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Very recently I have joined an online library. It does have pretty decent collection of books, and a facility that books are delivered and collected from your door step. The first book I got in my hands is ‘Faster than the speed of light’. Its a book with two structural part, written by a physicist. In the first part, he explains the historical developments in relativity, cosmology and such. He delves into deep yet simple explanations which are completely non mathematical. The second part deals with the radical idea that is the title of the book. While explaining the concept, and the ramifications, the author also weaves his personal story along with. He is brutal at places, but true to the story he is trying to tell. Interesting book, but it will help immensely if the reader has a firm grasp on the basics of relativity and cosmology.
I have just received another book, written by Jared Diamond. its titled ‘ Collapse: hows societies choose to fail or survive ‘.
I am also following a lot of economists through the ever useful google reader. The opinions are same, and getting gloomier by the day. Then, I look at the news papers and see prediction of job losses, liquidity crisis and forcast downgrading. Yet the government is predicting 7-8% growth… There is something drastically wrong somewhere. I have no clue as to how India will survive the recession if the whole world is already in one,and most knowledgable pundits are claiming that this is just the beginning….
Anyway, as my favorite line goes… ‘this too, shall pass’
Take care…
what is more important in life?
This was the question raised by someone whose friend is addicted to books and is totally in the book Fountainhead right now. Of course this question could only be raised by someone who is yet to experience the ‘zone’ if I can call it. That feeling when time does not exist, neither does the world. I have been in the zone for as long as 10-12 hours at a stretch, not even eating or drinking, just so that I could read the next page, the next line, the next action… the next idea.Its a high unlike any other.
What books are, is the main point of contention. Are they not the minds of the people who have written them? So when we read a book, its as if the person has come through to us, through time, space and culture. Just to share what he/she/they feel about something. Its exactly like hearing a speaker narrate his thrilling tale of adventure, or a philosopher sharing his years of thinking by distilling it in just a few hours.
What better thing could it be then , to choose whose thinking you want to hear? When we meet people, they are limited. Limited by the world that they see, experiences that are mostly manufactured be media and sold to them over various channels of communications. You hear opinions sculpted by spin doctors. In contrast, you can just grab a book by newton, aristotle, socrates, plato… and have a day out in a different culture. You can also pick a book like the great gatsby, or ana carenina, or war and peace and get the feel of the national culture, not of the 2000 but of much older. You get the choice, to go across all the boundaries, and hear the thoughts.
You get the choice to pace it to your speed of thinking too. If at all one gets a chance to meet some one in flesh, the time is of essence, and it runs out. Once, though, the ideas are written, they are immortalized. Their worth is really tested in the currents of time.
I presume we do need people, to stay in touch with reality, to maintain our sanity. We need books to grow, to feel the ‘zone’, to learn. Books have become a inseparable part of me. So have some of the people who leave their thought print.
Its not books or people.
Books, in their essence, are people.
Take care…
Nice song this.
Anyways did good exercise today. PU 20+10 AC 12. My target is for 100 PU and 25 AC. The target date is 15th August.
I am a subscriber of this tiny little library couple of minutes from my place. Its actually really a shack kinda, and it has books in 3 languages. Good enough novels collection, but non fiction suckz. Anyways, picked up Paolo Coelho’s “The Pilgrimage” yesterday. Small little book, as big as two hours. As I had read The Alchemist, Zahir, 11 minutes already, so I am quite familiar with his semi mystical style. Love it actually. The book is about a pilgrimage he takes ( erm… road to santiago..) with his guide, to reclaim a sword. Let me not write the summary here. His books are to be experienced anyways, the summary will only confuse you.
So, I am in a happy mood today, reading a good book always makes me so. The work day was also good enough. Not much of a work. For anyone. Anyone with my speed at least. Few tasks in the office, and my main job profile is all about meeting people anyways. Front end, The. Pretty glam eh? meeting those richie rich people, is boring actually. I would love to meet those first gen successful entrepreneurs but, pretty sharp them owners.
Next task is to set mile stones for next three months. Personal front and professional front.
Take care.
Yawn…..so I woke up at 5.30 and all today morning. Worked out lightly and went around getting ready for the office. Slept at 10.30ish so had 7 hrs of sleep. Not enough though. I think I seriously need to intensify my workout and cut some food intake or at least change the quality or type of food intake.
The whole day was a blur. More so because I am not getting any work to do, and appearing busy the whole day is impossible. I have already started to cut down on my tea consumption, which is one good thing.
I am feeling so sleepy, can be seen from the random thought fluctuations splattered all across this post. Uh, well….its just the first day.
I joined a library!!! so a book a week scheme is back on. Took a book called “turning point” by Capra.
Tomo morning, I must study some, along with working out.
Seeing the time I need to get ready, I will shift the time of waking up to 5 and then 4.30. I think this will give me sufficient and continuous time slot for myself. The practical details of how to achieve this would be worked out in coming days.
Overall, a tired but definite start.
I need to come up with a mantra for this transformation too. Al that, later. Now time to hit the bed.
