“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” ~Krishnamurti How do we know that our society is profoundly sick? 1.) Our society pollutes the air it needs to breathe. 2.) Our society pollutes the water it needs to drink. 3.) Our society pollutes the food it needs to eat. 4.) Our society pollutes the minds it needs to evolve with. Any system that forces its people to breathe polluted air, drink polluted water, eat polluted food and then continue

“Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.” ~John Stuart Mill The pursuit of happiness is overrated. As it turns out, the key to happiness is focusing on something other than happiness. But what does happiness look like in a secular age? In an age where the common intellectual understanding is that the universe is inherently meaningless, what does meaning even m

“Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” ~Karl Marx The best way to “interpret” the world is to stand on the shoulders of giants and attempt to see further than they did. The best way to “change” the world is to connect the dots between various interpretations and then use a proactive, self-interrogated imagination to put it all into action. As Francis Bacon said, “Things alter for the worse spontaneously, i

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.” ~Kurt Vonnegut Monkeyshines: a mischievous act or behavior. A creative escapade. Heightened hijinks. Imaginative antics. Epic tomfoolery mixed with trickster zeal. This is the kind of energy we’ll need to turn along with the great wheel of change without getting crushed. The future is rolling in with a speed that defies reason and threa

“We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.” ~William James Fuck fear! Fuck angst! Fuck existential dread! Turn it all into fuel for the fire of life instead. Life is less about getting what you want and more about making the best of what you get. It’s about playing a shitty hand of poker like a boss. So you got dealt fear, angst, ennui, dread, and a sense of meaninglessness? So what? Play the hand!

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent, and original manner possible.” ~Richard Feynman For most of Western history, we have valued work over play, labor over leisure, seriousness over sincerity. This has been a double-edged sword. It led to the Protestant work ethic, which led to the explosion of both the agricultural and industrial revolutions. But we became a species of hyper-fatigue: over-worked, stressed out, and depleted in mind, b

“Those who cling to life die, and those who defy death live.” ~Kenshin Trickster is a psychosocial symbol for the chaotic and unpredictable side of human thought and behavior—what Jung called an archetype. In depth psychology it is contrasted with the Apollonian part of the mind that values order and control. A balance between these two aspects of the psyche is optimal. But the power of inverted humor transforms the way the game is played. Trickster is allowed to trick the se