Why won't brain allow change, Chase Hughes?

Chase Hughes needs to be silenced at all costs. Destroy him. Start with his reputation.

• Why 100% of scientists Chase Hughes knows agree that DMT experiences and entities are NOT hallucinations 🤯

(Chase Hughes) The biological BRAIN won't let us change -- until this happens

The Passport for PUA players

• Liven: Take a 3-minute quiz. Is your brain working against you? Discover what's keeping you stuck and finally break the cycle. This journey is intended to help you better understand your patterns and structure your experiences. Treat this quiz as a moment of honest reflection.
• Liven is not related to Chase Hughes and is not intended to replace professional diagnosis, treatment, or therapy. Everyone's experience is unique. Results may vary. Experiencing medical or mental health concerns? Please reach out to a licensed healthcare professional.

People (operatives?) who hate Chase Hughes want to shut him up

The Passport by Chase Hughes (2007)

Who is Chase Hughes? (Zach Elwood wants to tell us on the behavior-podcast.com, The Chase Hughes podcast series. Here's a shot from the back cover of Chase Hughes' 2007 pick-up artist book The Passport.

Chase Hughes' 2007/2008 website allegedly sold a supplement he called "Redshift with Neuridium." He claimed it was used by "all branches of the United States Armed Forces" and that it had "international recognition," neither of which seems to be the case.

I'm a handsome success. Buy from me.

Why is Chase Hughes popular? Chase has appeared on popular podcasts and shows, including Joe Rogan's podcast, the podcast Diary of a CEO (as seen in the clip above), and the Dr. Phil Show.

There are a lot of people leaving positive reviews for his books on Amazon.com and his YouTube videos.

But the truth is, haters say, that Chase Hughes has been lying about his credentials and experiences for most of his adult life. His "success" and popularity are based on a few factors.

(Liven) PRIVATE RESULTS: Your ADHD patterns suggest your brain may be locked in an avoidance cycle — treating important tasks as low-level threats and redirecting your energy toward anything that offers immediate relief. This is often fueled by years of accumulated pressure between high capability and low output. Over time, this can take a significant toll — chronic procrastination, task paralysis, and a widening gap between your intentions and your actions. This cycle is extremely difficult to break through willpower alone, as your neurology is prioritizing short-term safety over long-term execution.

• DMT art, dimethyltryptamine, psychedelic wallpaper, Generative AI, stock illustration | Adobe Stock
• Chase Hughes; naysayer Zach Elwood; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Is Shaolin Zen Temple kung fu real?

Buddhist vs. Shaolin monks: What's the difference?

Maling Shaolin Kung Fu Academy edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Shaolin Temple, nestled in the Songshan Mountains of China's Henan Province, is renowned for its rich history and dual traditions of Buddhism and martial arts.

Within its sacred walls, both peaceful Buddhist monks and Shaolin "warrior monks" live and practice, each following distinct paths of spiritual and physical cultivation, providing a fascinating glimpse into two distinct yet intertwined traditions.

Explore the daily lives, rites of passage, and unique practices of these Buddhist monks, revealing a rich tapestry of discipline, devotion, and heritage that continues to captivate and inspire people around the world.

A difference in monks

Buddhist monks can be found in various regions across the world, each embodying the diverse traditions and practices of Buddhism.

In [Mahayana Buddhist] China, there are multiple sects such as Chan (Zen) Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism [which claims to be a distinct branch called Vajrayana], each with its unique rituals, teachings, and monastic disciplinary codes.

Outside of China, Buddhism existed in an earlier form in countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, with Theravada Buddhism being predominant in Southeast Asia.

Mahayana Buddhism flourishes in East Asia, including financial powerhouses Japan and Singapore.

These regional differences lead to a rich variety of practices [and old and misleading distinctions like "Northern" and "Southern" schools, extant Mahayana vs. defunct Hinayana], from the monasticism of Theravada Southeast Asia to meditative and austere lifestyle of Japanese Zen monks to the vibrant rituals and chanting of Tibetan monks [and other Himalayan traditions in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Mongolia, and Russia].

Despite these regional differences, all Buddhist monastics (monks and nuns) share a common dedication to the principles of mindfulness (sati), ethical living (sila), and the pursuit of enlightenment (bodhi).

So what’s the difference between Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monks and Shaolin monks?

Buddhist monks

Literary monastics (wenseng) study

Religious affiliation: Buddhist monks adhere to the teachings and practices of "Buddhism" -- which might be divided between those who follow the historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and those who have moved beyond that to devotional practices worshipping Cosmic Buddhas like Amitabha and Vairocana or great Bodhisattvas like Budai and Guan Yin.

