book notes chapter 1: missionary: - it starts with the breathe. at birth wim hof was going to die and his mother willed him to live, promising to god she would make him a missionary. he was blue from deoxygenation and cold, and breathed. as a child, loved sleeping outside in the snow, even though he risked death with hypothermia. he had to resist this love to stay alive. - also experienced severe infection from a bullying experience, and was outdoors a lot very active, became vegetarian, had to learn to be himself as he felt he was different next chapter 2: ice-man - describes developing physical strength having a job delivering newspapers on a bicycle in all weather, suddenly beat professional cyclists in contests. developed empowering disciplined exercise routine (waking up at 3:30a, and immediately do 50 pushups, then bike route ...). beauty of solitude and nature on the bike route, and how the peaceful,physical- task-oriented time alone helps one understand one's self. - went on thousands-miles bike trip with brother through cold rain and snow. shift in experience of eating when deep outdoors on one's own. engagement of feelings when physically involved in locomotion. - a wim hof goal is to help others understand these feelings of connection the human can experience "You are Tarzan. You are Jane. You are a king. You are a queen." Describes imaginary corona placed on king's head, as an aura that surrounds one, radiating. Stand with power, for nature coronates everyone. Describes how connected better with others and himself over time. - joined with biker who biked half year to africa. took larger challenges, describes finding powerful areas inside one's self. "we all have this" "you become aware of your own being". "the mind and nature are one" "waking up and feeling differently than always" "for the three weeks that followed, i remained in that transcendent state" - squatting was normal in the netherlands. property was valuable so it was used. you had to pay for your own utilities. - one day he just decided to relax in a frozen over pond, felt great, no danger experienced. duration; time seemed like 1:00-1;30 [note: my personal experience with these natural experiences is that they tend to feel shorter than they actually are] - repeated this after a few days, same experience. breathing came from how he noticed himself gasping when submerging. 25 deep breaths. - with practice breathing, would go five minutes without needing to breathe, and would swim in frozen water, every day of winter for 25 years. feeling great in freezing outdoors in nothing but shorts. next chapter 3: cold showers