Daniel Wentsch

A study of skydivers compared to a control group (rowers) found that repeat skydivers were more likely to experience anhedonia, a lack of joy, in the rest of their lives.

The authors wrote that “skydiving has similarities with addictive behaviors and that frequent exposure to ‘natural high’ experiences is related to anhedonia.”

Scientists have shown that stress alone can increase the release of dopamine in the brain’s reward pathway, leading to the same brain changes seen with addictive drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.

“You can dramatically extend life—not by multiplying the number of your years, but by expanding the fullness of your moments.”

I like reminding myself that I don’t need to do anything to receive sensation—the universe will keep on being the universe, and interesting data will come to me, I don’t have to force anything. This can bring about a mental unclenching that enables deeper and more satisfying practice.

a critical attitude towards the current situation is detrimental to collectedness—it’s much easier to focus when you accept your current thoughts and emotions. Thus the most powerful meditation prompt I’ve ever heard, from Loch Kelly: “What is here now if there's no problem to solve?”

Your anxiety isn’t a creative liability; it’s a sign that you care deeply about your work. And the difference between creative paralysis and creative flow isn’t the absence of anxiety—it’s the presence of curiosity alongside it.