Evaluation of my Month of Perfect Alignment

Leave a reply

The challenge for last month would have been better had I only focused on one or two aspects of proper alignment. If I do something like this again, that is what I will do.

Alignment is to some degree a very subjective concept. One reason for this is that humans are not statues; we are often in motion (and should be). Another reason for this is that each person’s physique is different than “normal” and some are majorly different. For this reason, when thinking about alignment, one has to take it to some degree with a grain of salt and think in generalities, not specifics.

Overall, my month was mediocre. There were some times where I really committed to my exercise routine and focused on really good alignment. However, there were also times where I was lazy both in maintaining alignment and in exercising.

Here is what I learned:

  • A “balance” must be found between relaxation and perfect alignment. Now, for some people, this might not be necessary. However, it was an imperative for me. Sustained tension can cause as much trouble (if not more) as improper alignment. This is something the Physical Medicine specialist I have seen several times in Houston warned me about as well, knowing my determination to achieve results.
  • Taking cold showers is a huge help in maintaining alignment. I am not sure why this is, I just know it is the case from experience. I learned this by accident. I have previously used cold showers strictly as a motivational tactic. However, if my back or neck feels tight or overworked, taking a cold shower dissipates the fatigue without compromising alignment. In my experience, hot showers do not do this, at least not to the same degree.
  • The best way to have perfect alignment is to constantly be flowing to different positions. When I am in classes, this is not very feasible. However, I am trying to find ways to easily adapt to different positions when I am studying or working on the computer. These include sitting, standing, lying down, squatting, and kneeling in a modified hero’s pose.
  • Find ways to crack your back if possible. If I didn’t do this many times a day, I would probably be miserable. If you are unable to do this, consider visiting a chiropractor, unless you feel that your back is perfect already. The main way I crack mine is by bending over to a 90 degree angle with knees straight and then jerking my torso upward.

Don’t ever get discouraged about alignment or let it negatively affect your self image. I am saying this for myself, but if you have similar tendencies, please take note of this. You will always improve the most when you have a positive motivation for what you are doing rather than a negative motivation. It also makes the process infinitely more enjoyable.

A Month of Intentional Sleep

Leave a reply

I developed what I believe to be virtually a fail-proof method of getting up when you want to the first half of this year. All it requires is for one to follow a very simple, preexisting set of rules. No pre-sleep coaching, motivational tactics, or special alarm clocks are necessary. In fact, the success of this system does not depend on what you do the moment your alarm goes off in the morning.

Unfortunately for me, I stopped using this system a couple months ago due to some depression concerning existential questions. This happened because I did not follow the four tips mentioned in my last blog post on auditing beliefs. As a result of this, I fell out of a consistent sleep schedule.

This month, I want to formally start using this system again. The challenge therefore is to simply follow the rules of the system. I will post a complete version of these soon for everyone’s benefit. Here are the highlights:

  1. Set your alarm clock for when you know you will get up now. The worst thing you can do to your sleep schedule is to practice a bad habit. This is similar to practicing a musical instrument. You won’t help yourself by playing a passage wrong 5 times and then playing it right once and calling that success. Only practice perfectly. Do whatever it takes (play really slowly, only focus on one aspect, etc.) to accomplish this. So, with getting up, I want my body to develop a subconscious response to an alarm clock going off. So, let’s say I need to be somewhere 15 minutes away at 8AM. Then, I might set my alarm for 7:35. This gives me 5-10 minutes to shower, get dressed, grab something to eat on the way, and get out the door. When the alarm goes off, I know I must get up right then or be late.
  2. Practice getting up during the day. Simulate bedtime conditions as much as possible, set the alarm for two minutes past the current time and attempt to doze off. When the alarm goes off, jump out of bed and complete a 3-5 minute wake-up routine. Mine mainly involves mobility stretches.
  3. Plan for “failure.” Don’t look at oversleeping as a true failure. Don’t feel guilty about it. There should be a plan you have already written down about what to do if this happens. Just follow that. The goal is to “train” your subconscious response. So, if you didn’t get up, that is not your fault; it just means your subconscious is not working perfectly yet.
  4. Be vigilant about bed times. Although this system does not depend upon forcing yourself to get up at a certain time, it does depend on being consistent with when you turn the lights off. There are a few guidelines on how to find the right time interval for sleeping, and this will be discussed when I post the full system.

