Snap Judgements and Instincts

I just read the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. You may have heard of this author from his other books, like Outlier or The Tipping Point. This book is all about our innate abilities to make judgements based first impressions and instinct. Actually, that is simplifying things a little, but thats essentially the idea.

There's tons of great examples in the book about how "thin-slicing" people and situations can allow us to make the same or even better ideas than "thick-slicing". In one example, people were asked to assess and judge the effectiveness and abilities of a professor based on a 2 second clips of them teaching. This seems ridiculous, but most of the participants in the study, something like 80% of them, were able to assess them close to the professor's actual assessment by the university. In 2 seconds, people were able to tell if the professor's were good or bad at what they do. Why? That's the mystery to book looks into uncovering.

I'm not here to write a review of the book, but it is very good if you are looking for some very interesting information and studies. The idea of this book is more interesting to me.

Everyone at one time or another has come across a time or situation where you just have a feeling about what you should do. Everyone has met someone at one time or another and decided very quickly if you liked this person or not, but then are often left wondering why we felt this way.

We tell kids all the time when taking a test, that their first impression of the answer is probably the correct one. But, we also teach them critical thinking. We teach kids that, when they come across a situation, that they should think it through thoroughly before acting. That seems like the best way to approach anything, really. But the information presented in this book makes me think that its possible that its not... that maybe we should be working and processing more based our instincts and snap judgements. MOST (but not all) of the time, these decisions are just as good or better than the decisions we make when thinking it through and weighing every piece of information. Perhaps we should be teaching kids to hone their instinct and gut judgements. Not that they shouldn't learn all they can to make informed decisions, but that they should take that information they have learned and trust their judgements and instincts.

For example, think about a sport like basketball. I wouldn't expect 14 year old to make the right play and/or decision all the time while playing. In basketball, one has to make lots of decisions and make them in quick succession. It would be difficult for someone young and newer to the game to make the right decision in a split second all the time. BUT, after someone has spent a few years practicing and playing, these decisions come easier and faster. The more you practice and play the game, the more scenarios and situations you have come across. The more your practice and play, the more physically able you are to follow through on your decisions. If you have played, think about a time where you were playing someone one-on-one. I can think of many. One in particular comes to mind.

I was in 8th grade and we were playing another undefeated team. They had a really big kid on their team same Steve Young. He had a damn beard... seriously. He was very big for his age, but that meant I was quicker and faster (being our center, but being only 5'8" and skinny), which was true, but also made me feel better to tell myself. My coach told me to call for an isolation play if he guarded me one-on-one so I could dribble past him for a lay-up. In the last moments of the game it was tied and we had the ball with a chance to win. Our coach had called a play for a screen to get the ball to our best shooter and have him take a shot. I noticed, though, that they were in a man-to-man. I told everyone to change the play and held up the signal for an isolation play for me. I got some questionable looks form my teammates, but I was so confident (for no reason), no one questioned it. I got the ball off the inbounds, everyone cleared out... I took Steve Young on, skinny young man against man-child. I drove him to the free throw line... stopped... pulled up... and launched a shot. I heard my coach yelling, "Nooooooo!", which amazingly turned into more of a "Noooooeeeeyaaaaah!" because I swished the basket at the buzzer. We won!

This picture seems to sum up what middle school basketball is like

I realize that this story may not be as exciting for you, but there's a point. How did I know exactly when to stop and shoot? There was no play or plan. The plan was, take him one-on-one. In that moment, though, I didn't think... I reacted. Thats a normal idea in sports, right? You react. But, how do we know when and how to react best. I had played enough one-on-one at the YMCA and in my backyard and on the playground to know when I had enough space to pull up and take a good shot. As the situation developed, by learned instincts kicked in and I made the play. Even if I had missed, it would still have been a good, open shot. The key words, I think, though, is LEARNED instinct. We train for this in sports all the time. You practice and train your instinct and judgments. Maybe we should spend more time doing this in our everyday lives?

In the book, Gladwell brings up a comparison between military personnel and stock market traders, and it makes complete sense. These traders are making tons of decisions on, what seems like, very little information. They have "hunches" or "feelings" about what to do and when to do it. Thats not to say, though, that they they are guessing. They study trends and analytics all the time. But, when its time to trade, they use their instincts and judgement, trusting that what they have learned and studied will kick in. If they spent all their time trying to think their trades through critically, they would miss everything.

I know I tie in a lot of my ideas to school and education, but its the world I live in.... I think this idea of preparing ourselves better in order to make smarter "snap judgements" or improve our instincts is a very interesting one. What if we took that approach in the education system and when teaching? We told the kids, "Hey, I don't know when you will need this information, but at some point you might. When that time comes, you can trust you know what to do and can  trust your judgement and instincts  and make a decision. Thats why we are learning all of this. So that when you are out there, in the real world, you can trust yourself to make good decisions based on your initial reactions." Personally, that  approach sounds more exciting to me than trying to learn chemistry and ecosystems just because the textbooks says I need to know it. I think it would feel like you are actually training and preparing for something.

There are so many situations I can think of where having the ability to make a good, quick decision, would be so helpful and that overanalyzing makes things worse. If I felt like I was more knowledgeable on a subject, though, I think these situations would be much, much easier.

One example I can think of was when my wife and I were trying to buy a house. We looked at well over 100 houses and looked for months. The market was crazy and the economy had crashed, so cost was low, but our salaries were also frozen indefinitely. It made things a little more complicated, in our minds, to choose. In one house we put an offer on, we were actually under contract for a month before the deal went under. The whole time I remember not having a great feeling about it, but thought I was just nervous abut a house in general. But maybe my instincts were kicking in to tell me it wasn't good. On another house I saw what knowledge and expertise combined with snap judgements and instincts can do. My wife and I liked the house were looking at with our realtor's partner. Our realtor is an amazing dude, but couldn't make it to the house to show it, so his very capable partner came to show it. The layout was good, price was decent, location was nice, etc. We were starting to get desperate to find something, so our judgement was suspect. In the unfinished basement, we noticed two sub-pumps. Whatever...right? We were ready to put an offer down and we called our main realtor to tell him. His partner explained the house and the price and casually mentioned the two sub-pumps in the basement. I remember hearing our realtor on the other line go, "Wait! Two sub-pumps? Hmmm... I don't like that.... I driving up." A 45 minute drive for him later, he burst into the house, said a brief hello, and started sniffing around like a drug dog looking for a hidden stash. He started in the basement, saw the pumps, and grunted...not happy. Then stared at the cement walls int he basement, made more faces and grunts, then headed up stairs. He felt the tops of the doors and then looked like someone who found the remote control in the couch after looking for it for so long. "This house has foundation problems, don't buy it". There were fixed cracks in the foundations concrete. The tops of the doors had been sanded to fit after everything had shifted. The multiple sub-pumps were to deal with regular flooding. All this makes sense... but he drove 45 minutes on a week night, late, based on a casual piece of info about 2 sub-pumps. He knew instantly something was wrong, and he was totally right. His well informed instincts told him this was a bad house. He didn't need time on the phone to talk about what could maybe be wrong. He felt it was wrong and immediately headed put to see us. That ability, though, came from years of experience seeing thousands and thousands of houses. Now, maybe someone off the street might be able to come in and make the same decision based on instinct, but his instinct were informed.

