So many little threads I feel drawn to riff on here, given that 'being mislead by the wrong targets' accounts for probs 90% of the stuff I write about (all my financial philosophy roads tend to lead to ludicrously optimistic attempts to highlight and maybe even tackle self-deception, as you know :) ). Will try to avoid the call of the ramble...
When you speak of 'Curiosity is a relational force' do you think there's a danger (esp in the West, esp in your bit of the West, and esp in the finance bit of that bit) that the 'relational' side still gets grasped somewhat one-dimensionally, rather than as this beautiful web of interconnected, interdependent relationships with self, yes, but also other and the world? I see ways in which people could arguably be drawn in the right direction here, but with a gaze forever on what can be measured, they do so in an insufficiently embodied/extended/etc way that they could be masking the very thing that drew them towards something in the first place.
“the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.” - If you have any top tips for painting pictures of this so beautiful that you help folk actually believe in it to the extent they start to pay attention to it in a way that they then start to really experience it, please let me know! I've often found that with some of the core ideas I know you and I share, beginning to believe in a world in which they actually exist is tougher than one would hope, and there's only so many times one can say 'trust me, I've been there, I couldn't see it either, but oh my, please suspend that disbelief for a sec, there's something incredibly valuable around the corner.' The most concrete example of have of this is mimetic desire - yes, it's a thing, but no it doesn't HAVE to be a thing, and when you believe in a world in which it doesn't HAVE to be a thing, then suddenly everything looks rather different...
"a very deep level, we all know that what we found could devastate our existing worldview" - this, btw, was what we talked about on the phone the other day about the difference in people's willingness (esp in financial-planning contexts) to look in the crystal-ball v the rear-view mirror, even when making the dream in the former a reality necessitates looking in the latter :)
"What if the real hidden cage was a false perception that freedom was directly correlated with economic privilege?" - I'd argue (indeed I did, sort of, here (https://moneyblind.substack.com/p/6242001_idiot-money-59) that a large part of the problem is the crummy way we first fail to distinguish what we really mean by 'freedom' (even in a narrow financial sense), and then, when the most-common view is so comically and obviously not working very well (assuming the goal is to live well) then we jump just as blindly to the next wrong answer, but are blind to how that one is as wrong, because we're too busy patting ourselves on the back for having spotted how silly the first one was. Alas, the great chasm that opened up once upon a time between ability and response-ability :(
In short I think you've located all the problems I have no strong solutions to. The concept of feedback, how to interpret it, and knowing what to create.
I think the first step is to clear the internal blockages to creation. Then to slowly offer what's inside you to the world. If you get a response great, if not, try something else. The act of creation has to feel good.
I'm not sure these need to be radical "burn your life down" things for everyone. Only people like me who have to have life and career aligned.
Fantastic piece. This section is brilliant, "Evolution trends towards complexity; producing ever more differentiated and integrated individuals. Therefore it also selects against stasis, anything that stops flowing or flows in the wrong direction. In order to guide us, the pursuit of complexity has to feel like something, and it has to feel good."
I know you've written about that idea before, but this short paragraph really nails the idea.
We write about many similar subjects in the context of visual art in our main newsletter as we encourage artists to follow that deep inspired curiosity inside of them to every deeper levels and that to express that with their gifts is the best thing they can do for themselves and the world.
Well, I'm not sure we can get anyone to take action. But what we encourage is that they follow their own curiosity and interests deeply until the connect with the source within and to use that to fuel their art with zero regard for their audience or marketability. The best way for art to connect with all of us, is for them to go inside themselves and bring forth what is within them. So many artists come to us for tactics on "making money on social media" and we have to reframe the discussion to let them know that's putting the cart before the horse. Until someone knows who they are deeply, the path the are on and the things inside of them start exploding out creatively, the art is likely wooden and flat. Solve the inner problems first and the outer problems will resolve themselves in a way. As you said somewhere (and I can't find the exact quote at the moment), the best way for a person, an artist, anyone, to serve humanity is to "selfishly" go deep inside themselves and listen to those clues that lead them to that path that is uniquely theirs. I don't know if I actually answered your question here, lol.