The beauty of this system is it takes off the pressure of having to get up at a certain time and then feeling like trash when you don’t. If you are still unclear about how this translates into getting up when you want, wait for the full system details in an upcoming post.

The challenge for me this month is to follow this system, with the 4 highlights above being strictly adhered to. In my next post, I will share about my month of perfect alignment.

Auditing Beliefs

3 Replies

I have a penchant for challenging the core pillars of my knowledge structure. I have a passion for combining logic with creativity and continually asking the question ‘why?’ Putting your beliefs and psychology on trial is one of the most liberating and terrifying things you will ever do.

If you decide to muster up the courage to challenge yourself in this way, here are some pointers that will help you along the journey:

  1. Focus on only one thing at a time.  I often find myself, say, rethinking some theological position I hold. That will then dovetail into some political controversy and might extend into science or medicine and other subjects as well. Pretty soon, I am trying to solve all the world’s problems. This never gets me anywhere. It is better to just focus strictly on one specific issue and don’t consider the possible ramifications of that in other areas until after you have come to a resolution of sorts.
  2. Seek to find the integration of truth and happiness. Probably the main reason you are auditing your beliefs is that you, like me, are intensely plagued by the quest for truth. This being the case, be wary of confirmation bias. A good way to do this is to do everything you can to prove that what you believe is wrong. This is, understandably, an extremely difficult mindset to adopt. This doesn’t mean you should only read or study things that oppose your viewpoint, but you should give more time to the opposing viewpoints than on researching your current position. Far to many people fall into what I call ‘leading the evidence where they want it to go.’ They have already decided what is true and are therefore just looking for whatever happens to confirm their presupposition. Although this may bring a level of happiness, it is shallow and for me, undesirable. Instead of sacrificing the pure truth for your personal happiness, allow them to tag alongside each-other by doing what I call ‘believing in the possibility.’ This means that while not accepting certain things as the most likely truth, you still see them as possibly true and find the potential benefits of trying them out to outweigh the cost in doing so.
  3. Have an outlet for sharing what you are studying. There is a phrase we use when people own up to something they believe or practice that is contrary to the societal norms they belong to and that is ‘coming out.’ If you grew up in a very liberal family and community, it would be very hard to come out as a conservative. If you grew up in a fundamental Christian family and community, it would be very hard to come out as an atheist. If everyone you know is pro-choice, it would be hard to come out as pro-life, and vice versa. Therefore, if you are challenging a deeply rooted societal or family value, find a safe outlet that you can share your thoughts with about the extremely controversial topic you are researching.
  4. Be excited about wherever you are going. Don’t fear change. This is one of the most significant obstacles to progress: fear of change. It halts innovation, stifles creativity, promotes slavishness, and deadens relationships. Auditing beliefs will lead you into uncharted territory. Embrace the adventure.

Please know that if you need an outlet for anything, I can help. I will not judge you or think strangely of you regardless of what you tell me. In fact, I will do everything I can to prove I am wrong if what you say happens to clash with what I currently believe. Humility, open-mindedness and a non-judgmental spirit are the hallmarks of a true friend. May you find many in life.

Happy travels!

