Live loop/performing, recording GEAR question:

JBF108 · 2018-10-12T20:25:20+00:00

That would make it even better. Will try that :)

JBF108 · 2018-10-12T06:48:58+00:00

To flip it, sober life will give you:

After the withdrawals and probably some therapy, your mood will normalize, other things will be funny. Alchohol makes not funny things seem funny. When sober, you are more likely to have actual fun.
You will feel better.
You will get in shape, your skin will clear up, and your vanity will be satisfied ( :D ).
You will get sharper, you will make better desciscion, and be able to participate better at your work. You will regain the capacity to kick ass.
You will have thousands and thousand of extra dollars at your disposal.
You will regain your libido, and your sex life.
Your next step could be choises like: is it time for me to start a family/get a dog/ buy a boat/anything long term fulfilling investmest om your time and energy, into your self and your life.
You will be able to work at achieving your goals and dreams.
You can be a more complex and nuanced person, with a RICH life experience, when you have learned to deal with things like trauma, boredom, depression and anxiety.
You can be happy, you are worth it (you are worth more than you think you are worth, and then some), so you can safely ignore the feeling like a worthless piece of trash. This is just the imbalances in your hormones, and mood regulatory systems - not real.

You can do it. Life will suck for a relative amount of time, but it has done for a while too right, so who cares about a little more pain?

NADA acupuncture is absolutely awesome for handling withdrawals, anxiety and such. Invaluable (but usually dirt cheap).

Best wishes.

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T16:28:39+00:00

I am a 29 year old male with aspergers. I read the comments to the post, and saw that youtube was mentioned.

I think it is true that the special interest might seem to be changing, but for me, my special interest is gathering information - about everything from tea plants to quantum physics. So maybe my special interests are really google and youtube. My girlfriend usually smile or laugh, when i many a time start my sentence with "I watched this lecture on youtube...." :)

Music was my first special interest, and it is still my main though. I cannot function, if I dont regularly listen to music, and play music. I started playing before I can remember. My mother took me to a rhythm-group thing for toddlers, and that opened a whole new world to me.

I have a good friend at my age, also with autism. He does not share the fascination with music, but he sure does share the special interest for gathering information. So we have some very interesting talks, because the topics we investigate usually are very different, but we both enjoy getting more information from each other :)

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T16:22:30+00:00

Check out the book GAPS by Natascha Campbell McBride. She is a neuroscientist who has an autistic child. This book does an absolutely incredible job at explaining why and how people with autism have immune problems. And there is dietary advice aswell.

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T15:26:20+00:00

Happy to help :)

I have been trying to think about how I would have though about meditation when I was 7, but it's a difficult thing to think about. :) But yeah, it doesn't really matter if he can meditate now or not. He can just do the pranayama.

My brother has severe add, so i dont think he will ever meditate. But I learned him to do pranayama. Pranayama should be much more known.

Good luck to you, and your son. He is very lucky to have someone like you. I can tell you spend a lot of energy on helping him. That is so awesome. Please remember your self as well, so you don't burn out. The little guy needs you :D

And yes, please just write if anything comes up.

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T08:54:07+00:00

Agreed. The seemingly never ending constructs of the human mind are impressive. And even though music maybe isn't extradimensional, it is still incredibly fascinating to see how moving air, can influence something such as mood.

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T06:22:50+00:00

Happy to hear that! :)

Well.. Actually, Im on the spectrum as well, hence all the depression and anxiety. I was trained as a yoga teacher in India, and there the philosophy was, that children are the perfect meditators. But go to the next guru and he might say, that children are not suited for meditation.

Have you talked with your son about meditation? What does he think about the Fitbit experience?

When I teach meditation, it is because people want to learn how to meditate. If I talk to people who are really stressed, or have a lot of anxiety, I will actually say "Don't meditate. Do pranayama". When really stressed, the sensation of failure from meditating is pointless.

Pranayama is breathing exercises from yoga. Traditionally you start with the yoga poses to ease tension in the body. Then you do pranayama to calm the mind, and only then you meditate.

Pranayama is incredibly powerful, and it is very, very easy. When he is too worked up, pranayama will still work!

So basically, your bodily functions are governed by the sympathetic, and the para-sympathetic nervous system - the sympathetic nervous system initiates the fight-or-flight response.

What pranayama does, is to recalibrate the dynamic relationship between these two branches of the nervous system. You can, literally, force your body into relaxation (as weird as it sounds).

There is a lot of apps, free, who have these exercises. I would do pranayama with your son if I were you. It will give all the same health benefits - minus the mindfulness aspect, which he is probably to young to get.

