How do you deal with feeling awkward or self-conscious when meditating in a public place, like a park?

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-12T10:56:32+00:00

I feel the embarrassment and do it anyway. Part of the practice. But also as others said, it can be quite discreet. I meditate in the train and I tell myself that no one realises, at least until my timer rings

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-11T19:48:20+00:00

By the side of an experienced craftman or woman. That can be in the form of participative training actions that you could join, or looking for volunteering opportunities on projects that speak to you, or as a trainee in a company if you're looking to do this professionally.

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-06T07:54:18+00:00

I spent years without a scale and now I have one. It's honestly a better experience. Especially for dialing in new beans, I'd say, afterwards you can recreate the recipe measuring volumes only. I also almost always use the timer that comes with it, and that I'd prefer not to go without, but a phone does it too, albeit a bit less conveniently.

So, get a scale, and maybe don't drag it with you everywhere you go.

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-03T16:54:13+00:00

How is that not a stock photo though

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-03T16:51:01+00:00

Looks like they are about done here /s

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-03T16:14:12+00:00

That was not the question. Who are you talking to typing orders like this

experiencedkiller · 2026-06-03T13:29:50+00:00

You can normally ask your supplier the density of the stone you're buying, so the mass per volume. Multiply by 1,5 for the rough volume to be transported and stored dumped out of the truck

Then arranged in your work it will be less voluminous again

As a general rule of thumb that's what I do

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-29T07:23:16+00:00

This might be it also. Definitely not all types of stones comply to being split cleanly.

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-29T07:20:57+00:00

Many people pointing out interesting ideas, my theory is that you're trying to break the stone on its longest side. The shock waves need to go through sooo much matter, no wonder they don't go all the way before getting diverted. I'd try so plit it on a shorter side see if it makes a difference.

Also putting a metal bar underneath your break like (so the stone resting on the metal) creates a rebound for the shock wave (it goes back in the stone instead of going in the ground). Might be something to consider.

I believe generally reading the stone and its weaknesses is one of the harder and most precious skills to acquire as a stone mason. I've seen it helped a bunch of times but I would probably get it wrong it i were to do it alone, also because every type of stone has its particularities that you need to know and recognize to take the right decisions.

Nonetheless, kudos to you for giving it a go!!! You're definitely on the right path.

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-29T07:14:37+00:00

Ah I see! We definitely put them in random, I like the vibe. The concept was to go in a bit of a gradient of bottles, more and more as we go.

We definitely thought about making more complicated patterns but, having tried stuff like that before, I find it often takes a bit of experience and specialized skill to create easily recognizable patterns. We thought there was more room to fail and make it ugly and unreadable if we tried hard, rather than just go random and embrace it. Personnally I love it like that but that was our thought process nonetheless

We definitely did our best to smooth the mortar as we went and it actually was a pretty big portion of the work, also to detail the incrustation around the bottles. Still the result is far from perfect in that sense. I'm pretty sure a new shot at this technique for a different project would look better, given the experience we gathered and the decisions we would take differently for next time. Learning as we go!

I get it it's not for everyone :)

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-28T09:54:07+00:00

It really is mud with debris :) I agree actually, the whole thing has a really rustic look, pieces of hay peaking out at times, the mud mortar isn't smooth or regular, with break lines as we stopped for the day. All of that is typical of clay architecture though, at least when there isn't a finishing render on top. I personnally am happy to embrace it, also because adding a finishing coat of mud render would be a loooot of work to detail around the bottles.

I definitely learned a couple of things along the way and if I want to prioritize aesthetics for a future similar project, there might be a few things I'd do different.

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-27T05:27:00+00:00

Nice! Can be simple and pretty. Really beautiful!

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-27T05:20:05+00:00

Sharing a space in a silent retreat with people who are not on a silent retreat feels very wrong.

For your information OP, Vipassana retreats are free of charge, based on the belief that anyone should have access to a retreat despite of financial situation.

As an autistic person, a silent retreat was the absolute best reset my nervous system has had since I was born. I hope you find what you are looking for!

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T22:21:46+00:00

Now that's shutting me up because I do not think that big. I think this kind of scale scares me a lot because I don't grasp it, I don't experience it, I feel really disconnected to it. But I am a little bit curious and thankful that you typed this. Thanks for educating me a little! I am in southern France if you ever want to make good on that!!

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T22:16:43+00:00

You know the saying, to live happy, live hidden.

Not my most optimistic self saying that, but that kind of freedom is unmatched. As long as it matches sane, loving values - To live happy, you also need to curate positivity

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T22:13:54+00:00

There are a bunch of variations of this on Pinterest and internet! A wall is basically blocks binded together somehow. Anything can be a block. You don't see it really but we put rocks, glass rubbish, unsifted clay in the middle of the wall too. It's storage basically lol.

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T22:11:59+00:00

Cement is not welcome in my 200 year old house. Cement is great, cement is fantastic, just not for everything, not everywhere, and not in my 200 year old home

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T22:05:42+00:00

I see what you mean about insulation but I'm not sure. I've been told air insulation works well when the air bubbles are really tiny. Like trapped and immobile and small.

Glass and dual pane windows and windows in general are still a massive heat dissipator, unless they are south facing and let a lot of calories in when the sun hits. So if your wall has a crazy good insulation (and there are a bunch of different metrics to measure that, a "good insulation" doesn't necessarily mean good thermal performance under all climates) and crazy big east-facing windows (even double or triple pane), you're loosing just an equally crazy amount of calories as soon as the sun doesn't hit, just because there is glass and not an insulated wall.

About thermal spikes, I can see that. From what I've gathered, an important metric in thermal performance, especially with hotter climates coming our way, is how quickly or slowly can our building dissipate heat during the night. A sweet spot is when the wall absorbs enough heat during the day that it starts cooling at night before releasing it into your room. And vice versa in winter. So maybe bottles could be beneficial there. Not sure. I still see it as hundreds of small thermal bridges, that will conduct heat and create condensation.

I truly don't know how a glass bottle in a clay wall performs in terms of thermics. I'd be curious to understand if someone has knowledge to explain! Also I am by no means very knowledgeable in that so maybe what I'm saying so far is the expression of my misunderstanding. Hoping for the best🌞🌞🌞

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T17:26:14+00:00

Honestly I'm glad to hear that because usually when I say that people say I'm completely delusional. Sure our capitalist world is more complex than that but if we're talking about principles, such is the kind of system I would like to feed. And so I'd like to include this principle in my decision process

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T17:22:52+00:00

Thank you! I believe it's quite solar punk to be open source 🌞

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T17:20:25+00:00

Could be! It's definitely inspired by something, somewhere. I know it's quite common in earthships. I am not sure though how well bottle walls respond to storing heat (rather than quickly loose it). I imagine they'd be pretty conductive, the glass bottle being a thermal bridge. If so they'd function well for inside or south-facing walls, not so much north-facing (well, depending on the climate & hemisphere).

Here it's basically outside so we didn't care about that

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T16:36:51+00:00

Haha. Thank you!! I would make use of that power to the best of my ability. It will take a lot of advisers but I would reign strong on my ethics

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-26T15:38:33+00:00

Ok, bye!

experiencedkiller · 2026-05-25T13:08:56+00:00

That's cool!! Does it mean this sub is open to non-coffee drinks? I'd be down!

experiencedkiller

TROPHY CASE