announcements

The Two Spells of Nausea That Changed My Life, and Other Reasons for Hope

{ comments closed }

Some of you may have run across this already, but I’ve got an article published in an inspirational ebook called Reasons for Hope. It was very early on in my blogging career that I wrote my contribution, but the book was only released fairly recently. It contains 23 pieces by 17 writers, including some of my most talented friends, Lisis Blackston and Jay Schryer.

Within the broad theme of hope, it contains everything from smileworthy short stories to straightforward how-to’s. I haven’t read all of them but I’m pleased to be among such a solid lineup. Throughout the pages you’ll find a whole palette of ways to spin silk from suffering. If you’re looking for a place to start (other than the beginning) I think Rey Carr’s The “Right” Wrong Number exemplifies the book’s message perfectly.

The book is completely free and you can find it here.

My effort is called The Two Spells of Nausea That Changed My Life, on page 54. I hope you enjoy. If it makes you feel uneasy, take two Gravol and plenty of fluids.

Photo by Cutglassdreamer

by David Cain on November 2, 2009

{ Read More }

Hello From the West Coast

Pocket

{ comments closed }

Post image for Hello From the West Coast

Earlier today I wrote a draft of a rather negative article about my initial impressions about Hollyhock, the spiritual/educational retreat I’m at right now. My expectations were completely wrong (aside from the astonishing food here) and I was resentful. I deleted my little rant. It was what I was feeling at the time, but since this morning I’ve changed my outlook.

Due to my own misunderstanding of Google Docs Offline, I saved over the article I was going to publish Monday and will have to write it again. I was very proud of the article, and that fact that I got it written successfully on the road. It was tremendously important to me not to let my trip upset my posting schedule, and I missed the very first post! Argh!

For what it’s worth, I also have not been able to upload photos because I didn’t bring the little cord. No I didn’t take the above photo. So I haven’t updated David Goes Kiwi yet. Time! I need some damn time to myself!

I was shocked to find that the course I’m taking here (today is the first of five days) keeps me busy from 7am to 10pm, with a few short breaks, and that made me quite upset. I do not have free time to write, or even hike the beautiful cedar woods around here. My dreams of solitary beach-walks and writing on the patio a few hours each evening were shattered.

I found out quickly that Hollyhock is not a resort. It is not where you go to have fun, and apparently not a place where you go to do your own thing. My first full day (which is one session away from being over) has been a 50/50 mix between grueling and delightful. It consists of looong (for me) sessions of sitting meditation, interspersed with walking meditation. Forty-five minutes a stretch — certainly longer than the 20 minutes I attempted in experiment No. 1. At least three of the sessions were hellish, and I was fighting sleep throughout them all.

Earlier today I was seriously considering leaving. But after a fantastic lecture from the instructor, I feel much better about this particular retreat and what it can do for me. Precisely the problems I was having (attachment to expectations, resentment, worry) were addressed in a very insightful talk. I can deal.

I made a lot of progress just today, after having spent the whole day in what’s called “noble silence.” That means no chatting, no unnecessary speech. Now that I think of it I’ve only uttered about two sentences all day, and that’s when a microphone was handed to me and I was asked to speak. I’ll spend the next four days in silence too.

I hate that I let Monday morning go by without a post. This will not be typical, though I’ll have precious little time over the next four days to write, and that makes me sad. I’m being challenged to keep my mind clear of unnecessary mental dialogue, but transcribing unnecessary mental dialogue onto the internet happens to be on of my favorite things to do.

Today was mostly rough, but I see now that it will be okay. The thought of Raptitude going stagnant is enough to give me nightmares. When I get back to Victoria I’m going to barricade myself in a library and do what I yearn so badly to do: write. I love doing that and I love that you’re here to read it.

More to come.

Photo by Vic Fan

by David Cain on October 19, 2009

{ Read More }

Reruns?

Pocket

{ comments closed }

With barely three weeks to go before my trip, it’s time to ditch my apartment. After a lightning-fast ninety days in my new place, my sub-lease is up and I’ll be staying with family for the final three weeks before I go. The summer flew by. At least I know where I’m moving to, this time.

True to my procrastinatory nature, I’ve left myself far too little time to pack and clean up in a calm, relaxed manner and still get my day-to-day rounds done. To top it off, I was only able to arrange a moving vehicle for Friday evening alone. Poor planning strikes again.

So in the interest of being somewhat on top of things before the weekend, I’m not going to publish a normal Thursday article today. Instead, I’ll direct your attention to the brand new Best of Raptitude page.

It lists the ten articles most popular in Raptitude’s first six months, along with my ten favorites. If you haven’t read them all, then pick one and pretend I wrote it last night.

By Monday I will be moved, and back to your regular programming.

