MasterSelf

The Last Question: Scarcity, Abundance, and Syntropy

What is the critical difference, the thing that makes one person thrive where another flounders? This is something I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about recently, and we’re going to explore it today. Along the way, we’re going to explore the concepts of scarcity and abundance, take a look at the Matthew Effect, revisit my Theory of Everything, and try and answer the last question.

Beyond Influence, VI: Too Dumb to Read the News

Today we have a long-overdue episode of the Beyond Influence series from my good friend and Aion Media cofounder, Benjamin George...

The Prisoner's Dilemma: Trust, Relationships, and Risk

We’re going to start with a famous game theory thought experiment, the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Along the way, we’re going to see what this has to do with relationships, evolution, and more...

The Sickness of the World: Coronavirus and Systemic Failure

Yes, you guessed it, I’m talking about the Coronavirus, COVID-19, or, as I will probably be referring to it after this point, the ‘Rona. Well, actually, this is going to be more of an excuse to talk about a few other things, but we’re going to start briefly with the virus...

Aesthetic Warfare and the Dream of the Beautiful World

There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently- the role of beauty and aesthetic in the world. I’ve written about aesthetics a bit in my article Why I Don’t Talk About Politics (or: Philosophy 101), but never at length, at least as far as I can remember...

The Adversary

Of all questions asked by Man throughout the ages, central among them is likely the question of evil. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we suffer? Why is the world full of pain and heartbreak, love lost and families broken, predators preying on victims and the innocence of our birth being consumed by the dark realities of this culture?

The Means are the End: Simple Stories and Distal Effects

There’s a concept that I use a lot that somehow I’ve managed to have not written about yet, so today we’re going to rectify that. Today, we’re going to be discussing how “the means are the end,” as well as why the end does not justify the means. In the process, we’re going to explore the nature of second (+) order effects, interconnectedness, and the role that ethics play in our actions. Let’s get started.

Lessons From My Father

By the time this article is posted, it will be my father John Dailey’s 50th birthday. I turned 25 this year, so this will be the last year that he’s ever more than twice my age. On that note, today I’m going to share with you some of the best lessons that I’ve learned from my father, as well as relate to you some stories that you may appreciate.

Beyond Influence, V: Autoimmune Influence Diseases (ft. The Huntsman)

Today we have the fifth chapter in our Beyond Influence series with a guest post from The Huntsman, Autoimmune Influence Diseases. Enjoy this exceptionally thorough yet concise lesson in thinking.

At The Time When Kings Go Off To War (Guest Post ft. J.A. Dailey)

Today we have an exiting guest post from my father, J.A. Dailey, about leadership, King David, and the Bathsheba Syndrome. Without further ado, here’s “At The Time When Kings Go Off To War,” enjoy!

Beyond Influence, IV: Kænt (Guest Post ft. DT)

Today, we have another chapter of the Beyond Influence series (read chapters one, two, and three) from first time contributor DT– enjoy his very nice short story, titled Kænt.

Post-Individualism: Synthesis and Expanded Self Interest

Today, we’re going to go in depth and attempt to solve what I see as one of the primary problems with modern culture- the seeming paradox that exists between humans as social animals and our identity as individuals, or perhaps even our lack of identity as individuals.

Beyond Influence, III: Brainwash Yourself (ft. Chance Lunceford)

Today we have the third chapter of our series Beyond Influence, Brainwash Yourself (read I and II first) from our first two-time contributor, Chance Lunceford.

The Indictment of Potential: Obligation and Self-Interest

There’s a concept I’ve been playing with for a bit that I call the Indictment of Potential. To put it simply, this is the burden that having ideals, goals, and the possibility of success places on the individual, as it represents some sort of inherent insufficiency in the present that must be overcome. Today, we’re going to be exploring that concept, as well as the nature of obligation in the individual, and what obligation a man may have to society.