Yes, that video (the few minutes I watched) is EXACTLY what happens. The trauma starts coming out and explodes out with a burst of creativity and it does feel (and perhaps it truly does) like it comes from "outside" of you. This is what happened with my writing during/after my "dark night of the soul." It's also the premise of "daemon" creativity. Jung's belief that the neurotic could be cured through art is almost the same belief talked about in "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. Same idea as the monomyth Joseph Campbell talks about. I don't think enough visual artists go deep enough to tap these things but the ones who do (and who cultivate their mastery) create incredibly compelling works (and works that people want, and that actually sell). Seems like writers naturally gravitate to this idea more than some creatives as stories and ideas just kind of well out of us unexpectedly. I think it's too easy for someone who "wants to be an artist" to snap photos and then just copy them to a canvas and call it art without doing the necessary self-reflection and cultivation of mastery to create true art.
The quote I was looking for was actually Devin Martin from your interview, "One of my core beliefs is that if you are radically self-indulgent then what you feel called to do is actually of service to the world." I completely agree with him on that point.
Brilliant work Tom! The four points you mention after the question 'can science help us have more faith' are a bullseye checklist for this integrated world-view. So lucid, clear, grounded and unflinching. Honored to be mentioned in this company, and excited to follow your next leap.
The timing on your piece this week was uncanny too. The heart is a huge part of this puzzle, which is why I am so amused how neglected it is. Which is guess makes the next part so bloody fun…
Yes it is very heartening to share this interest/obsession! Finding kindred work at just the right time feels like the relational field responding, even the smallest drop of that has an inherent satisfaction that trumps materialism. The unchartedness of it all is delicious, wide-open for inquiry and we need every angle
Your mention of competition reminded me of the short story below:
Two merchants are competing in a market.
An angel comes and offers the first merchant any outcome he wants.
But there's one caveat.
The competitor gets double.
The angel explains:
"You earn five gold bars; they get 10."
"You own one ship; they'll own two."
"You live to be 100; they live to 200."
The merchant thinks intensely and says:
"Make me blind in one eye."
If we cooperate instead of compete, would we have taken society much further than where we are today, or is the only way to progress to compete (or prepare or fight wars)? I think we waste too much time and resources by competing. I also think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, but how to figure out the right balance is the hard part as we have to think beyond country/state/company/group and think in terms of the greater good, which is not easy by any means.
I believe that the lyrics of the song ‘Circle of Life’ sum it up the best, “there is more to see than can ever be seen.”
I think this line reflects on the vastness and complexity of our existence. It also suggests that our individual lives are part of a larger, interconnected cycle.
I think many challenges come from how, at least in the US and probably in other countries, focuses on the short term.
A company has to grow every quarter; otherwise, the stock is punished, and the executive's bonuses are also tied to stock price, forcing them to focus on the short-term. The same is true for the politicians who are worried about the next election.
Very few people/ entities /countries are playing the infinite game. How do we overcome this short-term focus?
Volatile environments punish short term mindsets. So that might be an inevitable consequence. But people extract out of insecurity. I think we can make it so that, if people have more flex to pursue self-determination, the whole system dynamically resolves itself.
Yes, possibly. I think in the long run, which is becoming shorter and shorter, most of the entities won’t exist if they keep on playing the finite game. The question will always be how much money we need to live a good life. If I go by what my mother said, not a whole lot, but we collect like we will be living forever and save even for the next generations when we know most wealth disappears in 3 generations and not sure with AI in the mix, in the future whether there will be any value of money.
In my country of birth, India, there is a saying, “You come empty-handed to the world, and you leave the world empty-handed.” as I get older, I realize that most of these races/competitions are to nowhere. I just believe in a few things:
Work hard, enjoy life even if imperfect, try to leave every place better than you found, and try to ensure (as you may fail) that your next generation understands the above three items.