What if we taught kids this way? Learn so you are prepared. Learn so you are ready when you need to be. When they get a to a test, we would tell them to trust their instincts and judgements. Read the questions through, jot down notes or numbers if needed but trust the answer you initially believe is correct. If they paid attention and learned throughout their classes, their instincts should serve them well when testing. If we teach them well, in the real world they should be able to make good decisions faster and more frequently as they will be able to trust their instincts.

I do teach this some in my art class. I tell kids, in order to check their work, have someone hold it up from a distance. But I tell them to close their eyes first, then open them and decide upon first look whats right and whats wrong with the work. Their initial judgements should help them in creating better work. I teach this as almost a trick, but now I am thinking I need to teach it as a real and useful tool. There's this big emphasis on art critiques and the steps one needs to take when critiquing a work of art. I get why and I think the thinking behind it is valuable, but maybe instead of teaching it to be repeated, I should really be teaching it so they don't have to do it anymore and tell them that. "If we can get good at this is as a class using the formal critique steps, then we can et rid of the steps and the writing and have conversations based on how you feel about the work." Doesn't that sound like a more fun way to live, anyway?

New Baby Boy

Well, he's here....!!!!! Two days ago my little baby boy entered the world. It's was scary and amazing and worth it.

His original due date was December 27th. After some issues (not to the baby but with fluids, etc.) his date was moved to December 14th. After another appointment, only five days later, his date was moved to December 7th, which would have been considered full term. That freaked us out. There was so much to do! It's been a scramble!

Well, December 1st my wife had another appointment. She called me at 4:00 pm. I was at school prepping materials for NEXT week's substitute teacher. Then she let me know...... The baby was coming that night! He was healthy, but his fluids were low. I froze... not sure what to do exactly. 

Jen told me all this calmly, but with a "please get home" tone in her voice. Her mom was with her. She flew in to help get the house ready and make some meals.... She was jazzed!! I could hear her on the other ned of the phone... very excited. 

Me.... Scared. Not of the baby or of him being healthy. Just scared, like I was before my wedding, but with far less time to prepare. The moment I had been preparing for was here.... All of a sudden. I almost cried, sucked it up, and went to find my principal, whom I had told an hour earlier nothing had changed in the schedule of the baby. 

I threw together my emergency sub plan and headed home, writing an apology on the board and promising to return and allow them to finish glazing their clay projects. My wife had called our friends and they were getting the dog from day care for us. She was in day care because our contractor friend was sanding the drywall in the basement. He called me and asked if I could pick up some mud....I couldn't. The whirlwind had begun. 

The night before I had just started reading a short cliff notes-style dad book full of quick tips and info. I stopped at the page with the checklist for the hospital, vowing to put that stuff together the next night... Which I did, but much faster that I originally thought.

We pulled ourselves together in a movie-like frantic montage. Picture the scene in home alone when they wake up late for the airport, but a little calmer... But not by much. We got the the hospital and checked in. The information came in fast and in large amounts. 

We went to a monitoring room where my wife became part of the Borg being hooked up to a million machines. They went through information about what was happening like the guy who used to do the Micro Machine commercials... really quick. I did not catch any of it, hardly. I knew there was a C section in the future and that I would have a new baby at some point. Jen would need a spinal tap and I would put on scrubs and then follow someone to somewhere and then I would have a baby...

All that wouldn't be so nerve wracking if I had maybe learned to change a diaper, or hold a baby, or how to feed them, or anything about babies at all. It was all happening, though, and I needed to be ready. My wife needed me to be ready. My son needed me to be ready. So I switched my mindset and decided I had nothing but time after he came to figure it out. I also am lucky and blessed to have friends and some family around that are more than willing to help. Thinking about that really helped me feel much calmer. It takes a village.....

After the took my wife away for her spinal tap (turn in to 11!), I got in my scrubs and paced, waiting for someone to com get me. It felt like forever. It felt like the moment after you ask a girl out and are waiting for their reply... it wasn't that long, but felt like a long time. I was finally brought into the operating room, where there were like 20 people moving around, a big sheet covering my wife's lower half, and my wonderful, beautiful, tough wife, lying there doing her best as they tugged on her numb lower half. I held her hand and rubbed her shoulder.

And then... My son entered the world...as they announced it, but he wasn't really moving. He was pale. He wasn't making any noise. They brought him right over to a warmer and began helping him get some oxygen. They discussed things in quiet tones and we couldn't hear what was happening. All we could do was see him 10 feet away, struggling. Time froze. I am almost crying now thinking of it, but at the time I think I just held my breath. I must have. I don't know how else I passed those moments. I squeezed my wife's hand and rubbed her shoulder and watched and waited in, yet another, brief moment in time that felt like forever. Finally, he let out a brief cry, but it was the best cry ever. It let us know he was alive and well and ready for the world. My wife shed some well deserved tears of joy and relief. I just felt like the world was okay again.

I won't go into details about the next night and day and feeding and all the other fun stuff. Each experience is unique, I'm sure. I was unprepared, but I feel like I'm getting it. Make no mistake, if you are a guy reading this, your responsibilities are very different from Mom's. What I noticed immediately and have become quite okay with, is that my allegiance is with mom. I love my baby with all my heart and soul, but my job right now is to make sure mom is good so that she can take care of baby. Her allegiance is with my son now. Thats the way it is going to be for some time.

I am just glad he is safe and healthy and that my wife is recovering. The moral of this story might be to be ready much earlier than you thought......but it doesn't matter, really. I wasn't really "ready" and everything is fine. Just go into it ready to learn and with a heart ready to love and you will be fine. I will be fine.

Born to Run

Before you decide not to read this whole thing because you think it’s going to be about running only, I will tell you that it’s not. But it’s mostly about running. I also broke it into 5 sections with my thoughts on each. Please go ahead and skip a section if its uninteresting to you. The sections are The Tarahumra, Joe Vigil, Evolution, Running shoes, and My training. This post is kindof long....sorry. 

I just recently finished reading Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run.  I know I’m a runner and cross country coach and that this book would probably be up my alley. It’s been out for a while, but I didn’t want to read it. The barefoot running craze that started after it came out seemed a little crazy to me. Plus, I’ve never been interested in running an ultra-marathon or anything like that. My assistant coach and few of the cross country parents do that stuff, but I always saw myself as a 5K guy. I want to run as hard as I can for 20 minutes, then go home, have a beer, and take a nap. My legs would always start really hurting in training around 10 miles or so. Hurting is maybe the wrong word. They would feel weak and flimsy… like they wouldn’t move right. So, yeah, 50 mile runs seemed silly. Who wants to run slow for days? Just ran fast for minutes… right? Well, after reading his book, I see it all very different now. 

If you don’t know the book or like running, I think it would still be a very interesting read. It’s a great story and goes into some very interesting information about our evolutionary past, the running shoe industry, diet, etc. The characters are interesting and what makes them great is that they are real. I’m not going to go into a full explanation of the book. You can read (obviously). But there are a few things I wanted to point out and get into.

1. The Tarahumara

First, the Tarahumara Native tribe in the Copper Canyons… they are fascinating. I have never been to the Copper Canyons, but they sound intense and awesome in the most brutal way possible… not meant for sightseeing or a quick hike with your dog. They seem devastating and beautiful at the same time. The Tarahumara live in these canyons and run them like we walk our dogs around the block. They are running superpeople. It’s part of their culture. They race and run the hills and trails and rocks and ravines with mystifying speed and agility. Not only that, but they enjoy every minute of it. This is really the premise for the whole book. How do these people do this and enjoy it? What are their secrets?

I've seen in my years coaching and just living out here in Colorado what a culture can do to create and encourage excellent running and fitness. Just take a hike here in Colorado and it will motivate you. If you go to Boulder for a nice 1-2 hour hike, while you are taking a water break to catch your breath, someone will run right by you, making you feel ashamed of your fitness level. When I climbed my first 14'er (14,00 ft. mountain), I felt pretty good about myself... until I saw the really old dude popping his head up from the back side, the steep side, of the mountain without breathing hard at all. The first time I went to Red Rocks on a Saturday morning to check it out, I was amazed at the huge number of people using the steps and stairs to work out...running up them, doing push ups down them, carrying others piggy-back on the way back to the top....  The point is, there is a culture of fitness here in Colorado. In areas like Boulder, where Olympic runners from all over the world come to in order to train, the cross country teams are huge and amazing. There is a culture there built around fitness and running and it breeds incredible results. The area I coach in is a little to the east and where the mountains end and the plains begin. I have spent 8 years trying to build a culture around running and am just starting to see the results. I used to get a lot of push back about an easy 5-6 mile run. Now the kids want to go run 10 or 12. The Tarahumara have spent generations upon generations building up a culture of running. Not running to prove anything, but for the love it it. To compete in friendly competition, be in awe of the environment around them, and enjoy life. This idea makes me appreciate what I've been working towards in coaching, but also makes me incredibly happy to know there are people and places like this out there. That there are still pockets of humanity out there that have not become homogenized and have a different and amazing way of living makes me love the world that much more.

2. Micah True

A large amount of this book is dedicated finding the elusive Caballo Blanco (The White Horse), or Micah True as we discover later. The story of Micah true could be its own fascinating book. I don't want to give up too much, but you can find out a lot of this information online now. Micah was from California and lived in Boulder for quite some time, which is not shocking at all. In the book, you finally get his real story at the end and its worth the wait in my opinion. Micah was a fighter and boxer for a long time, but began running after a breakup and re-evaluation of his life. He began running ultra-marathons. One fateful evening at the Leadville 100 mile race in Colorado, he met one of the Tarahumara (another story altogether also in the book and is great). Not long after this he moved down into the Copper Canyons for large portions of the year to run and for friendships with the Tarahumara. 

There's a lot more to his story, but what most people have heard is that he died while out on a trail run. A lot of people heard this and though, "See? That's what all that crazy running got him... dead on a trail somewhere. All that running isn't good for you." I will be honest... I had the same thought. After reading this book, though, I now realize that it wasn't a tragedy, a cautionary tale, or something frivolous. It ended for him exactly as he thought it might. As dictated in the book, he knew the dangers of running out in the wilderness on his own. He knew every run could be his last for one reason or another. He couldn't have guessed he had a heart issue. Maybe all that running gave him one. But so what? So what if all that running lead to a heart attack? He lived! He ran through canyons and wilderness with a secretive native tribe! He left behind all the things that made him unhappy and did the things that made him feel alive! Would we rather have him die of old age in a hospital, unable to move or think clearly?! I don't want to die like that. I hope I can die somehow doing something I love or something bold or something that makes me feel connected to something greater. Micah True may have been a wacky guy and driven by something very few of us can understand, but he lived his life, in the end, free of all the things that tie us down. He saw more and experienced more than most of us ever will, even if his life was cut shorter than most. The way I have been seeing things lately, we could go at any minute. A speeding car could get us, a meteor could hit, we could catch a superbug,... whatever. Nothing is for certain. While we may not always be doing what we love to do all the time, I am starting to think I need to make sure that I have no regrets at the end of the day. Whatever I do, I'm going to put into it what I can and make sure I am alive. Even if it's putting up drywall in my basement, as I have been doing for days. Is that fun? Not really. But I am working hard at it and no one can take that from me. If I die tomorrow, no one can say I died being lazy at dry-walling the basement.

3. Joe Vigil
If you follow running, you have probably at east heard of Joe Vigil before. In the book, he plays a minor roll, seemingly, but plays a major roll in the spiritual and emotional aspects of running. What's even ore interesting is why. He isn't some random guru due that believes in meditation and positive energy. Actually, he like a crazy genius. His technical knowledge of running is completely mind-blowing. He uses this knowledge to build Olympians and a completely dominant college cross country team at Adams State here in Colorado. (He guided Deena Kastor to a 2004 Olympic bronze medal in the Marathon and Adams State has won 18 National Championships, including one year where got a perfect score).I've had the amazing opportunity to listen to him twice in person. Both times were amazing. In the first, he dropped knowledge on everyone. He talked about lactic threshold, VO2 max levels, and even got into how to train and improve your mitochondria's ability. Mitochondria!.....Inside your cells! It was way over my head, but riveting.

The topics in the second talk I heard him give were all about his principles for becoming a better runner. These are the principles discussed Born to Run. These aren't what you might think they are. He is big into philosophy and reads a lot of eastern philosophy. He firmly believes that, in order to be come a worlds class runner, you must become a world class person. I can't find the notes I took while listen to him at that second presentation, so I don't have an exact list of his principles, but they are what you might think. Treat others better, don't get caught up in having stuff, eat like poor person (less food and better nutrition), etc. He believes in building positive role models. When you listen to him talk, he is obviously far more proud of the fact that he has turned these amazing athletes into amazing people and role models than he is of their running accomplishments.

Now, we come back to the Tarahumara... Remember earlier when I mentioned Micah True being in Leadville the night the Tarahumara ran and own the 100 mile race? Guess who else was there that night to see this guys run?

