts multiplied rapidly, and it was time to contact the teacher.
"I had this particular experience during the end of my first course, though I had not worked as hard as I did for the last eight days. My awareness level is so low that I cannot even feel my breath. I think I'm back to square one."
"What is square one?"
I couldn't argue. I couldn't speak. I bowed down to Guruji.
Accept the reality. Accept the law of nature, Aniccha. "
"Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier." - Dr. Randy Pausch
What I enjoyed reading this week:
1. Inadequacy on parade - Seth Godin on why it is okay to stop watching perfect, little highlights from other people's lives.
2. The lion's approach to stolen ideas - This is a fascinating piece on applying stoic philosophy to seemingly unfair situations and how posturing can help even the little guys win. This was a recommendation by a friend and mentor - @Bargava on Twitter.
3. On stories we tell - "What separates a story from an uninteresting collection of information?
John found a cat is information. John found Mary’s cat is a story. Brilliant, isn’t it?" - Lots of stuff that has already been said by YNH - but a good piece all the same.
On account of European Day of Languages today, my friends Ramya and Harsha present some interesting highlights from their recent talk on the diversity of Indian languages and compare how Europe and India handle their respective language diversities.
1. Interview of yours truly - A bunch of MBA students from Jain College interviewed me a couple of weekends ago about Eventosaur and our story so far. The 3 minute mark to the 30 minute mark involves me.
2. Yuval Noah Harari in conversation with Natalie Portman - Fascinating conversation about Yuval's previous work as well as his new book. The fact that Natalie Portman studied psychology at Harvard adds a whole new angle to the conversation.
3. TMK in the classroom - I thoroughly enjoyed this video of TM Krishna teaching his students Vignesh Ishwar and Rithvik Raja - the nuances of Reetigowla and Bhairavi via the concept of Neraval. Watch it if you're into Carnatic Classical music.
3. Dr Valter Longo on fasting and longevity - The first conversation between Dr Rhonda Patrick and Dr Valter Longo helped me ease into intermittent fasting - several months. This follow-up conversation is filled with great information and data on similar topics. Slightly hard to listen to because of the information density, but worth it.
Be my eyes - Recently installed this app that allows volunteers around the world to help those with visual impairments with everyday tasks. Beautiful concept and an example of tech being used for good.
That's it for this week. Thanks again for making the time to read this. I am, as always, open to suggestions.
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Love,
Nikhil
P.S: Any tips on how to get a MacBook's charging cable replaced in India? Looking for tips from personal experience. The more convenient the better.
