Good things from the 90’s #1
As part of an ongoing project to find good and useful information in books written before smartphones, social media, and the widespread internet, I’ve been reading an old book ‘How to think like Da Vinci‘ by Michael J. Gelb. Like the whole series, this one is a bit dated, first published in the 90’s. In other words, a different world, but perhaps one that we would do well to remember. In this other world, appropriately read from print on paper, we are reminded to be better and that we are responsible for our own experience of reality.
Da Vinci is held as a pinnacle example of enlightenment thought, the quintessential ‘Rennaisance man’ or homme de Renaissance. Interestingly enough, Da Vinci was a secular, non-partisan intellectual, and was just as happy offering his services to brutal militant leaders like the Medici’s, as to the Church, or even foreign nobles from France, considered enemies of his home cities in Italy. For this reason, perhaps, his works were less finished, and less acclaimed in his lifetime, though he was recognized in his day.
I just completed his first principal: Curiosita: the idea that we can understand and learn by asking questions, even if we do not have the answers right away. This exercise consisted of writing down 100 questions, all in one sitting. Whatever pops into your head. Of course some of them will be mundane, or even funny. “How much longer do I have to do this’ is a perfectly good question to write down. In fact, the first 20 questions tend to be obvious, and therefore not the most profound. The middle section of 21-80 yields some gems, and themes emerge. And then, 81-100 can get deep, and tend to be the most soul-searching.
After the 100 questions, the exercise tells us to pick our top 10. Pick based on themes, but the key is to get down quickly to what matters most. These then are recorded and become a resource to remind you of what you are most interested in, and keep your mind engaged.
The exercise goes on, and the practice of writing down questions turns to a large physical phenomenon, such as ‘birds in flight’ or ‘the body’ or other rennaissance themes, then you choose your own. Then you journal in a day about a theme, noticing things related to that theme, for example: my body in contact with the physical/material world.
I do not believe that there is an App for everything. I think certain things are antithetical to the experience of working with your smartphone. Meditation is one (and yes, there are good meditation apps but I question if the user actually gets the same benefit through an app as through a retreat), and these longer-view intellectual exercises are another. So, in the spirit of transparency and authentic discovery, here are 10 best questions taken from my 100:
‘What will happen if I allow my mind to fully come into it’s own (not just turn it off)?’
‘How much joy is it possible to fit into the life that remains for me?’
‘What can I get rid of in my life to be more successful, full of joy, and fulfilled?’
‘How can I write a book as good as “The Overstory” by Richard Powers?’
‘Will Humanity survive the next 100 years? The next 1000?’
‘What are the things on my death bed, that I look back on to say I have lived a full and good life, and touched greatness?’
‘How do I experience the nature of all reality, that it is all impermanent?’
‘How can I stay connected to the highest truth, even in a chaotic life?’
‘What does everyone else know for certain that I know isn’t true?’
‘What cause outside of myself can I willingly give my efforts to, without resentment or reservation?’
‘What are the mythologies for older men that remain open for me?”What does it mean to age?’
