Hello friends!
Over the past couple weeks I have been traveling in Israel and now adjusting back to Houston. I enjoyed time off, observed culture, and, most importantly, connected spiritually.
Here is an update on what I have been up to:
Quotes I’m Pondering:
"Seek to be worth knowing rather than to be well known"
“What I hear I forget
What I see I remember
What I do I understand”
- Chinese Proverb
It seems to look like the future is voice, but I don’t think that should take us away from writing things down and doing things. It’s easy to leave opinions about things we may not be doing –vlogs, blogs, jogs –but in order to understand what someone is doing, we too must do.
Lessons from my dad (the most interesting man in the world):
Always remember to look up
I remembered this fine piece of advice while walking through the artistic streets of Tel Aviv. We walk through life looking at exquisite city streets, lights, people, and the device that has it all, our phones, but how many of us remember to look up at the height of the tall buildings or landmarks, or the clouds and the sky? My father told me this back in 2014 as we were walking through Spain. He and his photographic memory and keen eyesight pick up on the finest details of architecture, history, and nature.
Torah Portion, Eikev:
Eikev is the third section of the book of Deuteronomy where Moses continues his second farewell address to the Jewish people. In short, this Torah portion focuses and appreciation and love. Moses encourages the Jews to observe minor commandments – relative to the 10 commandments.
An important lesson is to remember where our talents and abilities come from and not to take for granted the goodness that G-d brought us. This reminds me of the gratitude and appreciation I have for my parents who allow me the privilege to invest in things that will further my education and growth. In turn, the Torah reminds us that we owe all our accomplishments to G-d.
New Vitamin for brain health:
Astaxanthin
I have been looking into optimal brain foods and vitamins that help promote brain health. I stumbled across Astaxanthin while listening to the Genius Life podcast with Max Lugavere.
To paint an image to mother nature’s most powerful antioxidant, Astaxanthin is what makes salmon pink. The harder the fish swim the pinker it gets.
In a number of studies Astaxanthin has been shown to promote brain, eye, and skin health, as well as decrease inflammation. In his book and his podcast, Max Lugavere talks a lot about membrane fluidity and our cells being connected to a fluid, blood stream. Astaxanthin keeps the cell protected from fluid on the inside and fat on the outside.
I have taken it for about 3 weeks now and definitely notice more clarity with my head and an improvement with processing speed in my visual system. This has helped a lot with my visual part of physical therapy where I shake my head horizontally while my eyes are fixated on a small x on a sticky note held out in front of me.
Book I am reading:
For the speed reading course I started (see below), Jim Kwik suggested to start with a fiction book. So, I picked up one of my middle school favorites Fahrenheit 451. Ironic I know, but it’s so good and with my developing skill the words flow off the page and play a movie in my head.
I did a project over this book back in 8th grade and on the back of the front cover I wrote “Thesis statement: Without self-expression life has no purpose.” My middle school thesis couldn’t have been more right (plus, I earned a 100 :)). Fahrenheit 451 is about a utopia where things seem to be easy and happy, but questions are not allowed. It is a classic novel about a fireman’s journey from burning books to lighting up the power of thinking.
“There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
What I am learning:
Jim Kwik Speed reading program
Over the past couple years or so I really found pleasure in reading and learning from authors who spent their lives dedicated to research and other fascinating insights; Or, as Jim Kwik teaches in a better way, “decades of knowledge in days.” As some of you may know, I am inspired to optimize my life in various ways and I think reading is one of most important skills to master. I believe reading faster with a higher comprehension will not only boost my ability to learn but also improve my quality of life and the lives of those around me.
It is a 21-day long course and after it is over I will release a video series of my progress each day.
Hope you have a restful shabbat and wonderful weekend!