Monday, May 25, 2020

10 Random things- On Meditation

1) I never thought I would be the kind to meditate. But as I have realised multiple times, I end up doing a lot of things I never thought I would do.

2) My interest in meditation is  a result of my fascination with the brain. Not to attain Nirvana.

3) We are definitely in the dark or pre-enlightenment ages, when it comes to understanding the brain. And meditation is like a microscope, reveals what we suspected to be present but couldnt see.

4) Dont read books on meditation by fringe celebrities. They are simply trying to make themselves more relevant by jumping on the bandwagon. I mean, dont read it to understand meditation or what it does, you can of course read it as a fun memoir, if that sort of thing interests you

5) Who I want to follow, when it comes to meditation really depends on my mood. Sometimes its the atheists guided meditation that makes sense, sometimes its the religious one that I have grown up hearing.

6) Chanting, prayers etc are more accesible forms of meditation- you keep your focus and sort of think about one thing only. Those days people did a lot of things- fasting, chanting etc which are coming back as new-age hustle activities

7) Not sure if it is right to add meditation to any word- walking meditation, dishwashing meditation etc.  Walking as an activity is interesting and worthy, without tacking on meditation to it, to look more attractive.

8) Its a free, healthy way to get high apparently. Dont think the effort is worth it.

9) I dont agree that meditation makes you a calmer self-content person, judging by the amount of meditation posts on LinkedIn. Maybe it does after 20 years of practise, but the first few, it probably gives you enough focus to write a LinkedIn post or a blog post- bragging about how much meditation has changed my life, and hey you lesser human being, you should perhaps try it too.

10) Nirvana isnt fun or a goal I aspire to. The process looks interesting- filled with good energy, high focus, calmness, less stress etc. I wish there was a way to arrest the development at that. Kind of like maintaining the pupa stage from metamorphosising into a full grown butterfly. 

Saturday, May 23, 2020

10 Random things -On reading and writing

The easiest thing to do, for someone struggling to write, or stuck - Write about reading and writing

1) Most writers at some point in their lives are asked to write about writing- whats your process? Whats the time you wake up? what brand coffee do you drink? Do you always write at the same table? Some of them become succesful books ( On writing , by Stephen King, for one). Some of them are blogposts that are shared a million times within writing communities. But I think most of them have information the readers already know- Show up everyday, write at your best time etc. Not to say people dont enjoy these books. But I dont think there are too many people who wanted to be writers, couldnt be and read a book to figure it out.  For most people reading what they know to be true, is still helpful. 

2) Compounding gets attention these days as one of the most overlooked concepts. Reinforcing doesnt get as much love. You dont change based on reading one book. For a concept to set in, it takes atleast 4 to 5 books or 4 to 5 writers telling the same concept in their style. Or it takes re-reading of one book with a concept to really drill it in. The big Eureka concepts may stick with one book, but the smaller " know it to be true but havent done it myself" concepts take multiple readings. 

3) My ideal writer is John McPhee. And I havent read a single book of his. I have read the descriptions, seen the sheer range of topics he has explored and marveled at the depth of some seemingly simple ideas. Most writers find out what works, what they are really good at, and keep at the intersections. John McPhee finds out what interests him and then figures out a way to make it work. Imagine having the kind of clout that you say " I will write a book on Oranges, my previous book was on a specific tennis match"  and the publisher going " Sure, here is your advance". 
( I dont know if this was the order the books were written in) 

4) John Mc Phee seems to have made a lasting impact as a writing teacher at Princeton. Many famous personalities now speak of that course as one of the things that made a difference to their writing and almost always mention how they sort of took it for granted that a Pulitzer winning, most interesting person would give recommendations on their essays. All of us would put in a lot more effort in our late 30s if John Mc Phee teaches us- as they say Youth is wasted on the young. 

