From the depths of Berlin to vipassana
Thoughts on Berlin, our security, and finding the love we want
Hi friend!
I spent the past weekend over in Berlin, and it was such a delight. The food was delicious, the city was beautiful, the people were so kind, and there were things to do every hour of every day. (Except for Sundays, when the entire city shuts down. Even Zara was closed!)
While walking through the streets of Berlin, you can feel the history and culture of the city. In the east, many Berliners still inhabit some of the original housing complexes before the Berlin Wall came down. In the west, there are hundreds of beautiful museums and memorials scattered throughout. If you look closely, you can see the remnants of the Berlin Wall in some of the streets. It hasn't been paved over and shows the enormity of the wall.
I also spent some considerable time exploring the nightlife. The music here is incredible, and the venues are unlike any I've ever experienced before. One of the places had an expansive outdoor area with seating along the canal to watch the sunrise.
In many of the clubs, using cell phones on the dance floor to record and take photos was forbidden. There was something pleasant about seeing everyone off their phones and living in-the-moment with each other. The Berliners really know how to create an experience.
I am now off to meditate at Dhamma Dipa in the U.K. This will be my sixth and final meditation retreat around the world. Really excited to share with you the insights post-sitting. See you in a few.
How we are being tracked
I read an article recently about security of our phones, specifically the data that is being leaked every minute to all of the various apps we have installed. I installed Privacy Pro VPN to track how many trackers are being activated over the course of a week and the numbers were shocking.
In seven days, I had more than 3,000 trackers blocked with the medium security setting enabled. Even as I slept, trackers were still calling my phone for data throughout the night. If you aren’t using an application often, delete it. Not only will it speed up your phone, you will greatly reduce the amount of data being transmitted throughout the day.
An education on love
Recently re-read a few passages of one of my favorite relationship books, Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix (4.07 on Goodreads). It’s a great read on creating a conscious partnership with communication, empathy, and deep self-work. Many of his concepts were spot-on and expanded my mind on things I need to explore further in myself. One of the revelations from the book: we attract specific people into our lives because we are yearning to work on the part of ourselves that they are activating.
Quote I Keep Turning To
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” -Lao Tzu
As always, thanks for reading!
P.S. If you enjoyed this, share or sign up here: mindfulmoments.substack.com
Anything else? You can always hit "reply" to email me directly. 💌
Have a beautiful day!
Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven