Category: Meditations
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What I Don’t Do
Many professional authors will tell you what they do. This isn’t my default. Via Negativa shaped my way of life more deeply than Via Positiva. Instead, I’m going to talk about what I don’t do. I don’t do genre conventions. The book market has its genres, and every genre has its tropes. Readers and writers…
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A Dream of Maths
Yesterday, I awoke from a dream. A dream so vivid, so pure, so true, it demanded to be shared with the world. Here it is. I was in a classroom. A college, perhaps, or a tuition centre. Though the students wore light blue uniforms, the tables were long benches, with a half-dozen seats each. On…
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To Break an Arrow with a Bared Throat
“This is a forty-pound arrow,” the trainer said. “It will stop a grizzly bear.” As he spoke, he held up the arrow. The wooden shaft was as long as a man’s arm, terminating in an iron point that gleamed dully in the light. “You will break this arrow with your throat.” A palpable silence fell…
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A Tale of Two Aesthetics
On Monday I visited an exhibition at Parkview Museum with my fiancee. Titled Challenging Beauty, it is features Italian contemporary art pieces taken from the private collection of the late George Wong, founder of the Museum. True to its name, the exhibition challenged beauty by presenting its exact opposite. The fancy verbiage is merely obfuscation. The…
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Putting Strength in the Bank
A favourite saying among old-school bodybuilders and weight lifters is to put strength in the bank. It means stopping just short of doing your absolute maximum in a training session, to do just one or two reps short of complete failure. It’s hard-won wisdom with sound basis in biology. Strength training requires gradual adaptation over weeks…
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How to Overcome Mental Resistance with Breathing
I don’t procrastinate. I don’t allow myself to dilly-dally. When I say something, it shall be done. I’ve been told it’s an uncommon ability. But like all skills, it is a trait that can be cultivated and integrated into your being. When you’re on the verge of making a difficult decision, one of great weight…