Act as if you have energy

"Fake it till you make it" is not one of my favorite expressions. However, there is some merit to thinking, "What what I do if I had a lot of energy?" The focus is on the action. Energy is action. That thought itself can give you energy.

A similar thought I've had is, "What would I say to myself IF I were my best friend?" You don't have to make the leap and say, "I'm my best friend. Now what?" Just say "If I were, I'd do this." The same goes for energy. If you had energy, what projects would you take on?

I would do some art, I would do physical work, I would continue writing, I would teach undauntedly, I would meditate often, I would exercise, I would travel, and many other things. I do some of these things now, but the sky's the limit.

What would you do if you had a lot of energy? 

Try to not try

Try not to try. It takes effort. Most of the time we're trying to be something we're not, but instead we should put in serious effort to not do any work. We should be natural. It actually does take conscious effort because we're not kids anymore. Kids are automatically being themselves until they reach young adolescence, but adults are sometimes themselves sometimes not. Therefore, don't try. However, that's not enough because not trying automatically leads to effort. Therefore, if you're going to put effort into something, make it an effort to not do any effort. Try to not try.

Pope Francis is the New Intergender Wrestling Champion

Pope Francis has taken the title of Intergender Wrestling Champion. A Catholic challenger grabbed his hand, possibly for some kind of piledriver, and Pope Francis slapped her away, thus reclaiming the title from former Intergender Wrestling Champion Jim Acosta.

The first Intergender Wrestling Champion was Andy Kaufman, who held the title until his sudden and mysterious death. Some say he lives on, through Pope Francis. The Papacy Line and the Intergender Wrestling Title have been unified under a single pope. Will future popes also hold the Intergender Wrestling Championship?

 

Pascal's Gamble Reversed

Maybe God prefers you to not believe in God. That could be the case if God is the Great Void or something like that. Therefore, Pascal's Gamble does not hold. It is not necessarily advantageous to believe in God given that God may prefer you to only believe what you can see. If there's not a God, you've believed correctly. If there is a God, he either prefers you to believe in him or not. The Gamble is really a wash.

Feel like an expert in order to read better

I am a professor of psychology. I know some things about the field. At the same time, I don't know that much more than before I was a professor. Something about it though has changed the way I read. Now when I read psychology, I seek to affirm or reject my theories about it, or I seek to confirm or reject other people's ideas about it. I play with ideas in such a way. I recommend this tip to you as well.

Read like you are seeking some kind of validation. I know what you're thinking: Seeking validation is never good. However, self-referential processing improves our  memory greatly. In shifting to this strategy I was able to actually enjoy a very dense work on consciousness that I read previously and did not enjoy (Bernard Baars's Cogntive Theory of Consciousness). Now I read it as a pleasure. I seek to feel good reading. I seek to really know about myself and others. That's as good a goal as any. My old adviser used to say, "research is me-search." So be it.

Zero Spending Month

If you're on a low budget, it makes sense to do a financial diet. If you can spend nothing for an entire day, you feel better. I've done this before with some success. I've had multiple zero-spending days. Now it's time to extend that to a zero-spending month. Why? I'm on a low budget. 

You can feel sort of monkish to spend nothing, and it allows you a lot of free time and ease from worry. If I have nothing to spend on, then I have nothing to worry about. The only limit is that I need to buy food, but definitely not fast food or soda. There are financial websites such as this one: 

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/budget-worksheet/

They can help you to see where your spending is at. If you don't want for anything, then you will be content. If you can do it for a day, you can do it for a month. Then, you'll have money to spare and can travel, invest, save up, or be more financially independent. All of those things sound good to me. I've done zero-spending days. I'll update you on the zero-spending month. Thanks for reading. 

Knock on Wood koan

A mad Zen student met a Catholic priest for a confession. The madman said, "When I am insane I am willing to knock on wood," then knocked on wood. At the sound of the knocking the madman realized satori. The madman then confessed all of his sins and received absolution.

Togden's Comment

At the moment of knocking on wood
He was both sane and insane
If you grasp this
You are beyond insanity and have awakened to the Way

Togden's Verse

He knocked on wood
Or the wood knocked him
The man was himself
Sane, insane belong to eternity