The Existential Detective Network

What I Learned From My Sabbatical

Adrian Unger — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0700

What I learned from my sabbatical

I don’t like work. I really don’t. My greatest fear is having to work some dead-end, menial job just to survive. Or, worse, actually being physically forced to work.

Why I have that deep fear is a story for another time, the point is I’m uncomfortable with work.

It’s emotionally burdensome. And intellectually feels like something forced on me by society.

“Looks like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays!”

Yet, I found a way. I taught myself programming, mostly worked remotely my whole career, I even got some satisfaction out of creating things.

Then I got to a point where it wasn’t working anymore. I had started reading some shit that broke my view of the world. Well, the pandemic kicked it off and then it was all kinds of disruption following that.

I just knew I couldn’t fix it. Work that is. It was just time to continue down the path of disrupting my view of the world.

And so I learned what I could. Whatever was interesting to me. Spirituality, occult mysticism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Kabbalah, esoteric tools like Tarot, Astrology, Human Design, Numerology and some new-agey shit too.

And they’re all fine. If you read between the lines they’re all getting at the same thing. Nice, whatever.

None of them are truth.

None of them are salvation.

There’s no simple answer. There’s no clear picture. It’s just fucking work.

So we’re back here. With my fear of work. Ugh.

But it’s the only way. I can either coast off my savings until I have to work to survive again and likely get more trapped and face my demons without any stability.

Or, I can do the damn work. Now. Consciously and with as much grace as I can muster.

But that’s it. You have to go inwards.

You can use whatever language you like, follow any system or framework that jives with you, but no matter what—you have to go inwards.

That’s what’s at the core of all the philosophies and astrology and mysticism and, well, all of it by my account: Look at your own damn self!

Bring awareness to EVERYTHING you do and how you act and why your react and just go, layer by layer, to the depths of your inner most self…

…and when you think you’ve reached the end…

…just keep going…

And it feels like damn work! It’s unpleasant, uncomfortable and generally requires more effort than trivial pleasures and niceties.

The crazy thing is, work—like societal work, like getting paid—is less work than this BS. Work can actually be a great way to hide from going inwards!

It’s the first thing I did when I sensed this discomfort with who I was being on the outside—I just worked more and harder!

So here I am. Doing whatever I can to distract myself from doing the work of going inwards.

Yet, there’s no going back. I can’t just play the game. I mean do any of you actually feel comfortable just playing the game? Doesn’t it all just feel so broken?

Wildfires, fascism, wars, waste, deforestation, and just a general feeling of chaos and aggression all around.

But there’s no fixing it. Not really. Not unless more people start going inwards. Human psychology is funny that way—we unconsciously recreate our inner state in the outer world.

“Until we have met the monsters in ourselves, we keep trying to slay them in the outer world. And we find that we cannot. For all darkness in the world stems from the darkness in the heart. And it there that we must do our work.”—Marianne Williamson

No matter how deep it is, all of our inner turmoil, discomfort and discordance comes out through our perspective and behavior.

And it’s not even about morality or right and wrong. It’s just energy. Really. You know you can feel the difference when your partner is happy vs mad. Or if a coworker is depressed or being negative.

Which isn’t to say we need to be happy all the time. But, there’s, what, eight billion of us? How many of us—myself included!—are putting out icky, discordant energy?

And then, just unconsciously acting in harmful or self-defeating ways or doing the “right” thing according to someone else or societal expectation all the while harboring resentment and bitterness?

Just the other day, as a wildfire burns on the edge of town, I passed by firefighters inspecting another fire that started on the side of the road, right downtown! Thankfully someone ran and doused it with water before it could take hold.

But, goodness, how do you think that fire almost started? Probably a cigarette butt tossed from a car, right? What kind of jackass does that while a wildfire burns on the edge of town?!

It’s easy to assume that that person is stupid. But I think that’s bullocks. People aren’t stupid. Not really. They’re just unaware. Unconscious. On autopilot. Their mind wandering. Not present.

Being present is work.

It takes intention and effort. It’s so easy to live in our heads. To create stories about everything. To rehash the past. To hold grudges. To jump between a multiplicity of competing identities—most which are discordant with our actual true nature.

All of which takes your awareness out from the present.

All of our stories, our grudges and resentments and our invented identities need to be dealt with.

Our habits, beliefs and trauma too.

It’s the only way. It’s the only way to fix this broken game we’re all playing.

But it’s fucking work! So, I gotta deal with that. I gotta do the work to figure out why I’m so resistant and fearful of work.

Well ain’t that some snake eating its own tail bullshit. 🐍

“A lot of people turn to something they hope will liberate them without having to face themselves. That is impossible. We can’t do that. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to see our gut, our excrement, our most undesirable parts.”—Chögyam Trungpa

Yet, there is a glimmer of hope. As Rumi says so simply, “The desire to know your own soul will end all other desires.”

We’ll see…

❤️

On Uncertainty

Adrian Unger — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0700

It’s all just an approximation. That’s the core issue of the egoic mind. The egoic mind is the mind that wants, needs, to define everything. It seeks complete certainty.

Yet, the egoic mind is a subset of the, well, bigger mind, which itself is just a function of our brains. We are not our brains. We are the consciousness that is aware of our brains.

“Awareness isn’t something we own; awareness isn’t something we possess. Awareness is actually what we are.”―Adyashanti

And, our experience of consciousness? Well, it’s subjective. Meaning, it’s literally not objective. We can’t measure it like we measure grains of sand. I will never know your experience. You will never know mine.

All we can hope to do, maybe, is share an approximation. To communicate something in words that points to our actual experience. But those words do not actually contain the experience. They don’t even tell the complete story. They can’t. They’re an approximation.

Even the words in our own minds don’t convey our own full experience to our own selves… whoa

Which is the core issue of the egoic mind. It needs certainty. It needs to know, well, everything. But it can’t. And so it seeks certainty wherever it can.

Oh well! That’s what it does. So let the egoic mind do its thing. Thankfully, we don’t need to identify with it. We don’t need to let it run the show.

Where do you seek certainty? Is there somewhere in your life that you could embrace uncertainty more?

"Become at ease with the state of 'not knowing'. This takes you beyond mind because the mind is always trying to conclude and interpret. It is afraid of not knowing. So, when you can be at ease with not knowing, you have already gone beyond the mind." —Eckhart Tolle

p.s. My partner and I just started a joint Substack, On The Path of Heart!

The Actual Truth Of Free Will

Adrian Unger — Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 -0700

Free will has been discussed for literally thousands of years. Immense volumes and lengthy diatribes have been penned on what, exactly, is free will—and—do we even have it.

Well, let me clear this all up for all humanity: yes… sort-of. There. You’re welcome.

I’ve come to the conclusion, in all my earthly wisdom, that our free will dictates that we can either act in accordance with our true nature, or not.

Most of us are in the or not camp. At least some of the time. Likely most of the time. What does the or not camp entail? Acting from our conditioned self. Our ego self. Our lower case “s” self. You know, our false self.

Basically the “self” that is not our capital “S” Self. Which would be our authentic Self. True Self. Maybe even “higher” Self.

With so many ways to refer to our “self” you can see why there’s so many self-help books. Har har har.

But seriously. There’s your conditioned self and your authentic self. And your free will is the choice to dig through your conditioned self in order to uncover, reveal and remember your true self.

This might be upsetting to some. Some of you might say “I can do whatever I want and be whomever I want!” No, Sally, you can’t. You can just be conditioned Sally or true Sally. That's it. That’s your choice.

Honestly, that should be enough. Digging through one’s conditioned self is a lifetime of work. CG Jung remarked that the process of individuation was one’s magnum opus—the work of their lifetime. I mean, if it takes a lifetime, do you really have time for anything else anyway?

You see, it is part of the human condition to be conditioned. That’s why it’s called: “the human condition!” Obvious, right? There’s just no avoiding it. It’s just how our brains work. It’s how we develop.

No matter how “perfect” your upbringing—even with no significant trauma—your child mind is designed to be molded¹. We have evolved to adapt to our “tribe” so that we survive. In the past not being accepted by one’s tribe was literally life and death. The potential to make it alone in the wild was next to none. Food, shelter, companionship and of course, not being eaten by a lion were all fulfilled by the tribe.

So, we evolved to adapt our behaviour. To take on the beliefs, patterns and behaviors of our caregivers. While it’s highly beneficial during our early years, in our modern era, once we grow old enough to strike it on our own, we bring all of that conditioning and adaptation with us.

And, while that conditioning may have served us in development so that we fit in with our tribe and ensured survival, there’s no guarantee those beliefs and behaviours will serve us in adulthood. Indeed, they’ll likely hinder us and show up in troubling ways because our true self wants to be freed to express itself!

So, how do you free your true self, you ask? Well, let me clear this one up for humanity as well: you just… ugh… do it. Yup.

Really, the first step is to at least have the intention to do it. The intention to honestly and compassionately look at your own self. To bring awareness to your own actions and reactions. And then—really important here—take full responsibility.

There’s no freedom in blaming others or circumstance. The only freedom is constantly prying away the layers of your own conditioning and taking ownership of it.

You might notice that this is all quite simple. And that’s because it is. But simple is not always easy. It’s much easier to blame. Easier to protect oneself. Easier to maintain status quo, to maintain your current patterns and behaviours.

But, that’s it. That’s free will. Act out your programming or act out your authentic self. Wait… but what the heck is an authentic self?

Ha, this is the crux of it all. The cosmic joke really. Once we find aspects of our “true” Self, there’s really nothing to be done about it! It’s just… who we are. Once you get past the conditioned, reactive behaviour and adopted beliefs you arrive at your predilections—or, your patterns, behaviours and general perspective that is essentially unchangeable.

Yup. There’s a part of you that’s just you, uniquely you unlike anyone else. And it’s a beautiful thing when someone acts from that center, from that authentic self. It’s where real creativity and expression come from. Ahh, makes me smile just thinking about it!

The other funny thing is: I can’t prove this to you. The only way to know for sure is to give it a go yourself. But again, this is the crux of our free will. I can’t do this for you. No one can. We can only choose to do it for ourselves.

But, while each of us must walk this path of self-discovery alone, we can still find pointers and sign posts and guidance from others. And—surprise, surprise!—my partner and I started a company to help guide people on their own journeys of self-discovery.

No matter how you go about it, your free will is simply the choice to act out of conditioning or act from your true, utterly unique authentic Self. That's it.

“Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretence. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.” ―Adyashanti

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So, whaddya think? Do you think humanity has more free will? Less?! Let me know.