Beyond Influence, II: (Not) Beyond Influence (ft. John Giuffre)

Today, we have the second part of our series Beyond Influence with a fun, educational, and characteristically irreverent article from my good friend, comedian and founder of Logos Productions, John Giuffré.

The Demon of Razgriz: Destruction and the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory

Today, I have for you what will probably be the most obscure thing that I ever write an article about- a fake myth/poem from a PS2 game that I played as a child. That game is Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, and that myth is about the Demon of Razgriz, which was apparently significant enough for me to remember for 15 years after playing it- that’s gotta be worth something, right?

Beyond Influence, I: A Light in a Darkened World

I had a realization the other day- there doesn’t seem to be any comprehensive resource or educational tool in the world to train individuals in the art and skill of resisting influence. This struck me as relatively incredible, considering there’s a market for all kinds of needlessly foolish nonsense, so why not this?

All Things in Time: Chronos, Kairos, Aion

Today, I’ve got a wild one for you. We’re going to be taking a look at the nature of time itself, as seen through the lenses of the three Greek conceptions of time, Chronos, Kairos, and Aion. Along the way, I’m going to bring this back to Eden and the Dreamtime for a new perspective on the dawn of Man, and we’re going to try and tie in natural law, attractors, inevitability, and more.

Meditations on Frame: Manipulation and the Framing Effect

Welcome back to another wildly speculative article- today, we’re going to return to a topic I talked about in an article last year, the concept of frame. This isn’t going to be a continuation of that article, and to be completely honest, I’m not going to reread it before writing this one- I’m primarily looking to explore some ideas today and see where it goes. We’re going to start with the “framing effect” in psychology, then we’ll take a look at the various lenses we use to see the world as they relate to our overarching frame, and from there, how our frames compete in social situations and why that matters.

Invictus: Developing the Unconquerable Mindset

Today, we’re going to be exploring the story behind what I consider to be one of the greatest poems ever written- Invictus, by William Ernest Henley. Along the way, we’ll take a look at the nature of adversity, the difference between the psychological responses of prey and predator (and how those relate to our capacity for resilience), and why you can only become unconquerable when you decide to ask for more punishment.

The Spear of Destiny, Symbol of the Will

There’s a myth that’s fascinated me since I first watched Constantine as a kid- the legend of the Spear of Destiny. For a long time, I figured it was a literal spear in the sense that a lot of the stories about it describe as a physical historical artifact, but some recent developments (and the fact that myths are rarely factual in the “veritas” sense that science is factual) have led me to take a closer look at the myth. Today, we’re going deep into the symbol of the Spear and what it means to man as a whole. Along the way, we’re going to be exploring some famous heroes and gods know for wielding spears, the evolutionary origins of thrown weapons, and more.

The Parable of the Blacksmith and the King

Once upon a time, there was a prosperous kingdom. The people lived in peace and abundance, all thanks to the even-handed rule of the wise king. His door was always open, and he made himself available to hear the troubles of everyone, from lofty noblemen to even the lowliest peasant.

Against Fear: Inertia’s Razor and the Culture of Ignorance

Today, we’re going to revisit a topic that I attempted to write about for what would have been the second article on the site way back in the summer of ‘17- fear. As you’re going to learn here shortly, “fear is the mind-killer,” since we so often lose before we even begin due to our fears preventing action. We’re going to take a look at the origins of fear, its effects, and how to deal with (or perhaps just act in spite of ) fear.

The Power of Symbolism and The Architecture of Mind

I was originally going to make this a Twitter thread when I thought about the idea for this article during a run, but I think this probably deserves a full article. If you’re familiar with me or this site (re: The Meaning of AION, I), you probably know I’m a huge fan of symbolism, both for graphic design purposes (check out my work) and for more meaningful pursuits. Today, we’re going to take a look at the power of symbolism with some of the underlying mechanics that symbols operate on in the mind, their value in the culture, their role as memes, and a whole lot more.

Minimum Viable Philosophy (MVP): Keeping it Simple, Stupid

Today, we’re going to talk about my approach to philosophy, which is a little different from how most other people have tried to approach things. This article will be complementary to some of the concepts I discussed in Metanarrative, but it’s not going to be entirely necessary to read that for the sake of this. In essence, there’s a concept from the business world called minimum viable product, which is the bare minimum you need to get started when launching a startup. In that vein, I’m going to discuss what I call minimum viable philosophy, which is the bare minimum of things that people need to agree on to function together in society well.

Not in the Monastery: Enlightenment, Through Struggle

There’s a quote I’ve used in probably four articles on this site that I think finally deserves its own article. I can neither tell you where I heard this quote, nor have my prodigious Googling skills revealed any hints as to where it came from, but if I had to guess, Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance would be my thought. That book is required reading, in my opinion. Anyway, the quote is “Enlightenment is found not in the monastery, but the marketplace,” so we’re going to talk about what that means, the nature of “enlightenment,” and the value of moving towards the struggle.

The Unbroken Golden Chain: Inversion and Recombination

There’s a symbol I’ve always been a huge fan of- the Unbroken Golden Chain. This has actually been used a number of different ways historically- in western religions, it’s the unbroken chain of salvation (from a Puritan theologian called Perkins), in middle eastern religions, it’s a line of spiritual authority claimed by the Shia Muslims (and a similar concept exists for the Sufis as well), and the Freemasons use the concept as a name for one of their sub-organizations (nothing fancy, just for wives of Freemasons). There’s also a Hermetic text using the name. I may even make an argument that Jacob’s ladder constitutes a use of the symbol, but that’s going to have to wait until we really unpack what the Unbroken Golden Chain represents.

Traitors in the Palace: Ideology in the Absence of Truth

This article is going to serve as something like the theoretical fleshing-out of a fictional piece I’m planning on adapting from a Twitter thread called “The Blacksmith and the King.” The idea behind the thread (and the fable I’m turning it into) is effectively a narrative version of my article The Desert of Nihilism and the Throne of God, specifically as it pertains to ideology in the modern age. On that note, today we’re going to be looking at the idea that “all memes aspire to the position of God,” as well as the effects of the absence of the highest-order value in the culture and how that leads to the rise of ideology and justification.

The Culture War and the Blood-Stained Goddess

There’s a topic I’ve touched on briefly a number of times here, but today we’re going all in on it- the Culture War. I’ve called this the War for the Soul of Man and the War for the Human Spirit, but those are a bit more specific in my usage. The Culture War (yeah, that’s getting capitalized) is almost certainly the greatest conflict facing the modern world at present. I’ll qualify that statement as we get into it, because it sounds like really pretentious first-world-problems thinking, but it goes so much deeper than that. This is a battle for the hearts, minds, and even the bodies of every man, woman, and child on this planet. There is no escape from the conflict, because it reaches down into all areas of life.

Childhood’s End and the Rise of the Metahuman

There’s an idea I’ve been playing with for some time- the notion of the metahuman. I’m convinced that there’s a distinct difference between those who possess metaconsciousness, and those who don’t. So many of the normal human pitfalls, like racism, sexism, classism, and all the other fun kinds of tribalism are symptomatic of this absence of metaconsciousness. Duality is a prison that traps most people, stuck in a worldview where a clearly defined “us” and “them” exists, and (surprise,) it’s always the “them” that are the bad guys. The metahuman is free from such delusions, or at least has the capacity to transcend them with effort.

The Human Animal: Modernity, Biology, and New Tribes

The subject for today is going to be the nature of Man as a self-domesticated “human animal” that seems to be in denial of this fact. We like to think we’re somehow separate from the rest of the animal kingdom and the natural world, and I think this denial is tied to many of modern society’s ills.

UltraSelf II: Running My First 50k

It didn’t take as long as I thought it would in the last chapter to get to my first 50k (31 miles)- I ran one yesterday. Originally, my plan was to do a week of 10 miles every day, but that ended up being unrealistic. For me to run 10 miles on a work night means I’d be going to bed late every single day, and that’s a quality-of-life hit I’m not willing to take. On the bright side, I’m moving from Reno to Raleigh in a little over a week, so I’ll be free from Tesla’s 12 hour shifts and will have significantly more time (or at least a more flexible schedule) to train.

Metanarrative: To Tell The Greatest Story Ever Told

Today, we’re going to be tackling perhaps the most critical of all subjects in our present age- the nature of the war for control of the metanarrative, or as I call it, the War for the Human Spirit (or the War for the Soul of Man, depending on context). Recommended reading for this article is going to be Triple Meta and Memetic Engineering (and probably the whole Memetics series, as the metanarrative is largely concerned with the realm of the noosphere).

The Third Eye: Value in the Structure of Mind

Today, we’re going to be combining two of the broader subjects I’ve covered. First, we have the series I began with Value in the Highest, and the articles I wrote on the three core values, Love, Will, and Truth. Next, we have the Pieces of Mind series- both series will be suggested reading for this article, as well as The Desert of Nihilism and the Throne of God. I’ve talked about how the values are important, and how the mind seems to have some overarching structure, but in this article I’m going to attempt to join the two concepts and show how the values actually emerge from the structure of the mind itself. Along the way, we’re going to talk about the “Third Eye” symbol, polarity, submission and dominance, and more.

The Shattered Will: Neural Circuits and Compound Failure

This article is going to be something like a follow-up to the two willpower articles I wrote around this time last year (which will be required reading here), Defeating the Three Demons of Failure and the 10 Day Challenge. Since I wrote those, I’ve done a lot of experimenting with building willpower, some of it based on what’s in the book I co-authored, The Five Pillars of the Ascendant Mind. Anyway, if you’re really compelled it may be beneficial to read my recent article, The Origin of Consciousness, but that’s way more complex than what I’m writing about today, so it’s not super necessary. Also consider reading Value in the Highest and To Choose Life, as they both cover a more philosophical approach to the capital-W Will. Today, though we’re going to talk about what I’m going to call the Shattered Will, neural circuitry, and some strategies to use to start developing your willpower.

UltraSelf, Ch. I: From Zero To Marathon in Four Months

At long last, I’m back with another blog series, so this is technically a continuation of In The Desert, FasterSelf, and The Carnivore Challenge (meaning you should probably read those). I love doing these because they’re way easier to write and I can make them significantly funnier than abstract philosophy stuff, though not for lack of trying. On this episode of “Garrett does things sane people don’t do,” I have decided to become an ultrarunner- here’s how I went from not running at all to running a marathon in just about four months.

You Am What You Is (Guest Post Ft. Billy Red Horse)

Today we have a guest post from the honorable Mr. Billy Red Horse, who you may know on Twitter (@BillyRedHorse) as The Gentleman Mystic. The Red Horse was kind enough to supply this delightful story- the first fictional piece on the site. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Zero Sum: Abundance, Sanity, and The Generative Force

There’s something that a lot of people in a certain corner of Twitter talk about a lot that I never really cared for- “abundance mindset.” This is right up there with the Law of Attraction in my book, as far as woo-woo nonsense is concerned. Mostly, though, I think people get attracted (forgive my pun) to these simple ideas when the truth is a little more complicated. With that being said, I’m going to attempt to make this as easy as possible- we’re going to talk about zero sum games, the effects that scarcity and abundance have on the mind, the nature of creativity and sanity, as well as something I call the Generative Force.

The Origin of Consciousness: Dreamtime and the Lotus on the River

Today we’re going to be taking a look at a pretty nebulous, complex concept- the origin of consciousness. This is no small task, so for the sake of your sanity, reader, make sure you’ve read Solomon, Pieces of Mind 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3, Triple Meta, and AION, II), Myth and Meaning I and II, and, if you’ve seen the show, the Westworld article as well. We’re going to hit all kinds of stuff here, from an old Buddhist story about the lotus, Julian Jaynes’ theory of consciousness, the Aboriginal Dreamtime, the Triune Brain theory, artificial intelligence, and we’ll even discover what the opposite of the word ‘meta’ is.

AIΩN AΓΩN: Ego Death, Eternal Struggle, and Becoming Human

Not Today: Thanos, The Night King, and Cultural Nihilism

Today I’m going to be looking at two of the most fascinating examples of nihilism in the culture- Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Night King (and more broadly, the White Walkers and Wights) from Game of Thrones. It’s going to be beneficial to have read The Desert of Nihilism and the Throne of God before this one. Along the way, we’re going to touch on how the Avengers are the new Greek pantheon, the fact that the Lord of Light (R’hllor) represents the force of life, and that both shows are notable for being centered around fighting nihilism as the core theme.

Memetic Divinity: Prophets, Tribes, and the God-Meme

Truth, Ignorance, and the Veil of Maya

Today we’re hitting the third piece of my three part series on the core values, Love, Will, and Truth. I’ve written (and will continue to write) about the notion of Truth at length before, but I feel compelled to continue to do so because it’s so central and critical a concept to understand. Truth is, of course, the highest value in my philosophical system, and the specific idea of Truth (that I explained in my article on the Hindu concept “Sat”) that I’m using is absolutely essential to grasp. We’re going to look at Truth, its opposite, Ignorance, and the illusions that make up the Veil of Maya.

Memetic Possession: Ideology and the Weapon of Fate

The New Ideal: In Search of the Perfect System

One of the things I’ve been interested in for ages is the idea that there could theoretically be a perfect system, an ideal means by which a man could live his life. Many of the strange things I’ve done (like going over a month without food and eating only meat for three months) can be attributed to this, as well as the overarching theme of this site. For a long time, I was only theorizing that such a system could be possible, but now that I’ve mastered a few of the basics, I’m convinced that it exists. To that end, I’m going to explore some of the components I think are essential in the defining of this new ideal, as well as discussing one of my crazier plans for the next few years. (This article is more or less a follow-up to “The Birth of the Hero,” so that’s probably worth a read here.

To Choose Life: Suffering, Denial, and The Will

When was the last time in your life you made a decision? I’m not talking about deciding where to go for lunch or picking what you’re going to wear in the morning. I mean truly deciding to do something, understanding the implications of your choice fully and committing wholly to being responsible for whatever may come of it? If you’re like most people, you’ll never really decide to do anything in your life. “But Garrett, people make choices all the time, don’t they?” No, most people live their lives in a noncommittal, lukewarm state of just doing what they’re told, or what’s expected of them, or what they expect that others expect of them. Most people never decide to choose Life. They never really choose to live.

On Leadership: Competence and Command

I had a realization today. In most cases, good leaders seem to be the exception rather than the rule. This seems to be the case in almost all areas of leadership- I’ve had significantly more bad bosses than good, and most management structures seem to be weak. It always strikes me as amazing that large groups of people even manage to function at all. If you’ve ever seen the inner workings of a bureaucracy, you’ll know what I mean. Beyond that, even among the American presidents, we only remember a small handful. On that note, we’re going to take a look at what exactly it is that so many miss when it comes to leadership.

Self Love (Like Kanye Loves Kanye)

I came up with the idea for this article’s title in the shower this morning, and while at first I thought that was just a great article name, I’m convinced that Kanye West is probably the best person to use as an example when talking about self-love. (To be fair, I hadn’t really thought about this topic before I came up with the title, but let’s see what I can do with it.) As of right now, I’m thinking this will be the first of three articles exploring Love, Will, and Truth in more depth (although only this one will be Kanye-centric, unfortunately). Without further ado, let’s get learn how to practice self-love (like Kanye loves Kanye).

Memetic Contagion: (Mental) Health and Kids on Amphetamines

Beyond the Masculine and Feminine