01. THREE POSITIVE THINGS.
1. A week spent out in nature—while it’s still warm—is a particularly precious time before winter sets in.
2. Tidying up the garden and clearing the grounds.
3. Warming up by a fire.
02. REFLECTIONS AND DISCOVERIES.
I wanted to write about how good it feels to be out in nature.
This seems natural for us—likely because, in the past, we lived either in the wild or very close to it.
Then I realized I was drifting back into a topic I’ve touched on before: why would a camel need a hump if it lives in the Moscow Zoo?
It brings me back to the same question: is it better for us to seek out what aligns with human nature, or is it better to adapt to new conditions?
What if we need to learn to live in cramped spaces and consume chemically synthesized food—all to prepare for long-duration space travel or the colonization of other planets?
But there’s another angle: the fact that the same thought keeps returning—and the brain keeps mulling it over—suggests it’s being examined from different perspectives. Something about it draws the brain in, so it repeats it, over and over.
At least in that case, there’s some sort of outcome. But consider a song that gets stuck in your head—you’re already sick of it, yet your brain keeps playing it on a loop.
Perhaps the brain actually enjoys this process. It might be that performing the simple, repetitive task requires minimal effort, or perhaps the activity itself provides some form of pleasure.
This brings me back to an idea I’ve explored before: the notion that human thinking is often formulaic—much like a robot running programs that trigger automatically whenever a specific button is pressed.
For instance, if someone steps on your foot, you feel compelled to react sharply. Or, if someone pays you a compliment—smile in return.
Some of these programs are likely genetically encoded—perhaps stemming from the experience of past lives—while others are acquired from birth.
Many of these programs can be rewritten, if you so desire; but first, you must become aware of them and determine whether they actually need to be changed.
This brings us back to the age-old idea that pain serves a useful purpose. Without pain, we might suffer destruction without even realizing it—for instance, failing to notice that you’ve burned your hand in a fire.
However, while observing the recurring nature of my thoughts, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon: when you try not to think, and the beginning of a thought—like "I need to do such-and-such..."—suddenly arises, you realize that you’ve already had this thought before. You can essentially "fast-forward" through it to arrive at the conclusion—the same outcome it reached last time.
This way, you don’t have to dwell on the exact same thought over and over again—especially if you see no point in doing so.
The same principle applies, perhaps even more clearly, to human interaction. When you approach someone, you might already know that they’ll start by asking, "How are things?"—to which you’ll give your usual response—followed by them sharing something of their own, and you, in turn, sharing something of yours. If nothing significant has changed, you can predict almost the entire conversation in advance.
Setting aside the pleasure derived from the interaction, the actual informational value of such a conversation is close to zero.
And if you’re short on time, this can even become a source of irritation.
03. MY YOGA INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK.
Morning warm-up
04. MY GRATITUDE AND PRAISE.
To those who managed it
05. I WANT TO PRAISE MYSELF. Exploring AI
06. PERSONAL YOGA PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK.*
Hatha, Kriya, Mantra, Pranayama — 6 days a week
07. CHALLENGES IN LEARNING.*
Debts