Children naturally function in the Theta frequency, which is thought to give access to the subconscious mind, and acts as a "repository for memories, emotions, sensations." link, link, link, and link ↩

What everyone gets wrong about free-will

Adrian Unger — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0700

There’s a recent-ish trend of criticizing Stoicism as: a means to placate the masses into subjugation as if to throw up one’s arms and proclaim “everything is as it is and I shall have no part in any changes!” In other words, to accept all of the inequities and divisions of power as they exist today. Living under the rule of a dictator? Oh well, just stiffen up and be "stoic!"

This is honestly so silly yet highlights the nuance of philosophy: do not make a rule out of any philosophy!

What is a potentially useful tenet for self improvement is being reinterpreted as a rule for society or culture. I also see criticisms of Buddhisms teachings around detachment. In both cases, it seems people are taking the Black Mirror approach and pushing the teachings or ideas to their logical extreme. Why? I dunno, maybe so their Egoic logic can poo-poo on a popular idea so they feel smart? ¹

Really, any idea can be taken to a logical extreme and "proven" stupid or dangerous or problematic.

At the heart of these criticisms is the notion that there is a "divine" plan, or in Buddhism an isness that is, in some sense, unavoidable or unchangeable. Yet, this line of thinking may well exist in all category of philosophy.

Even in Materialism we find Sam Harris lamenting:

"[...] but the next choice you make will come out of a wilderness of prior causes that you cannot see and did not bring into being."

Essentially, reducing free-will to that of simple cause-and-effect and, as we cannot control all prior causes and effects, concluding that "The illusoriness of free will is as certain a fact as the truth of evolution, in my mind."

Is that so different than a "divine" plan or a isness that is at some level or some sense, unavoidable and unchangeable? This line of thinking can be found throughout world religions and countless philosophies. Why? What's at the heart of it?

Well, there's two things at play here:

Any belief about free-will is just that—a belief; and
We do need to accept some level of uncertainty and lack of control.

Just because someone says something confidently doesn't mean you need to accept what they are saying 100% (myself included 😉). Even Sam Harris who positions himself at the forefront of Materialist, empirically proven, philosophical thought isn't 100% correct. He may sound convincing and confident in his reductionist view of consciousness and thus free-will yet, it turns out, material sciences have a long way to go in understanding our brains. Any claim that we know with 100% accuracy and confidence how our brains, consciousness and free-will "work" is a bit of a farce.

So, how you choose to view your own consciousness and free-will is, to a large extent, a choice and a belief. I'd recommend building a belief that feels useful to you, more than anything. Personally, I prefer the modern version of this tenet: How is this happening for me?

Obviously, there is some truth to what Sam Harris, Stoicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other religions and philosophies are saying. And it's simply this: we can't control everything. Even if free-will is real and not illusory, my free-will is going to bump up against your free-will—and the free-will of 8 billion others.

Acceptance of what is, can be a very helpful practice. We can also take it too far. As always, the right balance is specific to each an every one of us. Only you know what's right for you!

[¹] I thought about taking this line out as it's a bit rude and perhaps judgemental. But, I realized I was judging my own Ego mind which, on numerous occasions, has convinced itself that it's found a mistake in a New York Times Crossword only to, of course, be proven wrong. 😅

There is no escape 11:11

Adrian Unger — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0800

There are no shortcuts. There are no quick fixes. No secrets or hacks. No "spiritual bypassing." When it comes to developing one's psyche, the process may be simple (or simplified) through various methods and traditions—but it's not easy. It takes focused, persistent effort.

I recently came across the story of the person who "invented" Angel Numbers and how she regrets it. Seemingly, she took her personal experience of synchronicity and attempted to codify an aspect of it—seeing three or more repeating numbers—for the masses.

Instead of people using their own discernment and inner potential for meaning-making, they attached universal meanings to repeating numbers. When you remove that key step of personal meaning-making and discernment, you avoid responsibility.

As Doreen Virtue, "inventor" of Angel Numbers laments, people start believing ‘I don’t have to take action, because the angels are going to do the work,’ or ‘the angels told me this is going to be okay.’

You can see similar behavior when people use their Sun Sign or Life Path Number or whatever else as a crutch: "Oh did I disrespect your boundaries? Sorry, I'm such a Pisces!"; "Oops, did I sabotage the entire project? Sorry, I pulled The Devil card this morning!"

This is why I personally don't care if Astrology is "real" or provable scientifically. To me, it's a tool for awareness. Indeed, in my experience, it seems to have an eerie level of accuracy, but even if it's not perfectly accurate, the point is that it can help people look inward. It provides a language, symbology and archetypes in order to look at one's own psyche objectively, providing a foundation for pursuing the observer or "witness consciousness."

"Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed." —Thich Nhat Hanh

This is a foundational aspect of Jungian Psychology—that there are core archetypes of expression and behavior that are shared across humanity and cultural lines. Each archetype has a higher expression and lower expressions. On the low end, it's either reactive or repressive. The goal is to spot reactive and repressive expressions and seek ways to integrate towards higher, healthy expression.

Using tools like Astrology, Numerology, Tarot, Human Design, or even Enneagram Tests, should be prompts to go inwards, not to identify with and use as an excuse for poor or undesirable behavior. They are guidelines, maps and sign posts for navigating the depths of your own psychology—ideally, with the express purpose of evolving one's behavior, associations and potential complexes.

You hold the sole responsibility for your experience. Your circumstance and opportunities (or lack of) are the result of innumerable variables, actions of other people, chance and laws of nature, but your perspective, response, reaction and meaning-making is solely yours. While it can seem like so much of life is out of our control, taking responsibility for one's experience creates a surprising amount of room for growth and change.

Ultimately, there's no escaping yourself. Your ability to react or, ideally, respond to life is 100% your own. No one can absolve you of this responsibility. Only you can take control of your experience.

“As I often tell my students, the person you’ll have the hardest time opening to and truly loving without reserve is yourself. Once you can do that, you can love the whole universe unconditionally.” ―Adyashanti, Falling Into Grace

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All this responsibility can seem daunting, so here's a fun fact to lighten the mood: The New Jersey Nets basketball team nearly changed their name to The Swamp Dragons back in the nineties! How cool would that have been!?

See ESPN article for more

The limits of Science and what to do about it

Adrian Unger — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0800

To make science the only foundation for your world view is to limit your own experience and perception and understanding.

Science simply measures things.

Even statistical analysis is limited to looking at the past. If you base your actions 100% on statistical analysis of the past how can you hope to do anything new in the future?

Hardcore physicalists or materialists argue that the only reality is whatever we can empirically prove today. Of course this has holes—namely one glaring hole, consciousness.

If you were somehow able to limit your experience to what is provable today by physics you would be forgoing your own conscious experience!

Materialists often seem to deride “spirituality” as easy answers for the unintelligent. Yet spirituality exists because science hasn’t answered some darn big questions about the human experience. Ya know: How did life emerge? Or, how does anything exist?

“It’s almost as if science said, ‘Give me one free miracle, and from there the entire thing will proceed with a seamless, causal explanation.’ The one free miracle was the sudden appearance of all the matter and energy in the universe, with all the laws that govern it.” —Rupert Sheldrake

What even is ‘spirituality?’

Words have shifting meanings over time and within different groups and contexts. Spirituality is definitely one of those words.

To me, spirituality is the bridge between the inner and outer experience we each have. The connection between subjective and objective, of our psyche and the external, measurable world.

Of course, within spirituality there are many who espouse having the answer. Even in regards to answering how the heck quantum mechanics and the problem of the wave-particle collapse works, there’s espousing without evidence.

So what are we to do? To, me, it’s kinda obvious and simple. I call it “personal science.” It’s a stupid term but an effective practice: just try shit out for yourself and bring awareness to the results.

That is, taking a scientific-esque approach to your own personal experience. Whatever you do find, can’t really be universalized as truth for everyone else, but it’s a helpful approach individually. And, sharing it may still help others in their own personal science.

Does matter emerge from consciousness or does consciousness emerge from matter? Pick one and see how it affects your personal experience!

Is there a god or some universal intelligence? Why not! Try it on for size. Just be cautious of turning into a zealot. To make it a personal science you adopt with skepticism.

My shift in worldview

I’ve adopted the belief that there is, indeed, a universal intelligence. A creative intelligence that in some manner, is co-creating all that I experience with me. I simply cannot prove that this is true, to you. Just as physicists today can’t prove or disprove consciousness, I can’t prove to you that there’s a universal, creative intelligence.

Yet, in my own experience my belief seems true. I have experiences that, to me, proves that I am co-creating my reality with a universal intelligence. The exact definition of this creative universal intelligence is still quite fuzzy for me—if it's an aspect of collective unconscious à la Jung or something more akin to Amit Goswami's 'monistic idealism' theory of Quantum Mechanics, I don't know. Either one (and probably a few other theories) support synchronicity as described by Marie-Louise von Franz. (← Must watch video btw)

After having experienced synchronicity why would I deny myself that experience? It fills my life with little sprinkles of joy and delight. ✨

As each synchronicity is an acausal link between two events there’s no way to objectively prove their relation—it’s acausal! There is no objectively observable linear cause and effect.

I went through my adult life basically living through the lens of empiricism. My experience was always centered and grounded in the material world.

Only once my purely logical worldview came tumbling down did I start looking at how science answers the bigger questions about life, only to be disappointed—we don’t know shit! That’s hyperbole but it’s how I felt. And what we don’t know are some really big questions.

Over the last 4 or 5 years I’ve been exploring different beliefs and mental models and have seemingly settled on a pretty cohesive worldview that is NOT provable.

Yet, overall, I’d say I’m much happier and mentally healthy. Much less likely to be overwhelmed by world events and the state of humanity. More compassionate, more open. I was honestly quite a negative person before.

Testing your worldview

Meaning, belief, and a worldview that encompasses the objective and subjective is fertile but tricky terrain. Limiting yourself to what science can actually prove, means you may deny your own experience. Just as growing up narrowly religious or evangelical can leave one looking for one belief to rule them all.

Instead, the reality is, we have to be ready to accept ambiguity—to not knowing without a shadow of a doubt.[^1] We have to be open to trying things on, bringing awareness to how beliefs affect our own behavior and how we interpret our experience. It’s a personal science. It’s an experiment. Sometimes, you just gotta ask yourself if something is at least useful if not provably true.

“The most important question anyone can ask is: ‘What myth am I living?’” —Carl Jung

[^1]: I think we can tap into a 'Knowing' beyond just the rational mind, but that's a topic for another day.

"Love" and "career" are distractions

Adrian Unger — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0800

When it comes to esoteric tools like Astrology, Human Design, Numerology and the like, there's a tendency to want to know one's destiny regarding love and career (or more accurately, money). Yet, I think this is a mistake. And, I think that, because it's a mistake I've made.

I've written about my internal struggles with my work and career before. Essentially, I would bury myself in work at a new company or project and then a couple years later emerge tired, unfulfilled and lacking purpose. It was only more recently that I realized this was a problem entirely within my own psyche and not the result of any particular external circumstance. In other words, my jobs were great, I just had a bit of a complex 😅

This cycle repeated at every job I've had during my software development career. And, only by landing what was essentially my dream job and still repeating this cycle did I realize (with much resistance) that this is entirely a "me" problem.

So, I quite my dream job and have been on sabbatical ever since. I've had the luxury of time to dive deep into my psyche and figure out why I keep hitting these walls of dissatisfaction and lack of "purpose" and "meaning."

And, it was honestly a panic at times. "What the heck am I going to do for work?" "Will I ever program again?" "Should I learn a new domain of programming to keep it interesting??" "Maybe I'll make a video game from scratch!!"

Of course, armed with knowledge of Human Design and Numerology and access to Astrology through my partner, I could dive into each system and figure out my fated career!

But, like I said a the beginning of this article, using these tools to find one's fated career or love is a mistake. The desire to know my career was itself conditioning. Indeed, my cyclical dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment with my career had nothing to do with what I was doing. Honestly, I was just doing too much. My lack of fulfillment came from not spending enough time and effort on developing my internal world—from actually getting to know myself!

I was burying myself in work, which left little time to actually uncover and develop who I am.

That deep desire to know one's perfect career or what the fates have planned for your love life is, well, deep, but it's a distraction. If you actually take the time to know yourself, career and love can unfold naturally. It may seem counter-intuitive but I think that's because the Ego has a natural (or maybe culturally conditioned) aversion to self-discovery—because it's painful! It's difficult.

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all. —Thomas Szasz

So, if you find yourself diving into these tools, grasping for something concrete and exact in regards to love and career, maybe it's actually a call to get to know yourself better—to dive deep into your own behaviors, patterns and beliefs.

These esoteric tools can help identify your predilections and natural strengths and weaknesses. But, those don't necessarily depict your fated career or love life. Say you lack a natural talent to lead—maybe it's your fate to learn and develop leadership through applied effort! Or, say you have a natural predilection to lead and the innate skills to do so—maybe it's your fate to consciously step aside and let others lead!

It is only by getting to know yourself that you figure out if you're leaning too heavily on a natural talent or predilection like a crutch or if you're ignoring an undeveloped aspect to your own detriment. As you do this work of getting to know yourself and consciously developing your own self, your path unfolds naturally in the moment. By embodying your true self, details like career and love become more clear. If you focus too much on the details, you'll actually miss them.

Ya know, 'missing the forest for the trees!' 🌲

Are you focusing on details too much and missing the bigger picture? Are you lacking a complete understanding of your whole self because you're caught up in details like love and career?

How is this happening for me?

Adrian Unger — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800

"Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don't have to like it... it's just easier if you do." —Byron Katie

What if everything happening in your life is happening for you? What if every challenge, setback, or outright disaster is actually in your highest good? That all of your experiences and circumstances are there for you to learn and grow and become the best version of yourself?

It's true. Well, not capital "T" truth. It's true if you believe in it, like magic or the existence of the elusive Sasquatch. Only, believing that everything is happening for you is much more useful than believing a large, hairy biped is out wandering the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Just the opposite can be true—if you believe it. You could believe that everything is happening to you. That you are a victim of your experience and circumstance. Believing this, you may even say to yourself "the world is out to get me!" This could also be true—if you believe it.

"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or as a curse." —Don Juan Matus

You can choose to believe you are a victim of life or you can believe that the world—the Universe—is benevolent and providing you with the exact experiences and circumstances that you need to grow, learn, evolve and transcend.

Whichever you choose to believe—and it is a choice—your mind will work to confirm it. Say you have a setback at work, maybe a supplier falls through, or a competitor goes after your customer-base or whatever. If you believe you are a victim of life, your mind will use this experience as another tally on the scoreboard of suck. You will have a negative mindset, which will limit what you think is possible in the situation.

If, however, you believe life is always happening for you, your mind is primed to look for the silver lining or hidden opportunities. Even though it feels like a headache, maybe finding a new supplier will vastly improve the quality of your product, or your margins, or whatever. Or, maybe you reevaluate who you market to, or how you position your product. Or, maybe you realize you don't like your work anyway and have been itching to try something new.

Or, maybe, you simply use a setback as a chance to mature and learn to handle the situation with grace, dignity and stoicism. You still have your preferences, like not having suppliers drop the ball or not stepping in doggy doo-doo, which you acknowledge, "this is not my preference," and then ask yourself "how is this happening for me?"

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." —Wayne Dyer

When you step in canine caca or spill coffee on your new crisp white shirt, maybe it's a reminder not to take life too seriously to laugh at yourself from time to time. You can choose to take it as an opportunity to cultivate grace and humility.

"For an average man, the world is weird because if he's not bored with it, he's at odds with it. For a warrior, the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable. A warrior must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous time." —Don Juan Matus

So, which do you want to believe? That the world is happening to you, or, that life is happening for you? You can choose—if you make the effort to do so.

And yes, I did have an encounter with dog poop recently, thank you for asking. 💩

It's an inside job

Adrian Unger — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Happy Saturday! Here's a quick 'lil hit for your weekend reading pleasure :)

People are often put off by "woo" and esoteric things. Even Tarot. Which is some pictures on cards. Why is that?

Well, it seems modern, Western culture has equated anything woo or esoteric as dealing with some sort of external entity or authority that is deemed "spiritual." Sort of like Christianity, but weirder. Maybe even occult! 👻

I know quite a few people, including family, who when they hear the words Spiritual or Divine are immediately put off as it reminds them of the religious dogma they grew up with.

It's a good reminder of how powerful words can be.

But, what if those words—Spirituality and Divine—don't have anything to do with Religion or some individuated entity? What if they point to an inner authority rather than an external one?

Those are pretty big questions, so let's bring it back to Tarot—some cards with pictures on them. How does Tarot work? If I buy into it, does that mean I'm irrational? Am I now "woo!?"

Or, is Tarot just a visual language that tells the story of the Hero's Journey? Or, in this case, the Fool's Journey. The cards depict enactments of archetypal characters found throughout human history still found today in each of us—in all their various permutations.

When we see the Fool about to leap into the abyss with nothing but a sack and a little dog, we're able to dig into our own minds—particularly the unconscious—to see where we feel like we're about to take a leap. Or, where we need to take a leap—metaphorically, of course.

And, this happens almost automatically. When you learn the language of the Tarot and you pull a few cards, they can almost instantaneously form a story that resonates with your own subconscious and unconscious.

The Tarot isn't woo because you're tapping into some external authority or entity that is guiding you. It's woo because it's a tool for tapping into our own, individual unconscious and guidance. Our unconscious, typically out of reach, can be tapped into with a deck of 78 pictorial cards. Weird!

I don't like to make blanket statements, but this thinking can be applied nearly, if not entirely, to all esoteric and woo tools, practices, rituals, etc. They aren't tools for speaking to an external authority or entity, they're tools to speak to your own unconscious—for understanding and getting to know yourself better.

They're tools for going inward, not outward.

Now, go far enough inward and the lines between objective and subjective, or even the lines between individual and collective, get kinda fuzzy. But, one step at a time friends! Getting to know one's own unconscious is already a massive undertaking.

So, do any of you use Tarot, or meditation or any sort of woo-esque rituals to tap into your own unconscious mind? Are you put off by words like Spirituality and Divine? If you reframe it as an "inside job" can you take another look at some esoteric ideas or practices? Let me know, I'd love to hear about it!

Polarity and the trap of being "anti" anything

Adrian Unger — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Everything is energy at some level. You can see this with brain scans that show thoughts starting with an electrical signal. Or, how all matter is both particle and wave—and waves carry energy. Realizing this, the concept of polarity becomes quite interesting.

Since everything is a wave or energy, that means our thoughts, concepts and words are energy. By protesting or being anti-whatever we actually re-enforce the thing we are against. As the nature of energy and our existence is polar—night does not exist without day—then anti-violence can’t exist without violence!

Being anti-X carries the concept of whatever X is. By holding the concept of, say, anti-burrito in your thoughts, you are also holding the concept of "burrito". How can you get rid of burrito's if you are perpetuating the concept and thus the energy of burrito? (Ed. note: this is obviously a silly example as no one would actually be anti-burrito.)

“If you are resisting something, you are feeding it. Any energy you fight, you are feeding. If you are pushing something away, you are inviting it to stay.”
—Michael Singer

Now there may be times when a thing has gone so far that an anti movement is needed. But we don’t want to perpetuate the anti movement indefinitely. As this will just lead to perpetuating the thing you are against. You can only be against something if that something continues to exist.

It’s like the difference between “remember your keys” vs “don’t forget your keys”. The first statement emphasizes remembering while the latter emphasizes forgetting. The negation word “don’t” is meaningless without the following “forget” so the statement carries the energy of forgetting!

This concept is reminiscent of a lesson taught in skiing and mountain biking: Don't look at the trees you want to avoid, look where you want to go. If you just stare at the trees and repeat to yourself "don't hit the trees, don't hit the trees"—you guessed it, you're going to hit the trees.

This is where parallel systems will pave the road of the future. Don’t build a new system that exists “against” the old, as that perpetuates the energy of the old. Instead, build a new thing in your ideals from a place of love and compassion. Advocate for what you want, not what you don't want!

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
—Albert Einstein (maybe)

The fallacy of politics

Adrian Unger — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

I’ve written like three articles on politics. Each has its own sort of angle or point yet I’ve published none of them. It’s not that fun. This one especially is a rant. Yet, perhaps more of us need to see the fallacy of the current systems to start envisioning and building something that actually serves the interest of the people.

In any case there is this absurd notion that we’re born into our society and along the way you have to pick a side. You have no choice but to participate because: to live is to pay taxes.

And for some time you could pick a side in private and avoid discussing it. When I was a teenager, I recall my mom telling me “I never tell anyone who I vote for.” Of course, nowadays if you don’t shout your affiliation out of a megaphone you may be assumed by others to be on the “wrong” side.

What a silly and stupid notion this all is. No wonder super hero movies are all that Hollywood is pumping out. Everyone sees the world as “good” vs. “Evil”—us vs. them. And people wonder why we’re so polarized today! The foundational structure of our society is modeled like a Lucha Libre match.

These guys might actually be better presidential candidates 🤷

It’s strange isn’t it? How both Canada and the US are actually multi-party systems yet we seem pitted with Left vs Right. That axis, that sole polarity that all the complexity and nuance of organizing millions of people and trillions of dollars has to somehow fit nicely on.

Have you ever worked at a company? In a group or organization that was trying to accomplish something? And even in that smaller domain did you not find complexity and friction in having everyone aligned? Have you ever worked at a growing company where the internal culture, direction and structure changed because it had to adapt to support the additional complexity as it scaled?

