Practice Session #20

Thanks for checking out my show notes! I’ll be utilizing this to clarify and elaborate on points that I didn’t convey as well as I would’ve liked to. I’ll also provide links to further information and resources.

We record these weekly sessions on Sundays. Please note that I try to publish episodes the day after recording: Mondays. I generally will have the transcript and initial notes published on Mondays as well. From there, I may continue adding and modifying the show notes throughout the week.

I’ll be interspersing all my notes with the transcription from the audio, which will be displayed like this:

Intro.

[00:00]

CK: Heyo! I’m CK and you’re listening to Practice.

I’m your functional systems integrator,, and this is my podcast where practice is not just the theme of the show, but the whole purpose behind it. I’m using this platform to practice podcasting as well as speaking in, general while espousing half-thoughts and providing unsolicited advice.

As always, I’m fortunate to be joined by my practice partner and partner in life, Pam.

Pam: Hello.

CK: Pam is also my pattern awareness manager, and every week we talk about my progress with this practice, along with other lifestyle practices, as well as theories and ideas behind the virtue of practice itself.

Our conversations are unscripted and unedited. We’re really doing this on the fly, so don’t hold me responsible for what I say here. Make sure to check out my show notes where I’ll provide some fact-checking, self-psychoanalysis, and comments on things I could have done better. You may find this and more information about Practice at ForcesOfEqual.com.

Catch up with the Anomaly and the Linchpin.

[01:19]

CK: And today we’re recording on July 12th, 2020. Is this our 20th practice session… or

Pam: I don’t know… you’re in charge.

CK: Yeah, I am not organized with this right now. Let’s check real quick… episodes 19… I think… yeah, this ones our 20th practice session.

And so let’s catch up with our week.

Pam: Okay.

CK: So let’s see, I’ll start this week.

Pam: Yeah, you go ahead. I don’t really have much going on.

CK: Okay. Well, my week was good, and now I’m kind of blanking,

Pam: Well, we talked yesterday that you were feeling like you hadn’t been productive.

CK: Yeah, that’s right. And that’s interesting because today I feel really good about my week and I feel like I was pretty productive.

So, I think there’s a lot of different perspectives going on in my mind here. But yeah, I did have issues with getting into the flow with what I planned out to do. So that’s why I wasn’t feeling productive when we met yesterday, because I was kind of- I felt disorganized and maybe even a little frustrated that my, week didn’t go as according to my plans.

But after meeting yesterday and talking over things and considering all the things that I did, and also talking to our friend Selena and kind of discussing our tendencies – because Selena and I are very much alike – I realized that, you know, there’s some things that I’m still going through that are part of a growing process.

And so in terms of growth, I did make- I made progress last week. So yeah. Yeah, I mean, overall it was productive and I think I just need to stay mindful of that process and sit In that sweet spot of the wave that we were talking about last week, where I was trying to relate waves with. productivity and momentum.

And so I still think I’m trying to hit the peak of the wave and stay there at the peak, which as we discussed is unsustainable. So I’m still trying to be mindful of staying in the sweet spot of that momentum wave. And I think considering things from that perspective, I’m in the sweet spot. I’m riding that wave and moving forward and making progress and riding that momentum.

So things are going well in that respect.

And in terms of the stuff that I was been working on… Like, what was different last week was I didn’t have to do anymore work with the studio in terms of hardware and building and sawing and hammering and nailing stuff. So I was able to move away from that and refocus on more of my processes with the workflow around podcasting and music and audio processing and get back into my, I guess, more analytic- analytical, and strategic work flow in terms of that kind of work.

Um, but at the same time, still balancing the creative stuff. So this is something that I discussed, uh, quite a bit with Selena yesterday. Uh, Selena is so we’re both Sagittariuses if that tells you anything.

Pam: Sagittarius sun and Virgo moon.

CK: Yeah. And I’m- I don’t know much about astrology. Uh, Selena is very much into it and Pam has been getting into it a lot. And it’s really interesting how my tendencies are very similar to Selena’s tendencies.

And so I wanted to talk to her. I- um, yeah, I mean, I wanted to talk to he…, like I’ve been meaning to get in touch with her and catch up, and she’s a good friend of ours. And we, before the pandemic, we’d meet at least once a month or at least once every other month, and meet up and have dinner and chat and, you know, go out and have some kind of experience and catch up and talk and discuss a lot of weird things.