Now that I have almost regressed to the pre blog life, I think I must record it here, hoping it would force me back towards the life I have chosen for myself. I have not been to gym, I have been sleeping late,waking up late, had a beer or three….
The exams are on finally, and I am done with lectures from this institute. Now to the final target, or only target to be truthful. I should be shifting into the top gear now, although I dont even feel like getting up from the bed. The energy management is lacking somewhere. I feel as if I am sapped of energy, while around me people keep running, pushing themselves to do yet another thing. I need to prune things which are sponging off my energy, those third and fourth quadrant things which consume time and energy and drain me. For that, I need to sit for a quite afternoon and sort out the whole gamut. Todays afternoon looks perfect for such an introspection. I will go to library and do some soul searching there. Maybe I will improve, maybe I will make those changes stick this time. Just as I am still away from coffee. Thats the only thing I was able to completely maintain. Not that its a great achievement, I have just shifted to tea and that consumption is growing steadily. I guess unless I figure out this sleep cycle and food thing, rest are just attacking on the symptoms or branches of the tree.
For last few weeks I have been trying to change my way of living into a more humanized manner. So, I now abstain from coffee, milk, and added sugar. I never really consumed non-veg in large quantities, so curtailing that wasn’t such an uphill task. I also dropped eggs from my menu. I shifted my diet to fruits, increased the intake, and still hope to push it much more further. I also have started to work out almost everyday, with cardiovascular exercises and strength training. And more importantly, I have stopped staying awake till 3Am and instead sleep at around 11-12. Basically I am going berserk!
The results are really good for me, although they are not miraculous.Thats because apart from gaining excess weight I didn’t have any major health issues till now.I am an active and sports loving person, and do participate in various outdoor games regularly.
The main difference immediately noticeable was the mental acuity increase that I am seeing now. My thinking is sharper, more in depth and I am able to sustain the thought links for longer period. I am able to relate more diverse concepts with each other and evolve a more “awake” feel.
On the physical level, I am losing that extra fat and gaining muscle instead, so the first effect I noticed is while wearing the clothes. I now have more stamina compared to last month, and it reflects. For example, Although I slept at 5 after the new years party, and that also poorly, I could manage to stay alert during the lectures without even having the coffee. This state I can contrast with last month where I had to have a coffee before every lecture, and still could not concentrate fully through the whole time.
I have just started on this path, so I sincerely hope to see more benefits as I go on further down.
While searching for books on diet, nutritions and exercise,I came across a book called ” The China Study” . The book vindicates at least my personal beliefs and experiences after experimenting with my diet.
The book basically links animal proteins with many diseases prevalent in wealthy nations, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure related problems and so on. It says that the meat and dairy products contain many chemicals which aid in working of carcinogens and inhibits the anti carcinogen elements in the body.
The view which I identified with the authors is that they treat the food holistically. They don’t apply reductionism, by analyzing effect of each individual chemical present in the food on the body. Instead they conduct well designed experiments and establish statistically significant relationships through vigorous research.
I would recommend this book as a priority read for all.
Some links related to the topic :
The book.
link for PETA.
And a from a blog which I found very interesting: this, this, this, and this.
Uh well, and that also with a party in the college. And now that I am off booze, paneer and non veg, they have arranged for special starters to go with booze ( a first in many categories). So, A great way to go in a new year eh ?
Well, I have been going to the gym in the evenings now, and the goal still holds. (Yippy!)
On the other hand though, I didn’t touch the book i was supposed to complete and I am sure I will not for a long time. I need to check out what really happened there, before I set up such goals again.
In diet, I could manage to follow 7/8 goals which I originally set for myself, and in others 4/5 are still going strong! ( Now I am realizing that I had set too many goals to begin with!)
Tonight ends the transformation day no : 17… and thats a good way to go!!!! the habits are already ingrained and after few days (21 days ) they will be re evaluated and a new target would be set.
I am going home on 4th for a 10 day holiday, and I am so looking forward to that!
No post for last few days.
Life can be funny sometimes, and maybe you realize that after some experience with the ironies in it.
I really started out with a bang a few days back, and now I am back to almost the same life which I wanted to change, sans the booze, non veg and some such sultry things.
The temperature ( of 6 degrees celcius…. or less) defeated me in waking up earlier. So, I wake up, get my head out of the blanket, promptly take it back in, remove all the ice formed on the exposed part and drift back to the hibernation.
That, concurrently, screws my entire thinking about changing myself, puts me into self doubt ( only during those hours when I am awake that is ) and ergo allows me to avoid all other goals like plague. Not that I have given up on me. I know that the scaffolding which was constructed to support the extra goals has collapsed due to extreme weather conditions. I also am happy about the fact that I now know I can sustain such rhythm of life and also, the weather WILL mellow down after some days.
Now a days the whole batch is tuned to placement mode, and I still have no clue as what does preparation for that entails…
The next goal I have chosen is very ambitious:
I want to write a book!
I had this in my mind for long, but now that I have changed my pattern of living, i find that I can really allocate a chunk of time to writing and thinking about some topic which then can be converted in a book of sorts. so tomorrow morning onwards I will start brainstorming ideas and create structure for a book.
