JETS JOURNAL - #072
March 11, 2025
Hi All!
Here is your weekly round up of what I’m pondering and exploring. Feel free to forward along to a friend if you think they might enjoy.
From observer to participant
You would have seen this painting before. It’s called the Creation of Adam and was made by the great Michelangelo.
In the painting we can see God’s hand stretched out to Adam. While Adam’s hand is slightly withdrawn, requiring some lift to close the gap.
This gap is often interpreted as symbolising human free will and choice. And while God’s hand is always there for Adam, it requires Adam to actively reach out to make the connection.
Now, the reason why I’m sharing this with you is because I feel like at certain times in my life I’ve been a passive observer to my own life.
I’ve sat back waiting for things to happen, relinquishing any and all agency I have over my destiny.
Life would happen to me instead of with me.
I’d look at all the materials I’d been given, and completely ignore the fact it was me who had to assemble them.
However, after many years of passivity, I’m only now truly understanding that I’m an active participant in the co-creation of my life.
And regardless of whether you believe in god, the universe, nature, or nothing. The world will always be there waiting for you to reach out.
Dreams & sleep paralysis
I often have vivid dreams that are intense and have a filmic quality to them. It’s impressive to me how my mind can produce such expansive and often obscure scenes. Some nights I’ll also experience sleep paralysis, where I’ll be half asleep and half awake.
It’s a weird and sometimes scary sensation when my mind is awake but my body is asleep, and I can’t speak or move. I also often have recursive dreams inside of one another, waking up multiple times throughout the night while still being asleep.
I’d like to start noting down and keeping a record of my dreams as a way of not only understanding them but accepting and finding an appreciation in them.
There’s a book I want to read by David Lynch, called Catching the Big Fish which dives into catching the quote unquote, big fish, that dwell in the depths of your subconscious. And while these fish, or ideas you could say, are often big and scary, I’d like to understand them, and learn start to approaching them from a place of wonder and curiosity opposed to just fear.
Also, reading this probably makes me sound like I’m out here taking tabs of LSD every weekend and slurping down shroom shakes, trying to discover the secrets of the universe, but the reality is, I’m completely sober, and am just genuinely interested in getting to know myself and find meaning in this confusing world.
The rat experiment
Here is an interesting experiment I learnt about last week.
My voice recorder
For the past few years I’ve used a physical voice recorder on and off to document whatever I’m feeling. Speaking into the recorder for no one other than myself has been a very cathartic practice that’s helped with overthinking, and rapid ideation.
Having my voice recorder in my car, or on my bedside table, has allowed me to quickly capture those fleeting, ideas or feelings, especially when my hands are full when I’m driving, or it’s the middle of the night and I want to jot down an idea without waking myself up too much with the lights.
Taking voice notes is very different to journalling because you’re able to talk a lot quicker than you write, and while neither is better than one another, they each serve their purpose.
I also built my own transcription tool that takes the audio files from my voice recorder and converts them to text documents I can read later on. Which is actually what I did a few weeks back after uncovering a dozen old recordings, that revealed to me how far I’ve come.
Also, reading back on your notes instead of listening to yourself, let’s you experience your thoughts somewhat more objectively without the emotion and tone of your voice.
If your interested, I’d highly recommend giving it a go. You can buy a voice recorder from literally any electronics store for relatively cheap, or alternatively just use your voice notes app in your phone.
Friends
Here is a great quote I found by C. S. Lewis on the power of true friendship.
“If, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C,” while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B.” In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets… Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, “Here comes one who will augment our loves.” For in this love “to divide is not to take away.”
Hope everyone enjoys their week.
Love,
Jet Williams