Vigil, being the mad scientist he is, would have loved to get a hold of those Tarahumara and run tests on their VO2 max, VVO2, lactic thresholds, etc. But when they ran by him, he found what he was really looking for in their running.... joy. They ran by him in the cold and dark desolate landscape smiling. Vigil believes by changing from the inside, we can become better athletes. He can help people become better humans. He described the following mental picture at his talk:

Imagine standing at the base of a big long hill you're going to run up. You have everything you might need for this and are ready, but you also have this large rounded bolder you're holding to your torso. Its big and very heavy. This bolder represents all of your stuff, all of your worries and fears, and all of your poor choices. You are constantly carrying it around and have gotten used to running with it. Imagine being able to let that thing go before you go run... That long hill is going to be much easier.

This is Coach Vigil's idea behind becoming a better person to become abetter runner. The longer I coach, the more I realize that my real responsibility is in building these young high school kids into good people. I'm not going to say that I do all sort of stuff that does this or that I give speeches or whatever. I don't. But I do try to keep the culture around my team a positive and inclusive one. I make them work hard but tell them how to get through it. I work with hem on how to set goals and achieve them. I celebrate little things and stay positive about our races. I downplay the negatives and look at how to use them to get better. I am honest with them and don't try to pretend to know everything. I try to take them on hikes and beautiful places in the summer. I make them a big, long PP presentation for our end of year banquet with pictures of everyone. I try not to be too serious all the time. When I cheer them on, they get everything I have. I write letters of recommendation that focuses on them as people. I tell them to call me if they need anything after they graduation. Coaching has turned me into a better person and I am far more proud of all the kids and what they have been able to do after being on the team that what they do while on it. I may not be a coach that can take a team to a state title or turn them into an Olympian, but I also know how my kids feel about being on the team and look back on it with joy. Thats all I really want. If you can't be happy while you run or do any other thing you might choose, why do it? If it doesn't make you happy in the long haul, why do it? Life doesn't seem long enough to live that way. In then end, how will we all ultimately be remembered? How did we impact our world? If I win a bunch state titles with kids, but they hate running afterwards and didn't enjoy themselves, what have I really accomplished? When you look at a lot of the really successful teams in this state for cross country, though, you'll notice many of the same things. Their sense of team and joy is easy to spot. They care about each other and support each other. The successful teams way more often than not are full of good people, positive coaches, and loving families. It seems the secret to success might be easier to explain than we thought, but ultimately, cannot be found in book or a workout or in a quote about hard work. It comes from within and radiates out. If we can be a success in our own approach to life and happiness, perhaps we have a chance of success within the rest of the world. But, maybe its not success in terms of winning a trophy or getting a high paying job, but in how many other people you can help and positively influence.

This is the legacy of Joe Vigil. I highly encourage you to read his books or seek out a chance to listen to him.

3. Evolution
Another major theme in the book is the discussion of human evolution and if we were truly "born to run". This aspect of the book is one of the most fascinating to me. It makes me want to become an evolutionary archaeologist. The hypothesis is that we evolved from our previous, primate selves into a creature that could run to retrieve its food, and, specifically, it protein. I will not get into too many specifics, because you can look this up and the book does a great job (In my opinion) of helping you understand the idea (right or wrong, its an interesting theory). Anyways, the idea is that we, humans, beat out theNeanderthals because we could run. Neanderthals were bigger and stronger with larger brains than us.  How could we beat that? The answer put forward, as you may have guessed, is running. We ran down  our prey... probably...maybe.

The theory is that we developed Achilles tendons and big ol' booties so we could run. We can't out sprint a deer, but we can keep running at a steady pace, while the deer has to sprint, then rest, then sprint, then rest, etc. If we go on long enough, they will collapse, and we get the meat. The problem is, before this, we didn't need meat. Think of gorillas. They don't eat meat. They could kick our ass any time, but they don't eat meat. Their brains are also smaller than ours. Some people will claim that we had a brain size jump 200,000 years ago and that this new protein source may have been the cause. There are also a ton of scientists that go against this idea.

Either way, the idea that we evolved to run make sense to me. Not that we were born to run neighborhood 5K's or Rock N' Roll Marathons. The idea is that our hardware, our bodies, were born to move in running fashion. We can run for long periods without exhaustion. There are also studies out there, as I learned from book The First 20 Minutes, showing that walking is actually our best ability as far as efficiently goes. That may be true, but it doesn't mean we didn't use runnings' advantage. If we think of it this way... Most animals that run do so in a way that is fast as hell (cheetah), they bound strangely (gazelle), or they can charge your ass if they are pissed but will wear out quickly (rhinos and hippos). We, like birds in flight, can just keep going...if we train.

Whether or not we evolved to run will be up for debate for a long time. The idea, though, I hope, doesn't die. Its fascinating. What if we are able to prove we DID NOT evolve to run? How much more badass would running be?

4. Running shoes

Right after Born to Run came out, the barefoot running craze began. People started buying the skeleton toes shoes and shoes with the Vibram soles, which was a safe way to get close to barefoot running. I actually own a pair of the Merrell Trail Gloves shoes, which are made with his idea in mind, but I don't use them to run. In the book, there is a character named Barefoot Ted. As you may have guessed, he is a big proponent of barefoot running. The Tarahumara barely wear anything on their feet. They usually use sandals fashioned from old tires and leather.

The main idea behind switching to barefoot running actually stems from Bill Bowman and Nike and what they did to move away from that. Creating shoes that were more cushioned seemed like a great idea at the time. But, since then, it has allowed us to over stride, not keeping our weight centered, and heel strike like crazy, adding jarring pressure throughout our bodies with each running step. The modern running shoe is one of the worst things for running... according to the theory in this book. Which I tend to agree with for the most part. I, too, used to wear "control shoes", trying to control my pronation and "fix" my running. I then read some research about how this actually weakens your legs. Pronation is natural and helps absorb impact. After learning this, I switched to "neutral" shoes. My legs hurt bad for 2 weeks. All those balancing muscles I hadn't been using were getting a serious workout. But, I was able to run further and harder than I had in the past. Now, when I am working shifts in shoes at the sporting goods store I am employed at part time, I try to steer people away from control shoes. I also try to steer them away form the most expensive shoes out there. There is a lot of research, some of which is used in the book, showing that people who where more expensive shoes are more likely to get injured. I wear shows that cost about $150. I love them, but this book has me thinking I need to change it up.

Here's where I am at on this whole idea of switching to barefoot running, etc. I think its probably a great idea and allows your body to move the way it is supposed to. i actually have my running warm up on the football field barefoot for 1 mile before practice. I see why many people jumped on board, but we have to remember that we have been wearing shoes that have weakened our muscles and feet. We cant just jump right into it. Our legs and bones cant handle itMy. plan is to continue to wear my expensive shoes for shorter, harder runs, but concentrate on my form and not over stride, etc. For my longer, easier runs, I am going to look for a more minimalist shoe. I will workout this way and see how I do. I am going to see if it benefits me or not. If it does, maybe I'll transition even further. I saw a guy in my neighborhood a few years back who would run in his bare feet all over the place. I saw him do this for a few weeks. Then I never saw him out running again. This could be for other reasons, but I think too much right, right off the bat, could lead to injury.

