Knowledge
Daily Ramble
Ever since I read some of Carlos Castenada’s books on shamanism, I’ve become convinced that the popular definition of knowledge is just wrong. What we call knowledge is information — dates, statistics, numbers, facts, etc… Knowledge, true knowledge, is what the body stores. Simple examples would be the muscle memory I’m using to type right now, one uses to play an instrument, or an athlete uses to compete professionally. More complicated knowledge would be the emotional energy that’s stored in the muscles from traumatic experiences. Somatic and psychedelic therapies help access this emotional energy and release it, healing the body. I’m much more fascinated with knowledge these days.
Today, I was listening to The Kevin Rose Show podcast where Kevin interviewed Andrew Huberman. Andrew is a Stanford Neuroscientist and his breadth of knowledge is just stunning. During the show, he highlighted three different knowledge-based techniques for calming the body. These techniques help keep us in a state of calm alertness where we perform best.
The first is a double breath (hold for an explanation). When we become anxious, our lungs tend to collapse a bit. Just two to three double breath cycles can bring us out of our anxiety. First, inhale deeply through the nose. When your lungs are almost at capacity, take a sharp, second inhale. Then exhale. Try it now and see if you don’t get a tingly reaction through your body. Next time I’m feeling my body enter a flight or fight situation, this will be my go-to tool — easy and effective.
The second is the hyper-breathing and cold shower exercises, done separately, that Wim Hof espouses. I’ve mentioned these exercises in the past, and I do them on an almost daily basis, but what I didn’t realize is what they were doing. Both rapid breathing and cold showers cause our body to release adrenaline. Releasing adrenaline in a constrained practice allows our bodies to adapt to adrenaline states — helpful for boosting immunity. Practicing these states helps our bodies and minds remain calm in high-stress situations freeing us to make good decisions. It’s analogous to the training that keeps soldiers from freezing up on the battlefield.
The last exercise is new to me: Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is the practice of putting our bodies into a wakeful sleep state. My knowledge here is limited so I’m explaining this informationally. What I understand is that the 20-30 minutes practice involves laying down and listening to a guided meditation that helps you scan and release tensions throughout the body. It is similar to what occurs during sleep but done consciously. After, individuals say they feel as if they’ve had a long nap.
Speaking of naps, it’s about that time of day here.
Favorite Thing on the Interwebs Today
I love this tweet — it shows that Bitcoin is being adopted globally at the highest rates in countries with poorly managed money.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Yesterday: $47.8k - $54k
Today: $48.7k - $54k
Tomorrow: $48.7k - $54k
Number Go Up technology continues to do its thing. As many Bitcoiners say, “Bitcoin was designed to pump indefinitely.” It sure has seemed that way the last couple of weeks. The price of Bitcoin took a swift jump up to $52.8k yesterday from a low of $49k decisively conquering the $50k barrier. With continued institutional adoption as tailwinds, it’s hard to consider this to be a local top despite the rapid price appreciation since the Elon Musk announcement last Monday. I continue to anticipate a stiff resistance at $53.6k where Bitcoin will exceed a $1T market cap, but even there I don’t anticipate more than a 15% pullback as Bitcoin continues to plow a path to once unimaginable heights. Bitcoin continues to leave exchanges as it becomes increasingly clear we’re witnessing FOMO from the billionaire class. It’s hard to understate how incredibly bullish that is!
Bitcoin Ed Bite
Q: What is the fee I pay to send Bitcoin from one wallet to another?
A: The transaction fee is paid to the miner who included your transaction in a block on the Bitcoin network. It’s the cost of network security.
Miners bundle up transactions into the next block being mined. They race against all the other miners on the network to be the first to solve a cryptographic riddle. When they do they receive the block reward (currently 6.25 BTC) and the fees included on each transaction. Every couple of weeks, the Bitcoin protocol adjusts the difficulty of the cryptographic riddle to ensure blocks are mined approximately every 10 minutes. The rewards are being phased out over time so the fees will be the primary incentive for miners in the future.
Thanks for reading,
Kent
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