Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 24#
Observations & Insights#
About Mindfulness Meditation
I had tried mindfulness meditation before, but I didn't stick with it. My initial goal was to reduce my wandering thoughts, but controlling my thoughts wasn't as easy as I thought.
Recently, I started thinking about trying meditation again because my sleep quality has been very poor this week. During the day, my eyes feel very uncomfortable, and I don't know if it's related to my sleep. Today at noon, I couldn't bear it anymore and downloaded several meditation apps recommended online. I tried them all and finally settled on "nice day." Listening to it at noon, it was actually the best sleep I've had in these past few days. Then I saw there were some promotions recently, so without hesitation, I bought a membership, hoping to have more time to practice in the future.
Recently, I also came across a statement about meditation that I found quite reasonable. I'll share it: "Another interpretation of mindfulness is that initially, we believed mindfulness meant trying to empty our minds and not think about anything. But that's difficult; it's basically impossible to control our thoughts. So, what should we do? Let's change our perspective. Mindfulness is about opening up, not just focusing on negative things. Open yourself up and see everything, like the sunlight outside the window, the breeze, and so on. You can see sadness, but you can also see beauty."
When facing difficulties and feeling stuck, we often only see the negative side. At this time, instead of trying not to think about these negative things, acknowledge the negative thoughts and also see the positive side.
There was a passage in Wei Chen's newsletter that mentioned a similar viewpoint:
When our minds are filled with worries, it's easy to overlook the existence of beauty. The key issue is not that good things aren't happening; it's that we don't pay attention. Practicing gratitude is an active reminder and a process of taming ourselves.
If something bothers others for a whole day, but you can let it go after ten minutes, it's like having superpowers.
Three Forms, Six Forces, Mind Already Eight, Unintentional is Ten
This phrase was said by Yu Hewei during the second season of the comedy competition. It was originally used to describe performances, but when I heard it, I felt it was suitable for explaining many things. The most comfortable state for people to see is naturalness. How can we achieve naturalness? By being unintentional.
Audiobooks & Books#
Last week, I worked at the company for a week and didn't have much time to listen to audiobooks or read books. This week, I listened to two books: "I Am the Gatekeeper of the Forbidden City" and "The Neuroscience of Writing." Both books were mediocre, and there wasn't much content worth sharing with everyone.
I don't want to just fill the space, so this section will be left blank this week.
That's all for this issue of the newsletter. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thank you for reading.