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I Have Another Blog

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One of my obscure fantasies is that after you die you get a compendium of statistics and charts on how you spent your life—a complete list of dates you went on, total days spent on vacation, bedtimes and wake-up times graphed over years, that kind of thing. Pages and pages of it.

The thought excites me because of how statistics always surprise us. Each of us would be shocked by our reports. Did you really only go to your “favorite” restaurant eleven times? Did you really spend 3.1 years with a phone in your hand?

After doing some daydreaming in that vein yesterday morning, I grabbed my Casio and calculated that I’ve been writing for Raptitude for 23 per cent of my life. I couldn’t believe it. A quarter of my time on this earth.

In that eight and a half years, writing has become a huge part of my identity. It is now my work, my creative outlet, and a major channel of connection with other people. You could say it’s been my primary contribution to our species, whatever that says about me. 

As regular readers know, Raptitude’s range of topics is super broad. “Human well-being” relates to basically everything humans do. Some long-time readers subscribed because we shared an interest in kettlebells in 2009. For others it was procrastination in 2011, or culling possessions in 2015, or Stoicism in 2017. You are a motley crew and I love you all.

It’s always been hard to know what to write about on Raptitude, because for any given post I publish, a significant proportion of the audience is waiting for something else. I’ve always envied bloggers who write in a well-defined niche—cooking, budgeting, woodwork, automobiles.

The best I can do is keep rotating the topics and angles, never going too deeply into any one area, so that the people who aren’t into the latest thing won’t have to wait long before I publish something they like.

Since everything I publish has to fit this pattern, it often feels a little constraining. I’ve often thought about starting another platform so I could explore certain topics more deeply without boring too many of you.

For the last few years, I’ve particularly wanted to drill down into the topic of moment-to-moment experience and mindfulness. So I’ve finally established a place where I can do that. I needed to give Camp Calm (my mindfulness course) its own website anyway, so I made it a WordPress site and gave it its own separate blog.

There, I’ll be writing mostly about mindful living, meditation and other ways of exploring present-moment experience. I want to be a sober, grounded voice in an area that’s still so often represented by mysticism and fluff.

My first article is here. I hope you enjoy it.

This way, the mindfulness nerds among you can subscribe to the Camp Calm Blog, I can finally dive into what I’ve been dying to write about, and nothing much will change on Raptitude. I’m going to keep the same almost-weekly schedule, and the same weird rainbow of topics. I have no set schedule for the other blog, and I’ll be writing for it only in the evenings, keeping four morning sessions a week reserved for Raptitude, as I’ve done for years now.

For those interested in taking the Camp Calm program, it’s starting again in late September. All of the lessons and audio recordings are new, and I’ve doubled the number of guided meditations. [More info]

It’s always a lot of fun. More than a thousand people have done the program by now, some more than once. Registration will open in a couple of weeks (probably between September 19th and 21st) and the camp will start on October 1st.* (If you want to be kept notified by email, sign up here.)

Anyway, I don’t thank you all enough for visiting this old place. So thank you! It’s been such a thrill to connect with so many like-minded people over the years. I figure I’ll be here for another quarter-lifetime at least.

*If you read this post earlier, these dates have changed.

***

Photo by Rosan Harmens

Zoe September 1, 2017 at 2:38 am

Thank you for writing such insightful and interesting articles, David. I haven’t commented much lately, but I always read what you write and look forward to your upcoming articles.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:48 am

Thanks Zoe. I always appreciate it when you chime in :)

Hilary September 1, 2017 at 2:46 am

I’ve enjoyed your articles for so many years now I’ve lost count. I have shared many of your pieces. Thanks for your thought provoking thinking and arrangement of the 26 letters in the way that you do. :-) They make a difference to me. Hilary in NZ

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:49 am

Thanks Hilary. I will continue to think and arrange letters accordingly.

Anita September 1, 2017 at 3:05 am

It’s been a pleasure to read, David. I’m not so interested in mindfulness so I probably won’t go there but many of your articles have astounded me with their insight and i love your way with words, Keep it up; all the best! Anita in Aus.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:50 am

Thanks for the well-wishes Anita

Jean Goodrich September 1, 2017 at 3:17 am

Thank you for sharing this post, David. I didn’t realise how long it’s been since I started reading your Rapiitude blog! I know I had really got into it prior to you going to New Zealand and I often share your posts. It’s very uplifting and I look forward to it always. Best regards. Pebbles in W. Sx.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:51 am

You are definitely a part of the O.G. Raptitude crew Jean. New Zealand was a long time ago and I felt like such a different person. Thanks for reading and sharing all these years.