5) On the previous point- am happy that there is such a saying , because it means that I am not the only one that wasted my youth. Enough people have done it that they had to make a saying out of it! Am also happy that I got a chance to come across it- I think thats the best case for writing - even stuff thats not original- there is a small chance that it helps one person who hasnt seen it before. 

6)Reticular activation of the brain is a thing. When I am immersed in a book for a long time, I do see things differently- sometimes the difference is obvious. I remember one weekend I was reading " Oaxaca Journal" by Oliver Sacks on his 10 day trip to Mexico with an intention to spot ferns. The book was full of rich descriptions of ferns and plants that I vividly remember noticing the shapes of leaves when I stepped out Monday morning. 

7) When you read writers who have a distinctive style of writing- Nicola Barker stands out- you absorb some of it and it reflects in your writing. I hope so, at least. I dont know how many books of Nicola Barker I have to read to get that whimsical lyrical light-on-its feet quality to my writing. Perhaps half a million 

8) Storytelling is one of those things thats really cool until becomes kind of mainstream. The most annoying phase is when its just starting to become mainstream, but all proponents believe its still niche. God. 

9) Narratives are powerful persuaders. You tell yourself or others that you are a frazzled mom with no time and have to quit- and you find yourself in those situations more than you like. You tell yourself that your partner is inconsiderate and doesnt care for your opinion- you dont really notice the times they are considerate. Narratives in advertising do a very good job. The only problem is that sometimes I dont want to hear what a powerful, stereotype shattering, milestone creating woman I am. I just want a damn toothpaste. 

10) If you have read this far, you have very high tolerance and discipline. No pictures, no videos just dull text and you have still managed to come this far- Well done. I dont care if they should have been split into 10  tweets for better readability.  For instance, lets say the 6th one was very popular and shared widely, which lead to more people discovering the whole series- Rather than the blog, where most people might drop off by one or two. 


Sunday, May 17, 2020

10 more random things.

1) Chennai has underutilised its beach availability. By building houses that are cute and charming, think Greek or Italian town houses, it could have leveraged its beach view . But what we have is Ice house and some official buildings

2) You can understand a little more about someone by what they name something. I dont mean kids etc, but by what they name a extended family / friends whatsapp group they create. Some are straightforward and unimaginative like Gupta family or just family, while some call it Star parivaar. I do like looking at group names on other people's phones.

3) The previous point got me thinking about why I named this blog The Attic. Its traditionally not a place thats directly useful to the home and is mostly full of regular storage stuff or junk thats going to be thrown out. But as a kid I used to love sitting in our store room and going through stuff and discovering something interesting. So in a way I suppose thats what I try to do with this blog or writing overall- look for treasures amidst junk.
It also conjures up a cozy safe place , from Enid blyton type books I think. I dont know if I thought all of this subconsciously or if I am post rationalising.

4) Morning after rains is interesting. The trees look different- I suppose its their version of a good night (wink wink). 

5) The biggest downside to moving from being close to family, to relying on friends ( who you spend your holidays, important moments and difficult times) is the fact that your friends are most likely your age. So  we end up the wisdom that comes from having someone 15 years older, who has gone through something similar and can reassure you that this doesnt matter in the long  run. 
An older cousin who you trust cannot be replaced by the twitter friend of yours, when it comes to giving reassurance.

6) I think polygamy would have been helpful for wives in terms of company. If the jealousy/ competing for attention from the husband angle was somehow taken out ( or put up with, as has been the case with women throughout history) wives can be good company for each other ( See advice point above) and there is free babysitting , and perhaps actually having someone to listen to your woes.
Not supporting polygamy obviously , I cant figure out a way to  overcome the jealousy point if I am applying it hypothetically to myself.

7) Diet, managing relationships, mental health, an appreciation of architecture, listening , learning to argue , learning to think , confidence,   understanding oneself. Things I wish that were taught in school.

