An Invitation

In 2009, I started a blog called 'Protecting Alpha' which was intended as a collaborative research project. One of the issues with writing is that if you make allowance for all the philosophical excuses someone who recognises how little we know for certain would make, you can become as clear as mud and as interesting as the grass that won't grow in the mud.

I like the idea of a blog because it involves people far earlier in the process than normal. As I develop my thoughts, I can write them down. Readers can comment. It becomes a conversation. Instead of hiding away in a cabin in a mountain and coming down from on high having discovered the truth - a blog gives you the opportunity to discover it with your readers. A joint journey warts and all. A journey that gives you the shared insights of a community of people.

I separated out that blog from this one because it was very investing focused and I largely wanted to keep this blog away from my professional life. It died a sudden death as the reality of prioritisation in the business world pushed research interests down the list. The idea of using a blog for collaborative research and conversation is still the primary appeal for me. The overarching theme of this blog is intended as a study of life and what to do. Which pretty much means I write about whatever I want to. More specifically though, I enjoy the framework provided by the Yoga I practice plus a few tweaks. I talked about this here as 'The 5 + 2 points'.

I am no expert in what I am writing about. I started Yoga 5 years ago I wasn't even close to being able to touch my toes. I did my first teacher training course at the end of 2011. A month in Austria at the Sivananda Retreat House in Reith. I started teaching shortly after that. I believe you don't have to be an expert in something to help others and by definition you don't have to be an expert to improve. In fact, often once you believe you are an expert it is a problem because you stop learning or even practicing. 

So this post is essentially an invitation to anyone who reads it. I intend to try and learn about learning. To put myself in positions of discomfort attempting to gain skills, some random and fun, some practical, to try and understand what it is that stops us from doing new things. I plan on studying happiness and thinking of ways to help people live more fulfilling, meaningful and valued lives. I will try act as a filter and find some interesting work of others to share. Depending on how keen you are, please start your own blog or your own learning experiences and share what insights you gain (or if you have one already, share it in the comments section for others to take a look). Or just comment on this one. In the areas where I am more useless, please point me in directions which you think would would help. 

I think it is awesome that we can use modern technology to connect in a borderless world of ideas. 

Trev in 2009 trying to touch his toes