What do you know about death? You certainly have beliefs around it,
but what do you know about the science of death, or of those who have
died and been brought back to life? Death is not as big of a mystery as
it is made out to be. Do your research before you fear or misconstrue
this most universal human experience.
As cliche as this sounds, there is so much beauty in the world yet we
rarely appreciate it. Take 5 minutes, stop doing everything and sit
down. Then clear your mind of your inner dialogue and focus intently on
something in the space immediately in front of you. Nature always works
best but literally any object will do. Study all of the minute details
of the object and try to appreciate its complexity. This might take some
practice but after you get into it, you’ll have that perspective for a
while after.
Try hypnagogic hallucination
For those new to the idea, hypnagogic hallucination is the state of
experiencing dreaming-like visuals and thoughts while remaining awake.
Lie down when you’re neither physically nor mentally tired and edge
towards falling asleep while focusing on staying awake. Most of the time
knowing of this state’s existence and attempting to experience it is
enough to attain it. This is because up until this point, you’ve had no
reason to try to stay on the edge of wakefulness!
Forget about insults entirely (even in jest)
We can all agree that nothing good comes of insults. If they are
serious, then someone comes out of the exchange feeling cut down. Even
if you insult someone jokingly, their subconscious mind still takes your
words in as a serious statement and imprints the insult on the person.
This is akin to a commercial: it can seem stupid, but you are still
building up respect for the product on a subconscious level. This is why
companies pay top dollar just to have their logo visible in public
places.
We have a lot of crap in our lives that is neither necessary nor good
for us. The crap includes certain people, emotions and habits. Take the
time to evaluate the constituents of your life to decide what needs to
go. This tip is so critical that I wrote a 3-part series on cutting out the crap – check it out!
Spend a week masquerading as Christ-figure and bring love into every
aspect of your life. Start your day by sending out mental “I love you’s”
to your friends and family. As you go through your day, silently (or
out loud!) wish something nice upon any strangers you see. Monitor your
every thought and action to be sure you’re acting out of love. This
sounds cheesy but it is a fantastic feeling becomes addicting.
Make plans to attend at least one crazy event each year
As you all know, we humans remember experiences, not possessions. You
remember driving somewhere in that car, not buying or owning the car.
So put aside a savings jar to pay for at least one crazy, awesome event
each year. Here are a few event ideas to get you salivating.
Exaggerate your compliments
If you’re going to say something nice, why not make it a bit nicer?
Only you will know the difference and the target of the compliment will
feel that much better.
You are what you eat
We’ve all heard of this phrase but most don’t full realize it’s
implications. Your body is constituted only of the food that you put
into your body! If you’re okay with eating crap, you are accepting that
you brain, skin, heart and everything else will be made of crap. You
LITERALLY are what you eat.
Give up something for a week
Like Lent, but for non-Catholics. There are two major benefits of
this: 1) you learn to live without something now so that if you’re ever
forced to live without something, it won’t be so bad and 2) when you get
it back, you will truly appreciate it. Examples include hot showers,
alcohol and other substances and television. Extremist can give up
everything and experience living on the streets.
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”
Revenge is sweet but forgiveness is sweeter. Until that’s a no
brainer for you, try faking forgiveness and knowing that nothing will
piss off an enemy more than you not reacting to their provocations. Eg.
If you punched someone in the face in anger and then they just smiled
back at you happily, wouldn’t that annoy you?
Floss!
Your dentist has been right all along. Flossing is more crucial for
your oral hygiene than brushing your teeth. It keeps your gums healthy
and food out of the tight places that drinking water won’t clean out
(which would otherwise result in bad breath).
Don’t doubt anything without absolute evidence against it
Every day it seems I learn about something that I previously had thought to be impossible (like walking on water).
Acknowledge that the world is full of surprises and the ‘impossible’.
Therefore practice being open-minded rather than doubtful, especially
about things foreign to you.
**Edit: Apparently the running on water video is
fake which is extremely ironic in the context of this tip…I would take
it down but that’s just too funny.
Take advantage of the flinch
When something scares you and makes you flinch, you have two choice:
flinch forward or flinch backward. Practice using that flinch moment to
rocket yourself into the unknown instead of into a state of fear. Talk
to that girl at the bar, get on the roller coaster, say YES. Stay on the
bold side of the flinch.
Use your showers to practice being present
Your daily (?) shower is the perfect time to get better at being
present. Instead of thinking about your time last night or everything
you have to do today, focus on the sensation of the water hitting your
skin. Zone in on the smell of the soap and the warmth of the steam
coming off of your body. If & when you successfully block out your
inner dialogue, I guarantee you will have the best power of your life.
Limit your time-wasting online activities
Do you ever find yourself deep in someone’s Facebook photos and
wonder how you got there? The internet is an awesome tool but some sites
can suck you in and waste tons of time that could be spent doing
something productive. For those who can’t help themselves, there are
extensions for Chrome and FireFox
that allow you to specify a certain amount of time to allow to spend on
time-waster websites per day. Every minute you spend on the sites you
specify is tracked, and when you reach the limit those sites are no
longer able to be accessed.
