Exploring the idea of a fantasy book series that teaches self help practices but as super powers, while teaching the readers real skills of how to do the actual practices. Below is an outline for a story I wrote today in a kind of flow state, based on Reflective Journalling, called The Mirror Book. ___ ### The Mirror Book The disciple starts off on a path which is not his own. Inherited from his family and his ancestors. Steeped in tradition, superstitions and family pride, he struggles to know which way to turn. Always leaning on the recommendations of his elders and dutifully following his tribes ways. But deep down, something doesn't sit right with him. He can't place his finger on what it is, but nothing feels real. It feels like a performance. For what? Does anyone know? Then in a quiet and desperate act of courage, he ventures into the most feared place by all of the tribe, in search of meaning and truth. Within this place, he uncovers a sacred artefact from deep within. (an ancient temple?) **The Mirror book.** He gazes into the shining surface of the mirror book, and finds that his own thoughts are being reflected onto the page. Closing the book, he notices something strange. The reflection of his thoughts on the closing page, are not reflected in reverse as he would expect when viewing text reflected on a mirror. Looking closer, he notices that some of the words of the reflected text are not the same. His thoughts have been altered. He finds that his uncertainty has been re-written to display certainty, curiosity? and hope? His emotions are shown much more precisely and more expressive. Emotions that weren't even part of his normal vocabulary, showed his true feelings with extreme precision and understanding. When he looks deeper at any particular part, he see's that everything is repeated in a kind of shrinking endless mirror effect. Only, it isn't repeated. He is viewing the roots for each thought and emotion that led to it. Stretching all the way back to his very core, which is hardly visible from this view, but by looking deeper he is taken by old memories that he had forgotten, gaining more of a sense of who he really is. For a brief moment he feels that his deepest inner conflicts suddenly all make sense. A chilling noise snaps the boy out of his curious soul searching, signalling that something ferocious and deadly is coming for him. A chill shoots through his spine as if he sensed the physical manifestation of fear itself. The boy has to escape, using the Mirror book to help him decipher which way will lead him to safety. Only by following his true beliefs and intuition can he hope to survive. Running and only able to use the book sparingly, he is forced to make decisions faster and faster as the monster closes in behind him. Each correct turn sends a shining pulse of light out of the book, a wrong turn seems to create the sense of a light being snuffed out. The boy begins to get a sense of what it truly means to follow his intuition - his gut wisdom. The monster is so close behind now, that he hasn't even got time to glance down into the reflective pages of the book. He sprints with his full force ahead, book clutched tightly under his arms, leaning entirely on his intuition to pull him through the correct pathway. A final room opens to a single ominous looking door in the centre wall ahead. He's heading straight for it, but something is screaming within him not to go this way. His new sense. His gut feeling. Something about this room, leading into this door was just not right. At the last moment before flying through the gloomy doorway, he shifted his momentum slightly and planted his left foot squarely onto the surface of the stone archway to the right of the door, kicking himself upwards and to the right, kicking off a second time with his right foot. His left hand shot up in a desperate attempt to reach something, anything. {{Insert dramatic escape}} ... The Mirror book enables the boy to realise that his future is not with his tribe. That he has a calling to explore and understand the deeper nature of the world they live in, outside of the fearful traditions and superstitions. The book does not tell him what to do, it only reveals the truth behind his own thoughts. His shadow is shown to him through the book too. Unhealthy desires and ego are plain to see behind each thought by looking in the books reflection. This story ends, but the serious continues. In the next chapter, the boy ventures off to find a mentor, who might be able to teach him more about the world and his place within it, than his tribe would ever be able to teach him. *** If you know any decent fiction writers for hire, please put me in touch. 🙏🏼 #GM #journalling #fantasy #fiction #selfhelp #mentalhealth

Zaps for: recommendations for developing on NOSTR Which tools, guides, repos do people recommend I check out first? I'm just starting out so beginner friendly please - Thanks! #GM #asknostr #dev

#GM #marketing @earthcuddle #replistate Richard W. Hemming **You and Your Research** "I must come to the topic of “selling” new ideas. You must master three things to do this (Chapter 5): 1. Giving formal presentations, 2. Producing written reports, and 3. Mastering the art of informal presentations as they happen to occur. All three are essential—you must learn to sell your ideas, not by propaganda, but by force of clear presentation. I am sorry to have to point this out; many scientists and others think good ideas will win out automatically and need not be carefully presented. They are wrong; many a good idea has had to be rediscovered because it was not well presented the first time, years before! New ideas are automatically resisted by the establishment, and to some extent justly. The organization cannot be in a continual state of ferment and change, but it should respond to significant changes. **Change does not mean progress, but progress requires change.** To master the presentation of ideas, while books on the topic may be partly useful, I strongly suggest you adopt the habit of privately critiquing all presentations you attend and also asking the opinions of others. Try to find those parts which you think are effective and which also can be adapted to your style. And this includes the gentle art of telling jokes at times. Certainly a good after-dinner speech requires three well-told jokes: one at the beginning, one in the middle to wake them up again, and the best one at the end so they will remember at least one thing you said!"

#GM One idea I had for a Journal app, is to leverage the dopamine triggered from gaining "levels" or "experience points", towards the skills and goals you are working towards IRL. I imagine an RPG game style interface, perhaps interacted with through speech. You tell your chosen fantasy AI agent what you did today/this week. It updates your skills and progress trackers and keeps detailed logs, all tagged and stored in linked atomic notes, tracked through a captain's log for each skill / goal. The whole app is local first and privacy based. Accounts through NOSTR Encrypted data stored on Blossom? Invite friends to help you towards a shared "quest"? #dreaming #asknostr #journalling #rpg #AI #workandplay

#GM #asknostr I'm wondering if it's ok to use #blossom for data that I know will be edited later, and the immutability of old versions is not required. I see there is a blossom Delete request, which like on Nostr, is optional for relays/servers to honour. So, I guess it's ok? Thoughts?

#GM Feeling frustrated. Every time I try to build on Nostr I hit the same wall: yes, it solves identity & pub/sub, but then I’m stuck needing something centralised for ACLs, routing, bootstrapping. Feels like I traded one gatekeeper for a dozen tiny ones. I love what NOSTR is doing, but I can't help but feel that the rest of the stack is still waiting. Is that fair? Am I missing something? Did the hype just wear off or do I still just not get it?

GM Starting to wish I hadn't sold as much MSTR as I did. The pump is face melting. Wondering if this time is different. Knowing from wisdom to retain some conservatism and to plan for the future. Feeling good about my cash position as I consider buying land. Knowing that ultimately, land with friends is what I most desire. #GM #journalling #thoughts

#GM Surrending to the fact that everything takes the time that it takes. Including us. Let us cook.

#GM #mentalhealth #logic From a conversation with a friend: Writing a journal and reading it back is similar to running your code through a compiler. If you think of yourself as a complex bio-machine, then why wouldn't you expect to have to compile your thoughts by checking them for errors? If you only ever 'think-through' your problems, how do you catch falsehoods as obvious as the failing code you write on your first try? Use a compiler people. 📝😁 Edit your opinions as much as necessary to allow the code to run smoothly, without errors.

#GM #Bitcoin #Crypto From a conversation I had with a crypto inclined friend: I know the "Bitcoin is different" argument can land on deaf ears because it sounds tribalist and not inclusive. But the reality is, that Bitcoin follows a lineage of freedom fighting cryptographers who's cause is greater than the individual. Crypto is the venture capital /capitalistic world that is enriching the few at the cost of the many. To them, "Blockchain" is just a buzzword, like "AI" and "Quantum Computing", that will attract the flow of money towards them. What's the core difference between these two camps? Values.

#GM "True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own." Nikos Kazantzakis