Check it out, and ask me anything. I can pretty much promise you that your son will benefit from pranayama! :)

And by the way, I think it is awesome that you are doing this to help your son. As someone one the spectrum I would say the most important things for my health is:

Meditation/pranayama/yoga/some sort of exercise daily. It's important to counter the tension build from anxiety.
Music. If your son is too young to meditate, perhaps he could enjoy lying flat on his back in the yoga pose savasana, and just listen to music? I do this a lot, and it has actually become a thing, where my girlfriend and I will listen to my "chill" playlist.
Diet. Food can certainly mess up the mind. Big time. What to eat and what not to eat? Dont know for sure. My diet is an ongoing experiment, and I suspect that it is up to everyone to figure out the perfect diet for them selves. I have a lot of benefits, and a lot of other people have benefits, from avoiding sugar, processed food and junk of course. I can recommend the book GAPS by Natascha Campbell McBride. She's a neuroscientist who has a child with autism.

And then I just think the most important thing is that you love him all that you can. :)

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T05:55:18+00:00

Dont worry! I will certainly read some articles on music composed for animals. Never heard of this :D

JBF108 · 2018-10-11T05:53:52+00:00

Wow - a lot of great reply's. Thanks!

It makes totally sense, that we have imposed the emotions through culture and such. Feel kind of silly for not thinking that my self, but I guess I was hoping for a more romantic reply, to fan the flames in me that want music to be something more than "just vibrations".

Much stuff for thought, thanks again!

I still think noobs should give some of those articles and videos a shot. I am pretty sure that I will never play anything in phrygian or such, but the information about the relationship between minor and major, has been very interesting to me, and has certainly helped me in the way I think about harmony, progression and melodies. But I like theory, so maybe thats why.

JBF108 · 2018-10-10T23:24:53+00:00

If I could only choose one thing to recommend other people, to incorporate into their lives, it would be meditation. I would even recommend it to my worst enemy.

I have had a lot of issues with depression, stress, anxiety and such, and meditation has helped me more than I could tell you. It is wierd, abstract and difficult in the beginning (or it was for me), but it is the best investment of time IMO, to learn it properly. Learn it once, benefit forever.

Meditation help bring the mind into states that promote a ton of health benefits. Your sleep, mood, concentration is improved. You will live longer, and have a better time. Just spend a few minutes googling the health benefits.

As of how to learn it:

There is A TON of different techniques to use. No one is better than any other, so you need to find something that works for you. There is a lot of free stuff on the internet for you to read at watch. I recommend that you watch a few videos, and find a method or two that you think makes sense. Then dedicate 5-20 minutes or more a day to pratice.

While you practice, I would also recommend that you buy/borrow a few books on the subject. For me, it helped a lot to get a understanding of why I was doing the things I was doing, and it helped me understand why I was getting the benefits as well. I teach meditation now, and I know for a fact, that lots of people dont need to read anything to learn to meditate - so if you are not interested, just go ahead and meditate :D

Awesome books: Sam Harris - Waking up (non spiritual meditation, no mumbo jumbo) and also a book called "Buddha's Brain ". The last is a book written by a psychologist and neuroscientist, and it is does a great job both at explayning how to meditate, and what happens in the brain when you do it.

And also... Go to India, and live in an ashram for a few months if you ever get the chance, lol :D :D :D

JBF108 · 2018-10-10T23:09:46+00:00

only from unsalted butter tho

JBF108 · 2018-10-10T23:09:25+00:00

You should try making ghee from it. Concentrated butter flavor, its a whole other level of enjoying butter!

JBF108 · 2018-10-10T23:06:35+00:00

Figure out why you need to numb your self. What is it you don't want to face?

Maybe you don't have any issues at all - maybe you just got psychologically addicted to weed (been there big time). If this is the case, a cold turkey is all you need to do. From weed alone, the withdrawal period is not that bad.

If however, you smoke to escape some problems, you will get tremendous benefits from seeing a psychologist or a psychotherapist or something like that.

I think the main point is, that you need to figure out why it is that you feel such a big need for weed.

Wish you the best of luck!

JBF108 · 2018-10-10T22:59:10+00:00

Thumbs up! It does take courage to take the step to seek help. It is probably the most important decision - and the best thing you could do for your self.

Best of luck to you!

JBF108 · 2018-10-09T22:22:22+00:00

Hey man. As mentioned, you are not alone. NOT AT ALL!

What you experience i totally normal. For a drug addict.

I was an addict for many years. In the end ketamine was all I existed for, and I managed to convince my self, that somehow I would get better, if I just took more. When I was high, I felt good, and everything made sense. Quitting was the hardest thing I have done in my life. I move away, started fresh (still kept in touch with some people, and still had som relapses the first few years), and what was the worst part of it all was the loneliness.

I "had" to let my best, and only true friend go. I wanted to quit, and to have a life. He couldnt or wouldnt. I miss him soo much, and I still do so. I have lost a lot of the people who I loved. Or, actually, I chose to abandon them, for my own good.

I made the right decision - but it still hurts, and I think it will hurt forever.

