The unassuming power of simple practices
what i'm writing, reading and enjoying
Another week of publishing every day. After casually announcing that I’m writing a book, I wrote out the skeleton for another book in a few hours. The more I write, the more ideas I have. There is no sense of draining the supply.
The flavour of my writings this week has been the overlooked power of simple, open-ended practices: walking, meditating, and writing. Things we pursue to cultivate a more positive inner state, instead of straining towards a particular outcome. Cultivating state is less precise, but has more profound benefits over time.
My favourite and most controversial post this week was The world needs you to consume less news. I also wrote about one of my favourite questions and how it turned things around for me on a meditation retreat. My favourite metaphor was the hinge and the cathedral door.
Personally, I kicked off two new coaching clients and enjoyed another round of HUM4NS talks. Tomorrow, I’m chatting with HUM4NS cofounders Darrell and Olly in front of an audience at Lexus Bristol (tickets). I baked a lot of bread over Easter, and it was my first time experimenting with polenta in a loaf.
My favourite conversation this week was a geeky 3-way discussion about AI with John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro and Jordan Hall. It discusses how personal AI can buffer us against the incentives of larger LLMs; wonders how a personal AI might help us foster integrity and wisdom, and stretches beyond the default perspective of one small human interacting with one big LLM. I came away with a lot to think on, and it’s encouraging me to get back to my local LLM experiments.
One song on repeat: Checkmate by Dirty Blonde. I also read South of the Border, West of the Sun by Murakami in 24 hours. I love his minimal style and how the story moved from heart-warming love into something much less comfortable. 5/5.
This week’s writings
Easter reflections and a book (Apr 21)
The Counterfeit Culture (Apr 20)
How’s that working for you? (Apr 19)
Small hinges, big doors (Apr 18)