“It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job.” ~Douglas Adams Clowns to the left of us, jokers to the right, and the entire nation is stuck in the middle. The problem is that they are clowns who don’t even realize they are clowns. They are jokers who don’t see the joke is on us all. The outdated insti

“What does nihilism mean? That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking. “Why?” finds no answer.” ~Nietzsche Why does “Why?” find no answer? Because there is no answer. This is the heart of nihilism. The difficult quandary is what do we do about this? Do we balk (become ascetic), or do we surrender (embrace it with a good sense of humor)? Do we cling to some temporal, monistic, or eternal world that may never come? Or do we courageously dive into nihilism,

“Doctors study medicine. Teachers study education. Healers study darkness.” ~Mark Lundy Everyone has a dark side. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either selling something, or they’ve repressed their shadow. Or both. Your dark side, your shadow, is hidden behind your persona. Your persona is your surface front. It’s the mask you show the world. It’s the mask you wear to appease the world. It’s the mask you wear to convince yourself, and to hide the fact, that you are a dange

"Conquer yourself rather than the world.” ~Descartes In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an intricate and confusing maze-like structure built by Daedalus for King Minos to hold the Minotaur. Daedalus had so ingeniously designed the Labyrinth that he could barely even escape it himself. Have no illusions, you are in the labyrinth. In fact, you are the labyrinth. You’re a walking, talking, pissing, shitting labyrinth all by yourself. Your psyche is a multilayered maze inside

“Art, like morality consists in drawing the line somewhere.” ~G.K. Chesterton Drawing the line somewhere is always easier said than done. When it comes to the self-indulgent traps in this article, it is doubly so. That’s because these traps seem to be good for us. And maybe they are, in moderation. But they trick us into thinking that we cannot get enough of them. They play upon our deep-seeded fear of not having enough. They fool us into thinking we will miss out, or lose ou

“Yes, a sacred Yes is needed, my brothers, a new beginning, a self-propelling wheel, a first motion, for the sport of creation: the spirit now wills its own will, the spirit sundered from the world now wins its own world.” ~Nietzsche The metamorphosis of the spirit is a Nietzschean overcoming. It’s a Dionysian upheaval. It’s a Sisyphean undertaking. It is not for the faint of heart, the weak of mind, the contented in spirit, or those who cling to outdated traditions or preser

“It is the height of selfishness to merely consume what others create and to retreat into a shell of limited goals and immediate pleasures. Alienating yourself from your inclinations can only lead to pain and disappointment in the long run, and a sense that you have wasted something unique.” ~Robert Greene How do you become a prime mover? How do you become more self-determined, more self-aware, more responsible for your lot in life? How do you become your own boss, fully voli