Photo by Futureatlas.com

by David Cain on September 24, 2009

{ Read More }

You

Pocket

{ comments closed }

As I mentioned in Thursday’s article, Raptitude is officially six months old.

I’m thrilled with how fast my readership grown, I really never expected this. I want let you know I’m very grateful for your time and attention.

This week my RSS subscriber count hit 700 for the first time, and I know that doesn’t account for the many regular readers who don’t use RSS or even know what it is. This last two months I’ve averaged over 1,500 unique visitors a day.

There is a fairly regular group of commenters (mostly fellow bloggers) whom I’ve come to know through their feedback, and I get emails from fans telling me about themselves and their stories. When I picture my audience, I tend to think of that small group of familiar names and avatars.

But the numbers indicate they are a minority, and there are hundreds of regular readers I know absolutely nothing about. I’ve published 68 articles, each one a mishmash of my own personal stories, opinions, rants and reflections, and there is a sizable group of people who invest some of their day to come here to read them.

I just speak my thoughts into my keyboard, but for the most part I don’t even know who I’m speaking to! Yet they listen. It’s so bizarre. Read More

by David Cain on September 21, 2009

{ Read More }

The List

Pocket

{ comments closed }

As promised, here is what I plan to do before I die. This list is now a permanent addition to Raptitude.com, and the most up-to-date version can be found by clicking “The List” tab on the top of any page.

If you want to make your own list, here is the comprehensive guide to making one that you will honor.

A few notes:

You’ll notice my list is very travel-heavy. One of my major goals in life is to achieve a location-independent income, which will allow me to move around the globe without the constraint of limited vacation days. Without the intention to live this kind of lifestyle, my list would not be realistic to me and I’d probably soon forget about it. I have tried to eliminate redundancies, but some are inevitable. I want to see the Louvre and tour Paris, but it is unlikely I’ll do one and not the other. Still, both are important and I don’t want to leave either off my list. The list is not complete. I cannot be sure I’ve thought of everything that deserves to be on it, but this is a pretty good start.

Here goes. Read More

by David Cain on September 10, 2009

{ Read More }

The Results Are in! — Experiment No. 2: David Before and After Kettlebells

Pocket

{ comments closed }

Post image for The Results Are in! — Experiment No. 2: David Before and After Kettlebells

To recap for new readers, nine weeks ago I declared I would school myself in the art of the Russian kettlebell. I resolved to work with the antique freeweight, Soviet commando-style, in accordance with Pavel Tsatsouline’s Enter the Kettlebell.

Being somewhat a novice, I did the first of two programs, humbly named the Program Minimum. It consists of two exercises you’ve probably never heard of, both of which I described in the original post. Kettlebells have a steep learning curve, and are about as forgiving as concrete, but I did okay. Read More

by David Cain on July 23, 2009

{ Read More }

Trouble Accessing Raptitude?

Pocket

{ comments closed }

Some readers have reported a popup window and an error when they attempt to access Raptitude.com with Internet Explorer.

The error says:

Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site https://www.raptitude.com.

Operation aborted.

I’ve done a bit of research on this error and it is a well-known problem with Internet Explorer 6 and 7. There seem to be about twenty different causes, none of which seem to be the case for me, and twenty different solutions, none of which worked for me.

I will continue to look into this, but in the mean time there is something easy you can do to fix it:

Stop using Internet Explorer 6 and 7. I was surprised to find that 20% of Raptitude readers still use Internet Explorer. Most of the world has moved on to the far superior (and FREE) Mozilla Firefox web browser, and I’m really not sure why anyone continues to use IE in any form. If you need convincing, check out the Top 5 Reasons to Use Firefox and the Top 5 Reasons to Dump Internet Explorer.

I know we all have our preferences though, and I won’t begrudge anybody’s choice of browser. If you would like to continue to use IE, I strongly recommend upgrading to Internet Explorer 8. This is also completely free, and IE8 seems to fix this error.

If you are not familiar with Firefox, you really should check it out. It has been the undisputed browser champion of the world for a few years now, having soundly defeated the clunky and disagreeable Internet Explorer. 70% of Raptitude readers choose Firefox. That’s more than double all other browsers combined.

Google Chrome is another option. I have not used it much but its fans certainly love it.

Of course you Mac users have nothing to worry about, as usual.

Photo by Don Fulano

Did you like this post? Get Raptitude articles via RSS feed. Or if you prefer, get them by Email. It’s easy, and free!

by David Cain on July 1, 2009

{ Read More }

Monday Update

Pocket

{ comments closed }

I’m finally moved in to my new place, and my writing schedule can return to normal. Finally! Thursday I’ll be able to publish a full-length article, provided I remember how to write.

The move went very smoothly, thank you to everybody who asked. I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do, but I’m no longer waiting on anyone else. I’m relaxing in my new pad, surrounded by boxes of my own stuff, listening to the comfortable tunes of The Tragically Hip. I feel at home already.