8) This is a half-assed hypothesis and I havent really confirmed this- but I think Murakami's wrtiting is surreal and relatable because he makes the locations conducive for that. The guy goes on a long journey in a suburban train  at night and gets off at some obscure station, sits in a taxi for 20 minutes and enters a sort of nondescript abandoned building with what seems like a never ending corridor. He runs along the length and it bursts open into what appears to be a football field which is lit by moonlight.  Are you even surprised something random happens after that? My theory is that with these descriptions he primes your brain for some kind of dreamy  thing, so you are simultaneously able to relate while also finding it surreal.

His writings are like dreams- not entirely realistic but you somehow find it relatable. So what he does is do the setup just like a dream- real enough that you can perhaps imagine a  location from memory but draw it out so that it starts becoming just a bit unbelievable.

9) Analyzing critical feedback and figuring which to take and which to discard is a very valuable skill. Because sometimes the feedback maybe right and perfectly reasonable from the point of view of the giver, and the intent may also have been noble, but it may not just work for you. For ex, if you are giving a presentation  and someone tells you that they lost interest because it wasnt dramatic enough- but your objective is to build an image as someone serious- you could choose to ignore that piece of feedback. But its very easy to start thinking that maybe serious doesnt need to clash with dramatic- what if serious ends up meaning boring etc. I dont know what is the right thing to do and if there is a right way at all to process these things. I think the prolific creators have a better grasp on this.

10) LSD might become like coffee in the future- sure to alter your energy level, some people swear by it and others want to build a life without having a dependence on it.

I dont know if this style of smaller blocks is better than a single blog post- I dont think it is- in terms of going deeper on a subject, but for now I am enjoying the breadth of topics and there is no pressure.



Saturday, May 16, 2020

10 Random things

1. Bangalore has a Northern lights like phenomenon these days- for a few minutes after the sunset the sky changes into a watercolour canvas. Its like its managed by a someone whimsical- some days its dramatic with swatches of pink clouds all across, somedays its more muted - various shades of blue but its beautiful all days. I dont know if I havent noticed it before or if it happens only during a particular season

2. Birds definitely have a routine they do end of day- They go sit on various branches and caw/squeak/sing. They have a pattern to why they pick that particular branch but I cant figure it out. Dont know if experts everywhere have figured it out.

3. Ownership bias is too real. And it extends even to plants.

4. If you are learning and growing up, you will hold beliefs that were completely opposite of others you held a few years back. True wisdom lies in not assuming this belief is permanent and that there is a significant chance you may go back to the original belief.

5. If you were not an Upholder, accomplisher during regular programming, you probably arent going to be a super-accomplisher during lockdown. Dont beat yourself up.

6. Memory is a very strange thing. Maybe we store everything but have just lost access to it when we forget.  Which could explain why things we have forgotten keep turning up in dreams  or randomly when we are thinking of other things. Does that mean that we can completely access our vacations and our childhood instead of having them as glimpses of images?

7. A memory aided by photograph is just as good as a memory you have on your own. So why the hatred for picture takers at sunset spots? The worst thing is , some of us spend our sunset spots time not enjoying the sunset or taking pics, but by deriding those wasting their sunset time taking pics. Surely thats not the best use of sunset time?

8. I want to become non-judgemental but I worry that if nothing affects me I ll become the most boring person on the planet. What am I, without my opinions? Is it possible to be opinionated without being judgemental? What about gossip then?

9. I am perfectly OK leaving Netflix shows unwatched. Even the ones I quite like. I think one of the main reasons I finish shows is because I have free time to binge. Otherwise I am perfectly OK not knowing what happens or reading Wiki and finding what happens. Same with books. But with books I feel Ill get back to them eventually, so I am ok abandoning them.

10. We need female role models who have upped their feminine- most corporate female role models are those who have embraced the traditional masculine values of aggression, go-getting etc. Sansa Stark, Victoria Mitchell, Laura Vanderkam etc though none of them are really corporate. Guess you need male values to be succesful in corporate?