Priscilla September 1, 2017 at 4:26 am

I thoroughly enjoy your entertaining, cogent posts, and I’m sure Camp Calm will be just as great. Good luck with your new blog!

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:52 am

Aw thanks Priscilla

PR Fleury September 1, 2017 at 5:38 am

I almost never comment. Maybe I don’t have that many places to do so as I’m not such a social person. But I do enjoy reading your words. I relate to them quite often.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:54 am

It’s easy to forget as a blogger that most regular readers never comment. Comments and emails are really the only way I have any names to attach to the readership, but there are many many more than that and I appreciate you all.

Craig September 1, 2017 at 6:02 am

Congratulations and best of luck with the additional blog / platform. It is and has been fun to learn and grow along side of you.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:54 am

Thanks Craig. To nine more years!

Simon September 1, 2017 at 6:50 am

I’ll definitely be checkin your new blog out; seeing a new post from you often turns out to be one of the highlights of my week.

How about an update on your kettlebells? Still swinging after all this time?

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:56 am

I haven’t done swings for a long time, but I regularly pick them up to do goblet squats. I have a gym membership now because there are so many more options there but my KBs are still a part of my life.

Rocky Mitchell September 1, 2017 at 7:27 am

I’m very happy to see you have a new blog, David. I’ve found all your writings to be most helpful, but I’ve always considered mindfulness/meditation to be “The crux of the biscuit “…..Many Thanks !

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 9:57 am

Haha I love the term crux of the biscuit. And I really do think it is, if human well-being is the biscuit. Many thanks for your readership.

Mrs. Picky Pincher September 1, 2017 at 7:51 am

Thanks for sharing! I’ve wanted to start another blog on different topics, but holy cow, managing one blog is enough for me. I don’t know how you do it, but great job! :)

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 10:00 am

The way I work it I’m not even close to doubling my workload. I can write a post about mindfulness in the fraction of the time I can write an article here, because the topic is so focused and I’m not bound to such a well-established format. I’ve also got a zillion article ideas I’ve been wanting to write for years that I couldn’t really fit here. So they come out quickly.

Mrs. Grumby September 1, 2017 at 8:18 am

Mindfulness nerd here!
Look forward to checking out your new blog … and to the continuing array of interesting topics on Raptitude.
Thanks for the insight and inspiration you share through your writing!

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 10:01 am

Haha mindfulness nerds are the best. Thanks for your support :)

Dean Wilson September 1, 2017 at 8:51 am

Thank you for doing what you do. It takes a great deal of courage to take public personal thoughts and convictions. I relish your ability to go in depth on a wide range of topics, not once being disappointed in spending time reading your offering. Keep up the good work, fear not that you need to explain any diversions. The guy from the centre of North America has earned a loyal following who look forward to what the next post may bring.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 10:03 am

Thanks Dean. That is a hell of compliment, and I appreciate your encouragement to do my own thing freely. I will keep it up.

Theresa September 1, 2017 at 9:08 am

Thank you, David. I love Raptitude and will subscribe to the new blog too. Not only are your articles interesting to read, but you attract such an insightful audience that I often learn something reading the comments too (which is not something that I can say about most of the places on the web).

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 10:05 am

Yes, what a wonderful group of people it is that come here to comment and discuss. The quality of the discussion these posts attract is hugely flattering to me and I appreciate it very much.

Brenda September 1, 2017 at 11:34 am

I am frequently turned off by mindfullness/meditation writings because of the mysticism inherent in the topic. It’s not easy to find sources that are very down to earth and practical. I did read a book recently (10% Happier) that fit what I was looking for but I was left wanting MORE. I so look forward to your new blog! It’s a topic that I want to explore and feel drawn to.

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 2:34 pm

I’m so glad Dan Harris wrote that book. It’s caught the interest of what I think is a huge crowd — people who would be interested in mindfulness but have little patience for the new agey imagery it seems to come with. I plan to be some of that “more” so many people are looking for.