Remember the 10,000 hour rule
If you want to master anything in life you need at least 10,000 hours
of practice. Practice separates the haves and the have-nots when it
comes to skills. Have you spent 10,000 hours doing something you don’t
care to master? (Ahem, Facebook..) Do something else that will benefit
you a lifetime!
Make some rules for yourself
Instead of only reading this list and thinking ‘those are good
ideas,’ take a few at a time and make them unbreakable rules until the
habits stick.
The 3rd Zeitgeist film will change the way you view the monetary
system, the economy and the future of this world. Its claims almost
sound like conspiracy, but the evidence it intelligently builds upon
rules out any chance of that. Do not be deterred by the 2:45 duration —
if something is this important, would you want it to be able to be
squeezed into 10 minutes?
When it comes to choosing a career, only do something that you
absolutely love or something you have no choice but to do. I mean
literally NO choice but to do that job. Unless you’re supporting
children or completely steeped in debt, chances are you have a choice.
Don’t waste a second doing something you do not love.
Practice energy development
Whether or not you believe chakras exist, you can develop the ability
to feel, move around and store energy in your body. These sensations
range from mild tingling to violent vibrations. Start off by lying down
and putting all of your focus on your left foot. Focus on and feel that
foot until it beings to warm up and tingle, then move on up the body in
small increments. Eventually you can get your entire body to be
vibrating (seriously, it’s almost scary). Developing these abilities
helps with focus for meditation, astral projection and supposedly boosts
your clairvoyance.
Question what you have been told to be true but have not investigated yourself
Simply stated, we are fed a lot of BS growing up that is not
necessarily or at all true. We assume it is true because we’ve always
“known” it to be true. Examples include religious and political beliefs,
stereotypes and habits. Perhaps the best example of all is that
marijuana is dangerous and deadly when in fact alcohol is infinitely
worse for your body and your driving ability.
Put yourself through a series of comfort challenges to become
comfortable in a social situation. Start with making eye contact with
people you pass on the streets, then progress to saying hi and
eventually asking them a quick question like ‘How’s your day going?’
Then progress to wearing a shocking piece of clothing out in public
asking people for their phone numbers. Finally go to the extreme and
take on a different person with waiters and cashiers. The idea is to go
to the limits so that more normal interactions like to someone you’re
interested in becomes a piece of cake.
This book details Frankl’s time in Nazi concentration camps and how
the experience shaped his view on meaning and purpose in life. His
account of the camps is extremely detailed and riveting. His conclusions
on life are both far-reaching and relevant to life outside of
captivity.
Our diets and habits are nothing like those which are bodies were
built for. Times have changed but we still need the same nutrition.
Luckily we now mass-produce nutrients in bottles so you just need to
figure out what your body needs. For example if you don’t get a lot of
sun, you probably need some extra Vitamin D. If you get cold much easier
than other people, you might have low levels of iron in your blood.
Investigate and act accordingly.
Cut gluten from your diet
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye oats, and barley. Like so
many other substances today, gluten is not meant to be put into our
bodies. The humans alive at the time that our bodies last experienced
major evolution did not consume all of the bread products we now have.
To see a full explanation of the health-benefits of giving up gluten,
check out this article.
Do pushups (100 of them!)
Pushups are the easiest way to get into an exercise routine and the
most complete upper body workout available without weights. Doing 3 sets
of pushups until fail every other day is a simple way to tone up your
chest, arms, back and abs. If you want to step it up a notch, this website promises to get anyone to be able to complete 100 pushups within 6 weeks!
Waking Life is a movie about a guy drifting around in a dream world
having philosophical conversations with the interesting characters he
meets along the way. If you like the articles here on HighExistence, I
can guarantee with 100% certainty that you will love this film. It’s available for free on GoogleVideo.
Go for walks
Whenever you are feeling unmotivated, depressed, angry or [insert
crappy emotion here], take a walk. It’s a sure-fire way to hit the reset
button and get back into a positive mindset. There’s something about
being in nature, getting some exercise and (most importantly) being
present that can get you over any emotional hump.
Use StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon (SU)
is an internet tool that brings you to random sites based upon your
interests. You can also specify a particular interest category while
also limiting the results to videos, photos, news, blogs, etc. SU is the
best way to discover awesome content around the web, much of which you
didn’t even know you were looking for! As you go through and ‘Thumbs up’
or ‘thumbs down’ different web content, SU learns more about your
interests and returns more accurate results. I also call it the
‘Serendipity Engine’ because of the countless times I’ve been thinking
about a problem or looking for something and then the answer has come
randomly to me through SU.
This freakishly fascinating book is best explained best by Wikipedia:
“It examines mythology, its effect on ethics, and how that relates to
sustainability. The novel uses a style of Socratic dialogue to
deconstruct the notion that humans are the end product, the pinnacle of
biological evolution. It posits that human supremacy is a cultural myth,
and asserts that modern civilization is enacting that myth.”
Spend time alone each day
Being alone is a form of meditation that helps us realign with who we really are.
Practice Stoicism
Stoicism is centered around being unaffected by misfortune. A good
stoic will recognize that mishaps will inevitable occur so he/she is
constantly ready and open to experiencing them. Unlike pessimists,
Stoics expect bad things to happen only because they recognize this is
the nature of reality, and strive to become immune to being demoralized
by said misfortunes.
