Memories, Revelations, and Dreams

Revelations in 2024

This year I’ve realized that “adults” and “superiors” have less integrity than shattered glass, not to be fooled by the put-together appearance of those who play the rat race; they are Gollum through-and-through. It isn’t de-facto that family has your best interest in mind; some will become agitated and sour when you take measured decisions towards improving your life – a dangerous impulse that need be questioned internally and avoided. Remain firm in the seat of confidence through self-inquiry and experience but do not spill out into overbearing revelation. Unconditional love is both what we are, and the field of experience which optimally feeds growth. Medication is not the final stop in anxiety, depression, and panic, but rather a spiritually minded, observant, and inquisitive “other” is vastly more curative. All your time – hundreds of hours – spent studying Advaita Vedanta has improved all aspects of existence, in both non-spiritual ventures and interpersonal dealings. Lacking a spiritual underpinning is neither cool, interesting, mature, nor helpful and is the most counter-intuitive means of gaining abundance in any aspect of life. Sit and talk to a strangely acting friend, playing your best non-judgmental listener. Never offer unsolicited advice, never let anyone bring anger to your surface — let not their unscrupulous nature seed yours. Nourishing your innate capability(ies) is key to lasting internal satisfaction; don’t grow deep attachment to them either. This year was the calmest, most peaceful year of your life despite being full of fear and hesitant action. You overcame and loved

Accomplishments in 2024

Now, it’s about that time to take stock of things. We must do that to account for our proclivity to forget our accomplishments and dwell in failures. Here’s my year, to dwell in what was well done.

1. Organized my first large scale event of @Hack 2024, assembling over 400 participants
2. Published second PhD paper in DIMVA 2024 [Lausanne, Switzerland]
3. Defended my comprehensive exam
4. Detected several 0-day remote code execution vulnerabilities alongside the Communications Security Establishment (CSE)
5. Spoke at the FutureWave 2024 cybersecurity panel
6. Watched my friend perform a piano concert
7. Watched the Total Solar Eclipse with the one I love
8. Watched my friend defend his Master’s degree
9. Focused on my back health, visiting a physio, chiro, and masseuse.
10. Reduced my fear of water, and reached a satisfying freestyle ability – still needs work
11. Completed the glorious Mandukya Upanishad
12. Went to 1 yoga class
13. Fell in love with a cat
14. Fell in love with a beautiful, caring, brilliant, resilient, and sweet woman
15. Attended DFRWS USA 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to perform my workshop “Footsteps in the Dark”
16. Attended DFRWS EU 2024 in Zaragoza, Spain to perform my workshop “Footsteps in the Dark” (prompting the one in Baton Rouge)
17. Made friends with many gentle souls around the world; Dominique, Olivia, Charles, and Kaitlyn
18. Presented my second paper in Lausanne, Switzerland alongside my good friend and colleague Anis
19. Visited Kandersteg, Switzerland guided by the Swiss-born Charles, alongside my good friend Anis; unbelievable
20. Spent a week in Halle, Germany with a loving and hospitable friend
21. Strengthened my friendship with high-school friend Cynthia
22. Celebrated cat’s birthday
23. Graced with the presence of my good friend Sikandar working out of Dubai – we worked together on a tool for measuring the integrity of concrete during his PhD at McGill, when I was a young and budding programmer in Civil Engineering
24. Attended the “RCN Hackathon” aboard a ship from the Royal Canadian Navy stationed in Montreal’s Old Port. We thought it would be a programming challenge – it wasn’t
25. Rode on an RCN speedboat with my lab colleagues
26. Began rhythm and solfege practice, taught by my skilled and giving friend Marie
27. Wrote two and a half songs – Sunshine, Horny Delights, and Krishna & Arjuna (the 1/2 written one)
28. Wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered the @Hack 2025 theme song
29. Saw Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin, and Danny Carey play King Crimson Beat-era music
30. Learnt the fundamentals of mixing
31. Learnt the fundamentals of mastering
32. Started the Kathopanishad
33. Wrote 11 quality blog articles
34. Began narrative film for @Hack 2025
35. Bought an iPad
36. Worked out 3rd paper idea
37. Helped alleviate anxiety, depression, asthma, and medication from a loved one through proper observation, listening, curative and curated supported action
38. Submitted PhD proposal
39. Didn’t drink at Christmas
40. Learnt to skate (still needs work)
41. Watched a loved one obtain a PhD offer at Oxford
42. Watched a loved one rise above unchecked tendencies, and ask the big questions

Lookout into 2025

You had an amazing year, with more accomplishments than expected. Just 4 years ago your mother took her own life and you were lost. Incapable of handling the reality of not only having lost 27 years of your life to the unbecoming, but the induction of fear, inaction, and hesitancy. You’ve been working hard since 24 to get a hold of yourself and, little by little, it has improved. There are still weak spots, things to ameliorate, and paths that need work and specificity.

This year will have a theme; love and autonomy.

Love, give your time for love, bring more love and peace into the lives of others. Leave the unloving aspects, lower animalistic drives, behind. Love your brother, girlfriend, friends, acquaintances, and even those that frustrate you.

In autonomy, final word is decision-based. Use your best possible reasoning and make conscious decisions as to life direction; always remembering that each desire brings with it a biased philosophy in favor of its own prosperity and does not equate to the correct decision.

Pave your way, take the incomes as they arrive and dish only the minimal necessary outcomes. You act clumsily, out of fear and restlessness, sometimes working on a small task far ahead of time; never really completing for its distance from due. Do what the moment demands and not much farther – this is a weakness.

Music is your ultimate strength and it should play a role in your life at all times, despite “work”. Your day job is not more crucial than building a life centered around learning, recording, composing, mixing, and mastering your own creations. This year the autonomy should be built upon decision making and well thought direction. Maintain the body in a state and energy at levels to induce this. Learn as in mixing, to remove unwanted noise instead of increasing desired outcomes; with lowly noise removed, more space exists to naturally expand higher-pointed desires.

This year, here are the high-level areas of focus, never letting them rule you.

May all your efforts be towards ridding yourself of noise and more acutely pointed to what’s necessary.