Finding the Willpower to Overcome Depression

1 Reply

There are times of depression when our willpower just won’t cooperate, even though our minds and emotions might be in the right place. What is the secret for finding the willpower to live consciously? I have read several articles about how to use willpower most effectively once you have it. However, what do you do when you don’t have it and are just in a muddle? After all, it takes some willpower to seek willpower. It takes some willpower to do anything. Do we have to just be at the mercy of our will all the time? Obviously, there are not any easy answers to these questions, if there are any answers at all. However, here are some thoughts from personal experience:

  1. Find whatever small amount of willpower you do have and use it. Willpower is like any muscle in your body. The more you exercise and stretch it, the stronger and more flexible it will become. Maybe all you can find the willpower to do is to take a deep breath. Do that. Maybe you can put on a momentary smile. Do that. After each small thing you do, check in with yourself to see what you can do next. Don’t put a guilt trip on your willpower to do more than it is able, and then loathe yourself when it does not conform. This will only increase your despondency.
  2. Once you have coaxed your willpower to start doing small things that don’t tax its strength, create a new opportunity (NEW OP). In a previous post, I talked about how to create a NEW OP, which stands for nap, exercise, water, organize, and pray, all in 1-2 minute intervals. Of course, this step doesn’t have to be done; just monitor your willpower and see what it needs.
  3. Post something helpful or inspiring to hopefully prevent the same depression from happening again in the near future. This could be a quote, a short blog post, a Scripture verse, or anything else that works and could be done in a picture frame or on the desktop of your computer. Sometimes for me, reading one of my previous blog posts can be the most relevant option.
  4. Continue living in the present. Depression usually overtakes me when I allow myself to live in the past or the future. Both of these areas of time are useful for living fully in the present. However, there is a fine line between evaluating the past and living in the past. There is also a fine line between planning for the future and living in the future. If I can center my awareness on just being in the moment in which I find myself, I have the best chance of warding off depression, especially if I am living in appointed times by faith.

Lately, I have been battling a lot of depression, most of which is coming from existential questions. I believe being mindful of these strategies will allow me to both find answers as well as live consciously now. I agree with Socrates that, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” However, me must all find a way to examine our life while living in reality and avoid paralysis by analysis.

Evaluation of my Month of Orderly Surroundings

Leave a reply

It really is quite amazing how much more at peace I feel when the environment I am in is neat and tidy. Granted, the disorder of my surroundings is not what usually causes stress in my life; it is usually the other way round: stress causes my surroundings to become chaotic. However, when I make the small pockets of time to keep things in their place, I definitely am able to think more clearly and this usually indirectly reduces stress. Briefly, a few lessons I’ve learned this past month:

  • When surroundings are orderly, objects are not lost. When I kept things neat and organized, I tended not to lose things. In fact, the definition of order means that things are not lost. However, if I did misplace something (usually due to being lax with the challenge), the quickest and most stress-free way to find it was to just start cleaning up. I experienced this by accident the first week. I could not find my phone and started randomly and then frantically searching. I was not having success and just decided to clean up the room instead, since it was somewhat messy. The first thing I picked off the floor, literally, revealed my phone underneath. I wasn’t even expecting to find it, thinking I must have left it in another room or in the car!
  • It is easy to keep things neat if you always put things away. Now, let me say first off that this obviously does not apply if you have kids. However, when you are the only person contributing to the disorder in a room or environment, taking the extra second or two to hang the shirt up in the closet, put the book back on the shelf, or straighten the sheets makes a world of difference.
  • Small, quick cleanings are awesome. It is possible to keep floors vacuumed, rooms dusted, and rooms tidied as long as you are always doing small things. Just 10 minutes of cleaning per day makes an hour a week, which can be significant. Now, these cleanings are not thorough, just enough to keep things looking decent and relatively sanitary.

What I would like to take away from this past month is to always leave a room in a general semblance of order. If this becomes a lifestyle then it can become as second nature as showering every morning or checking email.