If you can recognize the complexity and nuance within running a company or smaller organization—can you even imagine the complexity of running the most powerful government on earth? One that is supposed to represent 300 million people and trillions of dollars and the world’s largest army?

Yet, public discourse on this absurd complexity is often limited to an overly simplified left-right axis. I don’t have context for how this has developed over time, yet it’s clear today that we are severely lacking nuance in how our culture views politics.

We’ve fabricated a system built on tension. Over time it is inevitable that the “two sides” will seek to separate themselves, even artificially, eventually landing on a few key issues that become wedges between the people: race, abortions, identity, immigration, etc.

There is no room for nuance, compromise or creative solutions—only division and absolutes. As the tension that this poorly built system imposes increases the two sides get further and further apart. Each side vies for power and “winning” thus driving the wedges deeper and deeper so that “switching sides” becomes unpalatable and potentially even unfathomable.

When either side is in power they will work to drive wedges even deeper, increasing division so that no one dare switch “their party.” And It doesn’t matter if you thought RFK Jr. was a viable candidate or not—the media decided he wasn’t by not having him or any other independents join the debates. So the emphasis on the polarity continues, further driving the abyss between the “two sides.”

I believe it’s necessary for us to recognize the absurdity of how the political systems are (not) working in the West today—or at least in the US and Canada. That if we let our political discourse continue to operate solely on this overly simplified left-right spectrum that we are inevitably driving people further and further apart creating an increasing sense of separation from one another. With separation there is (seemingly) less capacity for love and compassion. As we adopt the “othering” perspective of polarized politics we increase the illusion of separation and fail to recognize our innate unity—we all come from the same source and we all share being alive on this Earth.

As we break out of the delusion of polarity and picking a political team, we can start having nuanced discussion of particular issues—how novel! We may be seeing this happen already in other countries. Nayib Bukele is the first president elected in El Salvadoran history who was not part of either of the incumbent Left or Right party and who himself says he doesn’t align with the left or right. I have no idea if he’s a good leader for El Salvador as I don’t live there, know their history, or understand their cultural views and needs today. Yet, it’s interesting to see a shift away from the typical left-right polarity.

If we actually want to come together to solve the immensely complex issues of today, we’re going to have to learn to navigate nuance, collaboration and, yes, compromise. Looking at the upcoming US election, none of those lovely attributes seem to be on the table. So, if you’re undecided about the election maybe that’s OK. Maybe you’re recognizing the fallacy of this fabricated political polarity and are ready to embrace complexity and nuance. To actually collaborating on specific issues and discussing the specific implications of those individual issues, rather than just throwing them in Team Red or Team Blue’s bucket and forming an opinion based on the associated color.

And while the realization of this fabricated polarity can at times feel hopeless—it certainly has for me—it also creates spaciousness. It creates an opening in our minds for new ideas and new ways of thinking. While the solution may not be obvious or apparent, holding this space means we can recognize new ideas and new ways of thinking as they trickle in, allowing for creativity and breaking out of our current rigid structures of political organization and how we come together as a society.

I'm not trying to argue in favor of any candidate. That's not the point. The point is the political theatre, from both sides, that aims to manipulate and garner "likes" rather than thoughtful discussion or contemplation of actual policy.

As we near the election, and one side seems to be slipping in the polls, they will grab at exceedingly desperate tactics to "win your vote"—mainly calling the other side racist. Is Trump racist? I don't know, but these videos offer an interesting perspective.

And, again, I'm not trying to convince anyone who to vote for. Both parties will succumb to shady tactics and manipulation to win—because it works. My point is for us to stop letting it work. The amount of data and reporting and half-truths and straight up lies out there is unmanageable. We can't see it all, so we can't really make an informed decision. We will never have the full picture.

I don't know how we fix this problem. But, the first step is recognizing it. This utter mess that is political theatre may seem hopeless, yet I find it encouraging. Instead of hardening our political positions based on what is inevitably half-truths, manipulations and incomplete information, we can recognize it and build compassion.

You can see the tactics at play. We know they are effective and that they work to entrench people within the polarity. We, the people, are at a disadvantage. Recognizing this we can hold more space for our friends and family who favor the "other side." By embodying curiosity, understanding and compassion we move towards unity. If we stay divided, the political game continues to drive us apart where neither party has an incentive to be honest, forthright, collaborative and creative. Instead, they see the division working and push that wedge deeper and deeper.

So, vote or don't vote. Whatever. To me, the only thing that actually matters is that regular people (that's you and me!) work to build more compassion, understanding and curiosity for our neighbours, friends, crazy uncles, and everyone else. If we recognize how the system works to divide us and trap us in rigid frameworks of thinking, we can have compassion when we recognize others (or even ourselves) are stuck in those limiting ways of thinking—stuck in the manufactured polarity. From there, we can hopefully develop compassion, understanding, curiosity and eventually creative collaboration—as it's collaboration than transcends competition.

So, whatever your stance on this election, ask yourself if you can be more curious. How far can you lean into curiosity rather than being “correct?” Can you open yourself to more understanding, compassion and collaboration? Can you see with your heart rather than just your intellect?

"Prejudice of any kind implies that you are identified with the thinking mind. It means you don't see the other human being anymore, but only your own concept of that human being. To reduce the aliveness of another human being to a concept is already a form of violence." —Eckhart Tolle

Thinking

Adrian Unger — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

If you have any desire for freedom, for expansion and growth, for success of some kind, or to change and improve your circumstance you have to start with your thinking. If you have attempted to act on any desires only to find resistance or “failure” in the external world, you have to go back to your thinking.

If you are meeting rejection, friction, or disappointment in your endeavors—you guessed it—you have to go back to your thinking.

It all starts with your thoughts.

Our emotions and feelings arise in reaction to our thoughts. Our actions come through our emotions. Whatever you are feeling: sad, anger, peace—your actions will manifest, be expressed, through that emotion. Of course, humans are undoubtedly complex and we aren’t always just feeling one emotion or reacting to one thought. We can feel excited for the opportunity to give a presentation and fear that we’re going to fail or look silly somehow.

And that’s why you have you get cozy with your thoughts. To recognize why you're excited and scared by identifying the thoughts that trigger the emotions. Sometimes, having a thought that triggers fear is good, as it pushes us to act towards self-preservation—like when a tiger is stalking us. When dealing with work, or friends, or committing to our dreams and aspirations, fear isn't as helpful. Indeed, it can really hinder us.

Let's say, you’re driving along and someone cuts you off. If your ego is running your thoughts you’ll quickly be offended. “How dare they!” “That prick cut ME off!” Your thoughts arising from ego—or as I like to call it, your petty self—takes everything as personal: "That guys got a vendetta for me!" These thoughts result in you believing you have been disrespected and even threatened. From these thoughts, emotional reaction.

While being cut off can be dangerous, more often than not, you react accordingly, applying the brakes and returning to safety. But, the ego has also been threatened and disrespected, thus it needs to react accordingly to “protect” itself.

Anger is very protective. How can you express this emotion in action? Lay on your horn. Tailgate them. Flip em the bird! Ah, the ego feels some satisfaction. In reality none of those actions made you, or anyone else, any safer.

To stop this chain reaction you have to start at the root, which is your thoughts. You have to wrestle your thinking away from your ego—or petty self—and start thinking from your true self. This is deeply tricky.

It’s easy for your petty self to take over even when you’ve recognized and witnessed yourself having a petty, fearful thought. Your petty self can berate yourself over having the initial petty thought or even an emotional reaction to it. "Oh stupid me!" "Why did I think/do that!"

The petty self can feel shame for simply having an emotion! Yet, emotions are essential communication from our body. Emotions are data points, thus no emotion is bad, it's our reaction to them—do we react rather than respond? Do we suppress rather than allow? This is why self-love is so necessary. Unconditional love. Love and acceptance and space for all the mistakes and pettiness.

The petty self, by lamenting and judging and ridiculing, is resisting. And, resistance is persistence! This layering or doubling up of negative reactions by the petty self just reinforces the ego. It creates an emotional charge around the behavior or pattern and imprints it into the subconscious mind so you go on repeating it.

"Don't look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender." —Eckhart Tolle

And, look, there's no judgment in this article. This is very much advice for myself, which I just happen to be sharing. Next time you—or myself—does something petty and you catch it, just relax: "Ah so." Don't judge. Allow. Recognize the emotion that triggered the (re)action, then the thought that triggered the emotion. By recognizing the chain, you can understand. Through understanding you can have compassion. Through compassion you create space for growth, evolution and the opportunity to change self-defeating behavior without judgment. From here, you can think and act in entirely new and supportive ways. From here, you can actually liberate and take control of your life.

I have to admit: this is a lesson I am currently working through—maybe I always will be. I've recognized a deep pattern of thought, adopted in childhood, that causes strong emotional reaction any time I spend money on anything more expensive than groceries. When I don't recognize the thought and then emotion, I often react rather irrationally: On the reactive side I try to plow through, buying the expensive thing even if it's not quite right or what I want/need. I may opt for the $1300 version instead of the $1500 even if the $1300 is not actually what I want. On the suppressive side, I may deny buying something even when financially comfortable to do so and for things I need.

Like everything, it's a practice. I've recognized the pattern in myself and can now catch myself more easily. Over time, a new pattern can take it's place... Or, so I hope. I'll report back in a year or something. If you've got any hot tips, let me know!

Only the now exists and the now is love

Adrian Unger — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

In terms of reality or what is “real” the past is not. It quite literally does not exist. If it does, where is it? You may find some artifact, some object—oh this was made in the past! Yet that artifact is just a fragment, a token, a reminder. It is not the past. Ah, my lived experience cannot be denied, so the past must be real! Sure, your lived experience is yours. Your memory is yours. Neither your lived experience nor your memories are the past. They are real only real in the sense that they inform and influence your present perception, which informs your present reality. But, they don't have to.

What does this mean? Well the past is at best your memory. Maybe a few other people’s memories mixed in. A few written accounts which are still just memories—little footsteps left by reality. Reading something—anything—the message becomes transformed by your present perception. Reread a book you read as a kid and it will be a different experience, a different message and interpretation comes through as your current reality is informed by your perception. I’d venture your perception today is different than when you were a kid or a teenager, heck maybe different from just a year ago.

We know our recollection and memories are not perfect. So even our fragments may point us to a past that isn’t quite accurate—not that we can ever confirm that since the past doesn’t exist! I used to think I was shy. I believed this because of memories of me being shy or embarrassed. These memories were emotionally charged with fear. Fear triggers our survival instincts. So my body was telling me “hey you’re about to speak in front of a group and this other time you did this you flubbed and got really embarrassed so I’m bringing you this memory to remind of you possible danger, since fear could indicate danger.”

