Friday the 13th — I.School

December. Friday. 13. 2024

I.School Lessons for 2025. 10 in 10 Plan. More to come.

In the mean-time, Here are 13 Lessons I have learned in the past 4 years of “I.School”

Find something to ground I, every day. Sleep. Nutrition. Music, movement, one simple chore.
Reflect on what I say, every day. Ask, do (two of) I thoughts and conversations align with I values (see #9)?
Build a solid philosophical foundation. Example. My pre-2020 calendars were filled with appointments, diets, exercise routines, finances, linear dates etc… and they are BO-Ring. Post I.School experiment- filled with Ideas, Imagination, Interesting drawings, Times blocked off to dance. Mornings dedicated to writing and processing my dreams. Personalized classes ranging from basic nutrition to foundational drawing to dance fundamentals. Classes I want to learn about like night sky watching, bird identification. Skills I can build on like crochet and knitting.
Build on Truths. I am alive. I will die. I have emotions. I am a truth seeker. What are U’re/I Truths?
Be Silent. Observe. There are so many lessons passed by daily due to AI’s. My interpretation of AI’s are those thoughts, people, advertisements- Always Interrupting my precious time, with absurd repetitious un-truths. Silence means a private personal mind Retreat, from AI’s. With practice, I can quietly escape into I’s mind-myriad’s spectrum of lively, and ironically I imaginary-fantastical truths. Honest fantasies?
Balance. Once I got some basic values to rely on, the trick is to prioritize sleep and proper nutrition with all the fun things I get to learn. It’s a constant act, that gets easier when repeated often.
Choose. Order of operations. I took the days of the week and narrowed down my choices, so I have more freedom and time to I.School. Example, Mondays have been renowned melancholia. Like the song “I don’t like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats. Mondays elicit student verbal grumbled protests. first order of operations? Make Mondays extra calm. “Just take the trash out, that is all I ‘have’ to do today. Dress comfy. Take an extra hour to relax with a favorite #1 grounding activity. I graduated to Monday’s being one of my favorite music/ drawing and writing days. Re-define. Re-condition the condition.
Strengths. “That which does not kill you…makes you stronger.” Nietzsche was quoted to say. The full quote goes- “Out of Life’s School of war, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Twilight of the Idols. 1888. I prefer to interpret this as- “okay, not dead yet”. How about I focus on the “what makes me stronger part.” Starting with the question, “what makes me weaker?” Lack of sleep. Disordered ideas of nutrition. Doing more then, that which is killing I.
Values. I: Dream, Dance, Draw; Balance, Flexibility, Strength; Time, Truth, Trust. Interchangeable. Enduring. Worthy of Repeating.
Repeat. One. Zero. Start again. Keep what works. Learn from mistakes.
My favorite number. It appears in my dreams. Reminds me to rise above. Not better than, not less than; More- Be more than, miserable? Ha. Seriously, I.School is a “yes” to life, as is. Now what? Tick tock clock…
Learn. Learn. Learn. Do not speak 1. until I know better. 2. (ideally). OR #1. Always have a plan! #2. Always Have a back up plan. #1. #2. Example, finding two ways to calm yourself. (Music and reading)I-self. Two distractions delaying getting pulled into less-optimal situations. (Watching tv with my cat, one hour cleaning/laundry). Think of vulnerable situations, plan for them. Twice.
Friday, March 13, 2020. Changed me. As of today, Friday, December 13, 2024. I want nothing more, than to keep living the I.School Life. YES! I ultimately refuse to allow a hostile institution to take anymore of my Lively-Hood. I.School, for me was like going from Incarceration, to a Hospice situation. Not literally.
1. Incarceration- “state of being confined, by law.” (K-12)
2. Hospice- a program that gives special care at the end of life, (like the department of education?) . 3. Formerly defined as a place to rest for weary travelers. Either way, seems like a more pleasant philosophy to live by. If you have ever witnessed actual hospice and the people who dedicate their lives to helping end of care people, you might agree. Amazing people. Beautiful.
  In the MEAN Time-
  I.DEAS- Special Care, stuff that is working for me.

Bombard Basic Senses with- idée fixe- (concern with self-ideas)

Sounds- 10 song Playlist based on your own notions of 1-10

Colors- One a Day. Could couple up with touch- sensations on the skin. Clothes, for example.

Sip on cold or warm water while thinking about how it feels.

Move in accordance to simple body parts. Gentle, roll the head, shoulders, elbows, hands, spine, knees then feet- toes. Give each body part special spotlight.

Watch as many screens as you like. Now study them. What Story’s are being told? (What is the message? The product behind the products product?) What life-styles do the screens want you to mimic? How close or far are the screens to ‘real life’?

Are Stories owned? If so, by whom? How few-many own mass-media?

What is your story? What do you want it to be? Ideas?