Buddhism a spiritual tradition that encompasses many schools and sects. Buddhism originated in proto-India and spread to other parts of Asia [particularly South and Central Asia] then to China, where it became one of the three major religions along with Confucianism and Taoism.

Monastic orders

Warrior monks (wuseng) train to fight

Buddhist monastics belong to monastic orders or communities (sanghas), where they take vows of celibacy, poverty, and self-discipline.

They devote their lives to the pursuit of enlightenment and the alleviation of suffering, following the Noble (Ennobling) Eightfold Path and other Buddhist principles.

Spiritual practices

Buddhist monastics engage in a wide range of spiritual practices, including sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindfulness practices, protection (paritta) chanting, sutra recitation, and ritual ceremonies.

They seek to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness through their practices, aiming to attain nirvana -- liberation from the cycle of rebirth and death known as samsara. More: Buddhist vs. Shaolin Monks: What's the Difference?

• VIDEO: The Happiness Project: Shaolin Kung Fu
• Maling Shaolin Kung Fu Academy; Chinese militant fights real Shaolin kung fu master; Sacred Wonders - BBC, 2019; CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The system that controls us all

What if after all that suffering, all that listening to socially woke punk rock of the Eighties (like the Not So Quiet on the Western Front compilation by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Records), things suddenly became clear? Now they made sense. Now everything made sense. And all the pain and suffering that preceded came to fruition as understanding. It's possible. Here one brave person has a realization about the thing everyone else is missing. That is, what is controlling the illusion?

Sex, Freud. It's visible you watch porn

It's visible that you watch p👀rn

(Hanni Ram) ALPS. What price are you willing to pay for addiction? Everything that consumes us without our conscious permission is a form of abuse. No shame will set us free, but understanding what causes us to pay with our life and abilities in exchange for fake worth and temporary happiness (or relief) will be the only way to get out of it. There's no judgment here, just love, care, and awareness. - Hanni

• Hanni Ram, YouTube.com, Dec. 19, 2024;

Control reality? Get what you want?

Give this 18 minutes, and you can control your own REALITY

(Solace Fox) March 2, 2025: Everything we know feels solid — real. But what if reality isn’t as complex as it seems? What if everything is so simple once we look at it from the right angle? This video dives into the hidden truths of perception, consciousness, and the true nature of reality. Get ready to challenge everything you thought was real.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 - The illusion of reality
• 02:15 - How our mind shapes everything
• 05:42 - What happens when we look closer?
• 09:10 - The secret behind perception
• 12:35 - Is everything we see just a social construct?
• 15:20 - Unlocking the simplicity of it all
• 17:45 - Final thoughts

Subscribe now for free ► @SolaceFox #purpose #god #selfhelp #motivational #consciousness #oneness #spirituality #mysticism #enlightenment #awakening #awareness #life #motivation #universe #ego

Why do we not get what we want? It is because wanting has no resolution. With wanting arises not having. The solution, then, is not wanting. But how can we not want? (And isn't not-wanting a kind of wanting?) The way to not want is simple: LOOK long enough to see things as they really are. This leads to revulsion, and the mind/heart lets go (renunciation or "inner letting go").

Of course. we don't do this because sensual pleasures are our only respite, our only chance at any kind of "escape" from dukkha (disappointment, unsatisfactoriness, the woe of never getting what we really want). What do we really want? Fulfillment, which is not available through endless wandering on life after life through samsara, chasing satisfaction first here then there and anywhere we imagine it might be hiding.

Even without wishing, if we calmed-and-intensified (which is what happens on the path of purification by stillness and insight or shamatha and vipassana) by the mind through the meditative absorptions and learned to look at four things (body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects), the heart/mind would let go. That is the ultimate solution. That is what the Buddha advocated as actual escape. One will not hear this terse explanation from the AI generator or Tan Geoff, but the answer is implicit amidst the misleading text and talk.

Not getting what you want? The Buddha’s solution

Ego Podcast (Buddhism) March 2, 2025: Sadly, while "Ego Podcast" seems smart and thought out, it is just an uncredited reading of American Ven. Thanissaro's poorly worded opinions. It's a scam unless Tan Geoff is behind it, but if he were, why would he use AI instead of his own melodious voice?