Yes. To all of it. It's what many of us are presently engaged in. There's a lot to be excited about.
I'll be the esoteric and woo woo guy that says it's the evolution of Magick we are all a part of, whether that is our jargon of choice or not.
We're going to be creating an innovation that translates the Morphogenetic Field like the radio does the EMF. It's Livingry like this that can and will and already is proving 'it.'
The Spoof is in the Pudding!
Magick: the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will
Wil (True): a person's grand destiny in life or as a moment-to-moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with nature.
The human “will” is probably not something that should be involved in manifesting anything. I prefer to let me heart decide. We have two core myths: the hero’s journey teaches us how to align our desires with the universe. And “be careful what you wish for” tell us what happens when we manifest what our heads tell us we want….
I shared the definition of "will" I am using, in which case a human aligned with their will would be flowing from the heart, as love is the law in that territory. I suppose by "will," you mean something like victim consciousness and no, that is not ideal if manifesting syntropically is the motivation.
I am not sure who the "we" is that "has two core myths"? I don't have two core myths.
Sorry- this wasn't directed at you specifically. My concern with Magick in general is that the human "will" often means the ego, in fact it's wickedly hard to separate from that. How do we know what our heart truly desires? It's what makes me so wary of this entire genre, especially manifestation.
And when I say "we" have two core myths I mean humanity. One about aligning with the universe (the hero's journey) and the other about what horrible things happen if we don't.
Keen to hear more about your innovation as it evolves!
My comments at https://johnstokdijk538.substack.com/p/a-very-different-world.
Thanks, Tom :)
So many little threads I feel drawn to riff on here, given that 'being mislead by the wrong targets' accounts for probs 90% of the stuff I write about (all my financial philosophy roads tend to lead to ludicrously optimistic attempts to highlight and maybe even tackle self-deception, as you know :) ). Will try to avoid the call of the ramble...
When you speak of 'Curiosity is a relational force' do you think there's a danger (esp in the West, esp in your bit of the West, and esp in the finance bit of that bit) that the 'relational' side still gets grasped somewhat one-dimensionally, rather than as this beautiful web of interconnected, interdependent relationships with self, yes, but also other and the world? I see ways in which people could arguably be drawn in the right direction here, but with a gaze forever on what can be measured, they do so in an insufficiently embodied/extended/etc way that they could be masking the very thing that drew them towards something in the first place.
“the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.” - If you have any top tips for painting pictures of this so beautiful that you help folk actually believe in it to the extent they start to pay attention to it in a way that they then start to really experience it, please let me know! I've often found that with some of the core ideas I know you and I share, beginning to believe in a world in which they actually exist is tougher than one would hope, and there's only so many times one can say 'trust me, I've been there, I couldn't see it either, but oh my, please suspend that disbelief for a sec, there's something incredibly valuable around the corner.' The most concrete example of have of this is mimetic desire - yes, it's a thing, but no it doesn't HAVE to be a thing, and when you believe in a world in which it doesn't HAVE to be a thing, then suddenly everything looks rather different...
"a very deep level, we all know that what we found could devastate our existing worldview" - this, btw, was what we talked about on the phone the other day about the difference in people's willingness (esp in financial-planning contexts) to look in the crystal-ball v the rear-view mirror, even when making the dream in the former a reality necessitates looking in the latter :)
"What if the real hidden cage was a false perception that freedom was directly correlated with economic privilege?" - I'd argue (indeed I did, sort of, here (https://moneyblind.substack.com/p/6242001_idiot-money-59) that a large part of the problem is the crummy way we first fail to distinguish what we really mean by 'freedom' (even in a narrow financial sense), and then, when the most-common view is so comically and obviously not working very well (assuming the goal is to live well) then we jump just as blindly to the next wrong answer, but are blind to how that one is as wrong, because we're too busy patting ourselves on the back for having spotted how silly the first one was. Alas, the great chasm that opened up once upon a time between ability and response-ability :(
Sorry just noticed this.
