Lessons from a Back Injury - My Own Personal Zen Master

Note: 7 years later I wrote an update to this post to expound upon the most important gift I'd gained from my back injury.

About ten years ago, I was injured while serving in the Navy. From that point on I have never ceased to be in very intense pain. This post is not about seeking pity, in fact it's about how after ten years I can talk about how I am grateful for this injury and hopefully how you can learn from it too (without having to be similarly injured).

For the first few years, I tried every possible procedure and treatment one could think of (don't send me any suggestions, I am sure I've tried it) and after a while it was very hard to accept that this would become my  new normal. My back pain had become a part of my identity and I was tired of being the pity case or the person unable to do anything, so I decided to change that.

Nothing I am about to say should be construed as medical advice or "the right way to do it", this is simply my journey and what has worked for me.

Much of what I now know can be summed up in the quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, "Smile, breath deeply, and go slowly." The reason I am writing this to everyone is because I have realized that everyone of us experiences these pains and stressors, I just feel it much more quickly and frequently than you.

Learning to breath was the single most important thing I did. To westerners that sounds silly and I've learned that even many practitioners of Yoga and the like forget to do it and focus on the actions. One could stop everything, simply breathe and be in a perfect place. I am going to suggest that if you are in pain or stressed, it is likely because you are improperly breathing. If you have an injury or condition that is causing your pain, the suffering is made worse by your improper breathing. I catch myself often making shallow breaths, just barely enough to stay alive throughout my day and that is so silly for a resource that is 100% free. Deep mindful breaths are so incredible and yet I am still working to do it all day.

I stopped growing in 8th grade, that leaves my height around 5' 4". When I first received my injury and the military put me on bed rest for 6 months, I gained a lot of weight. This weakened my abdominal muscles and added dead weight to my stomach. This increased my level of pain and I came to find out how important the abs are. If they are weak, it is impossible to support your body which leads to pulling and straining of your upper back and neck. With so many of us struggling with weight and sitting at a desk, this is a very real issue. Someone once told me, if your abs are flabby, your body isn't happy.

Long ago in my search for anything that would help me, I became very interested in nutrition. As background, I LOVE sweets. Cakes, cookies, juice, soda you name it I love it. I read somewhere that if you stop anything for 30 days you can do it for a lifetime. I decided to cut out soda and not only did I lose weight, but I also felt better in general. For those of you interested in following in my footsteps, Dr. Oz has a great a step-by-step plan. Its funny how far we will go to lose weight, we will work out, take  pills, but we won't change our eating habits. I am unable to work out except gentle Pilates and Yoga but changing my eating habits has allowed me to maintain a healthy body weight and tone.

A lesson I have only recently learned is due to my son and my new job. My son and I love to play. Wrestling and having fun takes me back to when I was a kid and it is wonderful that I get to give that to my son. I promised myself if I ever had kids, I would not allow my back to take anything away from their childhood. So even though the pain abounds I happily give my son a piggyback ride or take him to the park. Its from taking these walks that I have learned so much. When I am stuck on a problem or stressed out, nothing helps me more than to take a walk, be mindful, and play.

As a teacher, I never took time to leave my classroom. I would go to the lounge and talk with people but I never walked. Now in my current job, I walk every so often both to stretch but also to think. It is impossible to be creative and mindful for 8 hours in a chair. I don't know how people do it. Perhaps they think it would distract them or ruin their productivity, but I can assure you when I come back from my 10 minute walk I am energized and ready to work at my best.

Taking a walk in today's world may seem like a waste of time or that we have better things to do, but I can assure you it will become the best part of your day. Do it with family or friends as well as by yourself and you will find you can't do without it.

Finally, I should mention that if I didn't have my back injury I would have never met my wife nor all of the amazing people I have met over the last 10 years. Right before I injured my back, I was selected for an officer program in the Navy and I was planning on staying on as a career. Well that is when my other favorite quote became meaningful to me, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him what your plans are for tomorrow." While I am sure the life I would have lived would have been great, I wouldn't trade anything for the love and joy that I feel everyday. The students and people I have worked with to create some incredible things are worth anything I experience in regards to pain.

So there you go. Ten years and I am able to work at a great job, raise a wonderful family, and while the pain is there I have learned to let it be a reminder to be mindful and for that I am grateful to it. I do not offer this as a roadmap or instruction manual but as a call for whatever you are suffering from, don't seek to end it. Learn from it and find peace within it. That may sound very wishy washy to those of you in very painful situations but one day, you will find peace as long as you take care of yourself and are mindful.

