#mlaware

Last few month, I've found out my few physical data, like DNA(SNPs), sleep quality with plus oximeter.

These data gave me a new point of view for my identity. Why I had long time anxiety, why I struggle with work/study, lack of concentration... I thought it is me. But here there are a data, that addressing or gave me a hint of the relations. Also this made me to think like "might be these are hackable!". I post about depression and breath last time, here I bought a pulse oximeter to check my sleep and blood oxygen level. I also able to check what is going on in my blood when I meditate. (additionally I would love to check co2 level, although this is one is not so cheap and easy gadget) Anyway, cut a long story short, I would like to compare my brain state between laughter and meditation with Muse.

"Is Laughter The New Meditation?Joyful laughter immediately produces the same brain wave frequencies experienced by people in a true meditative state," says Lee Berk, lead researcher of the study and associate professor of pathology and human anatomy at Loma Linda University."(Might be someone already has mentioned....)

http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/laughter-new-meditation

Lately, I've been dwelling on 2 ideas: first, the thought of traveling and how this affects overall sense of change and sameness. This week, I've been meditating in a different location than usual, and I find both strange and exciting to be there. Secondly, I've been thinking about what is like to live and think vicariously through others, perhaps as a process of building empathy. I think that animals, for instance, are interesting avatars for us to imagine living as and through. Yesterday I went to a kitty cafe!

I've noticed a couple of things that greatly affect how I feel after a session:

1.) Sleep: This is by far the most significant outcome of my exploration in mediation so far. I've realized that so many things are noticeably, negatively impacted when I don't get enough sleep. Since I prefer to meditate in the morning, it's one of the first litmus tests to gauge how rested I am: when I'm tired, I have a really hard time focusing, and just sitting on my wooden chair where I practice meditating feels painful at all points of contact. I also usually have a sense of anxiety when meditating while not well-rested-- it's a restful experience, but less relaxing than I know these sessions can be on adequate sleep. Some days, I even sleep a full 8 hours, and I still feel like I needed more rest-- my morning session is usually when I determine this, and I try to scale back my day accordingly. 2.) Another dimension that I've found has greatly affected by practice is privacy. I live with a roommate, and we almost always have guests staying with us (I basically live in a hostel: I've renamed my home internet connection "GUEST WIFI"). Because of this, it's hard to find alone time, especially in the morning. This can sometime trip up my routine of practice. On the other hand, in those rare moments of stillness in my house, I have the best 20 minutes of my day sitting quietly at my window in the early morning. I've found that I really need quiet aloneness to focus most successfully. It's analogous to the environmental needs I have for studying or doing creative work also. That said, there is something to be said for privacy in anonymity. Two weeks ago, I sat on the grass in Boston Common and mediated for 20 minutes. Though this was in public, I felt some sense of privacy just from being unknown.