Switch to mobile version

experiments

Ethanol Free — 30 Days Without Drugs Update

{ comments closed }
alcohol shot

On July 6, 2009, David began an experiment in which he resolved not to use any sort of drugs for 30 days. View the full experiment log here.

Day 22

Well I’m down to little more than a week left, and it really has not been difficult. There have been a few brief moments where I felt a bit left out, but any angst always went away fast, and I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on any fun that only drugs would have allowed me to have.

I will say though, that part of the ease has been the knowledge that I will be allowed to indulge if I want after the 30 days is up. Not that it’s that appealing, but if my commitment had been six months, it may not have felt so easy on a day-to-day basis.

But such a lengthy abstinence is not necessary. Basically, I have two goals with this experiment:

1) Find out what I feel like physically after not having ingested any drugs for a while, and

2) Discover if my social life and working life have developed a need for caffeine and alcohol.

So far I’ve discovered that (1) I feel physically awesome almost all the time, and (2) I have been able to both work and have fun just the same without drugs.

I can’t say I’m not excited at the thought of having a few beers with my buddies after the experiment is over, or enjoying a traditional after-dinner coffee with my mom. I really do want to do those things, but mainly because I feel like I can bring a new sense of awareness and appreciation to the experience.

Of course, reintroducing drugs into my life means conscious moderation. Staying away from years-old habits for a month isn’t going to obliterate them. Read More

by David Cain on July 29, 2009
{ Read More }

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

{ 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 }

30 Days Without Drugs — Raptitude Experiment No. 3

{ comments closed }
Alcohol

This experiment commenced on schedule on July 6, 2009.  See my progress log here.

As much as I don’t like so say it this explicitly, drugs have been a significant part of my life for some time now.

I know I’m far from alone.  Drugs use is very common.  Drugs are a part of human culture everywhere in different capacities: as medicine, as recreation, as escape, as tradition, as sacraments.

I try to avoid the common distinction between drugs that are legal or illegal, socially acceptable or not socially acceptable. A drug is a drug, regardless of the government’s opinion of it.

That unfair distinction creates a lot of undue prejudice and ignorance, it alienates people and ruins lives, but I’ll save that debate for later.  I know most coffee drinkers would not identify themselves as drug users, but they are.  It’s unfortunate that the term ‘drug user’ has come to be a condescending slur rather than just the objective descriptor it should be.

Partly because of the culture I live in, both the broader culture of North America, and my own local combination of friends and influences, I have become habituated to using certain drugs regularly.  People all around me use them to different degrees. Read More

by David Cain on July 6, 2009
{ Read More }

Strength, Soviet Style — Raptitude Experiment No. 2

{ comments closed }
They want you

Difficulty strengthens the mind, as labor the body.

~Seneca

In Experiment No. 1, I set out to condition my mind by introducing it to frequent meditation sessions, and reported the results here on Raptitude.  It was a real eye-opener for me, and I was able to break new ground in terms of my understanding my mind.  In other words, I feel markedly stronger, mentally.  For Raptitude’s second official experiment, I’m going to get physical.

My weapon of choice is actually one Soviet troops used for many years to stay one glorious step ahead of their capitalist foes in the realm of physical prowess.  While western drill sergeants were punishing their men with long jogs and pushups by the dozen, Red Army soldiers were out in the pastures hoisting 53-pound iron balls above their heads a thousand times.  Every morning.  In a blizzard.  Taking breaks only to wrestle bears, for fun. Read More

by David Cain on May 15, 2009
{ Read More }

The Results Are In — Experiment No. 1, Day 30

{ comments closed }
Buddha dog

David began a 30-day daily meditation experiment on April 6, 2009.  The original post is here. David’s progress log is here.

Well, the first official Raptitude experiment has come to an end.  I just got up from my final meditation session. As far as I can tell, I am not enlightened.  I can neither hear the mountain stream nor make the sound of one hand clapping.

But I will never be the same.

If you’ve ever had trouble meditating, you might appreciate this account.