But since the pandemic, and since we haven’t been going out, I haven’t been socializing very much, which is another interesting point: that I’ve discovered that I’m more of an introvert than I thought I was.

Before I considered myself pretty much an ambivert where I’m kind of in the middle on both. I mean, I’m fine in both situations as an introvert and extrovert. And, um, I’d be interested to see how others perceive me, ’cause I think it be kind of split.

Pam: I think it depends on how much you’ve had to drink.

And I say that as someone who- I’m the same way. Um, it’s taken me a long time to be comfortable, socially sober. And so before I used to drink a lot to feel comfortable in social situation. And now I’ve realized that, um, I can be comfortable in social situations if I’m sober with the right people. That I was trying to spend time with people before that, that I didn’t really want to be spending time with.

And that’s why I had to drink. Yeah.

CK: Yeah, that’s a good point. Yeah, and I was very much like that well. Although I think, I mean, I could get by without drinking as well. I mean, I’d be okay in social situations, but now that I’ve been basically holed up in our home for the past, what four or five months, that like, I mean, it’d be nice to go out and socialize, but I don’t really need it at all.

And I’m fine staying here alone- or no, at least with you. I’m not sure how things would be if I was completely isolated by myself, but…

Pam: yeah, I think we’re really lucky in that sense that we have each other and that we are used to being together 24/7 and that we enjoy it.

CK: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. But yeah, so I think I got a little off track there with the introverted stuff. Um, so yeah, I mean just, uh, discussing tendencies with Selena. It’s cool because I feel alone most of the time with my tendencies. Like I know that I operate differently than most people and. I tend to get into these thoughts cycles and I don’t really have anyone else other than you to talk to.

And I mean, that’s a lot of responsibility that I put on you because I mean, for you to be my whole social circle is a lot of responsibility and that might be a good point for. The general public, like, you know, it’s a lot to put on one person, you know, your whole social interaction. Um, and I think I’m starting to go on tangents here already, but there’s also science that shows.

Uh, changes in your brain when you isolate from social situations. So I think uh it’s been a while, but I think is it your axons or dendrites that stick out from your synapses Whatever it is. So your synapses are connections in between your neurons, right? So I, yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve looked, uh, looked into this stuff.

So I think it’s somewhat accurate, but don’t hold me responsible for what I’m saying here but I think you’re- so your neurons are your brain cells and, um, now I’m totally like doubting my knowledge of this… neurons are brain cells,right?

Pam: Yeah. And the synapses are like the communication between them. It’s like the electrical connection between the brain cells and the synapses come from the axon, right?

CK: Right. So like axon extends out from your neurons?

Pam: Man you’re taking me back to like freshmen psychology in college. So.

CK: I mean, it’s all- what were talking about right now is the general idea. I think we have the general idea right.

Pam: I think you’re good. Yeah.

CK: So, like, there’s these axons or dendrites- are- I think- are they similar? Axons and dendrites?

Pam: I feel like one is the receptor and one is the sender, maybe?

CK: Okay. So whatever it is, there’s- there’s your neurons, which are your brain cells. And then the axons or dendrites, which kind of extend from your brain cells and either relay or- or receive the communication between the cells somehow. And so these axon or dendrites, whichever one it is, they start to internalize or they shrink – I think internalize is wrong – but they shrink when you’re isolated or you don’t have the social interaction and that social stimulus.

So, like, your- and this- and you know, if you’re a communication… ummm, if these communicative aspects of your brain cells shrink, I mean, it affects other functions of your brain. Uh, if anything in your brain shrinks, it’s going to affect, you know, overall function.

So there’s that notion of, you know, if you’re not getting stimulus, In social situations or, you know, that social stimulation that it’s going to change your brain and shrink parts of the brain that aren’t being used.

So there’s an effect to being isolated and I’m not sure why I even got on that tangent.

Pam: Uh because you’re talking about how you were feeling like you hadn’t had a lot of social interaction for the last few months.

