As my regular readers know I’ve slightly changed the format this year for Monday through Thursday. Fridays I had historically always posted a video, a re-blog, an article or an audio clip. I had originally planned to continue that plan this year as well —and I will, in a way.
What changed it was that as I sat down to write the first one of this year I had something happen that’s never happened in all the time I’ve written this blog—I got stuck. I wrote three different versions but I didn’t like any of them. And I did not feel like writing a fourth. Luckily I teach this stuff so I knew exactly what to do.
Rather than engage in frustrated thoughts where I worried about how late I’d have to work, or about how I should have done this or that differently, instead I got up and went and did dishes. I called up my best friend and stuck my hands in the warm water.
As I relaxed –and before she could even answer the ringing phone– I realized something. I remembered that I had another challenge that I had left un-thought-of because at that time I had no solution. But here, now, in the quiet of my mind —where it was not distracted by any noisy frustrated thinking— these two issues found each other. It turned out they co-resolved each other.
I have a lot of readers who come each day to the blog but they neither Follow it, nor do they belong to any social media like facebook, twitter, pinterest or tumblr. But they have expressed interest in what I think about things and, by extension, what things I think about. Their only regret about preferring as much electronic privacy as they have is that they miss out on the other posts that are not a part of the blog.
Those include links to articles, additional audio and video recordings, or even photos. I got asked to email these each month but that’s simply too prohibitive once there’s a certain number of people, but I think you can see where this is going anyway.
A lot of my friends tell me they count on me for a lot of the really cool and interesting stuff I find on the web. This year Fridays will be when I will post that week’s collection of any material I’ve found that relates to our pursuits here. The nice thing about this switch is that it makes the postings searchable, which is remarkably not possible on facebook.
So what will I include on Fridays? Well, I’ll design them to feel a bit like special discoveries. It will be a case where you never know what exactly you might find, but I’ll endeavour to ensure that you always feel it was worth it to have come.
It might be an article on Buddhism or psychology. Or it might be a demonstration of love or an interview with someone who’s done something amazing. It might be some fascinating scientific detail or an inspiring medical discovery. It could be a beautiful song, a philosophical stand-up comic, or just a baby or a dog being really really funny.
They will all be things that will be chosen to stretch, challenge and create enjoyment and growth for your mind. They will always relate to what I’m doing here at Relax and Succeed. This new regular instalment will be called: The Friday Dose. I call it that because it’ll always be a dose of something tasty and good for you. Welcome to the First Edition.
We’ll begin with this beautiful story about love and loss, as musician Fiona Apple demonstrates wonderful courage in what was surely a torrent of complaints, pressure and anger. I’m sure there was discussions of legalities, ethics and conscience, but by demonstrating the values of actual True Love, Fiona demonstrates a healthy kind of selfishness that the world could use more of:
And I’ll also share this empowering piece on Matthieu Ricard, the Buddhist Monk whose brain scans demonstrated that he is the happiest man ever tested:
And if you like that, you might also want to check out this wonderfully engaging video of him:
Please feel free to email me any links you might find to relevant things, and always feel welcome to email me any feedback or requests you have relating to the blog or my social media.
Thank you for your time and attention. I trust you’ll find the postings as rewarding as I did. Enjoy.
peace. s
A serious childhood brain injury lead Scott to spend his entire life meditating on the concepts of thought, consciousness, reality and identity. It made others as strange to him as he was to them. When he realized people were confused by their own over-thinking, Scott began teaching others to understand reality. He is currently CBC Radio Active’s Wellness Columnist, as well as a writer, speaker and mindfulness instructor based in Edmonton, AB where he still finds it strange to write about himself in the third person.
Absolutely beautiful and inspirational post. Each link was in and of itself, exceptional, inspiring, uplifting and encouraging…….. It has left me with a lot to think about………or perhaps, to meditate on……… Thank you.
Peace,
Carreen
Thank you, and you’re very welcome. I’m glad you like the new Friday format.