Month: August 2020

How to Eat an Elephant

Sometimes, I feel stuck in my problems. It is as though I have been tasked to eat a whole elephant. How does one eat a whole elephant?

I go to my journal or talk to trustworthy people about the elephant. I talk about specific problems I am facing, and get them written down. If I cannot write/talk about my issues, or put a finger on any of them, drawing an abstract picture in color about my feelings can help bridge that gap.

When I am stuck or paralyzed, I find there are many things floating around in my mind-heart that are causing issues. I write each one down and end up with a list of smaller pieces to work on.

After dividing the elephant, I conquer it in small portions at a time. I develop habits that lead to the life I want to live. Otherwise, the elephant will remain whole – and I shall stay stuck in my problems indefinitely.

-theothersid3

photo credit: The British Library British Library digitised image from page 215 of “The Land of the Lion; or, Adventures among the wild animals of Africa. With … illustrations” via photopin (license)

29. The Man and the Apple

Let us say there is a world that contains only a man, an apple, and the means to study the apple. This man studies the apple and learns everything about it: the components, molecules, atoms, chemistry, subatomic components, etc. Eventually, he reaches a point where he stumbles across the mysterious foundations of the universe in his studies of the apple. This begs the question: where did the apple come from? Where did he come from?

Everywhere we focus, distractions aside, we eventually circle back to questions such as these.

Mental Modulations of Time

In special states of mind, time flows in a circle, particularly in both elevated and deeper states of mind. This can be due to meditation, mental illness states, drug-induced, or during visions.

In every day states of mind, time flows in what seems a unidirectional line of time from the past to the present to the future, not going backwards.

In between the special and every day mental states, time can slow down, even close to a hault, such as during a fight or flight experience or hypomania. Time can also speed up, such as when one loses time during a depressive episode or when having a good time.

During special mental states, the timeline going in a circle is the realm of time close to being lapsed. In this realm, we explore ourselves from without and within. Other areas I explored include love, faith, wisdom, my deepest wounds, my highest moments, angels, demons, Christ, Father, Wisdom, the other side, and everything in between.

The results of my psychotic episodes due to bipolar I mania were profoundly life changing. Time behaved as a circle during the extreme portions of these experiences. It flowed in everything as a gentle river does. Time was refined, not wasted, at peace, whether I was surrounded by evil or God’s presence.

In every day life, we can try to live our lives to the best and the fullest. Or, every moment can be seen as a moment closer to death. The first option is the better one for living one’s life to the best and fullest in love. Being negative all the time feels like dying – in a bad way. Both outlooks rub off on people around us.

-theothersid3