When I go through all the material we’ve shot the last months, sometimes I find videos or pictures that I don’t like the first time I saw them back, but the second time I watch it, I think, oh well, this was quite a good representation of our mood that day or how we spend our days that time. This blog contains some of those videos.
In the beginning I was testing the camera a lot and I just thought everything would turn out hilarious. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it is just a timelapse of something regular. I just like to edit the videos and to share our normal daily life.
A Nice Life
I think we have a nice life. As I described in my previous blogs, it took some time for me to become relaxed after working too long at a stressed-out workplace. I didn’t think I could be relaxed without a fixed income or a steady home, but I realize that it isn’t about that. Of course, it is important to have the basic needs met and it is important to have a plan and a back-up plan, but the state of the brain gives color to everything I experience. So, with a happy, relaxed brain, I see my surroundings in that way, when I’m stressed or tired, it is the other way around. I already knew this in theory (read some books about positive psychology, like ‘Authentic Happiness’ by Martin Seligman and another interesting one ‘Solve for Happy’ by Mo Gawdat), and I thought I could create a positive brain during the stressed workdays, but this is not really true.
I notice the difference now I am relaxed and happy for a longer period without the work-stress. I didn’t realize the effects of the surroundings and actions have such a big impact on the thoughts I create. When I type this, this seems obvious, but the time aspect in this is easy to overlook. The more my brain is relaxed and happy over time, the more I can also deal with stressed or tiresome experiences. It is like a buffer of steadiness I am building in my brain, so I can even deal positively with very weird situations or situations that normally would trigger me.
Some thoughts about thoughts
It also helps me observing behavior of other people to understand them better. I don’t judge, I just observe. The subject people choose to talk about, or what words they use, tells a lot about the activity in the brain. Some people can find negative things in the most positive experiences, talk a lot about the lives of other people or can say insulting stuff with the slightest amount of provocation.
What got me into meditating almost ten years ago, was that I didn’t want to talk on automatic pilot. I tended to speak impulsively and say what was on my mind, even if it was badly timed. A good friend gave me feedback about this. I remember it really hurt, but it was also very insightful. Was I that unaware of other people and how I interrupted conversations? I started to observe more, stopped talking on automatic pilot, and tried to be always aware of who was in front of me and what I could say that would fit the best for the situation and the person. Sometimes that was not saying anything at all. I created more time in between hearing something and responding to it. I had more time to observe and it was very recognizable to see that people just say whatever is on their mind immediately. Just like I used to do, and sometimes still do. New questions are asked before the answer of the previous one is given, standard sentences are used most of the time and people rarely really listen to each other. Just as the previous examples I mentioned, when I observe somebody doing this, it gives me a clue about the brain of the person. It’s probably very busy up there and there is no time to be really present in the moment. And when people complain most of the time or talk about other people a lot, the brain is probably filled with judgements, comparisons, and finding something else to be distracted from themselves.
It took me a while to let go of wanting to help people to become more aware. Because I thought helping them with reducing the activity would make them more relaxed and happier. This is probably the case, but people really have to ask for help or be open for help, otherwise the well-meant advice is going up like a led balloon. And when people want help, saying something doesn’t really change anything (because it’s too busy up there).
Meditation and yoga-practice can help some of the people because, among other things, it changes the relationship with the brain and the body. Becoming more aware of the physical body is an easier step than becoming aware of thoughts. And when someone is more aware of the body, awareness of thoughts is what follows naturally. But sometimes even years of yoga-practice might not help a person to become more aware. The Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali also give a clue how to deal with this: ‘Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.’ (1.33). In challenging situations, I say to myself what I learned in the Yoga Teacher Training, be selfish for your own steadiness and control of the modifications of the mind, and don’t bother too much.
In the book ‘Light on Yoga’ written by B.K.S. Iyengar, Iyengar gives also some advice about those who don’t really get more aware after a few years practice. Although, this is how I can fit this information in my blog about the improvements possible with yoga. He refers to the Siva Samhita (one of the three ancient treatises on hatha yoga) where certain students are divided in four classes. There are the feeble, the average, the superior and the supreme one. The class of feeble students is described as students who lack enthusiasm, criticize their teachers, greedy, inclined to bad action, eat much, unstable, cowardly, dependent, speak harshly and have weak characters. The Guru (teacher) should guide this type of student in the path of Mantra Yoga (for example, repeating and reflecting on OM) only. With much effort the student can reach enlightenment in twelve years. Interesting right? All students can reach enlightenment, it just takes a longer time. To compare, the supreme student can reach enlightenment in three years, according to Iyengar.
R.I.P. GoPro
Unfortunately, the screen of our GoPro broke, and I was completely shattered. Hehe… no, it was a setback, but I wasn’t as devastated as I could have been. Dealing steady with the circumstances. All the sticky rusty dust surrounding it at LIV, drops from different heights and maybe the salt water was probably a bit too challenging for the camera. I felt a bit sad about it, because I don’t like to buy new stuff (we would have to get a new/other camera), I had a lot of inspiration and motivation to get started with a snorkeling and fish identification series and now I was busy with the Yoga Teacher Training, Peter couldn’t make the progress videos!
Peter did some research for a new affordable camera and… a microphone! I would like to talk over the videos, but in our last studio the sounds and conversations from outside were very loud inside and at the boatyard you hear the pumps of WEB all the time (so I also couldn’t record a voice over on the boat yard). With a microphone this would be easier and our current studio at Tala Lodge is very quiet, so with the new equipment, let’s see what we can do! Hopefully we can test this very soon.
In any case, we are very thankful for all the fun and interesting moments the GoPro has captured with us and that the quality was blog- and YouTube-appropriate.
The next video is one of the videos I made at the Lake. A very easy entre Dive Spot where Peter has taught many Open Water Divers their first dives. For snorkeling I found that it is not the best spot. There is not much different coral (mostly Fire Coral) and the real stuff begins at the drop-off and that’s a bit too far and deep for snorkeling. But even here I found some nice Fire coral with frequent visitors.
Question for the readers: Does anyone know what crab is around the end of the video? I guessed a name, but I’m not quite sure. Thanks in advance!