This one took me a few days to get through so that I could really be with it and what’s really cool is that I’m reading that book “Fluke” by Brian Klaas rn. What I’m left with is how you concluded this piece “accessing the wisdom woven into the fabric of our cells, our marrow, our brains, our hearts.”
Really honing in on our own inner healer, truly cleaning up our side of the street, IS the action to spread the movement. Our bodies sense safety and authenticity before our minds do and that’s what draws others (who may even only have a subconscious curiosity to the desire to wake experience) in. If we are living in an abundant reality then it really is as easy as being our true selves; finding what’s underneath our cultural /traumatic condition and letting it into the light of day so that others can join. I love thinking about it as a practice that grows stronger versus a destination. And if we’re all already fucked bc the planet is almost dead then how cool, then, will the rebirth of death be and whatever comes after?? I liked what Seth Godin said about climate change when he was on Rich Roll, it was something like “The truth is that Mother Nature will be fine, she will regenerate, but humans may not be.” I can live with that. 💚
I've actually been thinking a lot about what you wrote with this: "Our bodies sense safety and authenticity before our minds do and that’s what draws others." That sense of safety must be there. Even after all the years and training and blah blah I still find that the sense often feels threatened -- especially when engaging with doomer media, hence the vital need for balance there. Fluke looks epic - "why everything we do matters" - sign me up :) And thank you so much for reading, taking your time with it, and dropping us some wisdom here, Emily
Agree Emily that is something I come to deeper into seeing everyday. Rebirth cannot be imitated; spiritual evolution actually has to be digested.
A favorite morsel from Ram Dass I return to daily: “Whatever is on your plate rn, that’s your vehicle to Liberation.”
For me the practice, the way forward is then through our relationships, where that uncovering you speak about happens. I think it happens to also be what’s on most people’s plates rn.
What a delightful synthesis on the age of synthesis brother, tysm. A gem of an essay; your voice on the page is super lucid as well as your heart.
A lil doomer for me at points but that’s what realism is rn:)
I’ll say, it’s a pretty high vibe write up even if you think we don’t need to up the frequency.
Just think there is distortion in our systems about where the high vibration comes from, which is the interconnectedness you poignantly speak on, not about staying connected, or looking connected,as the internet psyops goes.
Also I will say I branch also with the fear around AI and believe it’s just that, scams and deepfakes etc. included.
The only endpoint for AI (to me) is a collective mirror so large and ubiquitous that it will literally shake the silent majority (I pray too:) of us into that part of our humanness that can’t be grasped in the artificial humanness, no matter how “real” it seems. It will catalyst us at a time of intense catalyst literally into realized unity of Us.
I believe too, even though no one can really see how it comes together yet/ and we tend to view the future through the collective shadow bc that’s the main vibe but ->
crypto(graphy) and blockchain will allow for increased transparency of facts via pubic ledgers n records, alongside some intense growth and maturity of prediction markets that aid in that transparency + digital proofs of authenticity on chain, ie, “this was written by a human not a bot” so we can parse the forest and the trees better than we ever have. It’ll all be baked into the infra.
Source: I’ve spent quite a bit of time in that noise to find the signal.
Yet, it’s probably gonna hurt quite a bit n the psychosis will prob reach feverpitch in this eternal beginning.
But I think that’s the great joker to come in many ways.
AI tricks the science folk up to the truth in the mystic <->the tech improvements Cambrian explode us back into symbiosis with Gaia that all the new age worry turns into flowers at the same time 🧬🌸☮️
Thanks for such a potent commentary and expansive read.
Curious: how long did it take you to write?
It’s beautiful to feel kindred spirits across the digital interwebs as well as the cosmic ones. And this was really first thing I’ve got hype on via substack to date so deep bow homie.
Ah, dude, thank you for this fucking gem of a response.
You are spot on the vibration bit. I hold two minds there. For one, of course, everything is, technically, a vibration, and if we can get people to truly grok this - and vibrate more coherently, that's where it's at. But then, yeah, the internet psy op you mentioned, lol - I see so many folks sharing the "raise the vibration" message in a way that I think is doing legit harm (and possibly coming from a wounded place within themselves). So when it comes to consciousness, for a broader message or the layman, I try and steer folks towards an "it's already here, just recognize it as such and stop putting the totality that is You into boxes that don't exist." I think this can, sometimes, be more a generous pov than making someone feel "lower." But I could be wrong here.
