This is a business post. Down to business. No nonsense. Business time.
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Monday, December 28, 2015
Projectile Vomiting while Driving Cross Country: A Study in Gratitude. Part 1
So, this last week:
Drove from Connecticut to Maryland, to my sister's house for Christmas. Spent time with the sis, and played with her kids (five and two) while she, and my parents, took care of things for the coming third baby (due right around the new year.) The two year old spent much of the first day running around naked, scratching her butt and putting her butt-smell hands all over everything while I cringed inwardly.
I'm waaaaaaaay more comfortable with little children now, after a teacher training and several of the SSE children's classes I've sat in on and helped teach as an assistant. There's certainly further to go though in the confidence department, especially with toddlers. The whole waste management aspect of childcare still gives me deer in headlights syndrome, but I at least now have confidence that, faced with the necessity and responsibility, I will overcome that discomfort as well and learn how to handle poop like a champ.
I later found out that the two year old might have had a stomach thing that was passing through the household and had already landed on my dad. I seemed to have dodged the bullet, and left the third day, starting the drive to Iowa. I stopped near dinner time and got some cheddar filled pretzel bites at Auntie Annie's at a service plaza along the way, and then pulled into an Econo Lodge for the night.
Let me interject some sage wisdom at this point: NEVER EAT AUNTIE ANNIE'S CHEDDAR FILLED PRETZEL BITES OH GOD PLEASE NO WHY!? THE PAIN WHY!!!?
Perhaps it was because I was currently successfully fighting off a stomach bug. Perhaps it was food poisoning. For certain, I was curled up in the bed, cursing the breach in my no fast food policy, feeling all sorts of interesting things happening in and around my stomach. I tossed and turned all night, sweating (because I cranked the heat up all the way and put a neck warmer on my head) and contemplating the pros and cons of vomiting. Not much sleep, but what I did get gave me some very interesting and vivid dreams.
I got up well before the sun rose, since I wasn't getting much sleep anyways, bought some Tums or something, orange juice, smart water, and curled up into a ball in the driver's seat with the cruise control on so I didn't have to keep my foot on the gas peddle. The tums made it worse. The smart water made it worse, the orange juice, in small quantities, did not make it worse, so I stuck with that, because I was getting a throbbing rhythm going in my head from dehydration.
Then, with a few stops to pass out for some sick-cat naps, I drove ten hours cross country, got to my aunt's house, and immediately passed out in bed.
So, I'm in Fairfield now! Only till January fifth (or thereabouts)! Act fast while supplies last!
There's a bit more to this story but it gets philosophical so I'll end it here for those who just want the basic news. I'll have a link at the bottom of this to my more think-y blog where I'll post the whole story (In two parts so you don't have to re-read the first bit.)
So, if you want to find out why it's called "A Study in Gratitude" click here for Part 2
(Funny post note: as I was posting part two, I realized that, though I've written seven or so posts for this 'thinky' blog, they are all in draft form. So I actually have zero. except for the one I just posted.
By the way, Part 2 ended up being a bit long. Ironic, likely the amount of people who will actually view what I write will go down inversely to the amount of time I put into writing something, because who has the time, really? No matter. It wanted to be written.
Consider it an apology for those who forlornly missed having something to read this weekend. Now you have all the things to read, forever!
And for those who impatiently cursed my tardiness, consider it punishment. Mwahahahaha! You want words? I'll give you words. Dump truck of words to the face! HAAAAAAAAAA!
I suppose I'll have to finish editing and post all those other drafts now too, since people actually know about it finally. At some point it will have a cool picture as the header for the blog. Already designed in my head, just needs to get out of there onto paper. (and now I have something else to write. I appear to have popped the word/idea tank in my psychic storehouse and now they are gushing out non-stop.)
OK. The end. Of part one. I don't ever recall seeing a five paragraph parenthetical before now. But I just did that. hum.