CK: Oh yeah. Yeah, exactly. I- I felt like, uh, I was kind of starving for it and I needed to get that interaction and feedback from someone else. And so Selena texted me a couple days ago about, uh, some work thing. And so I took that and initiated a time to catch up.

And so we caught up yesterday and it was good. I got a lot of stuff out and. I realized that I need to take advantage of my friends. Oh, that doesn’t sound right.

Pam: Take advantage of having friends.

CK: Yeah. I mean that’s what they’re that’s what they’re there for. So I need to talk to my friends more.

Pam: Well, you go through this cycle constantly. You’re always saying that you want to talk to people more. You made a goal like two years ago that you’re going to call your friends on their birthday, and you called one.

And look, I love it. I’m also an introvert. I am not a terribly social person. I have my handful of friends, and they’re really the only people that I want to talk to.

So I totally get it, but you also get very energized when you talk to more people.

CK: Yeah, that’s a good point. So yeah, I need to be mindful of that and try to incorporate that a little better.

Pam: I think it’s really interesting that you actually, you like actively push people away in the sense that like you never have your phone on, you don’t look at, you know, Facebook, Twitter, social media, you actively put up a wall that keeps other people away from you.

CK: Yeah. Yeah, it’s a function of, you know, removing all the noise, but I’m kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater in that sense. So…

Pam: Which is- it’s fine to have boundaries and to remove noise, but people have learned that like, they can’t text you. Right? Like they text me to get a hold of you. So you need to like find a way to let people in.

CK: Yeah, definitely. I probably set some kind of precedent for communication with me. So yeah, I need to work on that, but yeah, socializing is important and friends are important. So, maybe that’s the whole moral of this story.

So enough about my week. What about yours?

Pam: Um, yeah, my week was, uh, fairly uneventful. I actually can’t even remember past yesterday, so it must not have been too interesting.

CK: Well that’s not a bad thing.

Pam: Yeah, we went to the trails again on Friday. That was really nice.

Oh, ooh! Well I almost- So I was doing the trail run, and CK goes further than I do. So he was, um, on a different path than I was, and we were going to meet up. And I was almost to the point where we would meet and I was totally immersed in the Esther Perel, um, podcasts that I was listening to, um, where she does, um, therapy sessions.

And it was a fascinating episode. I was super into it and I was just like bombing down a hill and not paying attention to anything beyond the three steps ahead of me, when all of a sudden I look up and there’s like a huge snake. I mean probably two, two and a half feet long. It was a massive snake curled up in the middle of the trail.

And I panicked because I don’t want to run past the snake or whatever, like, have it bite me. Um,tThere are rattlesnakes out where we were. So I don’t know if it was a rattlesnake or a gopher snake, but it was huge. And gopher snakes bite as well, they’re just not venomous.

So I like slam on the brakes and try and stop as quickly as I can, but I’m like skidding and I don’t want to fall into the cactuses. And the snake must have been sleeping or something ’cause it got scared as well and, like, jumped up in the air and slammed down on the ground. And it also slid, and we were like on a collision course with each other, and I managed to stop a foot before I ran into the snake. And then it like slammed into the bushes and then finally straightened itself out and slid away.

And it was- it was like terrifying. That’s the biggest snake that I’ve ever seen in person.

CK: And I had just, just caught up with you.

Pam: Yeah, I was- I was standing there paralyzed cause I didn’t like, I mean, I knew that it had totally gone away, and that it wouldn’t like be waiting for me in the bushes and want to jump out and attack me proactively. But I was like paralyzed. I’m standing there and I didn’t want to cross where it had been because I didn’t want it to like come out and get me.

So I was like standing there and then I saw you. And so I’m like “CK!” And you started coming towards me and I’m like, “no, do not come up here!” So yeah, that was my big excitement for the week.

CK: Yeah. Sounds fun. I’ve come across a few rattlesnakes on the trail and I just, and I’m just going too fast. So I have to just jump over them. But- but yeah, so that’s why I asked you how high it jumped. So…

Pam: Oh, so you know how high you need to jump?

Yeah

CK: But yeah, usually, like, I’ve been able to react before they- they’ve seen me. So I’m already jumping over them before they do anything, if they even do anything.

Pam: Yeah, I probably would have been fine if I had just continued running and gone past it, but I, like, my instinct was to just stop and not get anywhere near it.

