Some Things to Ponder:
“When an asshole becomes enlightened, he becomes an enlightened asshole.” Ramdev Dale Borgum
Those who think, “some day I won’t have to do this anymore; some day I won’t have to work” are often those who loose sight of what work can really be.
“You can’t be a real optimist until you’re staggering underneath the burden, laughing with wobbling knees and shaking aside hot tears. Bow your head, and accept the lot He has given you under the sun.” - Pr0ph3t1
Some Things to Read:
The Art of Travel
The Art of Travel by Alain de Button, a revitalizing and philosophical inquiry into what it means to travel.
I just returned from another phenomenal trip to Rincon, Puerto Rico, my second time to the island. During my stay, I spent my mornings surfing, my afternoons walking, and, to fill the time in-between, I read.
I decided to revisit a book I had previously read - but not finished - on my first journey to “la Isla del Encanto,” and I want to share this book with you now to maybe pass on what it offered me. If you’re a fan of traveling, and I don’t know many who are not, this book gives you something many others cannot: a new pair of glasses through which to see the familiar and unfamiliar world.
The Art of Travel has the ability to enhance the quality of one’s adventures to many sorts of places, and expand upon notions which you may not even be aware of, but live vicariously through, each time you travel.
To be inspired and to be curious; to contemplate the “nature of things” and reconnect to the very world which many are disconnected. To feel the world around you, live and breathe as the other, and imagine the seemingly endless possibilities of what is to come. This is The Art of Travel.
I’m not by any means what one would consider a notorious reader, and even I struggled to put this book down. To conclude, all I can add is a thanks to my dad, who bought this book for me as a Christmas gift, you picked a good one.
Psychedelic Timeline: a captivating chronicle of our 7000 year relationship with psychedelics
Psychedelic Timeline: a captivating chronicle of our 7000 year relationship with psychedelics, created and curated by Tom Frame, MFT2 , a great way to introduce yourself or re-familiarize yourself with the vast and undetermined history of psychedelics and their use in ancient civilizations across the globe.
While originally I was simply seeking a single date, one single piece of information to aid in a project I have planned for May, I was thoroughly dumbfounded by the amount of information and history I had forgotten, or hadn’t learned at all.
Although being a quick and easy read, this article acts much like a long corridor of the mind, offering a great many doors to enter and subsequent rooms to explore. While reading one might find themselves asking, “what is peyote?”, “what are the Eleusinian mysteries?”, or “what did Bernardino de Sahagún have to say about indigenous use of psychedelic mushrooms?” So many doors, so many rabbit holes.
I would like to quickly emphasize that while much is known about psychedelic history, some of the information in this piece -which is displayed as concrete evidence of psychedelic use- is really just suggestive, and not definitive. Speculation is, as far as I’m concerned, as much an integral part of scientific exploration as the rigorous testing of hypotheses, however. Despite minor speculation, this timeline is for me an eye opener, and offers a glimpse into a past many have no idea ever existed.
Absolutely worth a read if this is your cup of tea.
Some Things to Hearken:
The Joe Rogan Experience EP #1921 w/ Peter Zeihan ~
It’s really simply incredible to me that Joe Rogan, even after nearly 2000 episodes, has managed to once again sit down with someone, who’s point of view I’ve never quite heard anything like before. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there is plenty of folk out there with a similar pedigree as Peter who simply haven’t had the exposure as he, and I’m sure his point of view isn’t without its flaws. However, I’m just happy to see Joe continue to interact with people of all sorts, and expand on his already broad range of ideas, even if they go against the notions he’s held in the past. To me, this is what, at least in part, his credibility is made of.
Dr. Peter Zeihan is an expert in geopolitics and a well versed man in many other related fields. His work has lead him to “[present] customized executive briefings to a wide array of audiences which include, but are not limited to, financial professionals, Fortune 500 firms, energy investors, and a mix of industrial, power, agricultural and consulting associations and corporations.”3 While I may know little about his work, and his field of expertise, what I can say from listening to the podcast is how his work made me feel.
Peter may not be entirely correct, or correct at all, he is likely in my opinion partially right and wrong; his perspective almost certainly has faults and misconceptions, but in laying out his thesis of what’s to come in the next 10 years, Peter offered an optimism for the future of the United States, as well as for the future of the world. However, he did this while also simultaneously provoking a deep concern for much of our shared home. Countries like China, Russia, and others may be trending towards meltdowns and the supply chains they support may be following suit.
Despite the many capabilities which these nations possess, perhaps things are actually much muddier than what mainstream narratives understand. Regardless, I came away from this podcast with hope; it’s times like these I feel the most fortunate to be an American despite our many issues of corruption and ignorance. We might just have a system and people best suited to take on the next twenty years.
At the same time, this isn’t to say that it’s going to be easy. Peter is not painting a picture in which the US simply watches everything around itself burn from the luxury of a penthouse balcony. Zeihan points out without hesitation, that while the world at large will have a much more difficult job on their hands, we will not simply stroll through the next couple decades. It’s going to take right action.
I would say that while Peter feels there is hope, it’s not the passive, “everything will turn out alright,” hope that produces stagnation and ultimately degeneration. Rather, a hope that can serve as a catalyst for change. A hope that if we play our cards right, we can be better then ever.
Ultimately I am just a man who listens; I don’t think anyone really knows how things are going to pan out. However, this was an interesting listen nonetheless. Peter is clearly a well versed and knowledgeable person with a profound take, and a definite insight into the future. Insight which paints a picture of the present; of a world more engulfed in chaos than most imagine.
Definitely worth a listen. ⬇️
Duncan Trussell Family Hour Podcast EP 535 w/ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche ~
Duncan’s fascination with religious views, spirituality, and all things Buddhism has brought him face to face with some pretty spectacular people over the years. People who at times are spectacularly far-out, in terms of the articulation of their beliefs, but generally very pragmatic and down-to-earth in their presentation.
In episode 535 of the DTFH, Duncan interviews perhaps one of the most far out, and yet simultaneously earthly, individuals I’ve ever had to please to hear speak. He embodies both ends of the spectrum I touched on earlier, while many of the concepts he provides are profoundly exotic, his expression of these ideas come in a playful, easy to understand packets.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a master of Tibetan Dream Yoga, a meditation technique which focuses on the time just before and during sleep. This may seem as far-out as it gets, a result Tibetan Buddhism being the sort of spiritual baby of Buddhism and Hinduism offering many strange and “out-there” ideas to consider. However, when listening to someone like Tenzin, with such experience with these ideas, who’s spent years integrating such into their own life, it’s clear they aren’t as far out as they first seem. Perhaps even, in fact, useful to how we may live our lives.
11/10
Listen hear ⬇️
Huberman Lab Podcast with Dr. Chris Palmer: Diet and Nutrition for Mental Health ~
Dr. Andrew Huberman’s work at bringing free university level education to the general public is outstanding for two reason. For one, the podcast exposes “normal people,” like myself, to the work of people like Dr. Chris Palmer, and secondly, in return, offers these extraordinary people the platform to get their ideas out there; which helps these ideas gain the momentum the need to get mainstream attention. Ideas akin to Dr Chris Palmer’s; ideas which are not only paradigm shifting, but down-right awesome.
Dr. Palmer is a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Huberman’s podcast orients itself around Dr. Palmer’s academic work in this episode, which, in practice and theory, connects the realms of nutrition and mental health together in ways that appear incredibly promising. This work includes Dr Palmer’s personal experience treating patients, as a resident psychiatrist, using diet in conjunction with prescription medication. His work also includes research into, and collection of, information stemming from the work of his academic colleagues, as many have attempted to treat chronic diseases -Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, alcoholism, diabetes etc.- with food.
For me, the best part of this podcast were the personal experiences Chris shared with the audience. From treating and ridding himself first of metabolic syndrome, and at the same time unintentionally treating his depression, then helping a schizo-affective man effectively rid himself of the disorder. These stories are heart warming, offering the listener a glimmer of hope for a potentially better, mentally and physically healthy, society.
There’s clearly a lot of work left, but these ideas have undoubted legitimacy. The more people Dr. Palmer’s and other’s work reaches, the more awareness which is raised, and the more these ideas will gain the support necessary to change the world.
Which is exactly why the world needs people like Dr. Chris Palmer and Dr. Andrew Huberman: to keep people at the forefront of science, and therefore in the best position to develop and evolve their understanding of the world around them.
Science at its best.
Listen here ⬇️
Can’t remember which post; https://substack.com/profile/7104114-pr0ph3t?utm_source=account-card
https://psychedelictimes.com/psychedelic-timeline/
Bottom of page; https://zeihan.com
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More to come,
Good fortune and inspiration.