A Month of Perfect Alignment

Leave a reply

This next month I am going to focus on maintaining perfect body alignment, given my current limitations. This is something I already do focus on a good bit, but I have been getting a bit lax lately. One problem I have been having is finding a good balance between holding myself in the best alignment I can and totally relaxing. If I don’t maintain perfect alignment, my back generally feels worse. However, if I engage my muscles too much, that can produce stress, which affects my wrists and arms. Here are my general objectives to constantly maintain:

  • Engage the abs at least moderately. This supports my lower back and can prevent pain from spreading south.
  • Keep pelvis close to neutral. Sometimes I want to tip it back farther than neutral because it makes my back look a bit straighter, but I don’t think this is necessarily healthy and it can also cause stress in the back.
  • Mildly engage the trapezius muscles. This doesn’t have to be excessive, but I should always feel a slight pull back there. The right trap should pull down and to the left, while the left pulls down and to the right.
  • Keep feet parallel. Whether sitting or standing, it is best to keep the feet parallel to each other most of the time.
  • Externally rotate both legs. This means to engage the leg muscles so that the feet want to point outwards. However, the feet should not be allowed to move.
  • When bending down to get something, do a forward bend or a squat. I want to not do something in-between, because that type of oblique motion generally makes my back feel worse.
  • Keep chin tucked and head back. Making a double-chin is good for this. The head should be pulled straight back, not up at all.

The challenge for this month is of course not just doing these things, but maintaining them at all times. In order for this challenge to be successful 24/7, I want to be diligent with doing all my stretches and exercises every day.

Up next: Evaluation of my Month of Orderly Surroundings.

Humility

Leave a reply

I believe the highest virtue a person can possess is humility. However, what do I mean by the word humility? Humility is the opposite of pride. I define pride as not realizing one’s own nature, which for humans would necessarily imply acknowledging the possibility of being wrong. With that underscored, here are what I consider incorrect statements about humility.

  1. Humility means devaluing your opinion. No, you can be humble while having very strong opinions about any and all subjects.
  2. Humility means thinking everyone is better than you. No, you can reckon yourself to have superior reasoning or technical skills than someone else and still be humble.
  3. Humility means denying the virtues you possess. No, you can tell other people that you are humble and still be humble. I view myself as humble and I don’t hesitate to say that.

Humility as I define it is simply being aware of who you really are. I happen to know that I am not infallible (and I tend to think everyone else isn’t either) and so being humble principally means that I admit I could be wrong about anything. This includes my views on religion, science, politics, philosophy, relationships, and any other possible category. I have strong views in all of these areas and I don’t think I am wrong (or I wouldn’t believe as I do) but I do think that I could possibly be wrong.

Humility is an easier virtue to acquire if you have had some beliefs that you used to believe adamantly but then later realized were completely indefensible. Once this has happened in one area, as it did for me, it makes it much easier to be honest with yourself that you just can’t say for sure, even though you may hold strong beliefs.

Humility is a very simple concept but I am amazed at how many people lack it. Why is it so hard to say, “I am not 100% sure; I could be wrong”? Humility does not equate to skepticism, which usually implies extreme incredulity except when there is undeniable evidence. You can be humble and believe whatever you want; you just have to honestly admit that you could be mistaken.

I could be mistaken about the existence of an eternal mind. I could be mistaken about the reality of an afterlife. And if it is possible that I could be mistaken about those things, it is possible that I could be mistaken about anything.

Embracing the concept that you could be wrong about anything can be a very frightening proposition. However, the amazing thing about embracing humility is how much it liberates you. When you truly know yourself, you can finally experience the joy of asking questions without presuppositions. You can respect and learn from the beliefs and opinions of every person you come in contact with. You can embark upon the ultimate challenge of seeking knowledge.

Is there such a thing as ‘wrong’ music?

Leave a reply

Very divisive attitudes can arise in relation to music, especially in church settings. On the one side, those who more or less accept all music often view those who disagree as ignorant legalists. On the other side, those who think some music is acceptable and some is not are apt to view those who accept all music as, at best, deceived, and at worst, worshiping the devil.