Re AI, are you saying you branch away from the AI doomerism? But either way, I think I'm with you here, too. I skew towards philosophical idealism in the sense that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to build a self-cognizing, fully realized AGI from materials extracted from the earth (since this perspective might misunderstand what "Consciousness," or the light of awareness, truly is - a la Donald Hoffman and others' research). But can it get close and do some harm along the way, triggering some psychosis? Likely. And it will also do enormous, truly incredible good for the world. And who knows what's possible, I appreciate the epistemic humility you maintain. We can't really know any of this. I hope what you're saying about blockchain is right. I've been a believer since the early days because of those philosophical principles you allude to.
This one took me a while; no clue how many hours. The ideas had been working through me for some time, and then I spent about a month working on drafts, revisiting, deleting, rethinking, feeling like I was being too much of a doomer, feeling like I was spiritually bypassing, thinking I should just bag the whole thing, you know how it goes :)
I'm also greatly enjoying and appreciating the shared resonance here. Thanks again my guy
Epistemological humility — I’m gonna keep that one for a future bio 🫡
Yeah I completely agree on the vibration game. It’s such a dance though bc it’s getting lost in all our own specific nuanced ways that allows us to say not this and not this too. I also steer people that way of the Totality, or just back into their hearts and own inner truth (same thing:)
I agree also we are often coming from a place of wounding when we speak about frequency and vibration without knowing the layers upon layers of the psychosis we are woven in. My last substack I just wrote got into a bit, I’m gonna hopefully unravel it a bit more over the next few.
All of it I have found, is just a deeper and more intricate invitation to have compassion for one another and all of humanity, and I feel the same resonance in your words.
Per AI yes deeper psychosis is inevitable—an accelerated psychosis— which is what is needed for this time of great catalyst. Any light twerker worth their mala beads knows it’s rock bottom that catapults them into the Self (sigh, for now).
Society will have to mirror that, that’s all I’m really saying. For me personally I just find myself focusing on what the way through looks like bc in my heart I know we get there, n it’s a dark passage. Crisis pulls us into the unified field, n we’ve been loosening that rocky sediment in our bellies at a rapid rate.
I view the rise of plant medicines, AI, karmic modalities like family constellation therapy, systems like the Gene Keys (<-what I sip) all all just as holy accelerants for this time of deep inquiry. Which again: this essay helped pixelate for me in greater detail so thanks man, truly 🙏🏼
I empathize with that writing process deeply too 🫠😅 def a lot of the same on this end.
Appreciate such a thoughtful reply brother; hope to keep chopping it up, and looking forward to more of your journey and writing. ☮️🕯️🪷
Beautifully articulated. My question is, how can I help? I’m focused on psychedelic / global health / spirituality research and related offerings (ie. retreats) but there must be more that can be done. I wonder…
I think that's important work and a great offering already, though I am assuredly biased. Any type of community offering is also helpful, whether local or online. But I'm also also right there with you in wanting to do more and wondering ...
What do you think the role of myth / story is? We lack collective meaning, might ceremonial and culturally integrated psychedelic use help us find meaning in the universally accessible mythical imagination?
I think the environmental crisis offers a purposeful / meaningful place to start in terms of collective meaning making and psychedelics. Its what Im looking at with the Psygaia hypothesis at the UofOttawa right now.
I have a public version on my Substack if you’re interested.
Holy fuck this was a beautiful piece. I have been trying to conceptualize this broad perspective since I first took psychedelics at 15. Thank you for writing this Alex. You are a brilliant mind and wonderful writer. I plan to become a paid subscriber after reading this and will be sharing this post to all my close friends that have pursued this existential journey with me over my lifetime.
I basically wrote about most of this in my 2006 book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcóatl… so strange, the book was a bestseller at the time but there seems to be collective amnesia around it… hardly anyone mentions it or notes that I was correct about pretty much everything including the psychedelic renaissance… anyway perhaps we can have a dialogue.
I haven't read that one, but I've read many of your words. I'd love to dialogue on this topic with you... some especially juicy threads to pull on with your recent explorations of monistic idealism, Dzogchen, Swift conspiracies, and the Middle East.