It’s really a lovely gesture from my body. And, since my childhood was without much actual danger, my body didn’t have a great threshold for when my fear was actually in response to danger. Again, these are just fragments from the past. If I actually sit down to recollect my past I can find memories of not being shy, they just aren’t charged with fear. I can accept, allow and then release the fear from those past memories—they don't need to inform my present. This is the power and freedom that comes from realizing the past isn't real. You still have your lived experience, which may have strong emotional and fear based imprints, potentially stored in your body, which require releasing. Through therapy, or any other modality that works for you, you can release these fears from the past and be more free and open to the ever expanding present.

If the past doesn't exist, then the future definitely doesn't. This is easier for most of us to conceptualize since... well... the future hasn't even happened. Yet, many—most? all?—of us live in response to a future that has not happened. This is where so much worry comes from. What if this happens? What if that doesn't happen? What if. Now, we're tapping into a different fear. Not quite the same fear that comes from our survival instinct related to past experience, but the ultimate fear—the fear of death.

The only guarantee to be found in the future is our own death. It's true. Nothing else can be guaranteed with as much certainty—it's the only certainty. This doesn't have to be morbid and depressing. It's actually quite liberating if you see past the fear. Many ancient wisdom traditions teach this positive re-framing of death: Death as an Advisor, Memento mori, Mutu qabla an tamutu and so on. Each serves as way to transform a fear of the inevitable into a positive psychological development and perception.

In 1948, in the wake of the Atomic Bombs being dropped on Japan, C.S. Lewis wrote On Living In An Atomic Age:

"In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. ‘How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat at night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented… It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds."

I say all of this not to cause shame, but to show a path to more freedom. There is no shame in fear. If we had absolutely no fear we would likely all be psychopaths. It's not about being fearless. It's about awareness and discernment—is this fear real, necessary and actually keeping me safe? Or, can I accept and release this fear, choosing to act without it's influence? I'd wager C.S. Lewis experienced fear around the Atomic Age and it's bombs. That fear was likely the inspiration for writing the essay.

“Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it.” —Mark Twain

I share this because it has been very freeing for me. I'm able to recognize anxiety and worry as fears stemming from the past or future—which literally don't exist. Personally, I've experienced more fear of the future. Ya know: wars, economic collapse, political differences—that sort of thing. Which are all just uncertainty. And uncertainty is a fear, or lack of acceptance, of death. Only by being present can I embody love rather than fear. Not romantic love, but unconditional love, love that does not require certainty, love as the polar opposite of fear. Love that accepts fear, uncertainty, the unknown and everything in between.

"If uncertainty is unacceptable to you, it turns into fear. If it is perfectly acceptable, it turns into increased aliveness, alertness, and creativity." —Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

There is such freedom and relief when I recognize the futility of living in the past or future. There is only now. And it is a gift. This realization, this shift from fear of uncertainty to acceptance and unconditional love, is not a one time event. It's not a switch. Just because I've had this realization in the past, doesn't mean I'm having that realization now, in the present. Because the past doesn't exist! That's why everything is a practice. Every single moment is an opportunity to exercise free will: do I choose fear of uncertainty or acceptance and unconditional love?

Fantasy vs. Reality

Adrian Unger — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Howdy y’all, I’m still here! Been working on “How to be You” guidebooks and really getting those dialed in. Thanks to everyone who reached out! We’re still working on a website and until then are offering a few more books for free. We only ask that you’re open to giving feedback and maybe a testimonial if you feel inclined. Just reply to this email if you’re interested, or forward this email to a friend who you think might be! Onward to today's newsletter.

Everything is fantasy before it’s made real. Are you sitting in a chair? That chair was once just fantasy—only an image in someone’s mind. Probably an iteration on someone else’s chair. Though, at some point, there was “the first chair.” Imagine that!

Way before that, someone else imagined—created a fantasy of—a rock tied to a stick. From the illuminated imagination of an early human the first “hammer” was made manifest. What wonder!

Everything in your house was only fantasy at one point. Your bed, table, stove, lights, plumbing, door, wifi, carpet. Everything. Your clothes. Your shoes. Heck, maybe even your hair cut.

Isn’t that just marvelous? Look at all of the invention you are surrounded by! All of the creativity. All the imagination.

All of it came from mind. Sure there are happy-accidents here and there. But even those happen while someone is trying to make their imagination real.

I share this because many of us seem to overlook the power that we have access to. Our ability to imagine—to fantasize—and then make real is an astonishing gift. And we all have access to this gift. It is not predicated on our academics or schooling or knowledge. It’s only predicated on our ability to think. To draw from within. We have to allow ourselves to imagine. To not shut our fantasy down. We have to let our ideas float to the surface and give space to ponder them.

And, no, not all of us are here to imagine new chairs or gadgets or physical objects. We can also imagine new processes, new ways of organizing, of collaborating, of understanding, or expressing. Every song, painting, sculpture, and dance was once just fantasy. Same goes for all forms of organization and governance.

Now actually making that fantasy a reality could take some work. You still need to ground down into your current reality to see how your fantasy can be made real. While Edison didn’t invent the very first light bulb, he fantasized about a better, more practical and useful light bulb, reportedly trying "at least three thousand different theories" and thousands more in material combinations. He fantasized about a light bulb that was cost effective to manufacture, affordable to buy, and actually useful by lasting hours and not using hazardous gasses and "hissing" at you. Then he and his colleagues dedicated two years to making that fantasy a reality.

Seriously, look around you and realize how much you are living with people’s fantasies! It’s quite possibly endless! And you’re part of it. All you have to do is allow yourself to imagine and create fantasies. The more you allow and ponder the more likely you will get fixated on one of those fantasies—and eventually make it reality.

When you realize everything around you was once just fantasy, you realize how powerful the human mind is—how powerful your mind is! Most fantasies are not completely novel. From a light bulb that lasts hours and doesn’t hiss, to a more efficient way to run a meeting, they’re both fantasies—until they’re not.

So, what do you fantasize about? Can you make more time to allow yourself to fantasize? To imagine a new way or improvement, or maybe something totally novel? Can you create an image of it? Can you imagine it existing?

As you give yourself more room to imagine—without negating and shutting down your own ideas—you may find yourself fixated on a certain one or few. And, who knows, maybe it’ll be the next hiss-free light bulb or some breakthrough in management style at work or a new self-expressive dance! The possibilities are endless when you give yourself space to fantasize and cultivate your own imagination.

Your purpose in life

Adrian Unger — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The point of your existence is to be you. That’s it. That is your purpose. Not your job not your achievements not your goals. Not any one thing or aspect of you. It’s all of you. And it’s not "you" based on what you perceive as agreeable by others. Nor is it what’s agreeable by others. It’s you.

Each and every one of us is unique. Paradoxically, only by fully embracing our uniqueness can we really comprehend our unity. Conversely, by constraining our uniqueness within labels and identifications, and especially group associations, we are actually creating more separateness. You are not a democrat. You’re not a republican. You’re not a runner, or an artist, or a musician, or a minimalist, or a vegan, or a cinephile, or any one thing other than you. Even something as innocuous as being a cinephile—someone who loves movies—you have created a separation from those who don’t love movies. Or, maybe others don’t love movies enough or as much as you! Or, maybe someone says they love movies but their favorite flick of all time is Dumb and Dumber and you start gatekeeping who’s really a cinephile and who isn’t. (Also, you'd be wrong. Dumb and Dumber is peak comedy.)

It doesn’t matter the label, it still creates a box—some people fit the box and some people don’t. So maybe you start trying to identify with bigger boxes. Or boxes that, if someone were not to fit in that box they would be a bad person, so it’s OK to have that separation. This is still limited, still separation. And it will still keep you from your purpose. You have to feel free to break out of any label or identification, otherwise you may not stretch the boundary of what it really means to be fully you.

Your purpose is to be you. And again, this is the paradox: when you remove all identifications and labels and group associations all you have left is you. Singular, alone, you. It doesn’t matter how many labels you include in your online bios: husband, father, brother, founder, ultra-runner, intersectional-feminist… it’s still not all of you. And some edges of those labels may not even represent you. So, it’s just you. Unlike any other. Not totally definable, and much more than a long list of nouns.

Just you. All alone.

But wait! Everyone else is also just… them. Also utterly unique and undefinable. So all of us are alone. We all belong to our own group of one: me. That characteristic, that realization of the utter uniqueness of a profoundly singular perspective unlike any other is actually the true unity.

We are all meant to be 100% ourselves. Not to clamor for acceptance and to be part of whatever in-groups we’ve been conditioned to deem desirable. Not to worry that we told people we were minimalist and now we want to redecorate our home with vintage lamps and various other accoutrement. You don’t have to be consistent, or even inconsistent. You just have to be you. In the moment, right now, exactly, fully you. Whatever that means and regardless if it fits a label or not.

And by being you, you will likely have a career, and achievements and goals and whatever else. Just remember those things aren’t you. Only you are you. An ever changing and evolving expression and perspective unlike any other to have ever existed, or that will ever exist. That is your purpose. And it’s beautiful. And, paradoxically, that's what unites us all.

So, thank you for being you. ✨

There are no deficient people

Adrian Unger — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700

One of the most difficult aspects of personal growth is just getting out of our own way. And, it seems, the main way we're all getting in our own way, is through negative self talk or some other form of limiting belief.

Every single one of us has a gift, an art, an expression, a blessing to bestow upon the world. But we're so caught up in what we think it should look like.

"My gift definitely needs to fit into the working hours of 9 to 5!"

"University is teaching the exact thing I am supposed to do and share in this life!"

"This giant multinational company, that's basically a streamlined, well-oiled machine, has the exact space I need to develop and share my art!"

These are all ridiculous statements. Not because they can't be true. But, because the odds are ridiculous and not helpful in the process of uncovering one's gift. There are, what, 8 BILLION of us on this planet right now? And, every single one of us has a UNIQUE personal gift or expression to share with the world? And, we're trying to uncover those gifts by confining them to generic, homogeneous ideas of how and where they can be expressed? Only by opening ourselves to limitless potential and unconstrained possibility do we actually allow the space for our gifts to reveal themselves.

And, those are just some examples of the more subtle limiting beliefs. There are, of course, the more dramatic negative stories we weave about ourselves.

"I will never be good enough at something—anything."

"I don't deserve to be wealthy."

"I don't deserve success or recognition."

"Other people may have gifts, but I certainly don't."

Knowing there are people having thoughts like these is, honestly... painful. The mind is incredibly powerful. And, we are all storytellers to some degree. So, why tell a tale of limitation, struggle, and defeat? Not a single person is deficient. The simple fact that you and I and anyone else exists is enough. Our worth is inherent in our existence.