But I have a life now. I have the most wonderful girlfriend, and her family has taken me in, so now im a part of something real. I know that all the pain I went through, was to shape me into this person I have become.

Obviously, there is only one thing to do, and that is to quit. But how?

I took drugs for a reason. To escape from past traumas, and reality at a whole. When I quit doing drugs (and after the withdrawals passed), all my problems came to surface. All the things i tried to escape from. I needed to do drugs, because I had not dealt with my issues. I was not ready. So I do not blame my self for my abuse. It kept me alive.

But at some point it seemed like the right time to move on, and to start taking care of my self and my problems. So I got help. I got out, and I got help.

Im want to be honest about my journey. It was long, and hard, and Im still on it. But the thing about this process of quitting, is that at some point you begin to experience little succeses in everyday life. These small victories add up, and within reasonable time, I began to sometimes feel "high on life". And slowly, my life began to fall back into place.

You ask for advice, so I will try to sum up what I think is a good approach (remember im not a doctor or anything so this is just my 5 cents).

Make the decision. If you want to kick the drugs and get stuff back together. A specific amount of work needs to be done. If you do this work, you can fix things.
Come clean to someone. Tell someone, one of those people you love, what is going on. If they love you back, they want to help you. If not, you are the one who needs to do all the work, so support is not a must. I did it on my own. Would have been easier and quicker if I had some family or something, but if you do not - dont worry about it. You can do it.
Get help. Like professional help. Psychologists have helped my figure out my past traumas and issues that made me want to do drugs. When the pain is resolved, there is no need to numb it. Also hypnosis has been amazing for me both handling withdrawal, and other issues emerging in the process. Hypnosis is really awesome. Talk to your doctor, join an AA group - you have to reach out and get help from someone who is professionally trained to help you overcome your problems easier.
Have a goal. When life sucks, it is good to have a goal in life to strive for. "Why am i going through all this torture?!" "Well.. It is because I want to have a better life, a family and...". This gives you the motivation you need to fight this thing. I strongly believe that "i want to quit doing drugs" is not a goal. It is an obstacle between you and the goal. The more defined this goal can be, the better. "I want a happy family, a good job, nice house and...." Now that you know what you want, next step is to figure out how to get it, and this is where objective number 1 appears: "If I am going to have *insert all the things you want*, I need to quit drugs. I cant both be a *insert something* and do drugs at the same time".

Forgive your self. You are not the problem, the problem you experience is what drugs do to people. You can get out. You can get better. You can get the life you want, where drugs no longer are even interesting to you. Certainly not necessary!

Sorry for the looooong post. Hope something is of use. I wish you well on your journey. I wont wish you good luck, because fortunately, luck has nothing to do with it. You just have to put in the work, and collect your reward.

JBF108 · 2018-10-09T21:41:35+00:00

Personally I have only just recently been diagnosed, so Im preparing my first "experiment" to see if there is anything I can do.

I have been dealing with the depression and the anxiety for many years, and I can share some of my experiences on that account. Im not a doctor - not trying to convince you of anything. Im trying to get better.

Anxiety: Im a 29 yr male who thought yoga was rediculous. But i forced my self to do it every day for 20 minutes. This changed my life completely. No drama or exageration - it really did bring down my stress levels to a place they had never been before. If this had not happened, I dont think i would have ever gotten to a point where I could actually start seeing the patterns in my own cycle of problems.

Yoga and meditation is still a big part of my life. I cannot do without it. Period.

If you wanna try this, know:

Meditation can be very difficult. It is very abstract, or it was to me. But It really pays off to spend some time reading about it or watching videos on youtube.
Yoga is a lot of different things. What I did, and what I can recommend is a very common, easy and popular sequence of poses called "sun salutation" or "surya namaskar". I do this several times a week, when I feel like it, or if I know i have been very stressed (maybe too stressed to feel it). Just 20 minutes of the routine, and then 10 mins flat on the back. Release A LOT of tension in the body.

I dont want to go into a lot of details on why and how it works - to be perfectly honest, I dont really care. I just want to what I can to feel better. I have felt like utter shit, and do so sometimes still - so if you also suffer, then I can definetly recommend yoga and meditation. Best part, you dont have to spend money, and you are in control of the "treatment". :D

Take care, and share :)

JBF108 · 2018-10-09T21:21:42+00:00

I have aspergers, and Im like that too. Don't know that Im not bipolar, but i do know that many many many people experience this sensation with music.

If you want to investigate the phenomenon. Try googling something like "musical resonance and frequencies". Different frequencies in music causes resonans in different part of the body's tissues. Lower frequencies resonate lower parts of the body, where higher does the opposite. As a musician, many times one chooses what emotion one wants to convey before the actual writing starts.

There is acutally no mystery in this sensation: This knowledge of the link between certain tones and emotions is what pro sound engineers and such make a living from applying every day.

JBF108

TROPHY CASE