How to Wake Up Refreshed
Every day you experience new things. These sights, smells and events will collide and combine to form not only your memory but your identity. This newsletter is a metaphor for this process, as I collect ideas every week and continue to refine my perspective on what it means to be alive here. Plodding through the universe, one letter and piece of music at a time.
This week I experienced a fantastic improvement in my quality of sleep. Because earlier in the week I realized that after a full night of sleep, I was consistently still tired in the morning. So I decided to try nasal strips which are typically used for snoring to see if it would help. The next morning I felt rested. I replicated the experiment again the next night.
If you are interested in this area you can try the strips to see if it helps, but there is also something called mouth taping which involves a small piece of tape to remind you to keep your mouth closed when you sleep (1 inch, microporous tape). You do not need to buy these elaborate mouth taping contraptions, just the simple piece of medical tape that will not block your airway and can be removed quickly.
For more on this area, there is the book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor. Here he is, talking about how to do the mouth tape without hurting your lips. If you try it please do your research and be aware of any risks involved.
Three Ideas from My Notebooks
Every day, tap into your North Star Energy. That is what is guiding you to your most authentic work, as well as building and maintaining relationships that line up with your values1. Don’t be upset if you have a lot of South Pole Dragging in your life which is expected and part of the process. You need to experience things that you don’t want in order to find the things that you do.
Most people live simply for pleasure. Don’t be like most people and live for meaning instead. I feel like this is a common thread that binds many of my readers together. Pleasure is fleeting - as soon as it has worn off, you’re back to the beginning. Meaning on the other hand is a game that will keep going throughout the remainder of your days here. Beautiful and infinite, we have a collective search for meaning inside of us.
Rather than hang out with the effect, get closer to the cause. The effects are the outcomes of decisions you’ve made up until now, and if you’re unhappy with them then get closer to the cause and change course. Work with a therapist or a life coach if you are having trouble finding any perspective, but also journaling is a free form of therapy (The Artist’s Way is a good starting point on journaling as therapy).
New Music by Elliott: Castle Forks Colorado
Don’t be confused if you saw this headline last week, yes I have another new song available this week, and there will be another one next week too.
This is one of my first fingerstyle guitar recordings made available in the audio-only streaming format (I have shared videos of this sound in the past on social and in Elliott’s Podcast).
I call this one Music for American Ghost Towns. It was recorded on a parlour guitar which is typically heard in blues music and I just love having a smaller, comfortable acoustic guitar to work with.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or search on most streaming services to find it and save to your library.
Bagel News
Some twister bagels (aka extra large-sized bagels) came out of the oven in the bakery yesterday. A staple in my youth as a growing boy, I typically don’t buy them anymore due to the extra calories.
But I couldn’t resist seeing the warm twister yesterday. And it was worth it. I might be a convert soon. So next time you spot a twister, give it a try.
See you next week,
Elliott
My other newsletter is called The Most Creative which deals with North Star Energy as its focus.