Born Entrepreneur » Note to self

Some of my teachers and concepts they’ve introduced me to

davidhwalker — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:23:29 +0000

I was giving some thought the other day to some of the thinkers/philosophers/authors/others that were the impetus for beginning my journey into some key interests of mine. Without discovering these individuals and listening to their teachings I would not be the person I am today. Here they are:

Rainer Maria Rilke – empathy, acceptance of the unknown
James Allen – personal power, we’re capable of of so much
Thoreau – connectedness with mind
Emerson – connectedness with mind
Friedrich Nietzsche – universal balance, balance of chaos and dance
Buddha – compassion for others
Jangchub Chophel aka John Bruna - reality, first monk I’ve ever had as a friend. was amazing to see someone living what I had been reading about spiritually
Walker family – ethics, values, morals
Philip Glass – flow (specifically the Glassworks album)
Sigur Ros – beauty of emptiness
Og Mandino – persistence positivity
Seth Godin – simplicity and authenticity

7 Key Tenets to an Experiential Life

davidhwalker — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:32:03 +0000

A little background first: I wrote this while I was backpacking in Australia during December 2008 and January 2009. I had been traveling alone for the last 2-3 weeks of my trip and had been forced to acclimate myself to a foreign world and culture. Although Australia is far from atypical America, there are some significant differences inherent in Australian culture (and/or perhaps backpacker culture) that have significantly affected me. On January 13, 2009 on my flight back to America, I wrote a letter to reread someday when I need a bit of clarity . Here’s an exerpt:

I realize now that the person I was before is not the person I want to be anymore. I feel this way very strongly. I’m afraid that the excitement of day to day business life and exclusively being around others who feel the same way has distracted me from a superior alternative experiential life. So, whenever you feel like ‘hey, things aren’t so bad at all, this is fun…I’m enjoying things now that I’m back…I URGE YOU…’

I went on and even, pleaded to myself:

Please. Read your travel notebook, mainly “things I’ve learned” and the “key tenets to experience life.” In the past– I have been too fast, too careless, too impersonal, too IGNORANT. Caught up in “the american way”. I want something different out of life. Something better.

I then referenced to what page my “things I’ve learned” comments were in my journal and also where my discovery of my 7 Key Tenets to an Experiential Life were. The ‘things I’ved learned’ will have to wait for another day to be published, but I will share with you my personal life tenets:

7 Key Tenets to an Experiential Life

Language – poetry & literature
Sounds – manmade (music) and natural (nature)
Human mind – conversation, philosophy, things that challenge the mind to think and respond intelligently
Nature – sights and sounds
Body – things that challenge the body (adventure, different physical experiences, excercise, sports) but new versions—not the same ol’ same ol’
Community – relationship building
Exponential Rhythm Equilibrium – do NOT rush around in life in anything. Why, though? Everyone says dont rush, but what is the reasoning? You need to allow yourself to find the activity’s equilibrium within the environment you are in. Otherwise, the experience is lessened, if not totally negated!

Real world examples of the rhythm equilibrium:

A) Walking the city with Annika (from Estonia): I expected a short, 15 minute walk, but she kept leading. And I kept following, fighting my ingrained urge to ask to part ways. The expected walk with a stranger who I had just met in a hostel in Cairns, Australia turned into a three hour physical journey and bonding adventure with a new friend, Annika.

B) In the city, sitting under a tree eating ice cream and drinking coffee at St. Kilda’s with Evelyne (Switzerland), Dagmar (Switzerland), Leslie (Scotland), & Dorian (France). My instincts told me to extinquish the experience much earlier than it actually ended. Interestingly enough, I realized that I was the only one that wanted to extinguish it. Keep in mind, I was having a wonderful time, but it was just my inclination to think “NEXT!..” After that point in my travels it was fascinating to take note when I mentally had the urge to encourage a shared moment to be over. But I made a special effort to no longer ever be the first one that suggested a change of scenery or going to a new place. It made me realize that, not only did I have the urge to suggest change to the group much earlier than the rest of anyone, but that when I did not, the activity continued many times 4x longer than I expected. The AMAZING and startling realization, though, was that at that 4x time mark, the experience was about 20x greater.

C) Common examples that you may have experienced too: longer than normal dinners, longer than normal runs, longer than normal conversations, etc. After experiencing each one of these there is a higher level of personal fulfillment than if you had cut off the moment sooner.

Zen Anger Management

davidhwalker — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:11:12 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKlU9GBn7cE

A World Without Limits – What’s Next?

davidhwalker — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:36:07 +0000

As life becomes smoother and less rocky, it’s like being in a state of quietness and then being at total peace. It’s an easy place to stay. It’s comfortable.

But you do want more experience, don’t you? If you’re anything like me, then you crave it, you lust for it. We feel the urge inside our hearts for a higher fun level, a higher intellect level, a higher plane of life experience – and yes, it is possible—we know it is. The more experiences we can experience, the higher our level of adventure climbs. We CRAVE adventure and change and the unknown because it is what drives us through life and will drive us even further, even higher.

Do not be afraid to live in a world where you have more options, more choices. Do not be afraid to live in a world without limits. Do not be afraid to live in a world where tomorrow can look very different than today. Accepting this and embracing this is key because, after all, it is the world that you and I are living in, already.

Thoughts are cold, but feelings are warm, alive and vital

davidhwalker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:45:27 +0000

Every once in a while I go on a reading rampage. In fact, for a three month stretch during my last year in college, I was consistently reading four to six books per week (non course work related) and regularly checked out 15-20 books at a time from the library. In fact, it was a bit of an unhealthy obsession—and I felt quite consumed by my addiction to knowledge.

I’m able to read pretty quickly because of a speed reading technique my dad taught me years ago that he learned while in the US Air Force Academy.

A couple months ago, I was on one of my reading rampages and went to one of The University of Texas libraries (they have an amazing collection books and honestly, it’s kinda neat to be in there and know that you’re one of the ONLY people in there reading for leisure) and found a bunch of books that facsinated me. I plopped down for a long while and read them all, taking notes of the most memorable passages from each book. Here’s an AMAZING quote from one of them:

Thoughts are cold, but feelings are warm, alive and vital. So don’t “think” I am strong. Feel it! Stir up your nature to its depth until you can really feel you are indeed strong and possessed of the radiant energy of mentative force. - Mind Power: The Secret of Mental Magic by William Walker Atkinson.

This was the quote that inspired me to have the realization that I wrote on previously: Clarity is feeling, not thinking

Questioning our goal of “climbing to the top”

davidhwalker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:28:57 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN_4EZMYf-E

Clarity is feeling, not thinking

David H Walker — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:05:33 +0000

“Clarity is feeling, rather than thinking. The pureness of existing is feeling the sensation of life, not thinking about its intricacies.”

I pulled this “note to self” from my journal, which is a realization I had on May 14, 2010. Frequently, I catch myself overthinking so many things. Truly experiencing the moment, though, comes only when the mind is completely silent. That’s when you feel the moment. And when this happens, oh my, it feels brilliant.