If you do leave a comment, thanks but please do not wish me pity (I need none) nor tell me about your amazing friend who saw an infomercial for this inverted chair that can cure me.... as I said I am able to maintain a happy life in spite of the pain and after 10 years of seeking every possible treatment, I have found that there is not a whole lot that can be done externally, I must work to be mindful and I would encourage you to cultivate it as well.

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BitCoin: Dangerous or The Next Logical Evolution for Society?

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While reading Slashdot a couple of days ago, I came across an article describing BitCoin and referring to it as "The Most Dangerous Open Source Project Ever". Of course being subversive by nature, I had to read more and I realized that this could be very useful for classrooms to discuss finances, government policy, logarithms, Capitalism, and the list could go on for the whole semester. Here is an overview video courtesy of WeUseCoins.

Additionally, this takes very confusing topics (Banking/Global Monetary Policy and Logarithms) and places it in terms that every teenager knows well. Peer to Peer (P2P) is the same process by which many download music, movies, software, etc. So the implications of BitCoins being untraceable and unable to shut down are already understood.

I imagine a math or humanities class could have a long term project regarding the effects this program could have on society, while discussing the pros and cons of such a currency, and having a tangible discussion about the reasoning behind a logarithmic non-inflationary growth curve. While the number of companies and organizations that take BitCoins is relatively few, there is enough to make it a discussion worth having. Not to mention the fact that students can enter the BitCoin market and sell their cognitive surplus and apply their skills right away.

More info about BitCoins can be found here:
BitCoin.org
BitCoin Wiki
Organizations that Currently Accept BitCoin
WeUseCoins - Overview

If nothing else it makes for excellent discussion. I hope you and your students do some great things with this information and if you do use it, please share how it went in the comments!

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How to Learn Anything - Lessons in Neuroscience from My Dad

In a previous post, I reflected on some life lessons I believe have made me what who I am today. The list is pretty popular and some have asked me to specifically elaborate on my Dad's advice to my Mom. You see, my Mom was told by everyone else that it was a waste of her time to seek to be something other than a secretary.

My Dad meanwhile had grown up in a small town in Missouri, far far away from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. He was raised to follow his dreams no matter how difficult they might seem. One day he saw Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show On Earth”. From that moment on, he knew he wanted to make movies. How could a Midwestern boy hope to learn all of the skills and talent to be a Cinematographer? I'll let him tell you:

When I (my Dad) was in junior high school I started reading photography books. They were all technically over my head. I was very depressed. I had been told that I didn't have the aptitude for math and science. I feared that if I couldn't learn the essentials of Cinematography I would never have a chance. One night I decided to force read the text, hoping that by glossing over the terms and concepts I didn't understand someday I would recollect the information when I had a deeper ability to interpret. Even though I glossed over the ideas I was able to connect the dots and put it all together. I used that tool for everything I didn't understand.

Later on he left Missouri for Los Angeles and began his journey towards becoming a Director of Photography. While working as a projectionist he met my Mom and while dating, she talked about her interest in science and nursing which had been inspired by Isaac Asimov books like Fantastic Voyage. Quoting my Dad again:

When your mother was having trouble I just told her what I did. She was very frustrated in the beginning. I insisted she read her textbooks before she even went to class. That way she would have a recollection of complex phrases and ideas when the teacher introduced them. For her she had already read the material which helped her to overcome her initial fear.

This same advice was passed onto me and my brother. Whenever I would get my textbooks before school started, I would always flip through them and skim the information. My brother and I would always go to the bookstore or library to learn something new. He has taught himself to read and compose music via this method, and I have learned almost all that I know simply by reading books and materials that I didn't at first understand.

I later discovered that Richard Feynman followed a similar method which he humorously retells in "Surely You're Joking"

When Feynman was a graduate student at Princeton, he was allowed to sit in a biology course if he agreed to do the assignments. One involved giving a report on research that had been done on cats. He was unfamiliar with the names of the muscles mentioned, so he went down to the library to get “a map of the cat.” Then he gave his report, beginning with an explanation of the cat’s anatomy. The biology students immediately stopped him, saying they already knew all that. “Oh,” he replied, “you do? Then no wonder I can catch up with you so fast after you’ve had four years of biology.” As he wrote, “They had spent all their time memorizing stuff like that, when it could be looked up in fifteen minutes.”

It is frustrating and confusing at first, but everything eventually clicks. The trick is to not stop until you find the answer. It is far easier to do that now with Google, Wikipedia, or YouTube and I love being able to take control of my learning and not have to pay or wait for others to teach me.

In case you think my family is unique somehow in being able to do this, it is simply not true. Motivation + Resources is all that is necessary.

