The Mindful Minimalist

A Newsletter that talks about life and its overlap with AI. A sincere attempt at sharing learning and content for leading a simple and purposeful life. This is the first edition of the fortnightly newsletters. Please do share your feedback for improvements.

Edition: July 1-15, 2023

What's New in AI

Generative AI, it's big. Especially for Gen X. But now, you can be a creative genius. Just with text. No coding needed!

Know your domain well? Write it well? Let AI like ChatGPT do the rest. It can create text for books, blogs, articles, guides, even images and videos.

I gave 30 minutes. That's all it took to understand Generative AI basics. Did it with free courses. Want to try? LINK

Prompt: A command for AI. Like ChatGPT. It's your input. Defines the AI's response. It could be a question, a statement, or just a word.

Want to know more? Here's a handy link . Dive in! 

Learnings from Philosophy

Plato's The Ship of Fools: Imagine a ship where everyone wants to be the captain, even though they don't know how to navigate. The real captain isn't much better - he can't sail well either! The crew members only support each other if it benefits them. When they take control, they use all the supplies and forget to take care of the ship properly. Anyone who tried to take care of the ship and make it run smoothly, instead of just looking out for themselves, would be seen as weird or useless by the other crew members.

It's a pretty crazy story, right? But it makes you think about who should be in charge and how they should behave.

Western view says, "The self is a pilot" while Eastern view says The self is an illusion

"Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one." WEI WU WEI
Must read over the weekend. LINK

Idea of Minimalism

Fascinating AI guide for this journey - ChatGPT: After watching the thought-provoking Minimalism documentary for the second time, I thought, why not take this exploration a step further?

So, I turned to ChatGPT to delve deeper into my minimalist tendencies. I asked it to question me on my minimalist habits, and boy, was I in for a surprise! The AI's insightful questions led to some profound self-discoveries.

Dive in and join me on this minimalist adventure! Check it out here: LINK

Money in Life

My thinking for money: I want money but believe rich are cruel. I want to be ethical. Some say I am too much of a purist to make money. Do you think the same way? Some books that are likely to address the thoughts of money are:

"Your Money or Your Life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez: This book provides a step-by-step guide to transforming your relationship with money and achieving financial independence. It emphasizes the idea that you can live well within your means through a non-consumer lifestyle.

"The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life" by Lynne Twist: This book explores the concept of money, poverty, and wealth from a new, compassionate perspective. It helps readers understand how they can make a difference by aligning their financial behavior with their deepest values.

"Business for the Common Good: A Christian Vision for the Marketplace" by Kenman L. Wong and Scott B. Rae: This book is a comprehensive resource for Christian business students and practitioners, exploring the idea of business as a calling and discussing how to conduct business in a way that aligns with Christian principles.

Caveat: I have not ready any of the above books. If you read share your learnings by emailing me (jaspalkahlon@gmail.com). I will include your email in one of the editions of the newsletter.

What is keeping me busy?

Of course my interactions with ChatGPT. Mediation for two hours daily in 2-3 shifts. The focus is on concentrating on the 'Third eye'. I feel the sensation around the third eye for most part of the day after the first week of practice

Making of this newsletter, Editing my website to start making some money from side hustle, Pranayama yoga in morning, and cardio/dumbbells based strength routing in evenings

Yeah! I was not working so I could

Some mantras for keeping the 'Spirituality' spirits high: OM!

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