I believe that there is certainty something to be said for barefoot running and minimalist running. It is probably the best way to go in the long run (pun intended)... but, I also think the transition should be a slow one. Moving slowly towards a minimalist approach is my plan. I will let you know how it goes.

5. The effects on my training

I like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks while I run. It was fun listening to a book about running while running. There was a little extra motivation. I found myself running a little longer. I also found myself really concentrating on my form. The benefits were immediate and great.

When I started this book I had about a month to go before a 5K I wanted to do well at. I realize many people will think, "Its just a 5K... what's the big deal?" But I  wanted to try to break 19 minutes, something I haven't done since my freshman year of college and was still on a team. For me, I was looking at it as a big deal. Also during this month I have been frantically trying to finish my basement and its been difficult to train. I listened to most of this book doing drywall in my basement, which allowed me to really listen to it and concentrate on it. I really took to heart the parts about form and how we should be running... shorter steps, keeping our weight under us, breathing rhythms, etc. the first big run I went on after starting this book was a planned 10 mile run. I had to run and errand over in the city of Arvada, west of Denver and and fairly hilly area. I decided to do my run here and really work on my form and technique according to what I had learned from the book so far. It was one of the best runs I have ever been on. I felt like I could have run for much longer and the hills were not nearly as difficult as usual. I averaged a 7:45 mile. I started out nice and easy but worked my 8th mile into a 7 flat. I felt great. Keeping my stride short and keeping my weight underneath me helped. I kept thinking about not stressing but finding "easy" or zen mode.

Since that run, I tried to apply this new information on form to every run. You'd think a book on Ultra-running would have me out running really long, slow mileage. It didn't have that kind of time, nor was that going to help me run a fast 5k (in my opinion). I applied the techniques to short hard runs. During this past month, in all my training runs, about 80 miles (a little low for me), I averaged a 7:09 mile (really fast for me). I just made the most out of every run I was able to take, most of the time blasting the last mile as hard as I could run it. Using this new stride allowed me for have greater turn over. The greater turn over allowed for more speed. Instead of using this ultra-running technique for distance, I was able to translate it to speed.

In the week leading up to my race I felt really good. I ran 4 x 400 with a 400 jog in between intervals. I ran each one under 1:15. The last hard mile I ran after 3 easy ones was a 5:20. I haven't been that fast since the beginning of college.

The two days before my race, though, it snowed and iced all over the place. Without boring you with the details of the race (I fell down once on a turn due to ice)..... I took 5th overall and won my age group. I was unable to run the time I wanted due to the ice everywhere, but no one did. I was happy with my effort and place.

In the future, I am not sure what I want to train for but it feels like it might be time to tackle something bigger than a 5k. Perhaps I will start with a half marathon. I would like to do something on a trail. I will be incorporating longer, slower runs and then mixing in these new hard fast runs. I also need to find some time for at least minimal strength training.

I realize this post was longer than long. It was a culmination of ideas and training and coaching all wrapped up. 

Prepping for the Baby

Its been awhile since I wrote. It's been a little hectic. In under a week, the due date for our little dude went from December 27th to December 14th... a shock... to December 7th. Whoa. Its not terribly bad. He's a little small and they are concerned about his fluid intake, so they are going to take him to term, then deliver him into the world. His vitals all look good. Its more precautionary if anything. But... still... he is coming VERY soon.

The main question I am asked daily is, "Are you ready?" They answer is no. I am not. Its certainly not for lack of excitement and a healthy amount of nervous and scared in there, but the "no" is because it feels like I have too much to do to be physically ready. I don't even know how to change a diaper.

I've been working on my basement and fast as I can, but in two weekends of drywalling with friends on Saturday and working alone on Sunday for pretty much the whole day, I still have some work to do. What does drywalling have to do with the baby? Well, we can back up.

The room that serves as the office will become the baby's room. In order to move the office out and into the basement we need to "finish" the basement. Then I can repaint and redo the baby's room. My wife would like me to also scrape the ceiling in the baby room and retexture it. Then I need to assemble furniture and prep the room. All in all, this sounds fairly reasonable. In reality it is a ton of work, especially after losing the extra three weeks I had to do it.

My wife and I do this all the time. She sees a project like its something on HGTV. Its a big project, but all you see is one guy working on it in perfectly clean clothes, then an hour later its done and looks amazing. She doesn't see the details. I see ALL of them. I see every tiny step I am going to have to take to accomplish the job. Its not that I am mad at her about it, but its where our stress is coming from right now. I will work all day on something that takes much longer than either of us thought it would and then she will come check out the work go into all the things we still need to do. It kills me.

On top of the massive contraction job that is the house, we are also having an issue with my wife's car. The engine needs replacing, as well as the brakes and tires. The car is only 3 years old! Without going in to that whole thing, the main gist of it is that my wife doesn't want to drive this car anymore. She feels it is cursed and is a lemon. After a discussion and several days of stress and tears for my wife, we have decided the get the car fixed (the engine is under warranty), and look into training it in at a later date. Right now it is just way too much.

So, I'm not sure if this is what male nesting looks like or if this is a unique set of circumstances. I really would like to be preparing by reading through parenting books or discussing values and how we are going to split up some of the work at home, or even financial planning. Instead, though, I will be in the basement, screwing in drywall. I will be in the garage, building furniture. I will be doing a lot of stereotypical man-jobs.

I think my main frustration with this is not that it all needs doing. I don't mind doing most of this stuff, especially if I'm NOT on a deadline (which I very much am right now.) I think I am frustrated because it all feels superficial and unimportant compared to little human on the way. I feel like I should be preparing emotionally or perusing some parenting books to decide how I want to parent, etc. There are people and cultures out there with much less than us able to raise amazing people without all this. They don't have a finished basement with a play area. They don't have a car. They have each other. I wish we were concentrating more on each other and having positive vibes for the baby as opposed to talking about getting a new car or drywalling and texturing the basement. It was a real struggle for us to even conceive this little guy and there are now some minor complication with his birth. I just want to get past this superficial stuff and onto that stuff that life is really made of.

Sometimes I get perspective checks or thoughts that make me either appreciate what I'm doing or the exact opposite. I ask myself things like, "What if I was in a car accident and died right now? What would I have spent my last days or hours doing?" If I died right now, I would be upset with myself for being in that basement instead of with my wife, dog, and little un-born boy on the couch watching movies and making jokes and creating a loving, positive environment.

Fight Club... for kids?

