OMG, it is real! (II)

Remember the 3D photos we used to stare at. It is a great analogy to hypnosis. With the help of two dots, our eyes can be locked into another stage where the 3D images begin to present themselves out of ulterly random chaos. Same with hypnosis. With the help of a hypnosis master, the mind switches to another stage. While I was hypnotized yesterday, I was highly aware I was hypnotized and I knew that if I just shook my head, I could get out of it. But why should I? The 3D images are so beautiful and amazing that they eyes are willingly to be locked. My mind kept exploring the sensation that I never experienced before, and my curiosity finished off the loop that the hypnosis master's master plan. Awesome!

I had a run a minute ago. According to my running log, the first time in 10 days due to the rainy whether. I intentionally used some hypnosis technique: focusing on something other than my exhaustion. It worked! It felt like a really good run. And the more I think about it, the more it began to make sense. For example, I always feel less exhausted when I run a new route, because I am easily distracted (or focused) on the new scenary. What's why I can hit 7-8 miles when I ran the West Lake. I do not think I can do it by running campus loop twice. Cheering also works. When people cheer for you, you are so focused on not letting them down, and your body just stretches itself to it ultimate edge without you even realizing it.

On the dark side, I also realized that it could be used to make people stupid. Now I am ulterly convinced that religion takes advanatge of it to convince people that when they concentrate, they will feel an unworldly sensation, because of god or whatever. Nonsense. People's mind is amazing because it could be shaped into different sensations (probably due to evolutionary advanatge), and contributing it to another person, god or whatever, just belittles human spirit. Well, it is not my fault. Maybe some day I should find an evolutionary advantage for believing in god, then I will be ulterly speechless, as if I picked up a stone to hit my toes.

OMG, it is real!

I am talking about hypnosis. Yes, I was hypnotized for half an hour this afternoon. Amazing. I thought I was not the type easily to be hypnotized, but I guess I am after all. It is quite an experience, but hard to describe. Moreover, the guy, david spiegel, is a M.D., and he explained the hypnosis phenomenon to us pretty well.

Tin y Dancer, Almost Famous and Da Vince Code

No matter how old I grow into, I always find myself being silly in retrospect. (Well, you can say it is quite silly to retrospect at all).

Anyway, I am listening to the mixed CD D. made for me last year. It is all smiling, as if to celebrate my life wasn't that boring after all last year. I was pursuing her as my love interest, but I also knew her imperfection from the day I knew her. I have no way to judge whether all those were rational or reasonable. I just did what I felt right at that moment. And now I can relax and smile at my own sillyness, only to hope the episode would not diminish my tendency to be silly again. And of course, I no longer feel awkward to wore the "I Heart NY" T-shirt. When people asked whether I had been to New York, I said that my friend gave the t-shirt to me. It is amazing how I once assumed that these artifacts were as dead as tombstone, only to find they got back to life with the passage of time, presenting a new layer of meaning to me. Now it is the track 03, Tiny Dancer by Elton John, that is dancing through my ears. Studies showed that ipod is destorying the ears of the young people. And I say, bring it on. Indeed, there are some brilliant songs there.

I have been keeping up the schedule with myself. Up early and down early. Now I have the whole morning back, and also began my morning work-out plan. So far so good. I think I can do with 7 hours of sleep again, when I have this neat schedule.

Classes are all going well. I wasted less time on line, and spent more time reading. I just finished a book "The Da Vinci Code". It is quite an amazing book. Besides being really enjoyable, it confirmed one of my thoughts: "religion is all about limiting human's interpretation of the real history". But it went beyond that, "religion is actually fun. All the amazing stories and symbols, songs and texts. What makes it amazing is the fact that it is shared by so many people. Not the opposite, that people believed it because it is amazing." A really fun read. I could not put it down for a while. Now I am picking up another book, Kite Runner.

The class I am supposed to teach this quarter will be cancelled, I am quite sure, due to the low enrollment. Several reasons: 1. the class did not make the Time Schedule, 2) the title turned people away. Anyway, bad lucky, but I am still a good teacher.

