https://alexcaraivan.com/ The personal website of Alex “Cara” Caraivan — frontend engineer, game maker, and writer. en https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-quiet-prison-of-preference https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-quiet-prison-of-preference How the constant division of life into wanted and unwanted can turn practical choice into continuous resistance. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/why-we-repeat-what-hurts-us https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/why-we-repeat-what-hurts-us Why painful patterns can feel familiar, and how the attempt to master an old experience may keep us returning to it. Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/what-happens-when-you-stop-defending-against-emotion https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/what-happens-when-you-stop-defending-against-emotion A grounded practice for staying near emotion without suppressing it, dramatizing it, or forcing yourself past overwhelm. Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-mind-may-be-evolutions-last-flower https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-mind-may-be-evolutions-last-flower A reflection on consciousness as something delicate and unfinished rather than the final achievement of life. Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/noticing https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/noticing We think the world has become dull. Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-world-is-not-boring-your-attention-is https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/the-world-is-not-boring-your-attention-is A reflection on how attention gives texture back to ordinary life. Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/diogenes-and-the-freedom-of-needing-less https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/diogenes-and-the-freedom-of-needing-less What the Cynic philosopher’s radical simplicity reveals about convention, status, and the burden of having an identity to protect. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/four-sublime-states https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/four-sublime-states How loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity work together as a daily practice. Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/what-you-water-grows https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/what-you-water-grows A reflection on how attention strengthens the mental qualities we repeatedly nourish. Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/why-samurai-stories-feel-like-poetry https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/why-samurai-stories-feel-like-poetry How silence, weather, empty space, and impermanence shape the atmosphere of samurai cinema. Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/stop-trying-to-be-heard https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/stop-trying-to-be-heard How listening, precise speech, and grounded presence can build influence without forcing recognition. Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/pomodoro-vs-world https://alexcaraivan.com/blog/pomodoro-vs-world Simple technique to achieve anything. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT