Friday, July 26,2024

 Friday, July 26,2024

 While awake before 4, I got up at 6. I must have fallen asleep for some of that time, but I remember being up. In this case, ruminating on someone else's intractable problem. I do like intractable problems.

   Since none of the Ulu Wini kids have been interested in working with me, I have been home more. I've enjoyed being alone and having less to do.  I anticipated losing at least two of the kids I've been working with online. I've taken Adolescent D as far as he has to go. He can read at grade level, haltingly, but he can do it well enough to figure out what it says. His mom asked if he could proceed on his own.  He certainly could if he would continue the practice we do each day. However, he won't. He won't do anything that requires effort. It has to be easy, something that he can do without effort. Maybe the correct description must come from his automatic unconscious mind. He doesn't like to engage his conscious verbal mind. He loves his job at Costco. All he has to do is pack the carts at the checkout counter and occasionally go get the carts from the parking lot. He enjoys working with other employees and interacting with customers.

 Yesterday, I introduced Jean, my friend, to the punching exercise. I've been doing it in conjunction with the laughter exercise, but  I don't know if doing the punching alone will work as well. Jean, who has severe breathing problems, reports her pulse-ox reading at 98 when it's often below 90. The difference is phenomenal. When moving my arms, I discovered that I stimulate the muscles and circulation in my upper body. Walking and running do not have the same impact.

 I packed two 5-gallon buckets of Plumbago green waste yesterday and one more today. Then I wheeled them to Darby's with a large stem from a Bismarck frond.  I emptied the trash barrel of the three buckets and the stem and took the trash bin back home with me, intending to fill it immediately and return it. I didn't have the energy. I still had to chainsaw the sheaths off one of the Bismarck fronds to fit it into the trash barrel. I will have room for the remaining fronds, the crepe myrtle's branches, and the mock orange's dead branches. I hope to get that done first thing Saturday morning.

    Elsa and I went up to Paulette's. I went to get Kangen water and visit with Paulette; Elsa went to chase a stuffed mouse Paulette had for her cat.   Paulette and Carol were in the carport when I arrived, starting on a new 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. I love sitting with them and working on the puzzle. I enjoy the company and the fantastic breeze that blows through their carport, which is open on three sides.

  This puzzle has letters printed on the back of the pieces to help you locate them in the puzzle. I put together the D-edge pieces. I like the way this puzzle works. The pieces are divided into subsets, so I don't have to deal with each piece individually. Since I visited last, Paulette and Carol have completed several 1,000-piece puzzles. 

   I bathed Elsa when I got home. Her back did look a lot better. However, her belly had a nasty lesion. 

    I started listening to Slingerland's book, Trying Not to Try, on Audible. Boy, this book sums up much of my thinking about how the mind works. He combines his knowledge of Chinese spiritual practices, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology. The book is about that state of mind that we in the West mostly know as 'flow.'  It is particularly interesting for me because I guide students on which part of their brains to use when learning and which part to use when recalling automatically.

   I needed a lot of sleep during the day. Of course, I hadn't slept very well the night before. Hopefully, I'm in for a good night's sleep tonight.