I have wanted to try meditating on a daily basis for a long time and I am glad I did it this way, accountable to you, the reader.  Because let me tell you, if I didn’t tell anybody I was trying this, I would have quit in the first week.  I’ve left detailed entries in my experiment log, but I’ll recap the highlights here.

That first week was rough.  I could not decide on a method, so I tried a few, with discouraging results.  On Day 5, I decided to settle on a (seemingly) simple and well-known method called vipassana. I think I even announced in my progress log that my confusion about methods was over, because I’d found plain instructions for a tried and true method.  Hah! Read More

by David Cain on May 6, 2009
{ Read More }

Asking Google is Asking Humanity

{ comments closed }
Humanity on four laptops

I remember my first real-time online interaction.  It was 1993, and I was navigating through a local BBS on my trusty 2400 baud modem.  Some of you may have used BBSes back in the day, but most of you probably don’t know what that is.  BBS stands for Bulletin Board System, which is just a software program on someone else’s computer, where different users could log via phone line on and read news, play simple games, download programs or leave messages.

Most BBSes only had one incoming line, so you couldn’t be online at the same time as anyone else.  If you attempted to reach the BBS when someone else was on, you got a busy signal.  Even though BBSes had many members, it really was a solo activity, you just explored what other people had left there, hence the monikier Bulletin Board.  Still, they fascinated me.

One day, while I was reading some crude, text-based message board, the screen went black.  At the top, letter by letter, words began to appear, as if I was typing them.  But wasn’t me, it was someone else! My heart started pounding.  Life! There was a living, breathing person using my computer, in my basement, from somewhere out there.  It was astonishing and terrifying, like I was encountering an alien. Read More

by David Cain on May 1, 2009
{ Read More }

David vs. Monkey Mind — Meditation Experiment: Day 15

{ comments closed }
Monkey mind

David began a 30-day daily meditation experiment on April 6, 2009.  The original post is here. David’s progress log is here.

Well it’s been a real trip so far.  Here we are at the halfway point.

After a rocky first week, I’ve settled into a comfortable groove.  But it took a bit of trailblazing.  About a week ago I decided not to follow a prescribed traditional method.  I didn’t want to compromise it with my own assumptions.  I wasn’t comfortable with written or prerecorded instruction.  I felt an intense need for a flesh-and-blood teacher to show me.

And I will find a teacher, either in a meditation class, or on some sort of retreat, but not during this experiment.  I decided to take a more free-form approach to my daily sessions, and it’s beginning to pay great dividends.  Read More

by David Cain on April 21, 2009
{ Read More }

Raptitude Experiment No. 1 — Sharpening the Mind

{ comments closed }
Little Buddha

Little Buddha says, “Chill out.”

In my About section, I mentioned that experimentation is important to the spirit of Raptitude.  From the start, this blog has been about improving humanity through improving yourself, and improving yourself primarily by developing mental skills.  Most of the skills I’ve talked about already, namely  keeping life fresh, investing your attention on purpose, and enjoying the mundane moments are contingent upon one’s ability to direct their attention to where they want it.  I am conducting Raptitude’s first public experiment to help to develop my ability to do that.

I exercise mindfulness in my actions every day, but I’m much less consistent with sitting meditation.  These days I never really sit down to actively practice the deliberate rendering of attention, whether it’s onto my breath, my body or some other foci.

If I were to define meditation I would call it “the art of directing one’s attention.”  The human mind is so flighty and fickle it’s actually hilarious how difficult it can be to keep it in one place.  Civilization does a good job at distracting us 24-7.  As I type this I’ve got four Firefox tabs open, TweetDeck keeps popping up, and I’ve already answered two phonecalls.  Shutting them all out seems like the most obvious response, and I will do some of that (ok TweetDeck is closed.)  But I am more interested in improving the other end of the equation: me.  Read More

by David Cain on April 7, 2009
{ Read More }
{ Newer Entries }
Desktop version

Raptitude is an independent blog by . 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.