Have you ever seen Fight Club? Or read the book? In college, at a time where I had no girlfriend, no class, and a part time job at a grocery store, I used my days as I pleased. One day I woke up, drove to Barnes and Noble, and bought the book. I then drove over to Best Buy and bought the movie. I went home and proceeded to read the entire book in different locations. Outside in the lawn chair, inside on the couch, in bed, pacing, etc. I read the whole thing. THEN, I watched the movie. THEN I watched the movie with the director and author's commentary. I remember this day as one of my favorites ever.

When I was a younger man, this book and movie and general idea behind Fight Club spoke to me. Not that I wanted to join one, but more about acknowledging that these feelings exist. Guys have pent up energy and rage and emotion. Society tells us to suppress it most of this....probably for the better. There are tons of other meanings to this book and movie, but I don't want to break down Fight Club, which many have done and one could do all day. For now, I just want to point out that the idea a fight club is appealing to some people because of our leftover monkey-brains and hardware. We have the elevated ideas about life and society, etc., but we have leftover hardware from thousands of years ago and leftover parts of the brain that still say "FIGHT" or "RUN" when we get into some situations. We are still very much the monkeys on the savannah trying to not get eaten by lions and willing to do what we have to in order to survive.

On to the point.... The other day my wife told me that a bunch of kids at her school were going to be suspended for fighting. I thought there was a giant brawl at school. Not true, though. Apparently in the construction area near the school (they are digging up an building home all over there) the kids were having a kind of "fight club" of their own. No girls involved, just guys, and apparently there was a touch of racial stuff behind it, although that hasn't been confirmed or denied. Just picture that, though. A group of kids, meeting at a construction zone, and forming a somewhat organized fighting club. While it sounds stupid, it also sounds  a little bad ass... admit it. Those kids have some guts. Again, please don't take any of this as me thinking this is okay or smart. Its lets talk about why this might happen. Lets get into the topic with the previous acknowledgment that, in the end, this is not a good idea mainly because these kids aren't mature enough to handle this type of thing. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Why would middle school kids feel the need to be in a fight club? Well, think back to when you were in middle school. If you are like me, the memories are potent and strong. I remember more stuff about middle school than I do high school. Our hormones levels and emotions are running crazy at this time. All our senses are heightened. I mean that literally. The kids even smell stuff in my classroom  that I don't. At this time the kids are trying to figure out who they are, what they like, what they don't, and are being judged for all those things constantly. Their feelings are raw and very strong. If you "like" someone, its not an idea or an attraction... you feel it throughout your body. If you are upset with someone, it permeates your whole system. But why a fight club?

Here's where I comment about society and coddling kids, etc., etc. Truth is, I'm not a father yet. I have a month to go on that one. I'm not sure what I am going to do in that roll, but I can't only share what I know from observation and readings I've done. Back in an earlier time, kids were actually part of the household, meaning they pulled their weight. They helped till the fields, feed the animals, bring in money from work, etc. They had purpose outside of being kid. Now we have this idea that they should be allowed to be kids. My parents are a great example of this idea that's growing and morphing. I did go out and mow lawns, shovel snow, and rake leaves for money. I had a paper route and tried to earn money where I could, but I never had to. I played sports and my parent took me to these things, and paid for the equipment, and never made me feel bad about it. I never went to crazy week-long sports camps or have private cello lessons or anything. Sometimes my birthday or Christmas gifts were the shoes or gloves I would need for an upcoming season but thats awesome. That's what I wanted and needed and I never asked for much else. I was pretty damn happy and well taken care of...but middle school was still rough. I got into some fights, did some regrettable things (lighting a piece of paper on fire in school is pretty stupid), and felt extremes for all emotions.

Despite my relative ease of home life compared to others, I still lashed out at times. But the question partly becomes, did I lash out because it was easy for me? Some kids I knew had very legitimate reasons to be upset and lash out. But think about this middle school fight club that was happening at my wife's school. How could something like that form just from kids who are upset for legitimate reasons? It seems to me that the fight club was a symptom of something else. As a society and culture we coddle kids, me included. They get everything for doing almost nothing. We don't want kids to go through any hardship if it can be helped. Everyone gets a trophy. Everyone gets to play. There's no major struggle or many kids. There is no outlet for the heightened feelings and emotions. We try to keep them happy, but the fact is, we need to feel. We need to run the gauntlet of emotions as kids to prepare for life. Keeping kids happy all the time and coddled doesn't allow for this. Look at the massive prescription drug problems in the suburbs. I don't think that kids abuse drugs in the suburbs to mask emotions. I think they do it to feel something different.

The areas surrounding my wife's middle school could be considered a strong middle class area. Kids here are mostly well adjusted and have everything they need. Not all, mind you, but most. They don't go hungry or cold. They join whatever team and club they want. There are no cuts to teams at the middle school level in our district. They all play. The hardships most of these kids face would not be considered hardships by our ancestors. So these kids have no major reasons to feel depressed, angry, upset, etc. Yes, home life can cause these emotions, but for many, they have no reason to be upset... yet....Yet, we need to feel these emotions. Our hardware has to workout how to handle the things. So, what do kids do? Some do drugs to try to feel other emotions. Some will try drinking. Some cut themselves. Some get through everything just fine, too. But, in this case, some started a fight club.

If you have never been hit in the face or beat by someone else in a fight, you're missing out. I think its important to know what that is like. You need to know, as a human, that there are people out there that can beat you up. It helps you make better decisions later on when dealing with conflict. I also think there's a part of our monkey brains and bodies that need to fight a little. Look at animals when they are younger. They "fight" as play all day long. It helps teach them skills needed to survive. Some of these instincts are left in us somewhere, suppressed.

My best friends and I used to bare-knuckle box after a few drinks. Shirts off, no shoes, outside in the grass. There were no real rules but if you tagged someone in the face we would stop. If you wanted to keep going, we would, but most the time that ended it. We knew that if we kept at it, we might actually get pissed at each other and then be fighting for real. We just wanted to get out some aggression with people we knew and trusted. It was fun. We all felt like, if the world went to shit, we could handle ourselves physically if need be. That was as semi-mature, 20 year olds. The kids in this middle school fight club are not semi or even partially mature. Thats just their age. Not their fault.

These kids started a fight club, I think to feel something different. To test themselves in a "controlled" environment. They need to get out these emotions and urges somehow. In theory, this seems like a great idea. Have kids fight a little. Have them learn to handle themselves and learn a little bit about what they are made of. Learn how to be tough in the face of adversity. Learn that you might need to get stronger and in better shape. Learn that life is tough, but you have to get back up. All of those things, in theory, are great things someone could learn fighting.... but one could also learn these things fighting in a controlled boxing class, martial arts studio, or wrestling. These kids are probably not mature enough to handle the lessons learned in a fight club. If a kid gets hit hard in the face, or pinned down and loses the fight, really, there should be no shame. It happens. You lost today to this guy. Try again tomorrow. But immaturity doesn't allow this thinking. If you are immature and get hit in the face, you become embarrassed. You start talking shit about that kid behind their back at school. You let it bleed over into your life. Whereas, with my friends, as soon as you lost, you laughed. You hugged or high-fived and had a beer. You learned a little and moved on. It was healthy, in my opinion.

