sarakingdom Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 It's that time of year again. And, oh look, here's an old Glorious 25th challenge I can dust off and use. Let's see if it needs sprucing up. A Challynge yn Foure Partes Parte I: Clerking "As a wizard, I must tell you, Havelock, that words have power." "As a politician, I must tell you I already know." I'm having a resurgence of writing as a way of processing and also being mindful about productivity things. Part Ryder Carroll on bullet journaling and ADHD, part Charlie Jane Anders' book on writing "Never Say You Can't Survive". So I will be hauling out the notebooks and doing a lot of writing. Some will be creative writing. Some will be journaling. Some will be reflective daily tracker and review style writing. Parte II: Monking "Time has stopped for everyone but you," said Sweeper patiently. "Actually, that sentence is wrong in every particular, but it’s quite a useful lie." I've been remiss about all meditation that's not body scans lately. This is not necessarily a problem, just a fact. I started focusing on that for brain rest reasons, and then started learning about sympathetic nervous system dominance in general and in ADHD in particular, and that seems like a useful place to put my focus for a while, because it is definitely a thing with me. This means I'm spending a lot of time with the somewhat provocatively named field of releasing trauma. Is it trauma, no, not really, but is it a chronic disregulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, yeah, most likely. So my exercise plans are consistent but gentle, and I'm practicing switching off my sympathetic nervous system response, getting rid of chronic muscle tension, reading books on how the body stores old emotions. Most of my meditation will continue to be yoga nidra body scans. (Oh gawwwd, this sounds hideously Not Me, like I've suddenly done a liberal arts degree and drink my fair trade organic yerba mate out of an artisanal ceramic mug and talk about my chakras at the farmers market. Guys. This is so hard. I swear the academic line of thought seems moderately good. Also, it seems to move the needle.) Parte III: Patrolling Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. This part is simple. Walking. I will patrol my city. What I want to try is micro walks distributed through the day. I'm microdosing rest for performance boosts, and that works well, so I'd like to microdose movement regularly. I think I'll end up being able to fit more of it in, and I may see brain boosts. (Arguably; I think the evidence for ADHD prefers longer cardio, but it can't hurt to start here.) It also plays well with my "everything gentle but consistent" plan, and also that calf muscle I keep reinjuring every couple of months. It's still noticeably weaker, which is not a good sign for future performance. I think a month of making it work a lot and often, but never to fatigue, would be good for rebuilding it stronger. (Then I can get back to my morning walks without so many worries about that calf muscle.) Parte IV: Assassining The Assassin moved quietly from roof to roof until he was well away from the excitement around the Watch House. His movements could be called catlike, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things. Strength and mobility training, for scaling rooftops and things. The strength training will be with a continuation of the isometric stuff. I have one workout that's plank, ITWY exercises, an arm thing, and mule kick, and one that's plank, side plank, horse stance, Superman, and bridge, and dead bug. I've also got a more arm strength one. My plan is one full body one and one arm one per day, but a minimum of doing one to have done the thing. That's short, probably short enough to avoid any cortisol issues, but theoretically enough to be beneficial. I can't find it now, but I linked to a study a while back on how a 7 minute isometrics workout done regularly had some pretty unexpectedly effective results. I will also try to get back into daily yoga before bed. Assassins need to be limber and stuff. It was a Guild of Assassins, after all. Black was what you wore. The night was black and so were you. And black had such style, and an Assassin without style, everyone agreed, was just a highly paid arrogant thug. Pure bonus material, but I think some wearing of black and stylishness should get points. A lot of aikido teachers will tell you to focus on elegance, and putting the focus on the process rather than the goal tends to improve the efficacy. Gratuitous drinking of wine, pretentious classical art fannishness, and so on. Ye Planne These are all habits that are sort of half there, so it's mostly a question of being more accountable and staying in track. The one habit I'm not tracking, which is the deal breaker for all of these, is sleep. I'm currently not being suspended by wizards who think** that they know better than me, but it's not exactly a steady habit. It's partly that I'm missing my bedtime a lot. The whole house has shifted later than usual, which means I also get even less wind-down time than usual, which makes it slightly harder. But fundamentally it's still a me thing. Getting my end of day tasks done and relaxing enough to sleep is always hard. I'm out of brain juice at the end of the day. Not sleep tracking might be a mistake. But there's room in my template to add it later if I feel like it. ** (correctly) Template: Week 0 Day 1 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Meditation Planning Writing Walking Strength Yoga Assassin Style Bonus Day Score 7 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted April 28 Author Report Share Posted April 28 The Folly Library Isometrics - Upper Body Spoiler Isometrics - Homebrew Workouts Spoiler Even Days Tabula scindere Orantes scindere Dorsum scindere recta, crux, obliquum & ramosa Calcitrare mulae Plank Praying pose ITWY poses Mule kick Odd Days Tabula scindere Præfixa tabula scindere dextra & sinistra Gluteus pontis scindere Gluteus sedet scindere Volans scindere Insectum mortuum Plank Side plank, right and left Bridge pose Horse stance Superman Dead bug Remedial Crawling Spoiler Somatic Exercises to Try Spoiler Cleaning Playlists Spoiler 8D Music Spoiler (Repetitive and not great for work, but really pokes the brain.) Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted April 28 Author Report Share Posted April 28 Placeholder for something, probably. Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Everstorm Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 16 minutes ago, sarakingdom said: Pure bonus material, but I think some wearing of black and stylishness should get points 4 Quote Life before Death Strength before Weakness Journey before Destination Link to comment
Mistr Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 16 hours ago, sarakingdom said: (Oh gawwwd, this sounds hideously Not Me, like I've suddenly done a liberal arts degree and drink my fair trade organic yerba mate out of an artisanal ceramic mug and talk about my chakras at the farmers market. Guys. This is so hard. I swear the academic line of thought seems moderately good. Also, it seems to move the needle.) There is some fascinating research coming out about how the brain and the mind work. I have been listening to How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. It is a fascinating account of both historical and current research on psychedelic drugs. Apparently there is a part of the brain called the Default Mode Network that becomes more dominant as people reach adulthood. This is the part of the brain that lets you quickly recognize familiar situations and know what to do. It causes problems when it is overactive - depression, obsessive behavior, addiction. The person feels trapped by their brain. Psychedelics turn off the default mode network and allow different parts of the brain to make connections. Effectively "removing the box". The success rate of guided therapy with psilocybin for treating depression, alcoholism and smoking is substantially better than for any currently approved drug. ADHD is not on the list of things he is talking about. I was just noticing how we are getting more insight into how the mind really works and what normal people can do to make their brains happier. 3 Quote Level 77 Viking paladin My current challenge Battle log Link to comment
Qnobi Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Came for the assassining, stayed for the purple-to-black grid. All the best on youe challenge! BTW, was the 7-minute workout the Corporate Athlete thing? 2 Quote Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 2 hours ago, Mistr said: Apparently there is a part of the brain called the Default Mode Network that becomes more dominant as people reach adulthood. I'm familiar with the default mode network from Barbara Oakley's "Learning How to Learn" online course (and probably now book). It's a key part of memory storage in the learning process. I'm surprised it's more dominant in adulthood; it's the mode that adults get trained out of using, the thing that activates when you're spaced out, daydreaming, thinking abstractly about the past or future as in planning, or whatever - not outwardly focused thinking. (It's brought up on the course in the role of "you need to activate this mode between learning sessions to consolidate what you've learned in and let your brain store it". It's one of the two main origins of my brain rest philosophy, the other being the patterns for ADHD drugs wearing off or losing effectiveness.) My general impression was that adults didn't allow theirs to activate often enough for good brain performance, because work ethic culture keeps us in situations where it's turned off. But it does perhaps make sense that children would be developmentally very focused on absorbing the outside world and use theirs less, while that sort of rapid acquisition slows for adults, and there's a lot more doing things on autopilot, where the focused mode network wouldn't need to engage and would open up for the default mode network to activate. So it's possible both those things are true; we use it more, and are lagging behind what would actually be optimal for learning and memory and so on. The course is insanely popular, and I think you might enjoy it in the vein of some light popular science. If there's a book, I'm sure it's good, but it's just as easy to audit it in its original form on Coursera. 