To approach this topic, two words need to be defined: ‘wrong’ and ‘music.’ I defined what music is in an earlier post, and I want to clarify here that I am talking about the style of the music, not the lyrics. Those are very important as well, but not what is being discussed here. What does ‘wrong’ mean? As I concluded in my post on morality, I think it would be better to replace the word ‘wrong’ into one of its usual components, such as contrary to human flourishing, contrary to the Bible, or contrary to logic and reasoning, instead of conflating it into something about which no one is in agreement. So, I want to look at music in reference to those three specific categories I just mentioned.

First, is some music contrary to human flourishing? The only way to comment on this would be to argue that certain combinations of sounds or frequencies were unhealthy in some way. This is something that is not clear and is something on which opinions should be reserved until indisputable scientific research is forthcoming. Heavy metal music is probably targeted the most for producing suicidal thoughts or actions, but it can have benefits as well if you value them, such as independent thinking and a sense of belonging. To me, the only clear health risk for any type of music is the decibel level. Sustained exposure to volume levels greater than 90 decibels is linked to hearing loss. For some more interesting thoughts, check out this article.

Second, is some music contrary to Biblical commands or principles? While the Bible mentions several different instruments and styles of music, it does not directly condemn any as wrong. People have used the incident with the golden calf to say some music is bad, where Joshua and Moses liken the musical style coming from the camp of Israel to the sound of war and revelry, respectively (Exodus 32:17-18). However, is war or revelry always a bad thing? Some might argue so, but it seems strained to state that categorically. I generally lean to the side of not imposing something as a general rule that is easily questionable, as this subject is.

Third, is some music contrary to logic and reasoning? Since lyrics are not being considered, it is hard to think of any sound as being illogical or against reason; this is something that is usually reserved for language and thought. However, music does have the ability to greatly affect how we think, and so I suppose in this sense, it could be said to enhance logic and reasoning or discredit them. There have been some studies that suggest certain types of classical music will allow you to think more clearly, but I think these should be taken with a grain of salt. There are certainly many very smart individuals who listen to other styles of music or no music at all.

As far as my opinion is concerned, I don’t label any style of music as wrong, bad, or destructive. I find it much more helpful to focus on what, very broadly speaking, a style of music is communicating (although this could be different for different cultures) and make sure the music played in a particular venue is appropriate for the occasion. Love, anger, rebellion, joy, peace, angst, and sorrow are all emotions music can communicate and none of these emotions are intrinsically bad. However, they may not be always appropriate for a specific occasion or with certain lyrics.

Music is one of the most accessible pathways to experiencing transcendence. Let’s not rob this of others by criticizing or demeaning the music they listen to without very good reason. Our tastes and opinions on this matter will differ, and polite discussion on this topic is healthy, but I believe erring on the side of allowing freedom in this area is the wiser choice. The only thing in music that I am definitely opposed to has nothing to do with style but rather with volume. It is better not to be around sounds above 90 decibels if one can avoid it.

Life IS Fair

2 Replies

Someone is born with down syndrome; another person gets cancer; yet another has a terrible accident and becomes a paraplegic. Why does life just seem so unfair? There are two ways most people deal with this:

  1. Moan, complain, and regret. Bitterness, self-loathing, and depression is one common response to pain and suffering in life. However, what does this really accomplish? It just makes one more dependent on emotional help from others and medications to cope with these destructive attitudes.
  2. Accept that life is not fair. Realists try to suck it up and just make the best with the cards they have been dealt. I believe this to be a much more sensible reaction if it can be pursued. However, I have experienced that there are times when it is difficult if not impossible to have this realist outlook on life.

I have engaged in both of these responses. I even blogged here about how life is not fair and to simply focus on accomplishing everything you can given your condition without comparing yourself to others.

However, I cannot seem to really embrace this perspective. Perhaps others are stronger than I, but for me it still fosters a sense of bitterness, regret, and despair, as much as I fight against these feelings. I am now in the habit of forming personal empowering beliefs that have the possibility of being true and whole-heartedly embracing them in my philosophy on life.

