A disconnected existence was my normal for many years. Even when hyper-connected to friends, I mostly kept people at arm’s length. I think childhood trauma damaged my connection to the universe. I can’t be sure, but it seems like a smoking gun. After wicked amounts of struggle, after running a spiritual marathon, I put on the brakes. I reflected, and at that moment, I arrived. I took a moment to breathe, finally. Ever since, my hopes and dreams have arrived at my preferred station like clockwork. All those magnificent impassable boulders have shattered into dust. I feel like Neo in The Matrix; there is no spoon. 🥄 ...

A life of passion as I think about it elicits many different emotions in my soul. When I was young, I knew being passionate was important. Unfortunately, as I embraced my passion, I burned myself, and especially in love. As I grew, I tempered my passion as I evaded the pain I associated with being overly passionate. Fast forward to this moment, and now I realize I have done myself a disservice all these years. ...

What is aphantasia? It’s the inability to create images with your mind. I recently learned that I have this condition. It has been a wild ride ever since. I have been testing friends and family members to see how widespread the condition is within my circle. I have a few friends who have it, but most do not. It roughly aligns with the estimate that two to five percent of the population has the condition. ...

Sharing is caring, but we don’t need to be connected every second of the day. We weren’t meant to be plugged into millions of people’s inner sanctum at every turn. However, that’s where we are, and it’s unclear whether or not the pros of this behavior outweigh the cons. Social Media I have a few friends that avoid social media like the plague. I’ve thought about joining them, but I enjoy being connected. I’ve found efficient ways to use social media by way of F.B. Purity and browser ad blockers. I do not subscribe to apps, groups, or pages to avoid extra spam. Despite using these methods, the flood of information is still high. ...

Layers of self are infinite. When we are born, we come out as a complicated entity with around 30 trillion cells. That’s a lot of complexity. As we grow, we become more complex as we consume about 34 GB of information per day, according to a 2009 study. Our thoughts become more sophisticated, and so do our problems. My Layers I have been hyper introspective for the past few years. As I pore over myself, I’ve noticed many layers that I never saw before. I’ve picked apart why I do certain things and have unsurprisingly come to a greater understanding. ...