This post was meant to be short, but my ideas about this topic flowed a little more than I thought. I think knowing I have a baby boy on the way has me thinking a lot more about how kids grow up. I have even more thoughts on this, but I think thats enough for now, anyways. In conclusion... I don't think the idea behind the fight club for these kids was a bad one, in theory. It could be very cathartic and healthy. But in practice, with the maturity levels, it probably had the opposite effect. It's interesting, though, to look at this as symptom of of society a a whole.

Pregnancy Brain for the Dad aka Me

I have heard a lot about all the crazy, goofy stuff that happens during pregnancy. With my wife less than 2 months out for brining our boy into the world, I have felt like we have had a pretty even time of it. She hasn't been sick too much. Food hasn't been a major issue in either cravings or not wanting certain foods... only here and there occasionally. But this last wee the dreaded "pregnant brain" or "momnesia" struck hard. The weirdest part was that hit me even harder.

I have been trying to do a lot the last to weeks and will be doing a lot in the upcoming weeks to prepare for our young gentleman on the way. We need to move the office to make the nursery. I order to move the office to the basement, we need to finish the basement. This past weekend, I spent the entire Saturday doing insulation. Sunday I worked and then did all the outside work preparing for the first snow of the year. Monday I moved all the millions of pieces of drywall we bought from the garage to the basement. I have drywalling, painting, popcorn ceiling scraping, and furniture building in my near future. My weekends are booked. I am not listing this to complain. I am listing this because I did not mention the end of the year awards banquet for my cross country team I need to planned prepare for, the extra work for my actual job, and trying to get in some training. I am busy and tired.... or, as many know it, normal human life. Apparently, though, all this stuff has squeezed out other "less important" information. I will get to that in a moment.

In the brief research I have done on "pregnancy brain" on both mom and dad, the science doesn't show much, but there are quite a few surrounding factors that could be reason for it. Losing sleep can severely effect memory, and my wife has been having a hard time getting through the night, which means the same for me. There were also a few ideas that changing hormone levels, etc. could be the culprit. One idea I found interesting was that there could be an evolutionary reason for pregnancy brain. Nature is telling us to simplify everything else and focus on the baby. That would make a lot of sense to me, actually. I also read that, at this time, I, the male, will also undergo hormonal and chemical changes. I will also start nesting and may become more handy around the house. I have not noticed that I am more handy, but my list of stuff to do is very long. Usually I will be quite grumpy about this, but lately, I have been actually looking forward to it. That must be the chemical changes I am undergoing. I don't feel a need to drywall, but I'm not as cranky about it. Reflecting on anything else I find different in myself, I can't think of much. I feel a touch more stress. I am more tired from interrupted sleep. I am also starting to feel a need to read a book or something to prepare for this.

Anyways... here are two quick anecdotes on the affects of pregnancy brain on me and my lady.

Last week my friend Jarid told us of a good deal going on a a restaurant we like, Los Chingones. He asked in an email if he should me make reservations for Sunday at 6:30.... at least thats as far as I read the email. I was teaching and just told him that time works fine... go for it. Sunday tools around and we go to downtown Denver to meet them for dinner. We stopped on the way to get dog food, but nailed the timing. We got there right at 6:30. The place was pretty low key as the Broncos were playing at home. Denver shuts down for the Broncos. I found it weird we were the first of the party to drive as this is almost never the case. The hostess did not have any reservations made under my friend's name. Crap! I checked my email again and my wife checked hers. We scrolled down. The reservations were for the NEW Los Chingones location in DTC. Crap again! Thats like 20 minutes away! We thanked the hostess who said she would text the manager... she was really nice. I called Jarid as we were pulling out of the parking spot to tell him.

Me: Dude! I am so sorry! We went to the wrong restaurant (me laughing a little.. .wife not laughing).
Jarid: Huh?
Me: We're gonna be like 20 minutes late. We went to the wrong one.
Jarid: What are you talking about?
Me: The restaurant, man! We went to the wrong one!
Jarid: Nate, thats for next week.
Me: (Very loud laughing) I think we've lost out minds

We turned around and went back the the first restaurant. We told them the story. They laughed and took care of us, even bringing us a free delicious appetizer. We had gone to the wrong restaurant on the wrong day. That's totally ridiculous. Neither of us bothered to read the full email. We both prioritized it as low and moved on to whatever was next.

Then....Tuesday, I was scheduled to do a presentation at one of my colleague's college classes she is teaching at Regis University about literacy practices for teachers. She asked me to do this a really long time ago, saying it would be great to bring in a perspective on literacy from an art perspective. I agreed to it, set the date, and put it in the calendar. I worked really hard at the presentation and saw it as an opportunity. Now that I have my Master's degree, maybe I could moonlight some classes at a small university. I had a whole thing about language creating reality and showing a glassblowing video to introduce new vocabulary and passing out images to use and breakdown using a Frayer model, etc.

I had a plan for Tuesday, as well. It was my day to come home first after school to let the dog out, etc. I also needed to get to a local pottery store to buy a material that helps fix projects so I could repair some of my students' projects that had broken. The pottery store was only a few minutes from the university. The plan was go home, walk the dog, double check my PP, and leave the house at 4:15 or so. I could get to the pottery place a little before 5. I would run in, grab the stuff, and maybe even have time to grab a coffee before I needed to be on campus for the 5:30 class. Seems reasonable, right?

I implemented my master plan, all working to perfection right up to the pottery store, which I arrived at 10 minutes before 5. I left my phone in the car. I never do that, but thought, "I'll just be a minute". Well, the guy in front of me was ordering a million different things. He was in corduroy pants, a deadhead shirt, and had dreads. I am not judging the look, but apparently he works at a high school. I am envious he can dress like that to school. I wish I didn't have to wear dress past everyday and get clay all over them. He kept ordering different types of clay to try out on their pottery wheel, spending all sorts of money. Again.... jealous. By the time I left, it was 5:15. Not enough time for coffee, but I would still make it. I checked my phone getting in the car to get directions. There were several messages asking me if I was OK, where I was, etc. Uh oh. I called my colleague. Long enough story, shorter.... apparently the class started at 4:30, not 5:30. I was an hour late. A HOUR LATE!

I apologized profusely. I drove over there and met them at the campus pub which was having dollar beer night. No one else was there but our small group of graduate students. The undergrads had left... which I completely agree with. The group was really nice and allowed me to present how I use the Frayer model with images and discuss a few things. They even participated in the activity. So, I taught my first college class at a pub.