So, in dealing with pain, I have decided to believe that life IS fair. That ultimately, somehow, compensation will be made if I deal with pain consciously.

Now, I have pondered extensively over how this compensation will happen and what the compensation will be when it happens. As with everything, I realize that I will not figure out a good answer for this today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and most likely not even in ten years.

Despite not knowing the particulars, I choose to believe that there will be  compensation for the things people suffer in this life, but some conditions must be met in order to receive this.

  1. You must connect with the Source. Who or what is the source? I believe He is an almighty and eternal being who directly interacted with His creation via Jesus/Y’shua the Christ. I will never claim to know who He is except in a very, very small way, since I believe He operates in a different dimension that is difficult if not impossible for me to fully comprehend (Isaiah 55:8-9).
  2. You must live consciously right now. Don’t worry about what you did in the last year, last month, or even the last second. Just choose this moment to live consciously. If you would like a framework in which to do this, check out my posts on living in appointed times by faith (part 2, part 3, part 4). You may also find my statement of belief helpful.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham said to the rich man, “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted and thou art in anguish.” Now, I have no idea whether this parable is commenting at all on a principle of compensation or not. However, I believe it is plausible to think that it is. Abraham should have said, “Look, you refused to believe in the Messiah, so now you are suffering!” But that is not what he said, though that was additionally implied later.

There was a suggestion that Lazarus was being compensated for the evil things he suffered in life. Now, would this not also mean that a believer that has a suffered more than another believer will be compensated more for that suffering? This is mainly conjecture on my part, but it is a theologically fruitful one. It helps to make sense of the things in life that just seem so unfair. This could mean that those born with down syndrome or with a disability will be the ones with the highest capacity for knowing the Father or something equivalent to that. This idea makes all suffering more meaningful. I believe it is an empowering belief worth adopting.

Evaluation of my Month of Constant Smiling

1 Reply

I think this past month’s challenge has been the most rewarding I have done so far. Constant smiling, while awkward at times, really focuses your attention on the present moment, which I believe is one of the keys to leading a fulfilled life. Here is what I learned:

  • Smiling will lift your spirit in most cases. This is especially true if you are doing it on your own initiative. This is because when you choose to smile, it becomes harder to think negatively and easier to think positively, and the more you do it, the more this happens.
  • Smiling encourages eye contact. I believe an important component in living for consciousness is eye contact. This is something that is not natural for me. However, when I wear a bright countenance, I feel more excited to make meaningful connections with people in this way.
  • Smiling makes you more conscious about other things. I notice that when I am smiling, I tend to be more conscious of my posture, priorities, and hygiene. This was a natural result.
  • Smiling makes it hard to be moody. Seriously, it is just difficult to be very moody when you are wearing a toothy grin all the time. Since I tend to be more moody by nature, this was a good antidote for me.

Here are some examples of when smiling does not fit the bill:

  • Yoga. Smiling seems to take away from the absolute concentration on movement, position, and breath. Although I still got plenty of great results, the environment was just a little less than ideal.
  • Studying. It is somewhat difficult for me to think about a problem when smiling. If I am working relatively simple problems or just reading easy text, it is no problem. However, if there is something I need to really think about, smiling takes away from the thought process.
  • Sleeping. Smiling right as you lay down, to channel a peaceful atmosphere, is good, but then everything should be neutral. Even if  some want to argue that smiling is their default expression, from a muscular perspective it is not – a neutral face is.

So, what will I retain from this past month’s challenge? First, I would like try to make smiling one of my standard expressions. Unless I have a good reason not to smile, I am going to try to wear one as much as possible. Second, I want to create and maintain empowering beliefs that will give me good reasons to smile. One of these I will talk about in my next post.

Last, I want to read and think more about inspiring positive actions that happen in the world. I focus quite a bit on the big questions in science, theology, politics, and medicine, but I want to also absorb a good dose of heart-warming stories and songs that will create more positivity.