Experiment No. 2 has been derailed slightly, in part by my move, but more by a nagging stiff neck. I aborted two workouts because I thought I might be aggravating it and I didn’t want to be out of commission longer. I also had an awkwardly-timed five-day camping trip in there, and a hectic moving week, so I will be extending the experiment by three weeks. Two for the time I missed, and one to get myself up to where I was.

It was originally intended to end this past Friday, but instead it will end Friday July 17, recap and ‘after’ pictures to be posted July 20.

Experiment No. 3 is in the planning stages. I’ve decided to expand its scope, you’ll see what I mean when I announce it.

Thank you all for your patience, and welcome to summertime.

by David Cain on June 29, 2009

{ Read More }

A Note From David

Pocket

{ comments closed }

Even though I always post an article on Mondays, I’m behind the 8-ball timewise this week and I could not bear to publish a half-assed version of the article I’m working on.

There is too much great content out there for me to feel compelled to deliver another article today at the expense of quality. I could stay up until 2am and crank it out, but I’ve learned not to force these things.

Here are some suggestions, if you are looking for mental stimulation:

ItStartsWith.Us — An excellent new blog championing the role of interpersonal communication in the improvement of society. Its author, Nate St. Pierre, is nurturing a small but growing network of open and interested people who know that they can change the world by touching other people’s lives in a meaningful way. This is a very exciting project, I recommend getting in on the ground floor by checking it out and dropping Nate a line.

1000 Awesome Things — If you did not see it in this post, I’ve discovered an awesome blog that describes an inexplicably awesome thing every weekday. These things aren’t life’s grandiose or expensive rewards, they’re just the tiny little miracles that inject little doses of awesomeness into day-to-day life. In my humble opinion it is something really special.

My Archives! I know some of you have read every single post I’ve ever written. Thank you, you people make my world go round. But most of you have not yet accomplished this glorious feat! Now is your chance, while Raptitude is still young.

I will be away from June 18-21, on a camping trip with no computers or internet access. I’ll have short posts scheduled normally during this time, and I won’t be able to respond to comments until the 22nd. But I always love to read them, so don’t be shy.

I hope you are all enjoying your June. It’s always been one of my favorite months. Warm, optimistic and abundant. This particular June has been hectic for me: I’m moving to a new place, taking a badly timed but previously committed 4-day camping trip, planning my big trip and tending to a dozen active projects at work.

You’ve probably seen less of me on Twitter too, and fewer of my comments on other blogs. This is temporary; once I’m settled in a new place, I’ll be able to resume by regular level of online activity. This month has been a real squeeze on me time and energy-wise, July should bring a saner schedule.

I can’t wait until things are back to normal, and I can spend more time writing and interacting again. I’ve got some big plans for the summer. My work will be featured on some other sites and in several ebook projects, I’ll be sure to let you know as they are released.

I’ve got dozens of topics I’m dying to write about, I just need to claw through this two more weeks of packing, flying, planning and moving furniture. All in good time.

Experiment No 2, my kettlebell project, is in full swing and I’m very pleased with myself so far. My stamina has increased substantially, and I’m looking better too. I’ll be experiencing a scheduling hiccup this week because of my long weekend and my move, but every workout will be accounted for by the end of it. Check out my Experiment Log, my numbers are climbing.

Experiment No 3 is coming up soon, possibly even concurrently with my current experiment. It involves my trying on another lifestyle change for a month or so, and addressing a problem that has been going on for a while. I’m sure some of you can relate.

Have a good Monday, talk to you soon.

Photo by J_O_I_D

by David Cain on June 15, 2009

{ Read More }

And My Destination Is…

Pocket

{ comments closed }

Two weeks ago, I mentioned in my post The Year With Two Summers that I would be leaving sometime in October to spend a year in another country. This country is in the southern hemisphere, which means I’ll be able to enjoy the North American summer and leave just as summer is beginning down there.

I did not reveal the country because I wanted to make sure I would have the appropriate Visa to be able to stay for twelve months. If it had been denied for some reason then I would have had to choose a different destination.

Not that I’ve kept this a secret, in my offline life. I think all of my friends know by now, and I’ve announced my resignation to my boss.

Raptitude.com

announcements

The Two Spells of Nausea That Changed My Life, and Other Reasons for Hope

Hello From the West Coast

Reruns?

You

The List

The Results Are in! — Experiment No. 2: David Before and After Kettlebells

Trouble Accessing Raptitude?

Monday Update

A Note From David

And My Destination Is…

Support Raptitude

Essential Raptitude

Recent comments

Privacy policy and Terms of Service

Raptitude is an independent blog by David Cain. Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I might earn a commission if you buy certain things I link to. In such cases the cost to the visitor remains the same.