2024-08-23

Self-Discipline and Perseverance

Self-discipline and perseverance are two of my character traits I've been taking for granted since my childhood. It was since I started coaching other people four years ago that I've discovered to my surprise that these two character traits are exceptions rather than norms among many people.

Then I've also started paying closer attention to other people than my coaching clients and haven't found too many people who are also self-disciplined and persevere to pursue their goals until they attain them (and even afterwards).

Regardless of how I've acquired these two character traits, they've definitely helped me in many ways, especially in coping with various obstacles in life. The following is a partial list of the years of my perseverance for specific goals in life in the chronological order:

  • 4.5 years: self-study of Hebrew until being accepted as a PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • 11.5 years: preparation of a PhD dissertation in Hebrwe linguistics at this university
  • 4.5 years: receiving a permanent position in Hebrew linguistics at Bar-Ilan university after PhD
  • 5.5 years: receiving tenure at this university
  • 53.5 years (since birth) ;-) / 8.5 years (since I started thinking seriously): getting married

When I received tenure and then got married, I thought I wouldn't have to repeat the same or similar Sisyphean labor again, but I was totally wrong.

It's four and six years respectively since I left academia of my own free will officially and practically, but I'm still struggling to earn enough to make both ends meet. Since I launched my private business six years ago, I've been updating my business blog at least once a week.

When it comes to my private life, my next goal is to get married again, mainly for further growth. I want to implement the lessons I've learned from all the mistakes I had in my first marriage. It's also about six years since I got divorced. Though I feel I'm already ready emotionally to get married again, I don't think I'm ready in a few other areas, which means that first, I have to persevere until I become ready, and only then I have to persevere further for this goal itself.

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2024-08-16

Negative Energy of Individuals and Social Collectives

My experience so far with many social collectives at various levels have convinced me that in any social collective about 70-80% of its members unconsciously obey its respective collective ego, which is also known as culture or mentality. And each social collective and its "law-abiding" members seem to emit energy that is often unique to them.

I have long suffered from the negative energy of a certain social collective. It was enough for me to spend one week or even less to absorb its negative energy. But I was seldom infected with it when I met and interacted with its members individually though I did sense it. It generally took me several days to restore my previous state.

After I started learning Chassidus, I started to notice something strange - I stopped absorbing the negative energy of this social collective even after spending one week in its midst! I don't know exactly what teaching and/or practice of Chassidus have come to serve as a kind of energy shield protecting me from the effect of this negative energy.

But this energy shield doesn't seem to be powerful enough. It works for passive negative energy but not for active negative energy, which characterized another social collective and many of its members. It's still enough for me to meet and interact even with one individual to become affected by his aggressive.

Recently I've also noticed another important difference between these two types of negative energy. The negative energy of this social collective can become far greater than the sum of the negative energy of its members. I haven't noticed this in the first social collective mentioned above.

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2024-08-02

My Morning Routine

Since I was a small child, I've known empirically that I'm the most productive in early mornings. Except for some exceptional years as a graduate student I've been getting up at five in the morning on weekdays (and going to bed at eleven at night).

Not only when I still taught in the university but also since I left it, I've been starting my work at eight in the morning. I need about three hours for preparing myself to start a new workday in a spiritually, mentally and physically fully charged condition, which is why I get up at five in the morning.

When I tell this to others, most of them, especially night owls, are surprised and ask me why I need three hours. As far as I'm concerned, I don't feel three hours are such a long period of time. They are the bare minimum for me! Anyway, here is my morning routine on weekdays:

  • 05:00-05:30: contemplation
  • 05:30-05:40: reflection
  • 05:40-06:00: meditation
  • 06:00-06:30: prayer
  • 06:30-06:45: bodyweight strenghth training
  • 06:45-07:15: running
  • 07:15-07:30: shower
  • 07:30-08:00: breakfast

The first hour of the day is my most favorite time of the day every day, and it's also my most productive time of the day. So I spend this hour, engaged in what sets the tone for the rest of the day. I learn the following materials from the teachings of Chabad Chassidus for contemplation:

Then I use the following, also from the teachings of Chabad Chassidus, as well as other materials from my favorite nondual masters for reflection:

My morning routine on Sabbaths is different not only because I can't check electronic and online materials but also because of a totally different, related atmosphere. I spend the first hour of every Sabbath before prayer studying one chapter of the first part of the Tanya in the original Hebrew together with its English or Russian translation and commentaries in English or Hebrew:

Since this first part has 53 chapters, I can finish it in one year. I've already been studying this "written Torah of Chassidus" for several years - first daily, now weekly.

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