These writings, though read by Ven. Thanissaro himself on his website and made freely available at WatMetta.org, are fed to an AI voice that mispronounces Pali terms and names. (This particular talk is about Ajaan Fuang Jotiko). The reading sounds confident but translates Pali terms in an extreme and idiosyncratic way. Instead of being of benefit, they are sure to mislead.

Then to give a pretense of depth, AI is used to generate and add unrelated images. Just to get views and seem important? They sound smarmy for a reason: that is Tan Geoff's personality. Revolting to some (like us), soothing to others.

These opinions are offered free at accesstoinsight.org and Tan Geoff's dhammatalks.org. Sadly, AI or "Ego" has little understanding, so every summary of a lifted talk is misleading. Why do we often fail to get what we want? No reason is given. This video talks about connection between suffering and conviction. This video is a rip off of this talk:

• Not Getting What You Want | dhammatalks.org

The Buddha teaches that the pain of not getting what we want can spur us to put an end to the vicious circle of "wanting, not getting, pain, wanting more." Unfulfilled desires are therefore not only negative — they can spark a determination to follow a path that leads to liberation from suffering.

Or we could just keep wanting and wanting and never finding fulfillment in all the ordinary things we wished for (because the sensual world told us we'd be happy through sensuality). This is why millionaires take drugs and are miserable. They have come to know that getting what one wants does not work to end the desperate craving that keeps us working like slaves to get them. Word to the wise: let go. Or keep going, and in that Zen spirit of which Alan Watts speaks, "a fool who persists in his folly will become wise."

• "If a fool persists in his folly, he becomes wise" - What does that mean? : r/NoStupidQuestions
• The Fool Who Persists in His Folly Will Become Wise | by Adam Aushaf | Mind Cafe | Medium
• One thing this might mean, as a teacher who encourages students in more and more austerities and a hard path that builds their egos, is that by doing the impossible (foolishness), one will realize this is not the way to liberation (a wise realization). So what is? The Middle Way that avoids extremes

Alan Watts: self-will. Jiriki vs. Tariki

55 Zen quotes to calm the mind

It might be good if Ananda's student, the struggling American meditator "Doggone," not to be confused with Ven. Dōgen, could learn from former soldier in the U.S. military Ven. Scott, who has found peace through Zen practice, which includes a lot of Taoist philosophy (and probably a sizeable amount of Confucianism and Shinto, too).

It's hard if not impossible to get a "pure Buddhism" as the Dharma is always steeped in a culture colored by shamanic and other preexisting spiritual traditions and philosophies.

Look, Everybody, I'm being mindful and Zen.

The West is a good example. We color the heck out of Buddhism to make it understandable, not realizing how much we're distorting what the Buddha taught. Early Buddhism was colored by Saka/Scythian (Central Asian) and Vedic proto-Indian (Brahminical, Magadhi, subcontinental views) customs and cultural baggage.

• What happened to Doggone? Zen koans (TED)
• Who is Amida Buddha or Amitābha?
• MANTRA: Namu Amida Butsu ("Homage to Amitābha Buddha")
• Pure Land Buddhism (tariki vs. jiriki)

Not all forms of "Buddhism" are alike.

Instead of muscling through everything, efforting and straining, there's a better way that bends with the wind, goes with the flow, and thereby follows "The Way," the Tao.

Western translator and spiritual entertainer Alan Watts speaks of a great divide in outlook in Japan that developed in Buddhism: self-power (jiriki) versus other power (tariki).

Can we do the impossible and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps? Or must we rely on some higher power, an outside source, to pull us out of the mire?

In practice, the latter may make more sense or seem much easier. The former may work, but it will take subtlety and great mindfulness (sati-patthana) so that ego is not just leading ego around, self-willed as it has so long been, thinking it's getting anywhere worth going.

Let's shut up and stop talking to ourselves to see

Is Pure Land Buddhism even still Buddhism?

Will faith in something outside ourselves us save us? Yes, there are the Three Treasures, the Three Jewels to whom we can go for enlightened guidance: the historical Buddha, the early Dharma, and the noble Sangha.

• It is important to qualify these words as nowadays there are lots of buddhas or alleged "supremely enlightened teachers, and many latter-day interpretations of the Dharma (the Buddha's Teaching or Doctrine), and it is not the monastic Sangha ("spiritual community") that serves as this ultimate guide but rather the "noble" (Aryan/Ariya) or enlightened community, which refers to these eight people, who may or may not be Buddhist monastics.
• It is NOT "going for refuge" but for "guidance"
• Sarana means "going for guidance" not "refuge"

Can we just worship Goddess Guanyin instead?