Tech Support:
If you want to learn any new technology there are three pieces of advice I would give you.

1) Think like a computer (or at least a programmer): The way we use technology was developed a long time ago by a few individuals and organizations. I am talking about file folders, windows, mice, and all that we take for granted. It could have been developed many different ways but this is the system we have. Jaron Lanier does a great job of talking about this system in his book You Are Not a Gadget.

If you can train yourself to think like a computer programmer or a computer itself, then you can figure out anything. Can't find the command you want? Look around and ask yourself what possible places it could be. This takes practice but can be done and leads me to my next piece of advice.

2) Play with the technology: Explore it, try things out. If you are using working with software you can almost always hit the undo button. My Mom was always calling me for help over the phone, but one day her tech support calls stopped coming. I eventually called and asked her, are you having any technical issues? She said yes, but she had figured them out herself!

The turning point for her was, "realizing that I could experiment and try things without breaking the computer". Now her and I talk all the time about cool things she is discovering in technology. All because she decided to be adventurous.

Keep in mind you will make mistakes so save anything important.

3) GIYF: This acronym is not mine but I think of it when people send me a question, and then 10 seconds later I send them the exact answer back. They are amazed! How could I know the answer to so many questions? Quite simply...I don't. Google Is Your Friend is a Internet slogan stating, if you don't know the answer, see if someone online has already asked and received the answer.

Another famous Internet acronym is GIGO. Which stands for Garbage In Garbage Out. If you don't search correctly, you will not get the answer you want. It might be out there but called something else. I always liken this to how telephone books still use the term Apparel instead of Clothes. Here are Google's suggestions on how to effectively search, and if you get the hang of those try these powerful search tricks.


Have you tried these ideas or something similar to learn something new? Post a comment and share it with us. What do you do to solve your technology issues?

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Lessons from Those Who Made My Life Interesting

These are not meant to be prescriptive, but I hope you can learn from what went well and what did not and pass it along to others. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me, trusted in me, and told me like it is.

Lessons from My Parents:

• Dad passed down advice he got from his Father which was, no matter what you do in life. Be the best and do a good job. 
• Also, love what you do. No amount of money can compensate spending a third of your life in a job that you hate.
• "A Jack of all trades, a master of none, is always better than a master of one." I know my parents didn't invent this quote, but they sure lived it. I would rather know a little about everything, there is too much interesting stuff out there to stick to just one.
• When my parents were dating, my Mom wanted to be a Nurse. Her family told her she could never do it and she should just play it safe and go to school to become a secretary. My Dad told her to read Nursing Magazines. Even though she had no idea what they meant, when she went on to Nursing school she understood faster than anyone else and graduated in the top of her class. Even though my parents are divorced, my Mom will still say how grateful she is to my Dad for that advice.
• It is a wonderful thing to be a Geek, never be ashamed of it. You will have more fun than those boring people who have nothing they are passionate about.
• Schooling is really good at teaching you to think inside the box. It is just a game to get a piece of paper. 
• Dad says his lack of formal schooling is probably what allows him to be as creative as he is.
• Both of my parents taught me that learning is for life and we are responsible for taking charge of that learning.
• Always read books that are challenging to you. If you didn't learn or think during it, then what was the point?
• Dad always had to have the newest technology, he bought the first Laserdisk, Betamax, Intellivision, Apple II C, Newton, Powerbook, Palm Pilot, etc. This meant I had a great teacher and a lot of awesome hand-me-downs.
• Dad once sat down and learned BASIC programming with me. To this day, that is the coolest thing in the world.
• I learned how to take things apart and see how they work.
• Mom and my Dad took me to the Library all the time so we could all check out books. I still think the Library is one of the most sacred places on Earth. Before the Internet became so widespread, we could go in and learn anything for free. I hope the Library is able to reinvent itself and continue as a hub for learning in the 21st Century.
• Read! If not for yourself, then for your kids.
• Road trips were never boring with either parent because we would have deep scientific, political, or philosophical discussions.
• Talk to your kids as adults, and they will appreciate it and learn more from you. 
• Both of my parents found success in very unorthodox ways. Enjoy life's journey. Reminds me of Woody Allen's quote, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans for tomorrow."
• Mom had to learn how to fend for herself at a very young age. She made sure that my brother and I learned to cook, clean, and take care of ourselves because you never knew when you would need to be on your own.
• Don't use your parent's failings as an excuse for your life. Use it as a reason to do it better than they did.
• If you are feeling depressed, it may be because of your situation. See if you can get out of that situation. Having bad times, whether in love issues or family issues, makes you realize that no one can make you happy, except yourself.  You cannot look to others for your happiness. If you can't find your way out of your pain, it's no shame to ask for help, from loved ones or professionals. 
• Also I suggest Feeling Good as a resource in helping you to survive the situation.
• Music is so important to ones' life. We always had a lot of music in our lives, and hearing it, playing it, or going to see performances is one of our family's most important bonding and growth experiences. I  have such great memories of all our musical times together. 
• Learning to play instruments was a very important and fulfilling lesson to my brother and I. To this day, I still enjoy playing music and the feeling of creating or copying my favorite songs. For my brother it turned into a career.
• Go camping outdoors in a tent. I went a lot when I was in the Boy Scouts and it gave us an important bonding experience as well as an appreciation for the Earth.
• Live within your means, it is so easy to spend more than you make. A lack of money  will not ruin a family but certainly make it more stressed and strained.
• Divorce will be the worst day of your child's life. Rather than getting your children therapy afterwards, get some counseling to stay together. If you absolutely must divorce, don't put your kids in the middle of it. Trust me it affects your kids when you fight.
• Encourage and love your kids, there is nothing worse than the self doubt that comes when they do not have their family intact.
• Learn from your first attempts at romantic love, don't think life is over if it doesn't work out, it's not supposed to. The more you love, the more you will know when the right one comes along. Don't settle for anything less. 