In short I think you've located all the problems I have no strong solutions to. The concept of feedback, how to interpret it, and knowing what to create.
I think the first step is to clear the internal blockages to creation. Then to slowly offer what's inside you to the world. If you get a response great, if not, try something else. The act of creation has to feel good.
I'm not sure these need to be radical "burn your life down" things for everyone. Only people like me who have to have life and career aligned.
Fantastic piece. This section is brilliant, "Evolution trends towards complexity; producing ever more differentiated and integrated individuals. Therefore it also selects against stasis, anything that stops flowing or flows in the wrong direction. In order to guide us, the pursuit of complexity has to feel like something, and it has to feel good."
I know you've written about that idea before, but this short paragraph really nails the idea.
We write about many similar subjects in the context of visual art in our main newsletter as we encourage artists to follow that deep inspired curiosity inside of them to every deeper levels and that to express that with their gifts is the best thing they can do for themselves and the world.
Thanks mate. How do you get people to frame creation and then actually put it into action?
Well, I'm not sure we can get anyone to take action. But what we encourage is that they follow their own curiosity and interests deeply until the connect with the source within and to use that to fuel their art with zero regard for their audience or marketability. The best way for art to connect with all of us, is for them to go inside themselves and bring forth what is within them. So many artists come to us for tactics on "making money on social media" and we have to reframe the discussion to let them know that's putting the cart before the horse. Until someone knows who they are deeply, the path the are on and the things inside of them start exploding out creatively, the art is likely wooden and flat. Solve the inner problems first and the outer problems will resolve themselves in a way. As you said somewhere (and I can't find the exact quote at the moment), the best way for a person, an artist, anyone, to serve humanity is to "selfishly" go deep inside themselves and listen to those clues that lead them to that path that is uniquely theirs. I don't know if I actually answered your question here, lol.
Yes- I wonder if it's the 2 stage process of "clear trauma first, create second"
Check out the 2min from 1hr 35min: https://youtu.be/Ir2OHTuD_Jk?si=pjIrVovixIDdacOn&t=6777
Yes, that video (the few minutes I watched) is EXACTLY what happens. The trauma starts coming out and explodes out with a burst of creativity and it does feel (and perhaps it truly does) like it comes from "outside" of you. This is what happened with my writing during/after my "dark night of the soul." It's also the premise of "daemon" creativity. Jung's belief that the neurotic could be cured through art is almost the same belief talked about in "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. Same idea as the monomyth Joseph Campbell talks about. I don't think enough visual artists go deep enough to tap these things but the ones who do (and who cultivate their mastery) create incredibly compelling works (and works that people want, and that actually sell). Seems like writers naturally gravitate to this idea more than some creatives as stories and ideas just kind of well out of us unexpectedly. I think it's too easy for someone who "wants to be an artist" to snap photos and then just copy them to a canvas and call it art without doing the necessary self-reflection and cultivation of mastery to create true art.
Totally: Villeneuve and Nolan! Direct Jungian and Campbell influences.
The quote I was looking for was actually Devin Martin from your interview, "One of my core beliefs is that if you are radically self-indulgent then what you feel called to do is actually of service to the world." I completely agree with him on that point.
Brilliant work Tom! The four points you mention after the question 'can science help us have more faith' are a bullseye checklist for this integrated world-view. So lucid, clear, grounded and unflinching. Honored to be mentioned in this company, and excited to follow your next leap.
The timing on your piece this week was uncanny too. The heart is a huge part of this puzzle, which is why I am so amused how neglected it is. Which is guess makes the next part so bloody fun…
Yes it is very heartening to share this interest/obsession! Finding kindred work at just the right time feels like the relational field responding, even the smallest drop of that has an inherent satisfaction that trumps materialism. The unchartedness of it all is delicious, wide-open for inquiry and we need every angle
Share it with me as it evolves. Buhner's book was fun but I haven't been able to find much. It's an idea that deserves vastly more scrunity.
Another excellent post!
Your mention of competition reminded me of the short story below:
Two merchants are competing in a market.