I don't know why I thought the time was 5:30. Did I come up with that number? Why didn't I double check with her to make sure I knew? Again, maybe this past week it wasn't a priority and the pregnancy brain bug decided to prioritize my life for me. I remembered for sure to text my buddy Monday and have him come over and help me move drywall around in preparation, ultimately, for the baby room. Did nature do this prioritizing for me? I don't know. I do know that, despite what I think I can do, I am having a hard time remembering everything I should or even having enough awareness to check on things twice. It could be sleep. It could be I have too much going on. Maybe I need some brain supplements. I don't know. But now that I have identified this thing, I am going to try to work through it.... oh yeah, I lost my sunglasses yesterday somehow, too.

If you are experiencing pregnancy brain as a mom or dad or whoever is involved with the incoming baby, do not feel bad about forgetting things an slowly losing our mind. You are not alone. Although, if you go to the wrong place at the wrong time, you might be.

Akashic Records

In the past couple months since I have started this blog and started to try to learn about different topics either to discuss on here or just for the sake of learning I have gone through many different  books, podcasts, documentaries, etc. I have yet to come across something so confusing and subjective as the idea of the Akashic Records. If you know what these are already, you know what I mean. I am not going to sit here and write about how they are true or not true. I think, in this case, the best I can do is put out the information I have gathered and reflect on it. If you are reading this and find this topic interesting, by all means, go do some fun research. There are a million podcasts and websites on the topic. Following, I will do my best to put together what I have gathered.
From what I can tell, the Akashic Records could be a non-local dimension of knowledge. It’s a plane of existence or consciousness where all the thoughts that have even been and ever will be made by humans exist. Our actions, thoughts, and feelings are all recorded in this place.  It may also be referred to as the Hall of Records or The Book of Life. It was made famous by a few people in the 1800's who could "access" it during "readings". Edgar Cayce is the one I find most interesting of this small crew. I am starting to research him. There's a LOT out there. 

In my quest for knowledge about this topic, mistakenly thinking it would clear up my confusion about it, I just became more lost and confused. It seems that these records have been used by religious individuals, shamans, mystics, spiritual guides, life coaches, psychics, and others. They have possible been referred to in the Bible, by the Druids, the Vedas, the Egyptians, and others. In the interviews and information I read and listened to, these records could be accesses through meditation, astral projection, through psychic readings, and more. Some experts discussed how they have guardian beings that watch over them. Some discussed how they use them to look up past lives. Some discussed that they could be one of the 11 dimensions needed to complete String Theory. It seems that they can be used by almost anyone for almost any reason. If you think that is too broad of a description, go and start looking these things up. It’s intimidating, actually. 
Due to the massive amount of information about Akashic Records and the many uses, I want to just briefly discuss the possible uses I found most interesting.

Firstly, one of the things Edgar Cayce used to be able to do, supposedly recorded from testimony and written accounts of what he said after accessing the records, was find helpful medical and health information. He supposedly told some doctors to use a nail in someone's broken leg to help heal it. This had not been done before (again, supposedly..... you can probably just think that I will not keep writing it). The nail worked! He also foretold of a time here a drop of blood could be used to find out everyone's medical issues and how to solve them. That, ladies and gentleman, is just about true. We can find out what's wrong, but now we are getting close to finding cures for things based on our own genetic makeup. Personalized cures for diseases aren't that far fetched. Could the Akashic files be used to advance health care and our strive for immortality? (don't pretend like we aren't trying for that). It seems that those who can access the records can find out useful medical knowledge. This could be because they now have access to everyone's ideas and knowledge or because they can access future knowledge. If the latter is possible, really and truly possible, then we should all be trying to access the records. If we can access the future where we have found a cure for cancer, we need to look for it like crazy. Cancer is one of my major fears. My mom had it when I was in first grade. She survived, but I know it runs in our family and I am very worried I am going to get it.

But back on topic... What if we figure out we can get health information from the future using the Akashic files? That brings up a few questions. If it is true, then why haven't we done so already to cure things like cancer and other diseases? Why don't those individuals who claim they can access the records use them to do this instead of doing readings on people's past lives? Maybe some people only have access to certain types of information, but that seems silly. I am not going to say that people can't see past lives and stuff, because I have no idea. It could be totally true and real. What I am saying is that if you have an ability that is so special and you can access something so amazing, why use it to solve small, individual problems? We should be using this ability to access it to help humanity? I feel myself getting worked up because questions like this make the whole thing seem like a big scam a lot of people a running to make money. In almost every interview I found a listened to on subject, not all, the person being interviewed mostly talked about themselves and how they got into psychic readings or how they figured out how to access the The Records, etc. Never did anyone discuss HOW they did it or WHY they think it exists or even the commonalties that exist about the records between individuals. It just felt like people making things up. Again, I could be way off base, but that's how it seemed to me. 

Back to believing that the Akashic Records are real and important.... Did individuals like Steve Jobs and Nikola Tesla have access to the records? Is that why they were so innovative. Tesla once said, "My brain is only a receiver. In the universe, there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength, inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know it exists". Many artists, singers, writers, and others claim that at their most creative, they are no longer in charge of their  body but are like passengers. Some call this the muse. Could this actually be the Akashic Records? The idea of the "muse" has been around for a very long time. I have been working on a piece of art before and had to stand back and see what I've done after awhile because time flew by and I wasn't even aware of working. I just call it getting in "the zone". In this head space, I stop judging what I am making and stop thinking an just make it. It usually goes better. 

There was a little sic-fi time travel movie I watched once not long ago where an artist used a "magic" camera to take pictures of his canvas 24 hours into the future. He would then paint whatever was in the picture. In the movie they were terrible and looked like pictures someone found on shutter stock or something, but that's not the point. The idea of doing this could be similar to accessing the Akashic records. If what we are going to do already exists in the records, than there are no original ideas and works of art. They already exist and we just need to pull them down from the hallowed Hall of Records. This actually feels like it might take some pressure off. If I don't have to stress about coming up with all new original ideas every time I do an artwork, I might make more easier and faster. If the ideas already exist somewhere, I don't need to worry about where I got my ideas, how I got them, or how original they are. Obviously, I shouldn't be straight up copying others work, but I also don't need to stress about reinventing the wheel. I just need to make art and access "the muse" or the Records. 

I cannot put a pretty bow on this subject to wrap it up. There is too much out there and too many varying ideas and interpretations for me to just give one and say, "this is what it is". I am not sure I believe a lot of what was said in the interviews and article I looked into. It seems that people's ideas about what he records are and could be used for vary so much that there is no real consensus. I don think, as with anything like this, there are tons of people out there just trying to make a buck and making all sorts of stuff up. Oh, you can access a dimension made of knowledge but can only do readings of past lives? Riiiiigghhht. I do think its more likely that this plane of knowledge serves more like a muse. We access it while in the right frame of mind to come up with inventions and art and solutions to problems. I am not sure I buy that 100%, though. 

The best thing you can do is to search it yourself and see what you think.