Karen J September 1, 2017 at 12:38 pm

Good for you, David for keeping on here (I’ve loved this for years!), AND for launching a space that will give you more room to write about what makes your heart sing :)
Thank you, too, for keeping this Comment space available! So many people and places are shutting down their interactive-community-spaces.
Bright Blessings ~

David Cain September 1, 2017 at 2:34 pm

I love this comment space! I feel like I grew up here :)

Justin September 1, 2017 at 5:09 pm

Camp Calm has been great both times I’ve been involved, and helped me build a daily meditation practice. Happy to see you’re expanding.

David Cain September 4, 2017 at 9:39 am

So good to hear you’re still practicing Justin. Thanks for the well-wishes, I’m excited.

Curtis Smale September 1, 2017 at 11:30 pm

Wonderful idea, David. Like Zoe above, I don’t always comment, but I love your articles and have turned many readers on to Raptitude. Same as what you have done, I have broken up my blogs. I now have a Christian one, a movie review one (empathymachines.wordpress.com) and one that is probably of more interest, maybe, to family and friends (but maybe not because so many crazy things have happened to me!)(storiesfrommylife13.wordpress.com), among even a few more blogs which get much less attention. You are the perfect person to dig deeper into the relaxation and mind-clearing and meditation topic which is desperately needed in this ridiculous Internet speed chatting culture of today. I’m on board!

David Cain September 4, 2017 at 9:40 am

Thanks Curtis. I really do think mindfulness is almost the perfect response to the information age and how it scatters our minds.

Annie September 3, 2017 at 8:42 am

Congratulations on the new blog! I’m going to take a look after I post this comment. I wanted to say that I enjoy your style of writing on a rainbow of topics. It’s like having regular conversations with a longtime friend, you just chat about whatever is on your mind at the moment. I enjoy being exposed to another point of view, it challenges me to think about my own views and where they stem from.

David Cain September 4, 2017 at 9:43 am

Aw… I am honored that this place has the role of a talkative and interesting friend. I am overloaded with ideas and will express them to anyone who will listen, haha. There are definitely a lot of upsides to the rainbow approach, as difficult as it is sometimes. Thanks Annie.

Maria September 3, 2017 at 8:38 pm

Hi David.
Back in 2011 I was bored to death at my old job, and came across one of your blog posts via StumbleUpon platform. It was about mindfulness, and how to turn it on every time you open a door. I can’t forget the sense of enlightenment I felt. I have known for a while that mindfulness was a key to happiness, but never knew how to engage it, or when, or would forget to do it. Meditating seemed (and still does) like a chore. But here was a genius trick that worked – a simple act of opening a door as a reminder to become mindful of the surroundings. I swear I walked with a sense of wonder for a few days.
Ever since, your posts about mindfulness were always my favorite, so I am extremely happy that you’re dedicating a whole another blog to it.
It has been awesome to watch you evolve and achieve so much over these last few years, and I’m looking forward to more to come.
As they say, “you do you” and “stay cool”.
Thank you

David Cain September 4, 2017 at 10:38 am

Hi Maria! That makes me so happy, because this blog was born in a similarly boring day at work. I also went out on the web out of sheer boredom, and discovered a blog about blogging, and before nightfall I was sketching up an idea for my own website.

I still think the door opening practice is one of the best introductions to mindfulness there is. I still do it every single day. I don’t think I am even capable of opening a door without recognizing the present moment.

Melissa September 5, 2017 at 10:41 pm

Each of your blog posts are so unique and I truly enjoy them. They seem to satisfy a niche that is not easily found, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in writing them. Look forward to reading your new blog!

Also, regarding the intro to this post, I came across a video a while back that depicts some of what you were discussing. I also found it strangely but deeply interesting to think about.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zo_nrcKUffw

Wish you the best!

Razvan September 7, 2017 at 10:57 am

I’m enjoying all of your posts – even if they’re as broad as they are. Maybe that’s how self-work is, on multiple threads: sometimes i read about an area in which i’ve grown and i enjoy that – and sometimes i read on stuff on which i’m not quite there yet and that’s awesome too.

Don’t worry you’re broad – people like me like that too.

Stay awesome.

Allison September 18, 2017 at 1:15 am

When you were talking about stats I first thought you were planning to post your data and then analyze it. Which would be fascinating! But also a bit creepy…on a serious note though, it’s striking to me that you’ve reached a place of calmness in your life to focus more intently on that subject. I’ve been following your blog since almost the beginning, so cool to see your new ideas! Look forward to reading :-)

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