Don’t compare yourself to others
Everyone is born with different strengths and weakness. Otherwise we
wouldn’t be individuals and how much fun would that be? Consequently
don’t hold yourself to the standards of others; you’ll never measure up
to everyone.
Compare yourself to others
Use the success of others as motivation to continue growing and
learning. Competition is strong medicine and can be used to your
advantage if you don’t get too caught up in it. Strive to achieve a
balance between #34 and #35.
As you likely noticed, #34 and #35 contradict each other, and yet
both are solid truths. This is an example of how most great truths have
some level of duality to them. Life is not absolute; let that apply to
your beliefs as well — don’t be stubborn about them!.
Besides waking you up better than anything, cold showers have been
proven to improve blood circulation, keep your skin and hair healthy
(hot water dries them out) and boost the immune system. For the men, it
also increases testosterone levels and is just plain manly.
Try to be rejected every day
Instead of fearing rejection, make it a daily goal! When you go in
with the intention of being told ‘no’, the butterflies go away and it
becomes easy. This is a fantastic way to pursue more opportunities while
becoming unfazed by the big N-O. Good applications include asking for
phone numbers, job positions, partnerships and advice. Think of all the
great things you’ve missed out on by not asking!
Rejoice in not knowing, be proud of your ignorance of a topic
Knowing everything is overrated. Embrace the areas where you know you
are ignorant. When you recognize that someone knows something you
don’t, use it as a learning opportunity rather than feeling dumb or
pretending you know more than you do.
Recognize the golden glow of retrospect
When you look back at a difficult event in your life, it no longer
holds the same ‘oh no, my life is over’ that you experienced at the
time. Even very painful events like deaths, breakups and accidents can
be looked at in a positive light in the golden veil of retrospect. If
you can assume this perspective in the future looking back, certainly
you can apply some aspects of that mindset while going through an event.
Learn from your future self looking back at present you!
If you can master this one, you have mastered life. Resistance has
many forms but there is a simple test to know if you are in resistance
or not. Does this thought make you feel good or bad? You guessed it, if
it makes you feel bad then it is a form of resistance. For example, you
are driving on the freeway and you miss your exit. Instead of getting
angry and wishing you had not missed it, accept your circumstance and
laugh about it instead. Maybe you would have gotten in a horrible car
crash had you gotten off in time. How lucky that you just narrowly
escaped a fiery death! Plus, do you enjoy being frustrated with crappy
circumstances?
20-25 minutes is all you need to wake up refreshed without feeling
groggy. Taking a quick nap in the evening is a great way to get a burst
of motivation and energy for the rest of the night. This is also a great
time to try out hypnagogic hallucination – #4.
Transition to Internet TV
If you’re still spending your leisure time in front of a TV, consider
the new web-based streaming options to traditional cable/satellite.
Services like Apple TV and Roku allow you to stream Netflix, Hulu and
tons of other internet entertainment channels to your TV for a fraction
of the price. Additionally because you actually have to go through and
choose something to watch instead of mindlessly flipping through
channels, you’ll have to think twice before zombie-ing out to some
reality show re-runs.
Master what you do most often
For me that would be typing and navigating around my computer. So I
downloaded a typing tutor program and got my words-per-minute up to 60
(woot!) and have memorized every keyboard shortcut there is. Take the
time to become the best you can be at the small things you do most
often. You will save yourself loads of time, plus it’s fun to be really good at something
Practice Altru-Hedonism
‘Altru-Hedonism’ is a word I made up
which represents the idea that helping other people provides the most
satisfying and long-lasting pleasure. So in a way, altruism is a
hedonistic activity.
Figure out the minimum income you need to be free
By free I mean able to do what you love without having to slave away
at a job all day. I know we all would like the ultimate house with a BMW
(M3 for me please!) but wouldn’t you rather be from having to do a job
you don’t LOVE? If you agree with that, a great way to make it more
feasible is to calculate exactly how much money you would need per
month/year to be free. Minimalism is the goal here (If you’re having
trouble not counting in that BMW, watch Fight Club and then have another
go).
“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”
This one goes right along with #46. What are you currently giving up
to have ________ ? Your time? Your dreams? Time with your family and
friends? Your health? Decide if your current sacrifices are worth what
they allow you.
Be a source of good on your social network
Instead of further inflating these networks full of transient
emotions and comments about Lady Gaga, tweet and share content that will
bring help other people and spread happiness. Share motivational
quotes, inspirational videos and anything else that will improve the
lives of those come into contact with your feed.
Give your mom a call
If you’re looking for a way to give someone immense happiness with
the least amount of effort, calling your mother is at the top of the
list. She loves you 100 times more than you thought you loved that
boy/girl in 7th grade & getting a call from you would make her day
100 times over. Even if you have no interest in talking to her, pretend
that you do for 5 minutes. Say ‘I love you’ before she does for an even
more ecstatic mama :)
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thousands of awesome people who think about life differently (like you
do!). If you like talking about the meaning of life, spirituality,
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