Drove from Connecticut to Maryland, to my sister's house for Christmas. Spent time with the sis, and played with her kids (five and two) while she, and my parents, took care of things for the coming third baby (due right around the new year.) The two year old spent much of the first day running around naked, scratching her butt and putting her butt-smell hands all over everything while I cringed inwardly.
I'm waaaaaaaay more comfortable with little children now, after a teacher training and several of the SSE children's classes I've sat in on and helped teach as an assistant. There's certainly further to go though in the confidence department, especially with toddlers. The whole waste management aspect of childcare still gives me deer in headlights syndrome, but I at least now have confidence that, faced with the necessity and responsibility, I will overcome that discomfort as well and learn how to handle poop like a champ.
I later found out that the two year old might have had a stomach thing that was passing through the household and had already landed on my dad. I seemed to have dodged the bullet, and left the third day, starting the drive to Iowa. I stopped near dinner time and got some cheddar filled pretzel bites at Auntie Annie's at a service plaza along the way, and then pulled into an Econo Lodge for the night.
Let me interject some sage wisdom at this point: NEVER EAT AUNTIE ANNIE'S CHEDDAR FILLED PRETZEL BITES OH GOD PLEASE NO WHY!? THE PAIN WHY!!!?
Perhaps it was because I was currently successfully fighting off a stomach bug. Perhaps it was food poisoning. For certain, I was curled up in the bed, cursing the breach in my no fast food policy, feeling all sorts of interesting things happening in and around my stomach. I tossed and turned all night, sweating (because I cranked the heat up all the way and put a neck warmer on my head) and contemplating the pros and cons of vomiting. Not much sleep, but what I did get gave me some very interesting and vivid dreams.
I got up well before the sun rose, since I wasn't getting much sleep anyways, bought some Tums or something, orange juice, smart water, and curled up into a ball in the driver's seat with the cruise control on so I didn't have to keep my foot on the gas peddle. The tums made it worse. The smart water made it worse, the orange juice, in small quantities, did not make it worse, so I stuck with that, because I was getting a throbbing rhythm going in my head from dehydration.
Then, with a few stops to pass out for some sick-cat naps, I drove ten hours cross country, got to my aunt's house, and immediately passed out in bed.
So, I'm in Fairfield now! Only till January fifth (or thereabouts)! Act fast while supplies last!
There's a bit more to this story but it gets philosophical so I'll end it here for those who just want the basic news. I'll have a link at the bottom of this to my more think-y blog where I'll post the whole story (In two parts so you don't have to re-read the first bit.)
So, if you want to find out why it's called "A Study in Gratitude" click here for Part 2
(Funny post note: as I was posting part two, I realized that, though I've written seven or so posts for this 'thinky' blog, they are all in draft form. So I actually have zero. except for the one I just posted.
By the way, Part 2 ended up being a bit long. Ironic, likely the amount of people who will actually view what I write will go down inversely to the amount of time I put into writing something, because who has the time, really? No matter. It wanted to be written.
Consider it an apology for those who forlornly missed having something to read this weekend. Now you have all the things to read, forever!
And for those who impatiently cursed my tardiness, consider it punishment. Mwahahahaha! You want words? I'll give you words. Dump truck of words to the face! HAAAAAAAAAA!
I suppose I'll have to finish editing and post all those other drafts now too, since people actually know about it finally. At some point it will have a cool picture as the header for the blog. Already designed in my head, just needs to get out of there onto paper. (and now I have something else to write. I appear to have popped the word/idea tank in my psychic storehouse and now they are gushing out non-stop.)
OK. The end. Of part one. I don't ever recall seeing a five paragraph parenthetical before now. But I just did that. hum.
Monday, December 21, 2015
proactive probiotics
Friday night. It's not late. Yet. But I really need to go to sleep now. I was getting sick and by just going to bed early and sleeping a bunch I'm almost better in only two days. Woo! It can be done!
But I'm really hungry! And if I eat, it almost always takes me a couple hours after that to actually fall asleep. Unless it's something really light, like a glass of milk. I do not have milk.
