Thoughts

I sometimes wonder whether or not I might be crazy, I always have the strangest stuff pop into my head. And since I've been told that my family has a history of mental illness, I sometimes wonder. Though I'm sure that if I had anything other than a hefty case of Attention Deficit Disorder some sort of symptom would have shown itself by now. In any case all suspicions and worries aside I will tell you what my strange conversation was.

I few days ago I was asked the question of what I thought would be the worst way to die, as well as which would be the best, a strange and morbid question. But I'm no one to turn down any sort of discussion of a philosophical nature. As I thought of what would be the worst way to die, many different emotions popped into my head. PAIN, SUFFERING, SURPRISE, anticipation, loneliness, regret. "Which of these would be the worst?" I've always had a huge tolerance for pain, it might be because I've been a martial artist since I was 6, or because I've seen a lot of pain in my days elsewhere, who really cares, I don't think I'm afraid of that. As a matter of fact, none of those details of death really bother me. with the exception of surprise. It's a strange thing, most of the people I've talked to about this since then have said they'd like to just die suddenly, in their sleep would be the best way. I think that that would be the worst. As someone who lost a father very suddenly I'd say the idea is very selfish because it hits the family harder. I feel as though dying, separated from the ones who hold dear suddenly would be the worst way to go.

On the flip side of that I think the best way to go would be to drown. Which is something that most people said would be the worst way, And I realize It contradicts what I said in the previous paragraph because you can't really know if you're going to drown but my argument is pretty good. You're brain releases a chemical called DMT naturally, this chemical is commonly regarded as the cause of your life flashing before your eyes, interactions with deities, and life changing experiences or philosophies associated with death. Basically it makes you hallucinate like crazy. And drowning is a unique way to die because of the human body's reaction to water. Humans have what is called a mammalian diving reflex, which slows down oxygen use while submerged, as well, when water is inhaled or swallowed suddenly you experience a laryngospasm.
These two things in combination are said to release a massive amount of DMT to the brain causing a sense of euphoria and warmth, you relax and let go. That's my conclusion.

Enough of this dreary talk it's time for some entertainment.




This is Tony Vs. Paul, an excellent stop motion video that has an awesome song!

Swimming.

I've always loved to swim, ever since I became a life guard as a part of my training in scouts; I've always loved to swim. When I moved to the residence halls at Wesleyan I searched for some way to blow off steam and relax from the tense world of college. I then realized that we had a pool, so I started swimming 4 times per week. There's something very calming about swimming, I always swim front crawl style because it offers the most consistent speed and muscle usage. When I started swimming again last semester I could only swim about 25- 50 meters at a time, and rest in between. After that I decided to double until I reached 100, and 200. Finally I decided that counting only distracted me from my relaxation and goals. It was then that I discovered the beauty of long distance swimming. When I stopped doing laps I started swimming against time. I would swim for a set period of time and not stop, I started with 10 minutes and grew to 15. This was a tremendous challenge but I found it much more rewarding and relaxing. As I kept doing It I focused less on pacing myself or swimming at a relaxed pace, and started to see how far I could push myself. Now I push myself for 20 minutes and I am going to make the jump to 25 or 30 before the semester's up.


This footage was taken from the FINA Swimming Championship in Manchester England this year. The world record was broken for the 400 meter relay at 3 minutes 8 seconds. which is a speed for about 2.13 m/s (4.74 mph) this may sound slow but it's a breakneck speed for swimming, my fastest time is 50 meters in 40 seconds (about 1.25 m/s) and that's when I'm hauling, using every ounce of energy I have for that short period of time. I still only measure up to half of the world record average speed for a race 8 times longer.


When I swim I am lost in a world of repetitive motion and pulse. I find that this environment allows me to breach my mental walls and focus on a metaphysical level. Nights after I swim I find myself feeling renewed and sharp, a form of self baptism. any other workout leaves me feeling weak, sick, or dead. Perhaps it's the fact that I immerse myself into the building block of life on this planet in order to exercise.