So, it all worked out. Nobody- no Pams or snakes were harmed in the making of that story.

CK: That’s always good. Fun times.

So should we move on? Oh, actually… so this week let’s go over my supplement protocol when we’re supposed to instead of doing it at the end when we’re trying to sign out.

So today I did my usual protocol of the molecular hydrogen and Qualia Mind as a nootropic. And we did ketone esters. And I didn’t do a ketone salts this week, but Pam had a little bit. And I’m having a cold brew today because it’s really hot, and we don’t use A/C in our home or we try not to. And today it’s about almost 90 degrees So we’ve been able to work out how to keep The home cool enough that we’re not suffering too much.

Pam: Most of the time.

CK: Yeah, but yesterday it got up to like 95 was it? And we didn’t turn on the a/c, but that’s pretty much the threshold. I think anything above 95 we’re going to need to use a/c.

Pam: If it lasts for a few days on end, then we do ’cause then it doesn’t cool down at night. We need it to cool down at night to cool the house out. But when it’s 95 for three days on end, it doesn’t get cool enough at night.

CK: Yeah. Good point. So anyway, uh, cold brew today, and I did a teaspoon of honey. I measured it out this weekend instead of just sticking the bottle in my mouth, and it seems to be working well. I feel really good today.

We went on our Sunday run today was our mile run, and Pam was pretty close to our personal best time. And it’s really different this week because we’re doing our cycle of one mile, then two miles. And then our long run, which last weekend was supposed to be two and a quarter, but Pam ended up going three miles. And then moving down to one mile this week was a pretty big contrast.

So we actually started off a little slow. But as we got going, we got up to our pace, and I think Pam finished her run her mile run stronger than any of her previous mile runs, so.

Pam: I’m not sure about that, but for context, we’re trying to do the mile fast. So we do the mile for speed, and then the other two are like endurance and distance. So, um, we’re trying to get me faster while going longer by doing this cycle of the three different run lengths.

CK: Yeah. And also kind of figure out pacing for the different distances.

So, yeah, that was, uh, did I take any other supplements? I don’t think so. I think that’s- that was it.

Freetalking tangent salad based on the latest with my podcasting practice.

[21:12]

CK: So let’s move on to our podcasting segment, where I talk about my practice with this process of podcasting.

And so, I already mentioned that the studio is pretty much finished. There’s still a little things here and there that I want to do with the acoustic treatment and moving some of the little, um, what are these called… the little acoustic panels around.

And these are panels that I’ve had way before we started recording podcasts or anything. It was more almost decorative for this room, but now I can actually use them functionally. And so I’m trying to move them around and see where the best placement for them is.

And that brings up a good point. Uh, I haven’t been very active on Twitter lately, but I did see that our biggest fan has been tweeting at me a little bit this past week. And one of his tweets was about my angst about the sound sound quality. And he says that he’s not sure that the listener can tell the difference and he’s not able to pick up the degree of change in the sound that he’s getting from podcasts to pro podcast with Practice.

And that’s a really good point, Uh, I know- like, I know I am way too anal about the sound quality. Um, but at the same time the quality that comes through to the listener has been processed, So there’s a lot of post-processing that I put into it.

And so right now what I’m primarily worried about is the input audio quality and how the quality is just from our raw recordings. And the importance of that is that if the quality of the raw recording is good there’s less that you have to do in post. And so that’s the whole thing that I’m hung up on is getting a good recording and not having to do so much editing and post-processing afterwards.

So what you might be listening to now when these episodes are published has gone through a lot of the post-processing stuff and I was doing a lot more of that in the beginning. And you know it’s been up and down because at the same time you know the recording quality for the first episodes wasn’t as good as they are now. But then I would’ve also been learning about different post processing processes throughout this process.

Practice: the show where we just say “practice” and “process” over and over and over.

Yeah

That’s really funny to me. Anyway, so you know, I’ve been working with a whole bunch of different tools and experimenting with a lot of different, uh, strategies and protocols with the pro- post-processing, and the thing is, like, we also have- and there’s a lot of different end results that you can go for.

