People are beginning to wake up en masse. I see it everywhere.
Ever growing pockets of humanity are starting to see through and believe less of the bullshit we’ve been force fed since the dawn of time by governments, corporations, and individuals who seek to financially and ideologically enslave and control us.
A multitude of institutions, facades, and falsehoods are crumbling and being recognized for the scams they are – crushing college loans that steal away our best earning years, insolvent economies, politicians’ lies and broken promises, predatory consumer credit, mortgages, obsessive consumerism, abusive interpersonal relationships, toxic corporate culture, deferring dreams until our “golden years”, the list goes on.
People are self-educating, using cryptocurrency to free themselves from oppressive economic systems, connecting with other cultures, healing from past traumas, and generally working to become the best versions of themselves.
"The computer can be used as a tool to liberate and protect people, rather than to control them." — Hal Finney
More of us than ever are realizing that we have the power to craft our own narratives, and we have no time to lose. We have the power to choose our frame of mind, the way we see the world, this is infinitely powerful. It seems like society is on the cusp of a genuine social renaissance but the window of time is short to escape the rotting shell of our broken system, the abyss.
The internet has been mainstream for nearly thirty years, social media has been in existence for close to twenty. We’re just beginning to adapt to these and find our balance again. The thing with technology is that it progresses a heck of a lot faster than human brains and behaviors can adapt to it. We are absolutely spellbound by these massive technological shifts, they leave us completely distracted and enamored, and they can throw off our balance for a decade or more. Until the honeymoon phase wears off with these new waves of technology we can be even more vulnerable to manipulations of all sorts.
Most of us saw Apple’s debut of their new product, Vision Pro last week. This is a very small glimpse into a near future where we’re even more immersed, distracted, and disconnected from each other. In five years or less some version of augmented reality will be widely available and cheap enough that it’ll cause the next massive technological wave. In regard to tech, history shows us that the more immersive a product is the more addictive it will become. What's coming is a perfect storm. This AR/VR wave, when paired with highly advanced artificial intelligence, won’t be quite so easy for us to escape. We can’t escape or even pause evolution but we can be proactive and manage it smartly.
If the paradigm isn’t shifted and we don’t seek balance and restraint before these products hit the mainstream we’ll lose at least another decade, probably more, before we see substantive social change.
How do we make the best use of these handful of years before big tech convinces us we need to have these hideous goggles strapped to our faces?
Pay extra close attention to how you start and end each day. Don’t start your day by doom-scrolling on your phone, instead feed your brain positive and useful things. I’ve spoken before about how I read from The Daily Stoic each day but there are many books like this that offer you a new passage for each day to reflect on. Good reads offers a list of the most popular ones.. For years, in the early nineties I read from 365 Tao and it was very helpful for the stage of life I was in then.
Remember, you control which media outlets you consume information from. Try positive ones like David Byrne’s (form lead singer of The Talking Heads) organization, Reasons To Be Cheerful. They have a newsletter that will deliver uplifting stories right to your inbox. Here is a website that lists many more similar “good news” sites.. Only when you go on a “mainstream media fast” do you realize how dangerous it really is.
Read books. Establish a regular reading goal/time each day. Social media has drastically decreased our attention spans but, with practice, the damage can be undone. Focusing for even twenty minutes a day on a good book can help bring you inner peace and reverse the damage social media has inflicted on our brains. If you’re not a regular reader of books this will be tough at first but the dividends you receive from it are well worth it.
“Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind.” Natalie Goldberg
Keep a journal, not only to record your thoughts but also your dreams. I was gifted a fancy leather-bound notebook for this but after a few weeks just switched to the Notes app on my phone. It’s so much easier to use the phone while traveling or when you’re out and about and have a random thought you want to record. I’ve noticed that once you start documenting everything you remember about your dreams after you first wake up you start remembering more of your dreams and they become more vivid. Dreams can greatly assist us in our spiritual and personal evolution, they’re often symbolic and full of guidance.
Force yourself to try something new once a month. It infuses energy and excitement into your life and relationships. Routines can be so comforting that we all tend to wrap ourselves in them like a warm blanket. However, routines can also stifle our personal growth and leave us stuck. Whether it’s a new restaurant, a park you’ve never visited, a tour, a class, learning a new hobby, or even an Airbnb experience in your home town. It’s good for the soul to try new things and you might even make new friends in the process.
Hone your critical thinking skills. I can’t stress this enough. In the age of AI it will be much more difficult to discern truth from fiction. Be proactive and begin honing these skills now with books, classes, and products like these critical thinking flash cards from The Thinking Company. This also has the added benefit of being able to more quickly recognize gaslighting and narcissistic behavior in others.
Rediscover and cherish the importance of connecting with others. Humans are social beings, we need meaningful connections with others to thrive and be our best and happiest selves. There’s an abundance of research out there that shows we even need these connections to maintain our mental and physical health. It’s easy to blow off invitations from friends, especially after we’ve gotten used to seclusion during the pandemic, but it’s more important than ever to say yes to this.
Last, but not least…practice meditation. It's not as easy as you'd think to but it will enhance your life more than you can possibly imagine. It's the single best thing you can do for yourself and I'm not just saying that because I want to sell books. After over thirty years of practicing myself I shudder to think about what kind of person I would have become if I hadn't found meditation in my 20's.
Technology is an important tool for humanity. In just a few years it will help our species evolve to do things that today would seem like magic. But it will be equally important to maintain some kind of balance and retain the important parts of our humanity as we wade into the uncharted waters of our not-so-distant future. I may be biased but I think there are many parts of us that are well worth saving.
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
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Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.
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