I mean, the shear fact that there is even life on Earth is ridiculous! Let alone life as complex and conscious as our own! There is nothing any of us needs to do to be worthy—worthiness is our default, natural state the second we are born. The odds of life existing on any planet are literally astronomical. The fact that life on Earth is this complex and beautiful is uncanny. The fact that you exist is quite frankly unfathomable.

The end of TEDNET (not really)

Adrian Unger — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Howdy. TEDNET has been a fun, if not short, experiment for me. It was helpful to organize some grand thoughts about existence and boil them down into something shareable. Yet, I'm ready to move on, or at least shift my focus to something else.

I do believe their is the culmination of numerous cycles happening right now that signify an incredibly rich and fertile time for humanity to break out of old patterns and stale ways of organizing life together on this planet. Yet, the actual specifics of these cycles and what it could mean, while fun to explore, really aren't that practical. I believe that no matter what past cycles may show us in terms of potential future, the response is always the same: Awareness and compassion.

And, though I may continue exploring some lofty ideas or perspectives and even share them here, I realize after being unemployed for—checks notes yeesh coming up on a year—that TEDNET is not the direction I want to go in terms of my vocation, purpose or service. I crave more personal connection and impact. And, while I appreciate the incredible thoughts and kind words some of you have shared—really, thank you—I realize I'm rather greedy and I want to experience that impact firsthand! And, I know for sure I don't want to go back to programming or even tech work—at least not specifically.

So, where does that leave me? Well, I am constantly inspired by personal growth. I adore humanity and believe every single person is innately good, loving, and creative. That all conflict and discordance occurs from conditioning, and that as more and more of us shed these accumulated layers and find our individual nature and true calling, humanity will be able to cultivate and sustain a true Golden Age.

Time and time again I have witnessed people well versed in compassion, understanding and self-empowerment act in conflict with their own nature. Essentially, not practicing what they preach. Not because they don't believe in what they espouse, just that they still lack awareness and perhaps a grounded understanding that allows them to pull down these lofty, existential ideas into daily, practical action.

Philosophy, spirituality, and lofty ideals don't matter if we're not acting out of love and compassion in this very moment—and every moment after. The best way to have love and compassion for others is to have love and compassion for one's self. And, you can only really love yourself if you are able to dig past the conditioned layers and clearly see exactly who you are and why you are here.

And, that's where I want to focus. My partner and I have experimented in the past with creating individual, personal guidebooks for people that we call: "How to be you on the path of heart". So far, the responses have been in the ballpark of "life changing". Which is pretty wild!

We'd like to open up this offering to some more people. There's no fee for now, we just want to hone our craft and experiment with more people before we offer this as a service. The only requirement is an open-mind and a desire for personal growth. You don't have to "believe" in Astrology, Human Design, or any other esoteric tool. The mechanism for how we develop the guide is not important. If you can have an open mind and ask yourself if any of it is true, then it can be a tool to increase awareness of your own self, and simultaneously help you develop compassion towards your self, unlocking your true nature and calling in this life.

Sound fun? Then just respond to this email! If you're ready to jump in we'll need your: Name, Birth Place, Birth Date and Time. If you're not quite sure, just email me and ask questions.

“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” –Thich Nhat Hanh

✨

Sounds like BS to me

Adrian Unger — Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700

No matter the domain of knowledge, if you dig deep enough, you'll eventually encounter some BS. From metaphysics, psychology, cosmology, whatever, at some point there is some nonsense, some self-referencing loop that doesn't make sense outside of the meaning we've given it.

"Some basic nonsense is entirely unavoidable, and the attempt to construct a completely self-defining system of thought is a vicious circle of tautology." —Alan Watts

In Cosmology (how the universe came to be and works), dig deep enough and you come to the Big Bang, which is essentially a creation myth—no different than those of indigenous and ancient cultures. The Big Bang is not provable in the same way we can prove water turns to ice when cold. At some point, you don't need to become a believer, but you at least have to suspend disbelief.

"It's almost as if science said, 'Give me one free miracle, and from there the entire thing will proceed with a seamless, causal explanation.' The one free miracle was the sudden appearance of all the matter and energy in the universe, with all the laws that govern it." —Rupert Sheldrake

Even in the domain of Mathematics, which I assumed was the pinnacle of technical logic, there is some BS. That is, even in sufficiently complex self-contained mathematical models—self-contained as in relating to the logic and operations of math itself, not a model trying to represent something outside math—you do not get a complete provable model. This is represented by Gödel's incompleteness theorems. The consistency of all of mathematics cannot be reduced to basic arithmetic!

This is kinda wild. Our brains are incredible tools that have allowed unbelievable levels of cognition and communication, yet, dig deep enough and it all eventually gets a bit... silly. This is precisely what I encountered after my logic based worldview came crumbling down during the pandemic. Interestingly, this has highlighted several implications:

We may never fully grasp the Universe and our place in it—at least not within our thinking minds.
Faith, or at least the suspension of dis-belief, is required to maintain consistency and order within the limitations of our conceptual minds.
Lacking awareness of this nonsense results in our egoistic minds to grasp onto order and control.
Lacking a complete and consistent modeling of the external world, we are left with developing our inner world for a sense of stability and security.
If an inner worldview is developed at this stage, and one still lacks awareness, they are prone to preach their way as the "One True Way".
If one is unwillingly to accept the nonsensical nature of our existence they may draw a hard line somewhere, arbitrarily, and defend that line at all costs.
Others are prone to becoming seekers, digging through the entire library of esoteric knowledge in hopes of finding a link or some hidden thing that, once found, will make it all make sense.
Finally, while the manifestations are many, there is a root crossroads at this point, where you can choose one of two paths: Love or Fear.

There are probably more implications, but those are most prominent to me at this time.

Does this all feel weird yet? I hope so. Because if you think about being a human long enough, how can it not be weird? Life is essentially a paradox! ¹

As much as I believe there is no "One True Way", I do believe there is "One True Direction". That is to develop your own inner world, cultivating love and working through your fears. How each of us actually goes about doing that? That is myriad and many, because each of us is entirely unique.

So, yeah, good luck, godspeed and remember: All Belief Systems are BS!

[1]: And the paradoxes are many! The Liar paradox, Strange loops, Self-reference, Infinite regress, Catch-22, Actual infinity

How I became an ascended master

Adrian Unger — Fri, 17 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Just kidding. That’s clickbait. But I do want to share something personal. And it's going to take about two thousand words to do so. So, hold on to your butts!

I wrote an article about "the myth of freedom" which essentially boils down to: It's not enough to focus solely on your external world, to better your external circumstance, that, at some point, you have to develop your inner world if you ever want a chance on truly understanding who your are meant to be.

I hadn't scheduled it like I have in the past and when I went to send it Wednesday morning, the software bugged out. Rather than fuss about, I just said "fuck it, I'll send it tomorrow." Obviously, I didn't. Something wasn't sitting right. I lacked motivation to send it out. Which, for me, typically means something's "off" and needs adjustment.

It's a few days later now and my realization is that no matter how I worded it, it kept feeling preachy. And, it's because it's the first article where I feel... I dunno, "invested" perhaps. There's something about the message that is more personal to me—like I'm not just sharing an idea or theory, but some aspect of myself or at least some deep aspect of my belief system.

Despite this personal attachment, the article itself is markedly impersonal. It has nice quotes from Carl Jung, The "Rascal Sage" and Buddhist monks. Whoop-de-do. It was boring and uncompelling.

So, here's my story instead.

Without any esoteric or psychological knowledge, I flowed through life pretty easily. Maybe, cause I never really tried to do much. But, I always played with computers. I recall pretending I was doing "important" stuff on my dad's Briefcase computer from the 80s when I was a child. TL;DR I taught myself Photoshop, how to hack Minesweeper, then online PC games, and eventually how to make websites.

I never even tried to "apply to colleges" as it seemed others were doing and instead just bummed around. I worked at Sport Chek for like 4 months of what felt like life-threatening levels of boredom and finally said to myself: "Oh shit, I gotta do something." So I learned as much as I could about Photoshop and programming. I was broke af so never bought any textbooks or courses. This was before YouTube, so I mainly learned from forums and random blogs. Also tizag.com. Shout-out tizag.

Fast-forward: Interned at a print and ad design company, didn't like it, scoured Craigslist for work, found someone who needed "Wordpress" customization, applied and then found out what Wordpress was and taught myself all I could before meeting them a week later.

FFWD: I kept freelancing, worked at an ad agency, worked at some other agencies, then startups, then agency, then a mushroom powder company.

Here's where we get to the crux. The mushroom powder company was a dream job. The people were amazing, the work was varied and challenging, leading to lots of new knowledge and growth, the pay and benefits were fantastic—really, a dream job. Yet, eventually, something in me changed. I wasn't getting the energy back that I put in. Which, you guessed it, lead to burnout. It also felt like a pinnacle moment where I was no longer flowing. I felt stuck.

Now, before the "switch" happened in me and I starting burning out, something else was going on in the world. You may recall this little something. Ah yes, the global pandemic…

I don't care to dwell or talk about this, so let's just say: Because of how people reacted and what they were saying and how they were treating each other, I basically lost faith in my logic and reason based worldview. And that was my worldview. I didn’t mediate or do yoga or any fancy breathing. I really thought happiness came from molding and influencing the external world. I would later learn this is a classic precursor to the "Hero's Journey" or the process of individuation. At the time, it felt like the carpet was pulled out from under my feet. Discombobulating.

Anyway, I kept working at my "dream" job which was indeed amazing during this time. That discombobulation eventually lead down the path of metaphysics, esoteric knowledge and spirituality.

I guess once you know something, you can't un-know it. There were core truths in what I was learning that were resonating deeply within me. And that truth kept growing within my being. At some point, I suppose it grew big enough that, it affected my actual being. Perhaps, this could be described as some sort of spiritual awakening or some, rather minute yet significant enough for me, level of ascension. Perhaps. All I can really say is that my new perspective of the world, reality, and my place in it, had an affect on my physical body. Maybe this affect was always there, and only then I became aware of it. It doesn't matter.

What matters, is that my body was now physically communicating with me in ways that I had never been apart of before. More than that, it seemed with this new found knowledge and perspective I had tapped into a different destiny. Which is to say, my body was no longer regaining energy I was spending at my "dream" job.

Look, this last part probably sounds weird. My body was communicating with me? But how else could I look at the situation? That something externally changed? That some change at my job was responsible? That everyone else at my work needed to change, then I’d start recouping energy again? Oh yeah, everything would be great if everyone else changed 🙄. Well that was my first reaction.

I’ve always had a certain drive in me. Even as I kid I would get these feelings like I was meant to do something significant. Thankfully, this never really affected my persona or outward expression too much. But it was a crutch. Because the situation I’m describing at the mushroom powder company happened at every one of my jobs.