Time for an Experiment! I have organic peach flavored kefir. It's basically like yogurt but more towards a liquid. Let's see if that works. I'll finish this post tomorrow morning with the results. For science!
I suppose this is a good indication of the rest of what's going on in my life, namely, not enough. This is the main challenge of working for myself, in a vacuum: the potential to float, without dynamism and focus to my actions. I'm back on track now, it seems, but I need to use this period of clarity to help me create more structure that will continue to reduce my downtime.
New technique I invented: proactive laziness: you procrastinate doing things that you shouldn't be doing anyways. Like, it got too late, writing, so now I'm more tired than hungry so I just had a glass of water and now I'm going to bed.
Second new technique I just invented: lazy inventive theft: inventing things by noticing what is already happening and then claiming it as your own creation.
Third new technique: success via redefinition/lazyness: redefining your goal so that your present state qualifies as having achieved your goal. Particularly effective for things like enlightenment or having invented something.
I'm here all night folks. Though I'll be asleep for most of it. But rest assured, my dreams are very entertaining and often hilarious.
Oh, that reminds me. Here's a daily dose of laughter: http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/
But I'm really hungry! And if I eat, it almost always takes me a couple hours after that to actually fall asleep. Unless it's something really light, like a glass of milk. I do not have milk.
Time for an Experiment! I have organic peach flavored kefir. It's basically like yogurt but more towards a liquid. Let's see if that works. I'll finish this post tomorrow morning with the results. For science!
I suppose this is a good indication of the rest of what's going on in my life, namely, not enough. This is the main challenge of working for myself, in a vacuum: the potential to float, without dynamism and focus to my actions. I'm back on track now, it seems, but I need to use this period of clarity to help me create more structure that will continue to reduce my downtime.
New technique I invented: proactive laziness: you procrastinate doing things that you shouldn't be doing anyways. Like, it got too late, writing, so now I'm more tired than hungry so I just had a glass of water and now I'm going to bed.
Second new technique I just invented: lazy inventive theft: inventing things by noticing what is already happening and then claiming it as your own creation.
Third new technique: success via redefinition/lazyness: redefining your goal so that your present state qualifies as having achieved your goal. Particularly effective for things like enlightenment or having invented something.
I'm here all night folks. Though I'll be asleep for most of it. But rest assured, my dreams are very entertaining and often hilarious.
Oh, that reminds me. Here's a daily dose of laughter: http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/
Saturday, December 12, 2015
words, Words, WOOOOORRDDDSS
Another short and early one because this weekend is very full. Starting in... Well, starting now, really, Friday morning, I'm traveling to and then doing a Seminar on "Matrix Energetics." Another tool to add to my tool belt. Another approach to the miraculous, and to transformation. I'll give another update about it when I get back, Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how much catch up I have to do when I get back.
In the meantime, here are some delicious words:
Kerning: The process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result:
Gurning: Making a distorted facial expression:
Peripatetic:
1) Traveling from place to place
2) Aristotelian
In the meantime, here are some delicious words:
Kerning: The process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result:
Gurning: Making a distorted facial expression:
Peripatetic:
1) Traveling from place to place
2) Aristotelian
Have a nice week :)
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Habits and Eye Contact
As I said at the beginning, I reserve the right to do short posts sometimes. It's more important, in my mind, to keep in the habit of doing it once a week on weekends, than to delay it by expecting an opus each time.
That's a little habit building trick I picked up: if you want to create good habits, start with something small and manageable enough that you can definitely be regular with it. Regularity is most important. Even if, at first, the amount of time you spend on it ends up being almost pointless (and usually it's not, it's very helpful, even short amounts of time being much better than no time.) It will eventually become a habit, and the time spent can lengthen, after it has become a habit, and is no longer difficult to remember to do, or motivate yourself to start doing.