2 hours ago, Mistr said: It causes problems when it is overactive - depression, obsessive behavior, addiction. The person feels trapped by their brain. Psychedelics turn off the default mode network and allow different parts of the brain to make connections. Effectively "removing the box". This was unexpected, so I had to look it up. That's really interesting, it seems like it weakens the effect of "neurons that fire together, wire together" and starts to break down pathways carved by rumination or habitual behavior. In essence, it lets the neurons in the DMN rewire from... well, hopefully not from scratch, but from a place where habituation is reduced. (From scratch would be the worst failure mode of that approach, I think, since the DMN seems to encode the sense of self.) 2 hours ago, Mistr said: ADHD is not on the list of things he is talking about. ADHD is one of the things marked by DMN abnormality, though, as with all thinks, there's a correlation versus causation question in play. (I wanna say that the ADHD brain doesn't cleanly switch between the default and focused modes; they're not supposed to be active at the same time, but ADHD doesn't separate them neatly. But it's been a long time, and I could be inventing that. A quick skim of that paper says that the DMN isn't correctly suppressed when it should be, among other things, but that sounds like it might almost be a generic feature of this list.) 3 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 2 hours ago, Qnobi said: BTW, was the 7-minute workout the Corporate Athlete thing? I don't think so; if that's what I'm thinking of, it's not isometric. The paper I read seemed to have a self-designed set, including a minute of facial isometrics, which in sure is in now program designed for public palatability. 2 hours ago, Qnobi said: Came for the assassining, stayed for the purple-to-black grid. When I saw the grid in my old challenge, I had to reuse it. I had plans for a whole other thing, but how could I resist a lilac to black gradient that's also the Assassins Guild colors? I could not. 4 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Laghail Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 Already planning to wear lavender on May 25! 1 Quote Level 38 [Raveling Bard] Link to comment
Scaly Freak Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 On 4/29/2024 at 8:24 AM, Mistr said: ADHD is not on the list of things he is talking about. I was just noticing how we are getting more insight into how the mind really works and what normal people can do to make their brains happier. The fact this book (podcast?) talks about normal people as if such a thing exists, makes me question its credibility.... Quote The Great Reading Thread of 2024 “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scalyfreak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26; Ch 27; Ch 28; Ch 29; Ch 30; Ch 31; Ch 32; Ch 33; Ch 34; Ch 35; Ch 36; Ch 37; Ch 38; Ch 39; Ch 40; Intermission V; Ch 41; Ch 42; Ch 43; Ch 44; Ch 45; Ch 46; Ch 47; Intermission VI; Ch 48; Ch 49; Ch 50 Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 Glorious 25th. On 4/28/2024 at 11:41 PM, sarakingdom said: (Oh gawwwd, this sounds hideously Not Me, like I've suddenly done a liberal arts degree and drink my fair trade organic yerba mate out of an artisanal ceramic mug and talk about my chakras at the farmers market. Guys. This is so hard. I swear the academic line of thought seems moderately good. Also, it seems to move the needle.) Uggh it's the worst when hippie stuff works. 3 Quote Link to comment
Mistr Posted May 1 Report Share Posted May 1 11 hours ago, Scaly Freak said: The fact this book (podcast?) talks about normal people as if such a thing exists, makes me question its credibility.... In fact it talks about the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy for "healthy normals". Apparently this is a technical term in the mental health professions to distinguish people who do not have a mental illness diagnosis from those who do. Pollan does not say anything about how the researchers screen the people in their studies. He presents an overview of the results of studies on people in different groups. What counts as "normal" is a question for the institutional review board. 😁 1 Quote Level 77 Viking paladin My current challenge Battle log Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted May 1 Author Report Share Posted May 1 18 hours ago, Laghail said: Already planning to wear lavender on May 25! Our lilac tree should be in bloom here by then. 6 hours ago, Mad Hatter said: Uggh it's the worst when hippie stuff works. 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Scaly Freak Posted May 2 Report Share Posted May 2 8 hours ago, Mistr said: In fact it talks about the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy for "healthy normals". Apparently this is a technical term in the mental health professions to distinguish people who do not have a mental illness diagnosis from those who do. That sounds like a really interesting topic. Though I still think "healthy undiagnosed" would have been a better term... but when in doubt, go with the industry standard so the review board understands you. Quote The Great Reading Thread of 2024 “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scalyfreak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26; Ch 27; Ch 28; Ch 29; Ch 30; Ch 31; Ch 32; Ch 33; Ch 34; Ch 35; Ch 36; Ch 37; Ch 38; Ch 39; Ch 40; Intermission V; Ch 41; Ch 42; Ch 43; Ch 44; Ch 45; Ch 46; Ch 47; Intermission VI; Ch 48; Ch 49; Ch 50 Link to comment
Mistr Posted May 2 Report Share Posted May 2 My lilacs are starting to open. Much earlier than usual. They are likely to be done before May 25th. I am still having the unsettled feeling that it is not really spring because we did not have a real winter. I feel like winter is going to come back to make up for lost time, even though it is 70ºF out and all the plants are leafing out and blooming. Quote Level 77 Viking paladin My current challenge Battle log Link to comment