Earlier on, I would default to blaming the job or circumstance or people around me. That it was causing the stagnation in me and that I needed to change my situation. Which was always wrong, yet perfect for the time. In other words, my “path” is as exactly as it needed to be. If I had this realization earlier on, the effect would not have been the same.

I had reached an impasse at enough jobs that I recognized the pattern. I’m the problem. I’m not going to find more meaning in another job, or something more “significant”.

Because I had been diving into ancient wisdom traditions and spirituality I had a mental framework to process this experience of “I’m the gosh darn problem!” In a way, spirituality is very selfish—every experience is meant for me. Everything out there, in the external world, is happening for me—not to me. The external world isn’t even impartial, inconsequential happenings. Everything out there is something to work with to develop my inner self.

And that’s what my body was now telling me. “I’m no longer going to recoup the energy you’re spending on this job. Good luck, ya jackass.”

Again, thanks to knowledge I was gaining I now knew—within my being—that I would not find meaning out there. That, to answer this calling for significance, I would have to find or maybe create it within. I would have to develop my inner world, my psyche, and eventually my spirituality.

Following this new guidance doesn’t give me much insight into where I’m going though. Actually quite the opposite. It requires complete trust in the unknown. There is no definite plan or route. Prior to the rug being pulled out, my platform was rather comfy and roomy. But it was shallow. Fragile. Now, my platform is uncomfortable. Like hard granite. And small. Yet deep and unbreakable. Maybe that analogy sucks, whatever, here's a quote from a Buddhist monk:

"Symbolically, we leave our homeland, our property and our friends. We give up the familiar ground that supports our ego, admit the helplessness of ego to control its world and secure itself. We give up our clingings to superiority and self-preservation. But taking refuge does not mean becoming dependent upon our teacher or the community or the scriptures. It means giving up searching for a home, becoming a refugee, a lonely person who must depend upon himself. A teacher or fellow traveler or the scriptures might show us where we are on a map and where we might go from there, but we have to make the journey ourselves." —Chögyam Trungpa

Now we arrive at today. Why did I start TEDNET? I'm by no means an expert on all the ancient wisdom teachings. But TEDNET is not meant to be a guidebook or a course on spirituality or self-development. It’s meant to be an inspiration. There is something happening. I feel a massive sense of… something. Like the air itself is statically charged with potential. And not personally, but for all of humanity. This sense is really my only interest.

That sense or feeling is what lead to talking about “this transition we’re in”. And every spiritual and esoteric community is talking about it. From Astrology, Human Design, Shamanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Alien Conspiracists, Christians, you name it.

For me the specific details don’t matter. I can feel it in my body. This time holds great potential and great peril for all of humanity. It does. Collectively, we all have to develop our individual inner worlds. Or, at least, a lot of us do. Otherwise too many of us will be stuck in the density, the sludge, of what’s happening out there.

And there’s a lot of sludge. Wars, inflation, multiple housing crises, climate change, whatever. It’s all like quicksand at the moment, the more you try to engage with it directly the more stuck you get.

If we engage with “negative” circumstance with negativity of our own, we just make more sludge. We have to approach all of it with positivity. Now I don’t know if "toxic positivity" is a thing or not, but let me be more specific just in case: we have to approach every external situation that each of us is a part of with constructive positivity—How is this happening for me, not to me? Then the sludge isn't sludge at all, but fertile soil with immense potential for collective human growth.

Hopefully, that re-framing can inspire you to look inward rather than out. To develop your inner world. To let go of your reason and logic based mind that conceptualizes everything in relation to the outer, physical world and instead starts conceptualizing based on your own individual psyche and, eventually, spirituality. The only freedom is understanding who you are, and walking the path of self discovery. It is utterly unique, personal, and specific to your own subjective experience. In this way, it is utterly lonely. No one else can walk the path for you. Or, really, even with you.

It’s a wild ride. It takes a leap of faith. Courage. No matter your circumstance it means separating yourself from your groups, your community and even your close family and friends. Because your inner world is yours alone. Yet, I truly believe this is the only way for humanity to cultivate the future we actually want. Because once we start looking inward and getting past all the cruft and conditioning, there is something beautiful waiting to be born—in each and every one of us.

I hope this is inspiring. Even to just one person. But I really want to invite everyone. It’s no picnic in the park. Well maybe it is, you just have to traverse a slimy snake riddled cave to get there. But it’s worth it! It’s like a constant chain of epiphanies, each one superseding the last. I’m not even on (permanently) stable ground since the rug was pulled from under me and I want to invite you all! That’s saying something, isn't it?

What is this transition we’re in? (Part 1)

Adrian Unger — Wed, 08 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Hi there, happy new moon in Taurus! This week we're just going to jump right in.

I’m sure many of you remember hearing of the “end of the Maya calendar” in 2012. Perhaps even some of the fatalistic predictions around what that meant. While the fatalistic perspective was a bit out of touch, or perhaps dramatic, as an allegory it’s not far off. Further, as one digs into various ancient, spiritual and esoteric traditions we find many descriptions of cycles¹—and how they end and repeat. It just so happens, we are living at a time, right now, that is at the end of many of these described cycles. Rather than being fatalistic, I see this as an immensely exciting time to be alive!

What are cycles?

As day turns into night, winter to spring, new moon to full, life is filled with cycles. These cycles manifest in our physical reality, like how the moon influences the tides. And, while we are aware of many cycles, there are many more at work beyond what’s common knowledge. Just recently, scientists found evidence of a 2.4 million year cycle of Mars affecting Earth’s oceans! The scale of cycles as measured by our perception of time on Earth can occupy any length, from daily to millions of years and anywhere in between.

"Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates." —The Kybalion

Beyond the effects on our physical world, these cycles also influence each of us energetically. This is an essential mechanism of Astrology. Yet, again, there is a preponderance towards fatalism. Energy is influence and something to work with. Not a predictive fate of exactness. So, how does this energy manifest, if not something specific and exact? Through archetypes, of course! Or, perhaps more simply, as possibilities.

In this way, cycles represent different archetypal energies expressing themselves more predominantly during different time periods. As cycles are, well, cyclical, they also represent a specific progression through said archetypes—something akin to a Hero's Journey.

The end of a cycle

What's so immense of this current time, is how we are at, or nearing, the end of a cycle. And, not just a small cycle measured in days, but something to the tune of hundreds or thousands of years depending on who you ask¹. Further, we're not in the middle of the cycle experiencing a progression from some archetype into another, we're at the termination of the cycle itself. Of course, being a cycle means it's not really a termination but rather a loop. Or, ideally, an evolution rather than revolution.

Evolution is a integral part of our reality. And not just as with a lizard developing larger toepads, but evolution of consciousness. As we experience cycles of different energies—which are cycles of Archetypes and possibilities—we have the potential to work with those energies in a new way, with new awareness. If we don't, then life at one of (or all of the) individual, familial, communal, national and global will feel like Groundhog Day—forever repeating.

What's does this mean for our experience?

Well, remember, it's always about possibility. There is no fatalism, there is no predetermined future. Still, there are generalities we can make. First, it will be a time of change. Whatever the precise length of this cycle—be it 500 years or 15,000—we will not have experienced this level of change since the cycle started.

Further, we can think of all the societal structures and concepts (laws, governance, philosophy, economics, everything!) we've built up during this cycle as being of this time-period. As we move into a new cycle, we will have new possibilities of what we want to conceptualize, build and create. Thus, we need to identify what in this current cycle is worthy as a solid foundation—what do we want to keep and what do we want to toss?

"If we cannot learn the art of destruction, we'll never be effective creators, because we will never be able to complete cycles." —John Sandbach

So, a transition into a new cycle—a new era—means these sort of "basic principles of how society functions" are no longer stable. It is a process of entropy or chaos as the systems, collective agreements, and societal structures are becoming more and more fluid and malleable—ready for us to create something new.

Embracing uncertainty and paradox

"Peoples minds tend to be lazy. They prefer to fall back on their earlier and easier ways of thinking. People don't like tensions and ambiguities. A paradox often appears as two seemingly opposite or contradictory truths. Evolving to new and higher grounds of awareness can be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, many seek clarity and resolution in duality: right versus wrong; good versus evil; me versus you. They don't seek integration." —Anneloes Smitsman, Jean Houston

A time of change like this means you will have to dig deeper to develop a sense of security and trust. A stable culture innately offers a sense of security. You don't have to dig deep into your inner being to figure out your life. Rather, generally, you can follow the norms and be quite comfortable and even successful. With the collective idea of society becoming more chaotic, priming itself to be rebuilt, we no longer have the familiar comfort and accepted culture that provides a sense of security and even anchoring to our own existence.

Instead, we have to dig deeper, individually, to find a sense of security with our existence. This is why I believe esoteric knowledge (spirituality, metaphysics, philosophy, analytical psychology, etc.) is primed to be discovered and adopted by a larger portion of humanity, right now. There are thousands of years of knowledge at our disposal, ready for us to try out and give ourselves a new perspective on our existence and afford us a new sense of anchoring so we can come together to work with the possibilities of this new cycle. And, of course, avoid falling into the trap of polarity.

"The synonym for uncertainty is freedom and possibility" —Dan Siegel

It is a beautiful, exciting time marked by some level of chaos and entropy, which just means the potential to create is that much more.

Besides the Maya prophecy, there are those of the Hopi, and the Yuga cycles of the Vedic tradition. In Astrology, there is the Age of Aquarius among many other global cycles one can gleam from the gyration of planets, in Human Design the 2027 Prophecy. From a more economic rather than esoteric view, The Sovereign Individual remarks "a mysterious five-hundred year cycle appears to mark major turning points in the history of Western civilization". In my estimation, all of these (and more) combine to indicate we are in a time of great significance and transformation. ↩↩

AI won't change the World, people will

Adrian Unger — Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Alright, I promised AI hot-takes on the tednet.org homepage, so let's give it a go: At best, AI is mostly a distraction, at worst it's another nail in the coffin that is the downfall of humanity. Whew! We're in for a ride.

First, I want to tackle the idea that AI will "save humanity." Save humanity from what? Climate Change? Seems counter-intuitive considering the pressure the industry adds on resource extraction and energy production. Or, perhaps save us from war? Yet, getting more efficient at targeting people to kill—while, evidently, being quite loose on oversight—isn't going to bring us peace. We're just perpetuating the arms race.

And, even if the enormous energy requirements of AI is the kick in the pants we need to unlock some breakthrough in production, there's an issue at the core of AI that is a hindrance to improving humanity: that we are viewing it as anything more than a tool and that we can give up our own authority and decision making to a machine. We, as humans, often get caught up in the hype of progress and new technology and forget that we are the source of creation. This is both a literal and spiritual statement. We are both the cause of, and solution, to all life's problems.