That's the real benefit of habits: doing things non-habitually costs concentration and often willpower. Turning it into a habit makes it effectively free, or close to free. There's the issue of it also making you tune out and become unconscious in general, and the solution to that, I think, is turning habit into ritual, but that's a subtle point for another day, and perhaps for a different blog, one more focused on my Life Coach-y musings.
Anyways, to conclude, here is something I stumbled across. Good evening friends :O)
That's a little habit building trick I picked up: if you want to create good habits, start with something small and manageable enough that you can definitely be regular with it. Regularity is most important. Even if, at first, the amount of time you spend on it ends up being almost pointless (and usually it's not, it's very helpful, even short amounts of time being much better than no time.) It will eventually become a habit, and the time spent can lengthen, after it has become a habit, and is no longer difficult to remember to do, or motivate yourself to start doing.
That's the real benefit of habits: doing things non-habitually costs concentration and often willpower. Turning it into a habit makes it effectively free, or close to free. There's the issue of it also making you tune out and become unconscious in general, and the solution to that, I think, is turning habit into ritual, but that's a subtle point for another day, and perhaps for a different blog, one more focused on my Life Coach-y musings.
Anyways, to conclude, here is something I stumbled across. Good evening friends :O)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Added "Follow by email" Widget
By popular request I've now got a widget in the sidebar that lets you sign up to be notified by email when I post something new. Also some pictures of friends having tea and snacks to get you in the mood ;-)
have fun,
talk to you again soon,
-I
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Leftover Turkey Sandwiches, Acorns, and New Life
I've already posted recently, and I am sleepy, so this will be short.
Went for a walk in the woods, which, after being in the city for so long, feels like a cherry red piece of hot iron being dunked in a barrel of water sounds. Or a spaceship airlock flooding with oxygen in preparation for astronaut re-entry.
Found some acorns. Collected them for later. Need the shells for a medicinal mixture. Found a nice lichen covered rock, almost totally aquamarine with the fungal/algae symbiote. Had a sit. Rapture.
Flyer for my Life Coaching business finished. For now. Already I know things I'll change about it for next time, but it will do for the moment. It looks good and I need to move on. On that stream of thought, started playing with website design. Making a website is fun. At least it is when using a program that lets me design without having to code. I will have fun doing this.
Meeting with first client who is a referral rather than someone I know directly. Yay! Small steps, but each step, a step forward.
Enjoy your leftover turkey sandwiches. I can't think of anything about being a vegetarian I miss more than leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. On fresh rosemary sourdough, with cranberry sauce and gravy. Mmmm. I'm glad my visualizing abilities are improving. I can enjoy the idea of it, at least. That the fact that someone, somewhere is eating it. Benefits of a non-dual belief system: I get to enjoy everything everybody is enjoying.
That's all for now.
-Peace
Went for a walk in the woods, which, after being in the city for so long, feels like a cherry red piece of hot iron being dunked in a barrel of water sounds. Or a spaceship airlock flooding with oxygen in preparation for astronaut re-entry.
Found some acorns. Collected them for later. Need the shells for a medicinal mixture. Found a nice lichen covered rock, almost totally aquamarine with the fungal/algae symbiote. Had a sit. Rapture.
Flyer for my Life Coaching business finished. For now. Already I know things I'll change about it for next time, but it will do for the moment. It looks good and I need to move on. On that stream of thought, started playing with website design. Making a website is fun. At least it is when using a program that lets me design without having to code. I will have fun doing this.
Meeting with first client who is a referral rather than someone I know directly. Yay! Small steps, but each step, a step forward.
Enjoy your leftover turkey sandwiches. I can't think of anything about being a vegetarian I miss more than leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. On fresh rosemary sourdough, with cranberry sauce and gravy. Mmmm. I'm glad my visualizing abilities are improving. I can enjoy the idea of it, at least. That the fact that someone, somewhere is eating it. Benefits of a non-dual belief system: I get to enjoy everything everybody is enjoying.
That's all for now.
