Mike Slavin • • 3 min read
Transcend The Ordinary
⚡️ Enlightening Bolts
Can’t miss gems of the weird and wonderful
(Bonus: Check out our interview with East Forest on the HighExistence podcast.)
🎇 Image of The Week
In case you forgot that this world is awesome, here’s a photo of a little-known natural phenomenon called Light Pillars where tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere reflect light coming from the ground.
🤯 Transcend The Ordinary
“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”
This passage is entitled “Make The Ordinary Come Alive.” It’s from The Parent’s Tao Te Ching by William Martin.
It resonates with our tagline at HighExistence: Transcend The Ordinary. In certain ways, this is accomplished through a deeper immersion in the things you consider commonplace. With a shift in perception the mundane blossoms into the marvelous.
Yes, there is a lot of difficulty and suffering that we can encounter in this life. But that shouldn’t obscure the inexhaustible and unrelenting beauty surrounding us. It might feel closer in the presence of a baby’s laughter or a fresh snowfall but there is a richness even in the ordinary moment you find yourself in as you’re reading these words. So I ask: Is there something beautiful you can find to appreciate in this moment?
⏰ Time Reimagined
Do you ever feel like you have too much to do and not enough time? You might be experiencing “time famine.” This concept first appeared in the scientific literature in 1999. How do we escape from the never-ending crunch of time?
We know that experiences of awe can instill a sense of timelessness, but Scott Thrift has a theory that it’s our timepieces, not just our schedules that contribute to a sense of always being out of time.
He recently launched a Kickstarter that raised nearly $300k with a focus on transforming our relationship to the clock. The project is called the present “The Present” and it includes 3 different timepieces.
“By tuning our awareness to the perennial cycles of the day, the moon, and the year, we can rediscover the original nature of time — and a more holistic way of living.”
Check out the full project here.
☀️ A True Sunrise Sensei
A big shout out to Mina for completing 39 days of our Sunrise Sensei challenge. Inspired by our 30 Challenges To Enlightenment Experience, she got up to greet the sun every morning for 39 days. Great job, Mina!
🤓 Learn This Word
Patternicity: The tendency to find patterns in meaningless noise.
⏳ From The Archives
A hand-picked classic HighExistence article
Do you meditate or practice mindfulness? Check out our collection of articles on meditation and mindfulness to build the habit, enhance your practice, and find greater tranquility in your day-to-dayMeditation and Mindfulness Collection
We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think.
With Wonder,
Mike & The HighExistence Team
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Mike Slavin
Mike is a magician and poet telling tales from the intersection of attention, deception, and wonder.