I am auditing a Human Biology class. It is fun class, as I began to understand the bahaviors of the people around me and, more importantly, myself. I probably would have more to say when the topic covers sexual behavior, mental health or spirituality. Indeed, the instructor is an atheist and teaches about evolution. He does not hide that he suffered from mental problems sometimes, and I think I understands him: the peril of being a thinker without the comfort of blind belief. However, when they shine, they shine through. His class has 500 people. Yesterday I arrived at the classroom 10 minutes before the lecture and I got the third to the last row. I guess I can use this to comfort myself, using a sentence from the movie Almost Famous (co-incidently, it's theme song is no other than Tiny Dancer): "Some day, you will be cool," the sister told the narrator of the movie.

Also, I have a swimming class and a weigth training class. I am not really taking them. I just want to convince myself so that I will take my work-out schedule seriously. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and I accept.

up early

I have been getting up early before 8am and sleeping before 1am for two days. That's very promising. By 10:30am, my usually time to step out of my dorm, I already get qiute a lot work done.

Sad thing is that the class I am teaching now does not have any enrolled students, although I have a bunch of auditors. I suspect the title of class might turn undergrads away: "data analysis and management in social science". I should've come up with a more sexy title. Now it is too late. Hopefuly they wouldn't cancel my class.

Update

I guess I really own readers some updates of what's happening in my life. It is quite uneventful recently, but I definitely have something to report.

Spring is coming, and I might take a swimming class this quarter. I am also teaching a class this quarter on SPSS. Today I had the first session. I was nervous about how many students gonna show up and how it would go, but afterwards I found I was quite a good teacher.

My life priority is change, I figure. I got out of a dance piece today. I felt bad to abandon the group, but I did it. It is hard to give up things. That's why I accumulate so many burdens on my shoulder. I guess I am learning to give up things. One quote from the Time Magazine struck me: Life is not about what we can do, but about what is worth doing. I got a video ipod recently. My old one died. I am quite happy with the new one, because it is COOL!

I got quite a lot done on my chapter 2 of the dissertation over the break. I think I am over the most recent writer's block and back in my swing. I guess I should ride on the momentum and do more of it. I have applied to graduate with Ph.D. this summer, so I have to finish the whole thing by September.

I got a letter saying that I was waitlist by a law school. I am quite hopeful about the chance, but I am not sure. In the meanwhile, I need to talk with my boss about the post-doc position at my school on Thursday. All of a sudden, I feel good hope for next year.

I try to come up with a good daily schedule. I am writing it out as a psychological reinforcement for myself.
7am: Get up
8-10am: Readings
Then get some workout or go swimming
After lunch: I will either teach my class, or prepare my class, or take dance class, or do my work in the lirary.
5pm: Running? I am not sure. If i have morning workout, then I do not need this one. By the way, I ran again today, the whole 4 miles, the first time in two weeks I think.
6pm: Dinner
7-11: Study. Whatever. Be productive.
11: Return to dorm. Play some piano, chatting with people, calm down, sleep at midnight. or 12:15pm latest. By the way, now I can play most parts of "Fur Elise" or "For Alice", the famous piano music.
I hope I can stick with it, because it will be good for me. Starting from today.

Wow, I haven't written a good blog for a while

And this one is not a good one either. Just want to catch up a little bit.

Spring break is almost over. Really nothing major happening in life. I am preparing to teach a class this quarter. They will pay me over the summer, during which I will take a grace quarter to finish my dissertation. Still do not know what I will do in a long run, but I am taking one day at a time.

Just back from a ski trip. I was with Victor's family. Victor is the real name of my Amsol in my first ever blog on friends. He has a loving wife and cute boy. We drove to the ski resort on Wed and ski for half a day. And then we stayed in Reno. Eating steaks and played video poker. The second day we went to ski again, and then retreated to Reno at night. The third day we were back.

The trip is relaxing. My spring break would otherwise be quite boring without it. I snowboarded both days. Once I took a wrong turn and got lost. It started to snow and I could not see anyone or lifting chairs. For a moment, I was quite pessimistic about maybe a snow mobile will come to rescue me. Well, I found a way to get back to track in 10 minutes, and Victor is now just laughing at me for being such a panic boy.

I also have a closer observation of their family in action. I really liked the relationship. Nothing seems to be fake. They love each other, but they also argue and fight. Even when I am present, they just act like themselves rather than putting up some bullshit cover to present the best part. They provided the best resources for their boy, but also discipled him well. I wouldn't be surprised if their kid grows up to be a great person.