-Peace
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Gratitude
Today I am grateful for gratitude. Gratitude is one of the most uplifting forces in my life. It is not so much what I get that makes me happy. It is my ability to be grateful for what I have.
Thank you, wonderful, funny, supportive friends.
Thank you, wise, loving, selfless teachers.
Thank you understanding, caring, unified family.
Thank you, beautiful, benevolent, dear world.
Thank you persevering, brave, amusing Self.
Thank you All-encompassing, utterly loving, incomprehensibly giving God.
All those who have been and/or are in my life, I thank you for the love, light, and learning you have brought into my life.
Happy Thanksgiving
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Finger Food and Word Creation
This is going to be a short one because I'm not at home, thus I have to write it on my cell phone. I'm staying at a friends house so the Sai Baba birthday celebrations are easier to get to, and now to help them make and deliver some fried rice for tomorrow's celebration.
We just preformed the play we've been working on for months. Great success. Certainly not broadway. But it had heart, a good message, and a great group of people working working on it together. The Sai community are in general wonderful people. Some of their main mottos are "Love All, Serve All." And "Help Ever, Hurt Never." And a lot of them embody that in a really touching and delightful way.
They really enjoy feeding people delicious food, for example. If you don't want to eat, you kind of have to fend them off with a stick. It's endearing. Very archetypally Mother. And if you know them their kids call you Uncle or Aunty. So to some adorable kids I am "Isaac-Uncle." Makes me smile.
OK, that's all the finger typing I can bear for now.
P.S. I invented a new word by accident: Illogistically. Meaning: like illogical is to logical. To do something with such poor planning it draws not only oneself, but also all of those around you into a black hole of chaos and malfunction.
Have a great week. 😊
-I
Friday, November 13, 2015
Call the Batmobile
Holy crumpet-muffens Batman! I just got a bazillion page views from one post. I guess people like this format? Or they just like crumpets? Time will tell.
I normally plan to post on the weekend but this weekend is cray-cray and I've got a bit of time to write now so that's how things are going down.
Let me introduce you to my crazy weekend. (crazy in a good way):
First, tomorrow morning I'm... oh, actually it's a secret. But it's really fun and satisfying. Mwahaha, you'll never knooooooow!
Ahem. Then I'm going to help teach (but mostly learn about teaching) at a class designed to inculcate young children with good character and values.
I love the kids, the kids love the class, and the program is mindblowingly effective. I suppose I should hold off judgment till I've spent more time observing and participating, but the kids I've met so far who've been in the program for some time already are sweet, smart, courteous and well disciplined. It's a breath of fresh air, and it seems like a different species of animal to most of the kids I meet. But it's not. It's the same species, And the fact that all kids don't get something like this is sad, for the kids and the parents. Anyways, it's fun and inspiring to be a part of, even as a very auxiliary part. It's an honor and a great learning experience.
Then, I'm going to Global Akhanda Bhajans. That is where, all around the world, for 24 hours straight (nobody's watching you, it's fine to take a nap or leave early) people gather and sing devotional songs.
Though I was initially not into the whole concept of devotional singing, (or any kind of singing where I might potentially be heard) I've found it growing on me over the years. It is an effective spiritual practice, and fun to boot.
After that, come Sunday evening, I will either be rather toasty in the head or super energized. But certainly well fed (they have free, amazing Indian food at these events as well.)
Life is good. ( ^_^ )
( )
There's lots more going on, but I need to actually do it, rather than talking about it, so that shall be all for now. Suffice to say the gravimetric field displacement manifolds are spinning up and getting ready to launch with the whole Life Coaching thing, and that is thrilling in a way comparable to what I felt when I was witnessing miracles during my trip to India.
(Good lord, there's so much backlog to catch everyone up on. I'm going to have to do this more than once a week or I'll never get even the bones of all of it on paper.)
Goodnight for now. Time for some delicata squash and a bit of ice cream.
Love
Isaac
I normally plan to post on the weekend but this weekend is cray-cray and I've got a bit of time to write now so that's how things are going down.
