I realized yesterday, I am procrastinating on watching Netflix. I have 3 unwatched TV series and many movies to catch up and follow. I am below the level of their posting to watch everything I desire. Not that it is a race, but as life happens, I don't want to miss out on good stuff. That is partly why I keep each and every article of mine to a bare maximum 3-4 minutes. I just want to give a message, or a few seconds of entertainment, if I am writing a story or a poem. So, yesterday, I watched and finished full series, watching eight hours straight. I only had slept few hours, and by the time writing of this I feel like crap. I am a crumbled piece of paper in a waste bin. Pain of existence. I can clearly remember how the yesterday started. I did not feel this low. I was high on my spirits, galloping my way to work like a Shire horse. I know this was a rare high for an ordinary day, but as you can see, the day did not go as planned or at least did not continue to be productive at the same level. Someone reminded me yesterday, that every high is followed by a low, and every low is followed by a high. I really understand this to be true. What is travelling forwards in time is a wave function, not a stationary bullet. If you have looked at the sky lately, you would have seen that the moons tend to shine brighter when they appear after a rain. I am not sure whether it is due to the washing away of the atmospheric dust created by modern automobiles. Or whether it is an illusion of mind. But that appears to be true. Waves Roots of the pain. While sitting in this half empty cold library room, I try to figure out truth about my life, thinking in line of great, wise people who happened to be ancestors of myself. If, there is a high, that I am wishing for in my life, I indirectly agree I am not currently in such a state of right now. As an example, if I am wishing to cease my suffering and death, I agree to the fact that I am salvageable being living in this cosmos. If I say yes to the heaven, I am opening a door to the hell as well. If, I say yes to happiness, I invite sadness into my world. If I embrace success, I do embrace the failure which defines the nature of the success. What should I do now? Not embrace anything? How can I logically overcome the pain of existence by not embracing existence? At the moment, it is just a question more than an answer. I am not eager to solve it either. As, I know, if I try to solve that thing, I will create another problem. Instead, I choose to do some mindful observation of the present.

This is just a list of ways to escape reality. You can choose or not choose whatever your preference may be. And please do not take these as any medical advice for your current problems. On drugs and Booze. This could be the bad way of escaping the reality. You and me can agree that reality can sometimes be too painful, too boring or too irritable. That we need to find a way to stop thoughts. Some, people even get depressed as they find no solution to their problems in current reality. Some proportion ending up drugs and Alcohol. However, the problem with these is that it does not stop problems, but temporarily suppress consciousness to it cannot comprehend anything. You might wake up feeling worse the following day. In my opinion not a good way of escaping reality. Virtual Reality On TV, video games and virtual reality. Getting addicted to screen is also, a way of escaping reality. Whenever we are looking at a screen we forget what our feelings, instead get involved in the virtual reality of the pixels. As, these provide us to be in somewhere we are currently not, again it is highly addictive. You can stay on your couch eating Pizza making your body unhealthy while watching someone travel around the world and living in a jungle. You can do anything to a human body which you cannot do in reality without getting jailed permanently for life, even watch realistic videos of someone killing someone. I am not sure these are perfectly healthy ways of escaping reality. But I would rather watch dolphin videos. Books Blogs Newspapers Art I am a big fan of written material as an escape of reality. Fact that they do not produce noise makes it more fascinating to me. Books contain, journeys people took, their imagination, surely produce different virtual realities, depending on the person who is reading them. You can take your time doing it. And it is silence. More closer to your reality than anything else. You do not have to suppress your consciousness to enjoy a book. But generally they demand you are calm and at peace, as the processor of pictures in this case is your own consciousness, and if it is heated with arguments with your Ex, it might just not work. On work and flow. Work and flow are also ways of escaping reality. You might not feel hunger, when you're stressed at work. You would not remember problems at home. You might get into a flow of feeling mildly drifting in cosmos if you're deeply engaged in creating activity. This could also mean you might enjoy nurturing plants in your backyard vegetable plot, while forgetting you have a diagnosis of cancer, and 6 month death sentence from the oncologist. Is, it a good way of escaping reality? It would be if it doesn't give you problems of kind, that you like to solve, inherently. How not to escape reality If you do not want to escape reality but to embrace it, I suggest you sit on a chair and do nothing of above sort. Just letting the thoughts like drifting clouds. You, might get sleepy. Other than that being mindful is the only way to embrace reality. Simply, it is just being aware of your awareness, noticing its inherent nature of non persistence. Who knows you might understand something about yourself, that you have been looking for all your life.

Why you should be a listener? The world is filled with chaotic noise. Most of the modern problems of Homo Sapiens are due to the fact, they are confused with this messy overflow of information. However, most minds, unless diseased is capable of figuring out the path, navigating through the chaos, when a clam and natural space is provided. I am sure throughout the working day, at least you once feel, overwhelmed and need of someone to talk about it. So, is everyone else. We all love to talk, about ourselves, as it is refreshing and calming. Even if we are not provided with solutions. Imagine 8 billion people speak at once, there would be nobody to listen. Which is happening nowadays, and a root cause for our ever-growing selfishness. So, indeed there is a great vacuum for listeners in current world. Also being a listener will make, you feel that you are indeed, needed by someone else. Listen. Listen more. Listen further more before speaking Listening is not therapy Fundamental difference between therapy and listening is, the latter do not try to provide a diagnosis label, and there is no structured approach. Yet, it is a very powerful way, to help someone who is in need of a companion. In listening, the listener do not try to give a solution. Instead, be non-judgmental, and empathic. Something we all crave for. We all crave for a validation of our feelings, by another human being. We might expect it from our partner, a family member, or even a stranger. And If you become a listener, It will be a great assets to the people who live closest to you. Lot of, unspoken words and feelings which will be unearthed, would provide a fertile soil for more natural solutions. However, there are dangers. Dangers of being a listener. Dangers of listener are twofold. Unless you are an empty bucket with no feelings, you would feel heavy after the listening. Naturally some people are better at being listeners than others. Second consequence being you might be a target, by people with hidden agendas. Unfortunately, these problems cannot be avoided. As, it is utmost important to keep your mental space clean and safe during hearings. If it disturbs your day, to listen to someone else, we can always revert back to our baseline level by listening nothingness of the nature. You might take a walk and listen to natural song of earth, in the local park, which might provide some healing to your soul. Where and how you can become a listener. At home, where your partner may need one. Just try it for a once without reacting. At work, I am sure there are hundreds of co-workers who has to say something. At school, in the park, in Hospital ED or online platform. While you're alone, you can listen to your own voice in head and we call this special case of mindfulness. Remember to be a sponge while you're doing it. So you do absorb everything and give out nothing. If you try to squeeze out your openions, it will prevent the flow of the sound.