New guy

[telos]

Hello, I'm here and I have mastered the art of stopping mind chatter.

 

I'm only half joking. Really, I'm good at using meditation to fall asleep. And if I'm not asleep I'm often in a dull stupor. Ussually after a nap is about the only time when that's not quite the case, but I can't always have time for a nap before every time before meditating. Sleep hours aren't terrible, but there is room for improvement.

 

Anyways, I hope to learn how to cultivate a calm alertness. I've noticed some success breathing in quickly (as well as a slow exhale). I'm gradually becomeing a little more aware of when I will pass out, and regulating it with a sharper 'in' breath is helping me extend that drop off while going deeper.

[soaring crane]

Hello telos, and welcome to the forum!

 

Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of the Lobby and take a look at the forum terms and rules http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started.

 

For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like.

 

Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes,

 

SC

[GrandmasterP]

BKA takes time out and we get an influx of new members.

Might there be some connection?

[soaring crane]

No

[GrandmasterP]

Could be.

Maybe she's using those sand mandalas to recruit new posters.

Edited June 17, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[soaring crane]

Well... Haha

[dogson]

Greetings telos.

First place I'd look is to your diet. Are you getting enough healthy fats in your diet? This is crucial for cognition.

There are lots of ways to add them in.

 

If you're a tea or coffee drinker, the current trend is "Bulletproof coffee" which uses grass-fed ghee and MCT oil, which is a condensed form of coconut oil. This is supremely powerful for cognition, and the high quality fat also gives great energy for several hours. And it trains your body to burn fat for calories.

 

I'm a biohacker, so a lot of my advice comes with the caveat - everyone has a different biology, a different diet, a different mindset. But I try to offer a lot of options. In my own struggles, I always feel better knowing I have a lot of options to try.

 

Krill oil is good, especially with megahydrate, which is a high-grade antioxidant. Whenever you take refined oils, a portion of them oxidize in your system, so you don't get maximum bioavailability. But megahydrate keeps it from oxidizing, so you get closer to 90% instead of 50-60%.

 

When fasting or eating minimally, I've also found megahydrate to cut my need for sleep down dramatically.

 

What else... pranayama of course, in the freshest air you can get. Hydrating is really important. I live in Boulder up at 6,000 feet, so it's very dry at altitude, and I find that if I'm not hitting liter bottles of water continuously, my performance suffers.

 

Also, read, man. Read all kinds of wild stuff. When I'm working on a novel, I keep books on architecture around. Because it stimulates a different aspect of my brain. A book gives you the ability to think like someone else for a while, and I find this totally addictive. Poetry is good for stimulating the imagination. Sudoku and word finds have helped me with dream recall. The point is to just be interested in things. Binge on information that you're curious about, and it will light up your brain more and more. Neuroplasticity is so cool. I personally believe the mind has the ability to keep growing forever, like that big pink monster in Akira, except less gross, and more on the psychic level.

 

I try not to post links to other sites very often, but the subreddit on Nootropics and biohacking is a fun conversation I drop into every once in a while, even though this is more toward the hard geek-mode side of things:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/

 

Also, a note on fish oil - I suggest avoiding it unless it's extremely high-grade (pharmaceutical grade) because fish holds a LOT of toxins in their liver, which is what's used for the oil. And also because this oil is highly volitile, and will get damaged (oxidized) in processing, so a great deal of what you get is rancid. Which is why people get the fish oil burps, etc. A company called Dr. Dave's makes very high grade stuff, I just ordered it to see if it's legit or not. But krill oil is super legit and very good for eyesight also. I go with Mercola's just because I know it's on point.

 

Feel free to PM if you wanna geek about brain cognition and meditation and various stuff. I'm super into it.

[telos]

Thanks guys! I don't know what BKA is, but I did find out about this place from lurking on AYP.

 

Thanks dogson, I'll look those things you posted! I probrably could use some healthy fats. With supplements I always found that some had a nice noticeable effect at first but then shortly seemed to do nothing after a week of use.

Edited June 20, 2014 by telos

[BaguaKicksAss]

Could be.

Maybe she's using those sand mandalas to recruit new posters.

 

Actually, I did mention the forum to a person or two during the event LOL. They haven't come by yet as far as I know though.

[GrandmasterP]

Back in the day as a young trade union rep if we recruited a new member after that member had paid three months subs we got a small recruiter's fee.

Back in the days of full employment and job mobility that could mount up nicely over a year.

Just sayin' is all.

 

Edited June 20, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[BaguaKicksAss]

I have recruited 3 people so far...

[Brian]

Thanks guys! I don't know what BKA is, but I did find out about this place from lurking on AYP.

 

Thanks dogson, I'll look those things you posted! I probrably could use some healthy fats. With supplements I always found that some had a nice noticeable effect at first but then shortly seemed to do nothing after a week of use.

 

BKA is short for BaguaKicksAss ^^^