Let me introduce you to my crazy weekend. (crazy in a good way):
First, tomorrow morning I'm... oh, actually it's a secret. But it's really fun and satisfying. Mwahaha, you'll never knooooooow!
Ahem. Then I'm going to help teach (but mostly learn about teaching) at a class designed to inculcate young children with good character and values.
I love the kids, the kids love the class, and the program is mindblowingly effective. I suppose I should hold off judgment till I've spent more time observing and participating, but the kids I've met so far who've been in the program for some time already are sweet, smart, courteous and well disciplined. It's a breath of fresh air, and it seems like a different species of animal to most of the kids I meet. But it's not. It's the same species, And the fact that all kids don't get something like this is sad, for the kids and the parents. Anyways, it's fun and inspiring to be a part of, even as a very auxiliary part. It's an honor and a great learning experience.
Then, I'm going to Global Akhanda Bhajans. That is where, all around the world, for 24 hours straight (nobody's watching you, it's fine to take a nap or leave early) people gather and sing devotional songs.
Though I was initially not into the whole concept of devotional singing, (or any kind of singing where I might potentially be heard) I've found it growing on me over the years. It is an effective spiritual practice, and fun to boot.
After that, come Sunday evening, I will either be rather toasty in the head or super energized. But certainly well fed (they have free, amazing Indian food at these events as well.)
Life is good. ( ^_^ )
( )
There's lots more going on, but I need to actually do it, rather than talking about it, so that shall be all for now. Suffice to say the gravimetric field displacement manifolds are spinning up and getting ready to launch with the whole Life Coaching thing, and that is thrilling in a way comparable to what I felt when I was witnessing miracles during my trip to India.
(Good lord, there's so much backlog to catch everyone up on. I'm going to have to do this more than once a week or I'll never get even the bones of all of it on paper.)
Goodnight for now. Time for some delicata squash and a bit of ice cream.
Love
Isaac
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Hello World
So here's the plan: I'm going to share this blog with friends and family. The purpose is to keep you in the loop about what's going on in my life. There are a bunch of you who want me to keep in touch. This is how I'm going to do that. I know I would enjoy something like this from some of my friends, so by reason of the Golden Rule, it falls on me to do it.
The posts may be quite short, but I'll do my best to post one every week. Kudos to the friend who inspired this idea.
This is the first one. Hello. Today I started a blog called Tea and Crumpets with Isaac. The letter of the day is D, for Discipline. Specifically, the discipline necessary when there aren't external structures or pressures forcing me to be disciplined. Because I'm already good at that. What I'm talking about are the skills necessary to be successfully self employed. Setting my own goals and creating my own supportive environment for achieving them. It is significantly harder than the discipline necessary to work within a system like school.
I'm confident I will succeed in cultivating this. When I do... well, the sky's the limit. I'll start traveling at warp speed.
I looked up exactly what a crumpet is and now I want one even though it's unlikely to be as good as it looks.
That's all for now. Take care dear friends and family, and enjoy life. It is precious and you cannot get back even one second of it. Spend wisely and with joy.
-Isaac
The posts may be quite short, but I'll do my best to post one every week. Kudos to the friend who inspired this idea.
This is the first one. Hello. Today I started a blog called Tea and Crumpets with Isaac. The letter of the day is D, for Discipline. Specifically, the discipline necessary when there aren't external structures or pressures forcing me to be disciplined. Because I'm already good at that. What I'm talking about are the skills necessary to be successfully self employed. Setting my own goals and creating my own supportive environment for achieving them. It is significantly harder than the discipline necessary to work within a system like school.
I'm confident I will succeed in cultivating this. When I do... well, the sky's the limit. I'll start traveling at warp speed.
I looked up exactly what a crumpet is and now I want one even though it's unlikely to be as good as it looks.
That's all for now. Take care dear friends and family, and enjoy life. It is precious and you cannot get back even one second of it. Spend wisely and with joy.
-Isaac
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