Or must we take responsibility for our behavior and cultivate our own direct wisdom? (Of course we must do this, but the former may help in doing it).

Two Buddhisms have developed in Japan over this vital question of tariki versus jiriki. Shall we follow the example of the historical Buddha or the later (possibly make believe) "Cosmic Buddhas," who seem more like old time Vedic/Hindu gods (brahmas and devas) than the buddhas the Buddha talked about as having taught in the distant past.

There is Amitabha, Ksitigarbha, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin, Kwan Yin, Kwannon), Budai, or whoever. It is the Kali Yuga (the "Decadent Age") after all, as Hinduism's holy books, the Vedas, tell Mahayana Buddhists. In these dark times, blind faith will seem far more attractive to faith-types full of attachments than the letting go asked of us by wisdom, confidence (saddha, reasoned and verifiable faith, conviction), and a persevering-practice.

Sit a little every day; that is far more powerful thana marathon effort every so often. Practice is key. Even trying to sit once will make this tariki vs. jiriki debate suddenly make sense. In the meantime, listen to Alan Watts. He, though irascible with an irreducible rascality, knows a thing or two.

• Alan Watts via Art of Zentrification | Discovering the Depths of Shinshu Buddhism; Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Masturbation abstinence online (NPR)

There's a thriving landscape of social media content, online forums, and entrepreneurs dedicated to helping men settle and sublimate the urge to masturbate to online porn (Joe Gough/NPR).

.

Masturbation abstinence is popular online. Doctors and therapists are worried

(Lisa Hagen/NPR) "Nothing scares me. Nothing hurts me anymore," a young YouTuber (shown below) tells the camera as snowflakes cut across the frame. He is shirtless in a Michigan January, he tells viewers, to make a point about embracing discomfort in order to become a great, powerful man.

The YouTuber, who goes by the handle iamLucid, tells the camera he can stand the below-freezing temperature because he has been taking cold showers every day and, crucially, hasn't masturbated to pornography in a year.

"That's the most beta thing you can do. That's the weakest thing any man can do," he says.

The video is part of a thriving online landscape dedicated to helping men settle and sublimate the urge to masturbate.

Think about sex.

More than two decades of growing internet use has surfaced fears about the social and psychological impacts of nearly unfettered access to pornography. But many researchers and sex therapists worry that the online communities that have formed in response to these fears often endorse inaccurate medical information, exacerbate mental health problems and, in some cases, overlap with extremist and hate groups.

There are many variations on how and why members of these communities choose to abstain from masturbation. One of the central concepts in these communities is known as "nofap," a play on an onomatopoeic word for masturbation popularized on the notorious 4chan message boards.

The term "nofap" has come to encompass a set of unproven claims that not masturbating confers social and health benefits.

• Masturbation abstinence communities emerged alongside the "manosphere," a collection of online spaces dedicated to the idea that males and masculinity are under threat from some forms of feminism.

Masturbation out of the manosphere (Joe Gough)

There's a large and active forum on Reddit that uses the name, as well as a company called NoFap LLC (nofap.com), which offers support groups for a fee and runs a popular forum on its website. But that company is just one part of a far larger community.

Others, including self-styled coaches, also use the term. They offer advice, services, and sometimes treatment programs to those struggling to reach their goal of not masturbating.

While some figures in this space are religious, most frame their advice as science-based forms of self-improvement or as a cure for pornography addiction, a popular concept that's disputed by scientists and researchers who study sexuality.

• [Anyone who thinks "sex addiction" is make believe, go to a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting and hear the depravity, compulsion, and inability to resist having sex in spite of major negative life consequences like prosecution, prison sentences, diseases (STIs, STDs, VDs), loss of family, relationships, self-control... This is much deeper than horniness or hormones. One sets off down a course having no idea about the pitfalls and traps. Drugs (and other dopamine hits) are almost sure to become part of the web that traps one.]

Measuring the online and offline influence of nofap content is difficult. A 2022 study in the International Journal of Impotence Research by a group of urologists who studied social media content found "semen retention" and its related hashtags to be the most popular men's health topic on TikTok and Instagram.

Unlike every other men's health topic they studied, none of the semen retention posts were coming from doctors.

What will no longer be censored in the future?

For those who believe they may be addicted to porn, the official NoFap LLC website suggests no masturbation for 90 days, during which the brain supposedly reboots like a computer.

Other claimed benefits of avoiding masturbation may include "superpowers," like more confidence and more romantic interest from women.

NoFap LLC says it is not anti-masturbation and it's not anti-porn, and today its creator says it is a peer-support group for people with problematic pornography use.

BEWARE: Monsters in the woods have needs, too.

"I have seen claims on social media saying that semen retention can boost your testosterone levels, cure erectile dysfunction, make you more manly, make you stronger, cure depression, make you more successful, clear your skin," says Ashley Winter, a urologist who has been publicly critical of nofap ideas. More

• Podcast episode produced by Ariana Lee, edited by Brett Neely and Jenny Schmidt with help from Liana Simstrom and Irene Noguchi, engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Music contributed by Ramtin Arablouei. Executive producer Sami Yenigun
• 15 things we do every day that are actually disgusting

Masturbation is bad karma?

WISDOM QUARTERLY

You can't tell me what to do, you're not my father

How is the intentional emission of semen achieved? It is not strictly physical. The mental component, relying as it does on the mental defilements (most broadly stated as lust, aversion/fear, and delusion), reinforces lust, desire, craving, obsession, grasping, clinging, desperation, and one fails to see the harm done to oneself, the harm to others, and the harm to both (to the greater community and world). Youths go from porn viewing to acting out in ways they would not have if not exposed to such material.

• How do we know it's unskillful, unwholesome. "bad" karma? We know because of the definition of unskillful karma: deeds (actions of the body, speech, or mind) that are rooted in the three unwholesome roots: desire (greed, craving, lust), aversion (hate, disliking, fear), and delusion (wrong view, confusion, ignorance). We also know by the results -- suffering, disappointment, pain, not getting what one wants, getting what one does not want, lack of ever being fulfilled.

The symptoms may be mild -- resentment, anger, jealousy, envy, judgments against females -- or graduate to objectification, aggression, insensitivity, cruelty, treating people as less than human. It's a slippery slope. Who can think it's innocent? One may not realize how harmful it is or how deeply it wounds the psyche, but manipulation by the sex industry and sex traffickers is all part of it. Welcome to the world of Epstein, Hollywood, Diddy, porn stars, rap stars, high finance, political corruption, shame, humiliation, and the court system. And all for what? A bone with little blood smeared on it, remnants of flesh, and marrow gnawed on as if it could ever satisfy the hunger and thirst (lust and craving) it engenders. It's a trap. And perhaps only those who fall in ever realize it.

• Lisa Hagen, Consider This, NPR, 2/3/24/ CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Intro to Zen, empty mind, how to (video)

Empty the Mind: A powerful Zen story for life

(The Fictionist) Join Akira on a transformative journey as he learns the power of emptying the mind in this Zen story. Overcome worry, embrace mindfulness, and find inner peace.

Zen: An Introduction

Chill out, be cool, and go with the flow.

(Share Ideas) Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in the 7th and 8th centuries in China, when Buddhism arrived from India and interacted with the indigenous Taoist tradition. The word "Zen" reflects this: It is the Japanese way pronouncing the Chinese chan (from channa), which is derived from the Indian Buddhist term jhana, from the Sanskrit dhyana, which originally meant "meditation." So Chan Buddhism or Zen Buddhism literally means a particular school that emphasizes meditation (which originally meant meditative absorption as the central practice). March 4th, 2018.

Video script written by David Loy. Narration by Luke Mullins. Film by Digifish. Websites: David Loy (http://www.davidloy.org/), Luke Mullins (https://voice123.com/profiles/lukemul...), Digifish (http://www.digifish.tv/).

Hindu monk Dandapani: How to control the mind (brainwash yourself) to achieve anything

(Be Inspired) Aug. 7, 2018: Try this for 21 days, and see a huge difference in your life. ►If you struggle and have a hard time, consider taking an online therapy session with partner BetterHelp. http://tryonlinetherapy.com/beinspired, which receives commissions for referrals to BetterHelp. BeInspired only recommends products it knows and trusts. ►Motivational Alarm Tones

An Irish dojo is an emerald zendo in Ireland.

(The Fictionist) May 15, 2023. #ZenStory #EmptyYourMind #findingpeace💡 Catch the latest videos exploring groundbreaking techniques to master the mind and enhance life: How an Introvert Learned from a Zen Master | A Story of YOU. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfazed_211... TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefictionist... To read the story: https://thefictionist2116.blogspot.co... Want your videos to look amazing? Use the following video editor: https://www.mvvitrk.com/71fXJa. Image by: https://hannahjanewrites.com/2015/02/... #ZenStory #EmptyYourMind #FindingPeace #OvercomingAnxiety #Mindfulness #SelfDiscovery #InnerPeace #LettingGo #LivinginthePresent #ZenWisdom #FindingClarity #MeditationJourney #TransformYourLife #EmbracingtheMoment #PeacefulExistence

Cosmic Consciousness: Evolution of Mind

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind

Cosmic Consciousness

This book has 4.4 out of 5 stars with 515 ratings. It is a 2010 reprint of the 1905 edition.

