Setting the vision for 2021, and the trajectory of the next decade; Taming the ox. Rediscovering the body. Learning Chinese. 1) What does taming the ox mean to me? The ox is the mind, and it's conditioned in a way that is not in perfect alignment with the body. It's conditioned in an inauthentic way. My objective here is to perfectly align the mind with the body in a way that allows me to be perfectly aware, strong & healthy, rational, and practical. And for that, I have to make a special effort in order to raise my awareness to extraordinarily high levels. Disintegrating & Reintegrating the ego. Creating a more enhanced version of the ego and a better understanding of the mind, body, heart, self, life, nature, society, etc... Conditioning consists of two components: Patterns. Emotions. The two components are interrelated. They cannot be separated. The patterns are maintained by unconscious emotions. And the unconscious emotions are reinforced by the patterns. The journey of untangling and dismantling that relationship is going to be extremely difficult and messy. And it's going to require complete honesty and accountability, which is what this journal is going to be for (in case I don't lose focus ). Basically, what that means is that 2021 is going to be focused on unwiring the brain from various bad habits and addictions, and on replacing them with better healthier habits and higher awareness of the body and its needs in the present moment. I want to develop a better relationship with the gift that is my body. I want to reach a state of complete lack of emotions and all that petty fearful nonsense, while at the same time being highly aware of my body. Emotions are a sign of sickness and they shouldn't ideally exist in a healthy body. They're maintained by fear, which is the ultimate underlying unconscious emotion. I want to have a full conscious ownership over my mind & body, decisions & actions. I want to become totally unaffected by the outer world and all the appearances. Grounding myself in my bodily sensations is probably the best way to do that. 2) I got the inspiration for practicing body awareness from Rilles. I think it's in perfect alignment with my plans. I will start doing a formal practice of 30-60 minutes per day. That should help me rebuild my discipline, and formal practice is the best way to explore new practices. You have to follow maps at first. Then, after a while, I will integrate the practice into my day-to-day life so I won't have to practice it formally anymore. It won't be just body scans. It may include strong determination sittings, but it will definitely include breathing & body relaxation practices. I'm aiming at entering deeper meditative states and merge more intimately with myself through that practice. We'll see how it goes. 3) As for Chinese; The west will probably fall in the next decade or two, and in the meantime the east will rise and take the lead. It is only wise to be prepared for that moment. And even though there's not much I can do at the moment, learning about China and its language does not sound like a bad idea. It is a small investment, with a very huge potential. Plus, it is fun.