Like, there’s a lot of different, um, uh, frames of mind when it comes to audio quality. So, like, I’ve started looking into how other channels broadcast their audio, and what they put into it. And NPR- like, the NPR sound… what that’s known as is having like a really bright and clear quality. Because what they do is they cut off the low end. So they completely cut off like a lot of the base frequencies and the low frequencies. And that way you get a more clear vocal sound because the human voice is more mid and high range when it comes to audio, and the low end tends to muddle the sound out and it gets muffled.

But at the same time, like, a lot of FM DJs- like, FM radio DJs like that low sound because that’s like a neat, like, kind of smooth, almost silky, booming bass, almost authoritative sound. And…

Pam: it’s the Chris Voss late night FM DJ voice.

CK: The late night FM DJ voice.

I don’t know. I don’t know if that came through. I tried to get my mouth closer to the mic to try to recreate sound but I don’t

Pam: There’s a reason that it’s good for negotiation.

CK: Right

Pam: it is that like calmer, lower voice versus like the NPR sound is like kind of a little bit peppier and a little bit more up here. And like, here’s your news kind of

CK: Yeah, exactly. And the thing is these qual- this quality, it comes out differently across different mediums, too, whether you’re listening in your car or you’re listening on your earphones, or you’re listening at home on a hi-fi system. So there’s all these different aspects and variables that go into it. And while it may sound good on one system it could sound very different on another system.

So there’s a lot that goes into the balance and figuring out where your mix sits so that you can have high quality across, you know, as many different systems as possible. So yeah, there’s just a lot that goes into it, and it’s pretty much personal preference. You know, most of it’s personal preference, and how you want to come off, and how you want your quality to be to your listeners.

Pam: And also for context, everything that you’re doing here is practice, right? You’re doing this to learn how to do this for um our other podcasts that we’re producing for courses that we will be launching in the future that will have audio and video. You’re learning how to maximize. The quality and also the efficiency by having the best input so that when we get to that point where we’re putting out all of that content, the processing work is not as intensive.

CK: Right.

Exactly. So, yeah, that’s where we’re at and that’s why I’m hung up on the audio Um I mean the our big project is Equanimity and that’s like really hashed out Pam’s putting a lot of work into the storytelling aspect of it.

And so I want to make it you know jive together with the audio and the sound design and the soundtrack behind the story. So, you know, audio quality is going to be important for us in that sense. So that’s, like- that’s, uh, what all this is practice for really. So, you know, that’s, uh, kind of always in the back of my mind.

So, you know, the audio for this Practice podcast, specifically, is fine. Like, I- I’m happy with how the audio is coming out. Uh, the past week I think it was a little too bright – I cut off a little bit too much of the low end and I pumped up the high end a little bit, and it sounded good through, uh, my monitors and some earphones, but then you have to consider, um, like, different-

Like, I was talking about cars and and your earphones when you’re around people, uh, because what happens, like, for example, in your car is that with music, a lot of the sound systems pump up, like, the bass and the high end and kind of cut down the mids. And what that- with the higher base it muffles your voice a little bit. And of course with the higher trouble it increases the brightness. And so if I produce the audio and process it flat, in, you know, in certain systems, the lows and highs will still be higher and it won’t end up being flat when it comes out.

So yeah you have to keep all these different things in mind and you know if you can listen to the end product or whatever you’re editing throughout the process across all these different systems that would be ideal, but obviously, you know, you only have what you have access to. And so you just kind of have to feel things out and find where your levels are and kind of find where things work out best for the most systems.

So yeah that’s where we’re at, and we’re kind of getting in the weeds with podcasting today, so I think we’ll just make that part of our freetalking segment as well.

Practicing the practice, and other practices.

[30:55]

CK: And I didn’t really have anything top of mind to talk about, but Pam you said you had some thoughts about practice after the run today.

Pam: Yeah. Um, okay, so I’ll kind of be processing this as we’re talking, so we’ll see how this goes.

CK: Yeah that’s fine That’s how we do

Pam: Yup. Okay. So, um, we ran the mile this morning and I was trying to beat my previous best time, but didn’t, I was actually slower by like almost 15 seconds. And so that bothered me for a little while. Um, and it got me thinking about.

Being an overachiever, which is not something that I ever identified as before. Um, I’ve always had a story that. That I was a quitter that I never followed through on anything. Like as a teenager, I quit all of my extracurricular activities within about two years. I quit softball, basketball, violin, percussion, everything.

And like, I didn’t even bother. Pushing myself in school. I didn’t take any AP classes. I didn’t do anything beyond what actually like exactly needed to be done to get into college and any hobbies that I tried as an adult, I quit pretty quickly. Um, so I was always like beating myself up about not having the ability to stick with things.

And it kind of created a situation where, um, Like I, I stopped trying things or I felt like why even bother if you’re just going to give up and through working with my performance coach, she identified me as an overachiever. And like I said, that wasn’t something that I ever identified as because of this story that I had as being a quitter.

So like how can you be an overachiever and a quitter at the same time? Like that didn’t make any sense to me. Um, but I’ve been learning through working with my coach to celebrate, um, what I do achieve and like recognize where I didn’t quit. Um, like I, you know, I graduated college in three years and I’ve built a business and like I’ve achieved quite a bit of stuff that took a lot of work.

So, um, Doing the work to stop telling myself the story that I’m a quitter has helped me stick to a lot of new things like running. And normally I would have gotten really frustrated with not being able to make faster progress with being a slow runner. And I. Probably would have quit, but working on letting go of that story about being a quitter, pushed me actually in the other direction.

And it made me intent on not quitting things, because I was like, okay, like I’m not a quitter. I don’t have to identify as a quitter anymore. Um, and that’s been great in a lot of ways, but it also started making me, um, put more pressure on myself. Like with running, I would get frustrated if I didn’t run faster or further.

And, um, Like, I was like, okay, well, you’re not a quitter anymore. You’re an overachiever now. So you have to do the most. Um, and then that like comes full circle because the overachieving thing is exactly why I was a quitter. If I’m not the best I quit. And I don’t want to put in the practice to become the best because I feel like I should just inherently or naturally be good at everything. Which is absurd. I know that I completely know that, but that’s where my brain goes. So I quit all of my hobbies and sports because they weren’t fun, but they weren’t fun because I wasn’t the best and not being the best is the problem for overachievers. Right. So that’s how you can be an overachiever and a quitter at the same time. Or like an overachiever who never even tries.

CK: That’s interesting.

Pam: I’m working on being okay with not getting faster and, um, like learning that you can do things just for fun or just because, like, there doesn’t have to be a goal. Um, and that, that practice, which is the whole point, right. That, um, that the practice is the achievement,

CK: Yeah.

Pam: You know?

CK: And you want to sit in the sweet spot of that wave.

Pam: There you go. Yeah, there we go.

CK: All right. Well, that’s awesome. I have like, I’m working through so many thoughts right now, or we’re going to have to talk about this later, but yeah, that’s interesting. So I do have one thought, like when you went to college, you ended up. Graduating or finishing your degree a year early or something like that.

Right.

So what do you think that’s an effect of like, obviously you didn’t quit, but was it because you wanted to get out of there as fast as possible? Or how does that

Pam: Yeah. Uh, so I looked at college as an expense. It was a means to an end. Like my college experience was very different than your college experience.

You had- like lots of friends and were in a fraternity, and I took 18 to 21 credits every semester and 13 to 16 every summer. So I was purely there to get the degree. It had absolutely no benefit to me other than getting me a job.

CK: So it was just a means to an end, more than something that you wanted to be doing.

Pam: Yeah. I didn’t care about it.

CK: Yeah, interesting. All right.

Outro.

[36:50]

CK: All right. Well, yeah, that actually relates to our practicing segment. So we’ll just say that that was it. And we’re out of time already today, so I guess we’ll just leave off there.

And I know that a couple of weeks ago I mentioned topics of paedomorphosis and form versus function, and that kind of stuff has still been floating around in my head. So, maybe we’ll talk about them next week.

And so, yeah, thanks for joining us this week And before we leave off Pam where can people find you?

Pam: You can find me on Twitter, where I am at Pamela underscore Lund

CK: And you might be able to find me on Twitter at CK disco.

Pam: Or tag me, and I will let him know.

CK: There you go. So thanks for joining us and I hope you come back next week and keep on practicing.

To-da-loo! ✌️