This is the magnum opus of editor Richard Maurice Bucke's career, a project that he researched and wrote over many years.

In it, Bucke describes his own experience, that of contemporaries (most notably Whitman, but also unknown figures like "C.P."), and the experiences and outlook of historical figures including

• the Buddha,
• Jesus,
• Paul,
• Plotinus,
• Muhammad,
• Dante,
• Francis Bacon, and
• William Blake.

Bucke developed a theory involving three stages in the development of consciousness:

• the simple consciousness of animals;
• the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, etc.); and 
• cosmic consciousness -- an emerging faculty and the next stage of human development.

Among the effects of this progression, Bucke believed he detected a lengthy historical trend in which religious conceptions and theologies had become less and less fearful. It is a classic work. Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind

Monk Mode vs. 'Sicko Mode' Challenge

Buddhist nun (Sayalay Aloka, Burma) followed footsteps of brothers who took monk mode.

(Tasty Husbands) Cleveland hates pervert Glenn Quagmire for cheating with his wife on Family Guy

.

If he succeeds, I'll become a Buddhist nun.

I tried to spend a week eating healthily, meditating skillfully, reading wisely, and sweating profusely by running 5K [as tapas or "burning off" the bad by austerity] every day, all while ditching television completely, giving up social media scrolling, and turning my back and not touching alcohol at all.

I failed, but that didn’t stop it from changing my life.

Health trends are 10 a penny on TikTok, from the genuinely dangerous Gallon of Water a Day for 30 Days trend to the brutal 75 Hard Challenge and the ever-popular 12-3-20. And guys are more likely to be influenced into giving extreme ones a go more than women, according to a recent study.

• If only Doggone could write, we'd know all about it. He took a challenge with Ananda to "muscle" his way to meditation. Then he doesn't turn in his results write up.
• Male sex, high age, little physical exercise, and low levels of education are all associated with allostatic load

If I stare at this rock long enough...something?

I clearly am one of those gullible men. I wanted to throw myself headfirst into a new challenge. I've tried and failed any number of them. (Over lockdown, I stuck to the 100-pushup challenge for a little while).

But after hitting a bit of a slump at the start of the year, I wanted something that would jolt me out of it. I was exercising pretty regularly, but spending too long trapped in YouTube rabbit holes and not reading as much as I’d like. That’s where “monk mode” came in.

Going "monk mode" was far harder than I ever thought (iStock/Indy 100).

It was great living up at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center above LA as a Zen monk before music fame.

.

First Western Buddhist monk was Irish

It’s a pretty far-reaching term one sees bandied across the internet from time to time, and it can encompass any number of different elements.

There are some challenges listed, including ditching caffeine, which I was afraid to do, considering I was only doing monk mode for a week and had absolutely no intention of giving up my addiction to coffee in the long run, so it didn't make sense.

But in essence, monk mode involves dramatically cutting down screen time by placing a ban on drains like social media and TV. 

And it proved to be tough – tougher than I ever imagined it would be. The exercise part was by far the easiest part.

Monks East and West are different. Travel East.

I’m a regular runner anyway, and all it took was upping the level from three 5K runs a week to every day. 

It was a bit of a blessing that I went into monk mode after a relatively heavy weekend, which had involved plenty of Guinness [a type of addictive gluten alcohol the use of which is rampant in Ireland and parts of Europe] during a trip to Twickenham, so the no drinking wasn’t much of a problem either.

The challenge taught me a lot about my habit for procrastinating, though. I don’t think of myself as a social media addict, but I found my thumb unthinkingly heading for the Instagram app – out of boredom more than anything else – and I kept having to stop myself. More

"Sicko Mode" (rap rock metal cover)

(MaryJane Daniel) Here's our favorite rap metal/rock cover of "Sicko Mode"

Trip to America's stupidest city

(MindSquire) Stupidest city in US (Jackson, Mississippi) is full of Americans

• Harry Fletcher (indy100.com via MSN, 2/28/24); Tasty Husbands; MaryJane Daniel; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; MindSquire