Homer nearly had it right…

Technology doesn’t change us. We adapt to technology. Really, we are infinitely adaptable. Which is to say: our bodies and consciousness merges with the experiences we repeatedly provide them. So if we repeatedly expose ourselves to a new technology (smart phones, social media, memes, etc) then we will adapt to those experiences—for better or for worse. The point being: technology doesn't change us, we adapt to technology. The former puts us at the whim of external circumstance. The latter empowers us to be conscious of our own adaptations—our habits and conditioning.

The core of being human is creation. That is: we create. We imagine and then make that imagination a reality. It’s why being a human is so unfathomably incredible. We are the stewards of this earth and of this reality. We are our own authority. We can maintain autonomy, if we choose to do so. I believe there is a split here, that depends on how you view humanity: A. You view humanity as destructive, dangerous and inherently selfish to the detriment of others. B. You view humanity as creative, loving and inherently generous to others.

With Group A, you likely fear the irrationality of others, their broken logic, and more than anything, their unsubstantiated beliefs. Humanity is seen as chaotic and order must be maintained through external authority and control. In this view, AI can be an impartial, purely logical, objective judge of all human affairs. Thus, can save us. This view is based in fear and usually extends to believe we should trade in emotion and compassion for efficiency and increased productivity.

With Group B, you respect the divine integrity of every individual. You see humans an innately good and pure. That all negativity, destruction and conflict arises from conditioning that casts darkness on the true being of each person—creating internal discord. That if each person was able to tap into and act purely on their own inner authority, that all conflict would disappear from the world. This view is based in love.

"[..] there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in this world—which is the innate wakefulness of human beings."—Chögyam Trungpa

As the power of our tools and technology reaches heights unlike anything we've seen in (remembered) history, it exemplifies the importance of returning to love. And, how this needs to happen at the individual level. Each of us, needs to tap into our innate goodness, to cast away our conditioning and fears, and instead honor, hone and act from each of our own inner authority's. Giving up our autonomy and our own authority to make decisions to an "objective" and unemotional AI will not save us. Honoring each of our own individual inner authority's and innate goodness will. It is crucial for each of us to take responsibility for our creativity and honor our individual inner authorities.

As for AI, it’s another tool in the toolbox. Wield it in weird and wacky ways. Just remember, it is not a replacement for your inner authority and decision making.

That's it. That's the AI hot-take. So, are you going to kick ChatGPT to the curb? Or, ask it all of your major life decisions? Like, if you should eat that ice-encrusted Hot Pocket that's been at the bottom of your freezer since who knows when?

A life without faith is a life without authenticity

Adrian Unger — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Each one of us has a unique gift or expression to share with the world. To realize and share this gift of service is to be your authentic self. And, to share this gift you have to have faith in yourself. If you don't have faith, you will not impart the fullest expression of your gifts on the world. Instead you and your gifts will be at the whim of external circumstance and the perspective of others. In a society bent on reason and facts, one can become hindered by possibility only as history can teach us. With faith, one can open oneself to possibility hindered only by one's imagination. Which, really, is possibility without limit.

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein

Any great creator or inventor or founder of a business or product that reshaped society had great faith in themselves.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." — Steve jobs

And, even more explicitly:

"Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." —Steve jobs

Faith, belief, trust all are pointing to the same thing here: knowing that something can happen before it happens. Despite any lack of evidence or precedence or naysayers—or even a brick to the head.

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” —Michael Jordan

The realm of possibility does become clearer or easier when there is precedence. Take the four minute mile. Or the Barkley Marathons. Once the undoable was done, it opened the floodgates for others to accomplish it as well. Once the 4-minute mile was finally broken, it was broken again and again within the weeks, months and years that followed. Yet, the second person to do a four minute mile, knowing it was possible because someone else did it, still had to have faith that they could do it. And the first person to run a four minute mile? They just had to fucking do it.

This is the power of faith. The reason so many religions taught (still teach?) faith is not to adopt a doctrine per se, but to develop trust in a benevolent and loving universe. If you fully trust in life itself, you will not have fear: not fear of failure nor other people’s opinions. This lays the foundation for pursuing your authenticity—your unique gifts that want to be expressed in this lifetime. And, by most accounts, failure is an inevitable part of that creative process—you'll need faith to keep pushing through failures.

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” —Brené Brown

Each of us has something innate that wants to be expressed. Yet, in many cases, it is hidden deep behind layers of conditioning, beliefs about how life “should be”, fears etc. It may even be hidden behind expectation—we aren't all here to revolutionize personal computing or be the best basketball player. Each of our masterpieces is utterly unique.

“If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it.” —Gordon MacKenzie

So, how does one cultivate faith? At some point, you just have to do it. To not fear at all would be reckless. Instead, courage suggests taking action despite fear—not ignoring fear, or sweeping it under the rug, but being fully aware of it and facing it head on.

“Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to share your heart with others.” —Chogyam Trungpa

As always, I'd love to hear how this resonates with you. How have fears of this nature shown up in your life? Where in you life could you possibly use more faith? Do you feel you've uncovered your authentic expression or gifts?

P.S. Next weeks issue will be delayed.

How to think about meaning

Adrian Unger — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Howdy, hope everyone had a nice eclipse this past Monday! I'm about to head off on a road trip so there may be a gap in TEDNET issues in the coming weeks. But, maybe not, we'll see 🤷. On to today's issue:

To find meaning, or even discuss meaning (as in the meaning of life), we have to look to a way of thinking outside of the material realm. Science, as it exists today, cannot provide any guidance on meaning beyond "to perpetuate the species by means of reproduction". Which I doubt is much solace to anyone. Instead, we have to look to the inner world (our psyche and spirituality). Where traditional thinking and reason deals with the outer, material world, intuition deals with the inner.

"Despite all the supposed knowledge that we have accumulated, meaning is no where to be found, except in those fields of study that point to a unity between man and the universe." —Stephen Arroyo

Intuition and the inner world are innately personal and entirely subjective. That is, objective reality cannot be measured and tested in order to prove or disprove the meaning of life¹. The meaning comes from within. So, by it's very nature, we have to step outside of the bounds of empirical evidence. We cannot simply look to a study, or some other external authority, and be given a meaning for our life. This has been the fall of so many religions over the ages: they became the meaning themselves, rather than guides to find that meaning.

Stepping into the world of psychology, philosophy and spirituality means we are entering the land of discernment. We must find a language or symbolism that resonates with our own intuition. We must determine what feels right or good to our own selves. I like to think about it as a personal science: We can't test and measure objective, material reality and thus can't rely on other peoples results and conclusions. Instead, we have to perform the test for ourselves and be aware of the results within ourselves! This is how we find meaning.

In this way, the type of knowledge employed for objective science is different than that for subjective. Which is why many get stuck. If they do feel compelled to search for meaning in their life, they may dive into thousands of years of human writings on the matter in hopes of finding something concrete. Or, a sort of definitive and complete system of meaning and how it all works that can be proven or shown in the same way we show empirical evidence for objective sciences. Instead, the works of this nature are guides to finding the thing, rather than the thing itself.

"[..] the teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. Don’t mistake it for the truth itself. A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon." —Thich Nhat Hanh

This, to me, is the magical part. Each of us, individually, have such immense responsibility! Without an objective, empirical guide to the meaning of life, essentially, we just have to choose it. The foundation of how we build up our view of ourselves and the world around us must be decided upon by each of us. This is like the root, creative act of being human! It's empowering and humbling. And, honestly, fun. If you haven't yet, why not give it a go? And, even if you already have, intuitive knowledge is a process rather than the static facts found in objective observation:

"As man's needs undergo periodic transformations, so his myths must change to suit his new dimension of being. As man's consciousness evolves so must his myths." —Stephen Arroyo

Agree? Disagree? Let me know. I'd love to hear from y'all. And thanks to everyone who's joined along thus far, and for the positive response—I'm immensely grateful! If you know anyone else who might enjoy these ponderings, please forward them this email or send them to tednet.org! 🙏

People definitely try to gather empirical evidence for psychological theories. But there's apparently a replication problem. In any case, my view is that the real depth of the psyche cannot be touched on without diving into deeply subjective and personal experience. ↩

Awareness is the Goal

Adrian Unger — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Howdy all. Before jumping into the first, ugh, issue I guess we'll call it, I wanted to provide a bit of context. The focus of TEDNET, as I alluded on the homepage, is around "existing as a human", with some specific coloring from our current events. Which, well, is pretty dang broad. So I'm going to share what is essentially the end goal: Awareness. Nothing I write needs to be true. If it helps even a tiny few develop more awareness, I'll chalk it up as a win. On to the first issue!

From the most benign self-help books to ancient philosophy and spiritual texts, the goal is awareness. Every bit of advice for improving your business, or your relationships acts as a tool to help you be more aware. Some of these tools offer specific awareness such as how to listen, or "work smarter not harder." While others offer general tools to increase awareness. Most notably, meditation. So, what is awareness?

Is it consciousness? Perhaps. Yet, I think it has it's own distinct feel or flavor. Or, perhaps even a more narrow definition. Awareness is a bit easier to understand than grandiose "consciousness". The point is, so much of what we do and perceive in the world happens without awareness. Think of your goals, strategies, wishes, wants, fears, distastes: are they really yours? Where did they come from? Why do you feel the way you do today? To understand these fully, would be to have complete awareness of one's self.

And, that's the goal. Every bit of increased awareness allows us to act in a way that is for our betterment. To be fully aware of one's boundaries. One's own tasks. With awareness—any increased level of it—comes new freedom. To be aware of unconscious behavior, self-defeating habits, limiting beliefs, and our actual, personal motivations means we get to choose. The more aware you are, the more you get to choose. The more free-will you get to exercise.

Looking at self-help books, religion, philosophy, and spirituality in this way can also be freeing. You don't have to evaluate if you believe everything they are saying. You don't have to ask "is this doctrine for me?" You don't have to declare that you are a buddhist, or a minimalist, or a hustler or anything else. You can just try these things out. Like testing a new tool. Does this work for me? Does this thought, practice or concept allow me more awareness of myself and my actions? Great. With increased awareness you'll likely realize that a tool that works for you may not work for someone else. Or even, that a tool that did work, one day will no longer.

Awareness is very freeing. It allows you to be fully you. And, that's the goal. It's not to be this way or that way. It's not a set of behaviors, beliefs and mannerisms. It is not some idolized way of acting and showing up in the world. You are not here to emulate another. Rather, it is being aware of why you act the way you act. Why you think the way you think. And, with that awareness comes the freedom—the responsibility—to take full accountability for ones actions. For one's entire life.

Awareness is the ultimate goal.