MY IFTTT RECIPE

When I was scrolling through the discovery page of the IFTTT website, I was struggling to find applets that were useful or relevant to my routine. Many of the applets required devices such as iPhones and social medias such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter; all of which I do not have. I tried to pick as many relevant applets so that it could alter my daily routine in an interesting or significant way.

My favorite applets were the ones that required YouTube accounts to track my activity. I often use YouTube to listen to music more than I use Spotify, Apple Music, or Soundlcoud. It was interesting to see how Spotify created a playlist of music that I "Thumbs Upped" on YouTube because it not only grouped together a general playlist of music that I liked, but it also tracked the flow of different genres and musical artists that I listened to over a period of time. Also, YouTube automatically plays the next related song, and the relationships between music genres and artists can drift very far apart until I decide to change the pace. But within that organic (but calculated) flow, I might finally "thumbs up" a song hours after the original track. So when I see a "jump" of a musical style from one song to another in the Spotify playlist, I comtemplate on my mood, the setting, the people I was with, or the activity I was doing at that moment of the "jump."

The meditation applet was very interesting because I picked a very obscure and often busy time in my day to meditate. I indicated the applet to notify me to stop what I'm doing and meditate everyday at 3PM. Usually, I'm in class, walking towards a destination, or studying at a coffee shop at Westwood at 3PM. On Monday, I was at Elysee, a french cafe on Gayley, and at 3Pm between hungry customers and funky homeless men, I sat cross-legged on my chair, and meditated. It wasn't an ideal place to meditate and it was kind of embarassing to close my eyes for ten minutes. It took a while to concentrate and to let go of what people may be thinking of me. I felt very anxious and silly, and I was very aware of my fidgeting. I repeated in my head to let go and I was finally able to visualize what I was hearing. And in my mind, I decorated the restuarant from memory, using the best of my imagination as possible as well. And then I started thinking about how the Buddah could meditate anywhere at anytime with full concentration. I felt peaceful in the middle of my meditation. I could feel my body sinking into a comfortable and safe space. And for awhile I was just thinking of waves. Towards the end of my mediation, I got anxious again because a man at the cashier counter was angry over something trivial. I could feel his anxiety and it made me nervous. Then I was back in that narcisitic mindset- I suddenly felt like I was under a spotlight. My ten minutes were up and I concluded that this was something I needed to practice everyday. Among all the applets I chose, this was the most provoking.