An angel comes and offers the first merchant any outcome he wants.
But there's one caveat.
The competitor gets double.
The angel explains:
"You earn five gold bars; they get 10."
"You own one ship; they'll own two."
"You live to be 100; they live to 200."
The merchant thinks intensely and says:
"Make me blind in one eye."
If we cooperate instead of compete, would we have taken society much further than where we are today, or is the only way to progress to compete (or prepare or fight wars)? I think we waste too much time and resources by competing. I also think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, but how to figure out the right balance is the hard part as we have to think beyond country/state/company/group and think in terms of the greater good, which is not easy by any means.
I believe that the lyrics of the song ‘Circle of Life’ sum it up the best, “there is more to see than can ever be seen.”
I think this line reflects on the vastness and complexity of our existence. It also suggests that our individual lives are part of a larger, interconnected cycle.
Amazing story.
I like the quite about BJJ from Renzo Gracie: My competitor is my teacher, my ego is my opponent.
That's the benefit of competition, of striving endlessly to be better at an enjoyable infinite game.
You may enjoy this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meiU6TxysCg
I think many challenges come from how, at least in the US and probably in other countries, focuses on the short term.
A company has to grow every quarter; otherwise, the stock is punished, and the executive's bonuses are also tied to stock price, forcing them to focus on the short-term. The same is true for the politicians who are worried about the next election.
Very few people/ entities /countries are playing the infinite game. How do we overcome this short-term focus?
Volatile environments punish short term mindsets. So that might be an inevitable consequence. But people extract out of insecurity. I think we can make it so that, if people have more flex to pursue self-determination, the whole system dynamically resolves itself.
Yes, possibly. I think in the long run, which is becoming shorter and shorter, most of the entities won’t exist if they keep on playing the finite game. The question will always be how much money we need to live a good life. If I go by what my mother said, not a whole lot, but we collect like we will be living forever and save even for the next generations when we know most wealth disappears in 3 generations and not sure with AI in the mix, in the future whether there will be any value of money.
In my country of birth, India, there is a saying, “You come empty-handed to the world, and you leave the world empty-handed.” as I get older, I realize that most of these races/competitions are to nowhere. I just believe in a few things:
Work hard, enjoy life even if imperfect, try to leave every place better than you found, and try to ensure (as you may fail) that your next generation understands the above three items.
Yes. To all of it. It's what many of us are presently engaged in. There's a lot to be excited about.
I'll be the esoteric and woo woo guy that says it's the evolution of Magick we are all a part of, whether that is our jargon of choice or not.
We're going to be creating an innovation that translates the Morphogenetic Field like the radio does the EMF. It's Livingry like this that can and will and already is proving 'it.'
The Spoof is in the Pudding!
Magick: the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will
Wil (True): a person's grand destiny in life or as a moment-to-moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony with nature.
The human “will” is probably not something that should be involved in manifesting anything. I prefer to let me heart decide. We have two core myths: the hero’s journey teaches us how to align our desires with the universe. And “be careful what you wish for” tell us what happens when we manifest what our heads tell us we want….
I shared the definition of "will" I am using, in which case a human aligned with their will would be flowing from the heart, as love is the law in that territory. I suppose by "will," you mean something like victim consciousness and no, that is not ideal if manifesting syntropically is the motivation.
I am not sure who the "we" is that "has two core myths"? I don't have two core myths.
Sorry- this wasn't directed at you specifically. My concern with Magick in general is that the human "will" often means the ego, in fact it's wickedly hard to separate from that. How do we know what our heart truly desires? It's what makes me so wary of this entire genre, especially manifestation.
And when I say "we" have two core myths I mean humanity. One about aligning with the universe (the hero's journey) and the other about what horrible things happen if we don't.
Keen to hear more about your innovation as it evolves!
Thanks Julianne, precisely the kind of interesting rabbit hole I hoped this piece would throw up!
Weird- not sure if you saw on twitter or something, but I’m reading Bache’s book now!
Thank you as always Anne Marie