Speed Reading, Boredom (Part 1) and Penny Kelly
August 4, 2024
8 min read
•
Newsletter
{Body}
Speed reading
The average reader can read 238 words per minute (WPM) whereas average speaker talks at a rate of 120 WPM in a conversation.
That means — without training — you can read 1.5 times faster than you can listen.
In today’s infinitely expanding information landscape, that difference cannot be underestimated.
But what if you were able to double your reading speed? Triple it, even? Well, then, you could read two or three times the number of books, articles and captions! Or get through them in half the time!
That’s a lot of extra knowledge gained and time recovered.
{Mind}
How to deal with boredom?
This is Part 1 of 2.
Boredom (a combination of restless energy in the body with a lack of direction in the mind) is a terribly uncomfortable state.
When it occurs, it’s easy to dive into distraction and avoid the fidgety feelings with activities like internet scrolling, obsessively organizing things, or gossiping.
Naturally, this works wonders — boredom tends to disappear into the bottomless waves of feel-good dopamine the moment you turn your gaze from it.
Alas, it doesn’t actually solve the problem. Yes, you can try to cut the head off of boredom with the sword of entertainment and busyness. But, like a hydra dragon, it always comes back bigger and stronger.
What would happen if you did the exact opposite, though? What would happen if you turned to face boredom completely, staring at it without flinching?
At first, the volume of restlessness will turn up to the point of being nearly unbearable. It will feel like the deepest of itches, a disturbed sensation whose end (it is believed) can only come from looking elsewhere.
From here, your mind will start the process of negotiating (or yelling) at you to do something — anything — else: “It’s been years since you played chess; maybe now is the time to pick it back up!” “A quick peruse around TikTok oughta fix this.” “What about those chips in the pantry you never finished!?”
And finally, raw emotions start rolling in en masse, with your buried memories and repressed feelings bubbling up to the surface like a boiling tea kettle. Grief, frustration, shame, fear — apparently boredom has been hiding a lot from you.
Amazingly, if you are able to successfully ride all three of these turbulent waves, a great treasure awaits. Stay tuned next week for Part 2 to find out what exactly that is.
{Soul}
If you saw a brand new color — one beyond the ROYGBIV rainbow spectrum — how would you describe it to others? Is such a feat possible? And if it were, would anyone actually believe you?
Beings long for their reality to be truly seen, acknowledged and even honored. This is why we go to such great lengths to show off our possessions, bodies, talents, virtues and knowledge — to prove that we are who we say we are.
This is also why we love telling stories so much: they allow us to sketch out a rough approximation of our experience to others, helping us feel less alone as we navigate the world of form.
Because of this desire, and because the English language is poorly equipped to handle expression within a spiritual landscape of mind, New Agers must turn to flowery, unscientific language such as “good vibes,” “Spirit,” “codes,” “karma,” “incarnation,” “alchemize,” “manifest,” “Knowing,” or “higher Self.” It’s not (just) because seekers want to be edgy and cool; it’s because no other words quite fit the experience of replacing an old identity structure with a new one.
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