🌀🐇 #66 post traumatic growth, learning, meditation timer

Plus Ultra Deep Field  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web 🧘‍♀️ Fibonacci Timer for Meditation: Pokoy is a timer that encourages you to meditate longer and more often. [Try it here.](​ 🐬 The Astonishing Miracle of Existence: This Sunday, 1/2/22, long-time HighExistence Co-Creator Jordan Bates is hosting a free digital Retreat & New Year's Party called The Astonishing Miracle of Existence. All beings are invited to join and connect to the Magic of Life as we transition into 2022. [Read more here.](​ 🎧 Blueprints for Civilisation, Post-traumatic Growth & Re-imagining the Role of the Human: A fascinating podcast from Curious Humans featuring with Dr. Zachary Stein. [Listen here.]()​ Did someone forward you this email? Get this newsletter every week when you [sign up here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ "The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax, created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004. By collecting faint light over many hours of observation, it revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the universe ever taken at that time." 🌊 Surf The Wave 2022 is on the horizon. You're probably starting to hear all kinds of chatter about... Planning. Reflection. Resolutions. You know the drill. Maybe you have some changes in mind or maybe you're burned out by the idea of using the new year as a catapult into new behaviors. But... What if you did things differently this year? Most New Year goals fail and fail quickly. We know this. You've almost certainly experienced that in the past. There are good reasons why this happens (I'll share specifically about this in future emails). Independent of the reasons WHY people fail... Repeated failures discourage people from attempting to change in the future. And that's tragic. So if people so often fail should you even try? Isn't January 1st an arbitrary day? A day like any other? Not quite. We actually can build a lot of momentum out of the perceived significance of events in our lives. Although January 1st is just another X on the calendar, the fact that it marks a new year offers your autobiographical self some potent ammunition for upgrading your narrative. 2022 can be different in meaningful ways from 2021 through your action. You can harness the significance of the new years to create profound transformations. This year we're doing things differently. We're going to explore how to create explosive (and sustainable) growth in 2022 with a small group of curious souls and wisdom seekers. It will be an opportunity to deeply connect with the global collective that is HighExistence while also gaining founding member access to our new community platform. This experience is called 🌊 Surf The Wave. It's all about finding your flow in 2022, harnessing the power of productive downtime, taming the inner critic, catalyzing creative firestorms, and having fun while getting things done. It's a 21-day challenge but you can't access it just yet. The doors will open on January 1st. Look out for an email from us then. In the meantime, enjoy the final days of 2021. You'll be hearing from us again soon. 👁 Learning Fall in love with these poetic musings from Jorge Luis Borges: ​ "After some time, you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and imprisoning a soul; You learn that love does not equal sex, and that company does not equal security, and you start to learn…. That kisses are not contracts and gifts are not promises, and you start to accept defeat with the head up high and open eyes, and you learn to build all roads on today, because the terrain of tomorrow is too insecure for plans… and the future has its own way of falling apart in half. And you learn that if it’s too much even the warmth of the sun can burn. So you plant your own garden and embellish your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring flowers to you. And you learn that you can actually bear hardship, that you are actually strong, and you are actually worthy, and you learn and learn…and so every day. Over time you learn that being with someone because they offer you a good future, means that sooner or later you’ll want to return to your past. Over time you comprehend that only who is capable of loving you with your flaws, with no intention of changing you can bring you all happiness. Over time you learn that if you are with a person only to accompany your own solitude, irremediably you’ll end up wishing not to see them again. Over time you learn that real friends are few and whoever doesn’t fight for them, sooner or later, will find himself surrounded only with false friendships. Over time you learn that words spoken in moments of anger continue hurting throughout a lifetime. Over time you learn that everyone can apologize, but forgiveness is an attribute solely of great souls. Over time you comprehend that if you have hurt a friend harshly it is very likely that your friendship will never be the same. Over time you realize that despite being happy with your friends, you cry for those you let go. Over time you realize that every experience lived, with each person, is unrepeatable. Over time you realize that whoever humiliates or scorns another human being, sooner or later will suffer the same humiliations or scorn in tenfold. Over time you learn to build your roads on today, because the path of tomorrow doesn’t exist. Over time you comprehend that rushing things or forcing them to happen causes the finale to be different from expected. Over time you realize that in fact the best was not the future, but the moment you were living just that instant. Over time you will see that even when you are happy with those around you, you’ll yearn for those who walked away. Over time you will learn to forgive or ask for forgiveness, say you love, say you miss, say you need, say you want to be friends, since before a grave, it will no longer make sense. But unfortunately, only over time…” 🤓 Learn This Word Lifeworld: the sum total of physical surroundings and everyday experiences that make up an individual's world. ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[50 Aphorisms from Alain de Botton That Reveal Harsh Truths About Human Nature]()​ Some of the greatest philosophy books ever created were formed from nothing but a numbered list of succinctly written insights — maxims or aphorisms: pithy observations containing a general truth about life. Such classics include Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, François de La Rochefoucauld’s Maxims, and most of Friedrich Nietzsche’s and Arthur Schopenhauer’s masterpieces. Alain de Botton is a modern-day curator, translator, and torch carrier of ancient and neglected ideas, and is bringing the aphorism back to life. Following in the footsteps of philosophers such as Aristotle, who founded “The Lyceum,” and Plato, who began “The Academy,” De Botton has created The School of Life, a multi-continental classroom devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the guidance of philosophy. Alain is most famous for his best-selling philosophy books on such diverse topics as The News, Status Anxiety, Architecture, Work, Art, and Love. But many now recognize him from Twitter, which he uses primarily to drop aphoristic wisdom-bombs to his 640K followers. Below you will find 50 Alain de Botton quotes taken from his Twitter and books alike. As you read you’ll see that living a happy life, according to Alain, is less about chasing pleasure and more about mitigating despair and replacing it with hope and consolation. ​[Continue Reading]()​ 👤 The Outsider The next issue of our premium newsletter [Stairway To Wisdom](=) is coming out on Friday and we'll be diving into The Outsider by Colin Wilson. =​ This gem from 1956 explores the lives of artists in isolation. The work of Hemingway, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Camus, van Gogh and more are explored. Here's a taste of what's inside: “Normally man’s mind is composed only of a consciousness of his immediate needs, which is to say that this consciousness at any moment can be defined as his awareness of his own power to satisfy those needs. He thinks in terms of what he intends to do in half an hour's time, a day's time, a month's time, and no more. He never asks himself: What are the limits of my powers? In a sense, he is like a man who has a fortune in the bank, who never asks himself, How much money have I got?, but only, Have I enough for a pound of cheese, for a new tie?, etc." Want access when it's released on Friday plus 52 additional book breakdowns? Sign-up for the Stairway To Wisdom. Right now you can claim a free trial so you can test-drive with zero risk. [Get Your Free Trial](=) 🎬 Endnote We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think. Want to help us spread the word? We love sharing these gems of wisdom and wonder with you each week. If you love receiving them and want to help us spread the word, here is one quick way you can do that: Forward this email to one friend. That's it. It will take 5 seconds and will help us spread the good vibes and reach more people. We appreciate you. With Wonder, Mike Slavin & The HighExistence Team P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? 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