I’ll talk about the feeling of thinking freely. I think that mind-blowing experiences give us free thought.
How to get possibilities
One day, I saw someone tweet on the SNS like this: “I cannot see even a little hope.” He seemed exhausted from his stressful work. So he tried several other businesses that he could do. But he failed them all. And he was depressed.
Sometimes, we feel hopeless about our future. At such times, we try to find new possibilities that are the easiest thing we can do. But we often fail because we tend to choose only what we can foresee. As far as we can anticipate the cause and result, there are no new possibilities in many cases.
At such a time, a little mind-blowing experience could give us more freedom of thought. This experience might lead us to a new world.
Why fermentation was mind-blowing for me
To explain that, let me talk about two things about my recent mind-blowing experiences. One is about fermentation, and the other is about dried vegetables.
The first is about fermentation. Recently, I have been fascinated with fermentation. Fermentation is one of the food preservation methods that use bacteria. One of the most famous fermented foods is yogurt. And making yogurt triggered my fascination with fermentation.
But the first time I learned how to make yogurt, I was not able to believe it. Because it was completely different from my common sense.
We can make yogurt from milk. After mixing a portion of yogurt with milk, we put it in a warm place around 35–40°C (95–104°F) for 8–10 hours. It will turn the milk into yogurt.
The worst way could become a new possibility
But wait a moment and think a little more carefully. In our common sense, it is the worst way to preserve milk.
Let’s assume the following situation: Today is a hot summer day. The outside temperature will be around 35°C (95°F), and our room will be 40°C (104°F). In such a situation, they say, “Put your milk on your table and leave it for around 8 hours instead of putting it in the fridge.” That is ridiculous! That is the easiest way to damage our milk!
However, we can make our yogurt this way. Because the good bacteria in yogurt multiply faster than the bad, toxic ones. Then good bacteria keep out bad ones. So we can preserve yogurt longer than usual milk.
That was a great change in my thinking. We can preserve food longer not only by preventing bacteria from multiplying but also by intentionally multiplying bacteria. The worst way became a new possibility. So this was a mind-blowing experience for me.
Why dried vegetables were mind-blowing for me
The other example is my experience of drying vegetables. I was also fascinated with drying fruit and vegetables several months ago. Fruit and root vegetables can be dried well. But people say that cabbages can also be dried.
But wait a moment, again! Cabbages are leafy greens. If we put leafy greens in a dry room for several days, only dead leaves will remain! When I tried it with my doubt, it looked like nothing but dead leaves at a glance.
However, it was different from the dead leaves. The color indeed turned a little brownish, but it was not dead. Because after adding water and rehydrating, it was edible. And the rehydrated one was delicious, like other dried vegetables. It has a dense taste. I enjoyed the soup with it this winter.
This also changed my thinking. I thought that it was only spoiling the vegetables. But there was a new possibility that was excluded by my common sense.
Trying what we cannot anticipate
Through these experiences, I felt that there were a lot of exceptional things in the world. I seemed to know about the world, but I didn’t know many things. Even about things that I often touched in my daily life, such as fermentation and cabbage.
And after such mind-blowing experiences, I understand that there are many new possibilities. The more we eliminate it with common sense, the more possibilities it has.
Conclusion
So I think that mind-blowing experiences give us free thought.
As far as we can anticipate the cause and result, there is no new possibility. On the other hand, possibilities could be in the things that are immediately excluded by our common sense.
If we want to change the current situation, this might lead us to a new world.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you at the next one.
