2025 Day 311: How to Read a Book Deep Dive

4:05 AM Friday.

I didn't get to desktop zero yesterday, but I got quite a bit closer by 6 PM, and then I decided to turn off my desktop computer and spend the final 2 hours of the evening with some religious reading. I settled in at my writing desk with two familiar books I was determined to begin rereading - Understanding World Religions and How to Read a Book - but I ended up freewriting on a legal pad until 8 PM. That freewriting was as much a heartfelt dialogue with Hashem as anything, to the extent it is possible for a psychiatrically disabled Gentile to hear - and sometimes maybe even transcribe - the still, small inner voice of the living Jewish God. 

It was not until 8 PM that I finally settled into bed with my books. I read until 9 PM and slept until 3 AM. Then I sat on my meditation cushion in prayer until about 4 AM, carefully watching my inner dialogue, enlivened as it was by the chapters I had studied the night before. I saw many fascinating connections forming in my mind, but of course by the time I made it to my desktop computer to start writing, my ability to capture all of these leads was greatly reduced. Still, I am struck by the conviction that I have a serious religious and civic obligation to spend as much of the day as I can recording and examining these potentially valuable insights.

Here, then, is my plan for the next 26 hours:

• 4-5 AM     Day 311 Blog Post
• 5-6 AM     Defining "Religion" Blog Post
• 6-7 AM     Psychotherapy (Telehealth)
• 7-6 PM     How to Read a Book Deep Dive
• 6-8 PM     Native American Heritage Month Reading
• 8-5 AM     Sleep
• 5-6 AM     Prayer
• 6-7 AM     Day 312 Blog Post

This plan means none of my usual Friday morning grocery shopping. My SNAP balance is low, and the November and December funding situation is uncertain, so it is probably best if I use up my pantry stock anyway.

End 4:58 AM.