I’m a slave to desire

Oh my heart is on fire

I’m about to explode 

But I know I’ll implode

I want to be free

Take away this misery

But what do I do?

I don’t have a clue

The pressure ticks

It makes me want to kick

I’m about to scream

Oh I hope this is a dream

Because when my wants become my needs

My soul grows weeds

I’m constantly fighting myself

Is it like this for anyone else?

I seek fulfillment

Only to find resentment

I’m in a battle of spirit

And oh boy do I fear it

I’m a slave to temptation

But I don’t want to be in damnation

I want a solution

To my mental pollution

January 10, 2021

     The incessant buzzing of my toothbrush draws to a close. I rinse my mouth and walk into my room to see ruffled bedsheets, trash on the floor, and dust on my nightstand. With intention I ask myself, How can I improve my room? Initially, I make my bed and pick up the trash on the floor. Then, I wipe the dust off my nightstand and vacuum the carpet. Reveling in my immediate purpose, I peer into my closet and grab the outrageous blue banana shirt that I have not worn in months. I bring this shirt to my car, ready to donate it to Goodwill. Now back in my room, I soak in the cleanliness. I stand in awe of the productivity of the last five minutes. My room is improved.

     It may seem like nothing has happened, but there is great significance to the state of your room. The condition of your room has a strong effect on your well-being. You are a product of your surroundings. Doing the arithmetic, it is fair to say that you spend a large percentage of your life in your room. Your life is affected by the cleanliness and order of your room. 

     Expanding upon this, there are activities that you do every day: brushing your teeth, showering, eating, driving, and so on. These simple, mundane activities also consume a large percentage of your life. The percentage of your life spent in your room combined with the time performing mundane, habitual activities is astounding. Improving these areas of your life will pay dividends. 

     When Canadian clinical psychologist and renowned lecturer Jordan Peterson was asked, How does someone find direction in life?, he answered stoically, “Clean your room.” Jordan Peterson understands the value of improving your space to improve your life. Moreso, the act of cleaning is a skill that can transcend beyond the walls of your room or car. The act of cleaning is as follows: inventory, organization, and action. First, inventory refers to the question of: What do I have? It could be the trash on the floor or the beautiful painting on the wall. While I am discussing cleaning, the item does not have to have a connotation of needing to be cleaned, it just needs to be what you have. Secondly, is the process of organization; this is where the items that you own are organized. In this case, to be cleaned or not to be cleaned. Lastly, action must be taken. Without action, there is no such thing as cleaning. 

     As I have said, this process of inventory, organization, and action can be extended to all aspects of life. If you want to improve your mundane habits or any other area of your life, follow this process. With regards, you all have relationships, emotions, goals, and so on. These concepts are much more complex than any item in your room, but the same cleaning process is applicable. Take inventory of what you have, organize what it is, and take action. Calculate your aim and fire. 

     Jordan Peterson is correct in the notion that the simple act of cleaning your room draws upon direction in life. Ultimately, this process of inventory, organization, and action will help you to live more intentionally and purposeful. So, open the door to your room and begin to clean. You will be glad you did!

December 28, 2020

*Note: These are screenshots from Google Docs as copying math from Docs to WordPress breaks the style and syntax.*

Reading Time: ~8 minutes

     Many young people look forward to the next party, and for good reason. Partying is fun to do, and does not require much effort or thought. Specifically, partying makes vulnerability socially acceptable, is a marketplace to meet new people, and is an escape from reality. At parties, people are excused to say whatever is on their mind, dance freely, and be dumb. Social vulnerability is accepted and often the norm at parties. Also, parties are a marketplace to meet new people who also want to meet new people. Notably, women drop their inhibitions and men grow in confidence creating the ideal amalgam to reach out and meet someone new. Lastly, partying is simply an escape from reality. Everyone desires to get away from their monotonous routines, fears, and thoughts from time to time. Sometimes people just need to let loose and escape what is considered to be everyday life. Most young people love to party as it is fun, accepts vulnerability, makes it easy to meet new people, and is an escape from reality. 

     Speaking of this, most people attend parties with a reason as to why they are there. They have a mindset. In fact, when you attend a party, you have a mindset. Your mindset is critical. Your mindset controls your behavior. Expanding on this, your thoughts affect your feelings, and your feelings affect your behavior. Therefore, what you think can make or break your party experience. With the right mindset, you can let loose on the dance floor or talk to the person you are normally too scared to. But with the wrong mindset, you will continually look forward to a chance to leave. For one thing, your mindset centers on recurring thoughts. Positive thoughts such as “Be Free”, “Let Loose”, or “Have Fun” will allow you to let your guard down and open up. Whereas, negative thoughts including the phrases “This is boring” or “I’m being judged” will coop you up, out of the party, and into your head. Being in your head is equivalent to not being at the party; being in your head does not allow you to escape reality. Further, being in your head makes you self-conscious, the antithesis of self-confident. Parties are meant to be fun, an escape from life, and an opportunity to meet new people, but being in your head inhibits this. A positive mindset is crucial to an enjoyable party experience. Luckily, getting into the right frame of mind is not that difficult with alcohol. 