Whisper Posted May 2 Report Share Posted May 2 All the little angels rise up, rise up. All the little angels rise up high! I should pull out Night Watch when I get home... 4 Quote We are not sinners trespassing in the garden of an angry God. We are prodigals come home; fully seen and deeply loved. Put together enough small wins over a long enough period of time, and you’ll find yourself in high level gear fighting dragons before you know it. Spoiler Unused for now, Quest Log: Not Silence in the Library but a Whisper in the Academy Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted May 2 Report Share Posted May 2 34 minutes ago, Mistr said: My lilacs are starting to open. Much earlier than usual. They are likely to be done before May 25th. Most of the ones here are already gone. 😢 There were some lovely ones just outside the balcony. 1 Quote Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted May 2 Author Report Share Posted May 2 51 minutes ago, Whisper said: I should pull out Night Watch when I get home... It is mandatory this time of year. Things need to be observed. 46 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said: Most of the ones here are already gone. 😢 There were some lovely ones just outside the balcony. Comrade, this is going to present a problem when the revolution comes. 2 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted May 3 Report Share Posted May 3 On 5/2/2024 at 6:28 PM, sarakingdom said: Comrade, this is going to present a problem when the revolution comes. I'll figure something out. And I'll bring the eggs. 3 Quote Link to comment
Sea-to-sky Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 On 5/2/2024 at 4:36 PM, Whisper said: should pull out Night Watch when I get home... I do love that book 3 Quote the creative spelling comes as standard. Enjoy! A journey of thousand miles, begins with a single step - Lao Tzu Challenge: #1, #2, #3, #4 Link to comment
Harriet Posted May 4 Report Share Posted May 4 On 4/28/2024 at 11:41 PM, sarakingdom said: (Oh gawwwd, this sounds hideously Not Me, like I've suddenly done a liberal arts degree and drink my fair trade organic yerba mate out of an artisanal ceramic mug and talk about my chakras at the farmers market. Guys. This is so hard. I swear the academic line of thought seems moderately good. Also, it seems to move the needle.) In my liberal arts degree I did formal logic. But I love hippie wellness shit. Have you thought about surrounding yourself with some natural river or desert stones to absorb and neutralise your scepticism? On 5/2/2024 at 5:42 PM, Mad Hatter said: Most of the ones here are already gone. 😢 There were some lovely ones just outside the balcony. Here, too! I was confused because they came out and there was no sarakingdom challenge. Every year when they come out I realise with a hideous sensation of a sudden fall that I wasted another year and did nothing. They're all wilting now. 1 2 Quote Let cheese and oxen and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination - Harriet the Viking Just be bold, fluid and unapologetic, not small, hairy and indecisive - Harriet the Artist You can absorb me! - Harriet the Contextless Guru Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted May 5 Author Report Share Posted May 5 I have actually Done Things today, after like a week or more of being very focused on work. Honestly, just work since Sunday, when I batch cooked for the week, so I wouldn't have to stop work. I'm probably sort of ready for the start of the challenge. I've had a little sleep, done some extra self care things. Doing things is very nice. Some of them are enjoyable things. And I think I will batch cook more. 7 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Jarric Posted May 6 Report Share Posted May 6 On 4/28/2024 at 10:41 PM, sarakingdom said: drink my fair trade organic yerba mate out of an artisanal ceramic mug To be fair, yerba mate is great (ceramic mug optional). On 4/28/2024 at 10:41 PM, sarakingdom said: I think a month of making it work a lot and often, but never to fatigue, would be good for rebuilding it stronger. Sounds logical to me - high volumes of low-intensity movement are what a lot of tehab programmes are built on. Hope you can now focus on work a bit left, to allow you space for other stuff. 1 Quote Level 21 Wood Elf Ranger STR: 18 - CON: 22 - CHA: 11 - SAN: 19 - INT: 17 IAgreeWithTank™ "Shit is going down, but I am not." - iatetheyeti Don't say "I don't have enough time", say instead "that's not a priority right now" and see how that makes you feel. Current Challenge: Witty title goes here External: Epic Quest - Instagram - Strava Spoiler Previous Challenges: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 67 68 69 70 71 72 Old Stuff: Battle Log - My Introduction - 2017 Road Map - 2018 Road Map - 2019 Road Map - 2021 Road Map - 2022 road map/wrap-up Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted May 6 Author Report Share Posted May 6 Week 1 Day 1 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Meditation 1 Planning 0.5 Writing 1 Walking 1 Strength 1 Yoga 0.1 Assassin Style Bonus 0 Day Score 4.6 I'm in A Mood today. Not a big mood, but something of a mood. I choose to treat this as a physical problem. Clearly I need food, hydration, light exercise, and rest. But today is non-optimal. I redid my navy blue nail polish, and in honor of the challenge, I did one lilac nail per hand. 4 2 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted May 6 Author Report Share Posted May 6 1 hour ago, Jarric said: To be fair, yerba mate is great (ceramic mug optional). 1 4 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
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