Lessons from School:

• I still cannot believe I stood up to the school bully. That day changed my whole perspective on what I was capable of.
• Do not get caught up in romantic relationships in Middle or High school. You may feel like an outcast for not doing it, but you will save yourself a ton of drama and you will accomplish so much more. Trust me on this one!
• People who have knowledge will always take advantage of those who lack it. I learned this when I sold math programs, games, and the original instant messaging program that I wrote for the graphing calculators to others. They got their homework done faster and I made some cash. 
• I am responsible for the first ever tie at my school for Band Drum Major. This told me that exactly half of the people in this world will probably like me and the others might not. It was a very humbling lesson. Ben Franklin said,"Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none."
• Adventures always happen after 10pm.
• I feel so bad for bullies. They must be so unhappy. If you are being bullied please know that you can eventually be tremendously happy so do not give up and please don't change who you are for others.

Lessons from the Set:

• Many people dream of being on a movie/tv set but I have spent my entire life on one. It is truly my home as I spent more time on location and at studios than I probably spent inside an actual house.
• I have known and met so many celebrities and supposedly important people. I am here to tell you that they are just like you and me. There are so many people out there who are worthy of our respect that will never be on the screen. Consider carefully who you and your family hold in high esteem.
• The crew on movie sets are the most interesting people you will ever meet. I learned something amazing from each and everyone one of them. You will never be bored hanging out on a set.
• If you ever get the chance to go down a giant hill in a kart that you and a Grip built, wear protection or you might regret it for the few months while you heal. However, it is totally worth it.

Lessons from the Military:

• Don't think about time unless you need to. In Boot Camp we learned that "the days are long but the weeks fly by". I have tried to enjoy the moment or at least not think about what looms ahead because it only creates stress.
• While I was in the Navy an Admiral once told me that the secret to his success was to show up to work on time, do a good job, be kind to others. Words to live by.
• Doctors are not all knowing. I spent 2 years asking doctors what was wrong with my back, spending lots of money on my own therapy. Do your own research and be open to anything. Medical science is incredible but they do not know everything.

Miscellaneous Lessons:

• You have no idea how little you can be happy with until you have nothing. I have lived with lots and little and you are more likely to find happiness when money is not involved. Having little money teaches you thrift and to be thankful for small things, and  to appreciate life's more important lessons, such as learning, loving, and giving. 
• Learn Aikido, I have had to defend myself from those who wished me hurt or dead twice and I am grateful for the few things I knew, everyone should know how to defend themselves.
• If you live in a city like Los Angeles or San Diego, go out into the desert away from all civilization and look up. You will finally see why our galaxy is called the Milky Way. I still don't think our technological advances were worth the loss of our sky. Of all of the things I have ever seen, our night sky is definitely the most impressive.
• There is nothing like meeting your heroes and finding out that they are just as awesome as you though they were. 
• I used to wake up at 5am everyday to watch Mr. Wizard's World. One day I met Don Herbert (Mr. Wizard), and he was so gracious and willing to talk to a kid who was forever transformed by his show.
• Teller (Penn and Teller) sat and spoke with me for 3 hours about magic and performing.  
• Never give up, it took me three times to become a member of the Magic Castle. Took me that long to overcome my fears and develop as a performer.  

Do you have a tribute or lesson from your life that you would like to share? Leave it in the comments and thanks for contributing.