     Drinking alcohol is merely a means to an end. Alcohol erodes mental barriers, changes the way you feel quickly and well, and enhances the reasons as to why people party. Whether you want to have fun, be vulnerable, meet new people, or escape reality, alcohol helps greatly. Specifically, drinking alcohol decreases anxiety, motor skills, and social inhibition. This helps when breaking it down on the dance floor or more importantly talking to other people. In addition, alcohol increases confidence and openness. The combination of these traits is known as social lubrication. It is easier to socialize when lubricated. And, drinking alcohol places you into a euphoric state offering you the opportunity to transcend everyday, monotonous life for a brief moment. Seeing that, drinking alcohol causes you to feel less, perceive less, notice less, and remember less. To put it briefly, alcohol causes you to think clearly about nothing. You are not in your head but in the present moment. Getting outside yourself, as alcohol enables, enhances the party experience tremendously. 

     But drinking alcohol is not all a muddled euphoria. Drinking can lead to drunkenness and stupor (a dazed, nearly unconscious state). With further consumption, it can lead to unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia, or what is commonly known as “blacking out”, and central nervous system depression. These are all serious, adverse effects. In fact, central nervous system depression can lead to coma or even death at certain consumption levels. And did I forget to mention hangovers? Hangovers last hours after drinking and commonly well into the next day. They are often marked with symptoms of fatigue, thirst, headache, nausea, and dizziness. This sounds similar to a cold. Why would you purposely give yourself a cold? Lastly, excessive alcohol consumption normally leads to vomit. I shake my head as to why someone would drink alcohol just to wake up the next morning, cradling the toilet, not having a clue of what took place. The “great time” that alcohol enables is almost always followed by a time of suffering and sickness. 

     However, it does not need to be this way. How might you ask? Meditation. Before I dive deeper I need to clear the ambiguity regarding meditation. Meditation, here, does not refer to a fringe Eastern practice, but rather slow, deep breathing. With this clarified, meditation is known to decrease anxiety and depression according to brain scans. Additionally, meditation enables a state of euphoria and enhances perception. These are both important aspects of the party experience. For instance, parties are sensual occasions and are meant to shock the senses. Enhancing perception, defined as the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses, is valuable as it allows you to escape your mind and be present. Being present lets you unwind and become involved in the action. This leads to a much more enjoyable party experience. Regarding this, meditation, like alcohol, helps you to think clearly about almost nothing. The very idea of meditation is focusing on something simple, like the breath or a mantra, intensely. Again, thinking clearly about almost nothing. Now, the similarities between meditation and alcohol do not end there. Both meditation and alcohol are known to decrease anxiety and social inhibition allowing you to be confident and open, or socially lubricated. Furthermore, the euphoria that meditation brings can help you transcend your monotonous, everyday existence. In all, the hyper-oxygenated brain is nearly identical to the intoxicated brain without the adverse effects.

     Now you might be wondering how to do this. First, what situation are you in? Is this before or during the party? If this is before the party, then this will resemble more of a classic meditation. Sitting alone, eyes closed, breathing deeply. To begin, be alone: it is almost impossible to meditate with distractions surrounding you. Next, come to a comfortable position, either standing up, sitting down, or laying down, it does not need to be very specific. After that, I suggest setting a timer for how long you intend to meditate. The longer the better, but I would not recommend more than ten minutes for this purpose. Once everything is prepared, begin to breathe but not as you normally do. Close your eyes and perform a slow, deep inhale for as long as you are comfortably able. Then, hold your breath for two to three seconds, and release a long, deep exhale. Hold this exhaled position for another two to three seconds, and repeat this process until the timer sounds off. It might feel long at first, but trust that the time breathing will fly by. Above all, it is critical to focus on your mindset. Your mindset can make or break the effectiveness of the breath. Considering this, choose a mantra of either “Be Free”, “Let Loose”, or “Have Fun” and repeat this throughout your practice. Repeat the mantra along with setting any goals you have for the party. 

     Next is how to meditate during the party. While it is effective to breathe deeply before the party, combining this with deep breathing during the party is extremely effective to achieve an intoxicated state. So, to meditate during the party repeat the same rhythmic breathing pattern as used with traditional meditation. Doing this, remind yourself of positive mantras such as “Be Free”, “Let Loose”, or “Have Fun” to be present in the action. Notably, breathing deeply for roughly the first hour of the party builds momentum that rides out for the remainder of time. Then, when the time comes to sober up simply return to breathing as you normally do. Meditating to achieve an intoxicated state will make you feel rejuvenated rather than wasted the next day. You will wake up ready to start a new day rather than recovering from the previous. 

     If you want the effects of alcohol without the drawbacks, try meditating at your next party. It might be difficult at first, but through practice, meditation can work wonders on your party life and life in general. Becoming cognizant of your breath will provide you power beyond your belief. So, be in the moment during the night and be in the moment the following day with meditation. 

“Get high off your own supply.” — Wim Hof