I'm late to the party on this one, but as always Alex, your description of where the world stands, and how we can impact it remains profoundly accurate.
Hard to face in places, but overall it tipped me toward hope and agency.
I smiled at reading Bunjil’s name (not Bunji by the way, which means friend).
I’ve just finished reading “I Am That” and your ending reminded me his responses when repeatedly asked about global suffering e.g. “All suffering is caused by selfish isolation, by insularity and greed. When the cause of suffering is seen and removed, suffering ceases. … To understand suffering, you must go beyond pain and pleasure. Your own desires and fears prevent you from understanding and thereby helping others. In reality there are no others, and by helping yourself you help everybody else. If you are serious about the sufferings of mankind, you must perfect the only means of help you have -- Yourself.”
Good catch and thank you for letting me know re Bunjil - updated. I remember that exact line from Nisargadatta, thank you for reminding me and bringing it here <33
That wiki page, as far as I can say, doesn't mention the demon Kali, though? But thanks to your prompt, I did more research, and despite some other conflicting pieces I read in my initial studies, you seem to be very right. I also haven't done a deep study of the Kalki Purana or Mahabharata, where he appears.
I have updated and corrected the mention in the essay. Thanks again
This one took me a few days to get through so that I could really be with it and what’s really cool is that I’m reading that book “Fluke” by Brian Klaas rn. What I’m left with is how you concluded this piece “accessing the wisdom woven into the fabric of our cells, our marrow, our brains, our hearts.”
Really honing in on our own inner healer, truly cleaning up our side of the street, IS the action to spread the movement. Our bodies sense safety and authenticity before our minds do and that’s what draws others (who may even only have a subconscious curiosity to the desire to wake experience) in. If we are living in an abundant reality then it really is as easy as being our true selves; finding what’s underneath our cultural /traumatic condition and letting it into the light of day so that others can join. I love thinking about it as a practice that grows stronger versus a destination. And if we’re all already fucked bc the planet is almost dead then how cool, then, will the rebirth of death be and whatever comes after?? I liked what Seth Godin said about climate change when he was on Rich Roll, it was something like “The truth is that Mother Nature will be fine, she will regenerate, but humans may not be.” I can live with that. 💚
I've actually been thinking a lot about what you wrote with this: "Our bodies sense safety and authenticity before our minds do and that’s what draws others." That sense of safety must be there. Even after all the years and training and blah blah I still find that the sense often feels threatened -- especially when engaging with doomer media, hence the vital need for balance there. Fluke looks epic - "why everything we do matters" - sign me up :) And thank you so much for reading, taking your time with it, and dropping us some wisdom here, Emily
Agree Emily that is something I come to deeper into seeing everyday. Rebirth cannot be imitated; spiritual evolution actually has to be digested.
A favorite morsel from Ram Dass I return to daily: “Whatever is on your plate rn, that’s your vehicle to Liberation.”
For me the practice, the way forward is then through our relationships, where that uncovering you speak about happens. I think it happens to also be what’s on most people’s plates rn.
Thank you both big hug ☮️🙏🏼🕯️
What a delightful synthesis on the age of synthesis brother, tysm. A gem of an essay; your voice on the page is super lucid as well as your heart.
A lil doomer for me at points but that’s what realism is rn:)
I’ll say, it’s a pretty high vibe write up even if you think we don’t need to up the frequency.
Just think there is distortion in our systems about where the high vibration comes from, which is the interconnectedness you poignantly speak on, not about staying connected, or looking connected,as the internet psyops goes.
Also I will say I branch also with the fear around AI and believe it’s just that, scams and deepfakes etc. included.
The only endpoint for AI (to me) is a collective mirror so large and ubiquitous that it will literally shake the silent majority (I pray too:) of us into that part of our humanness that can’t be grasped in the artificial humanness, no matter how “real” it seems. It will catalyst us at a time of intense catalyst literally into realized unity of Us.
I believe too, even though no one can really see how it comes together yet/ and we tend to view the future through the collective shadow bc that’s the main vibe but ->
crypto(graphy) and blockchain will allow for increased transparency of facts via pubic ledgers n records, alongside some intense growth and maturity of prediction markets that aid in that transparency + digital proofs of authenticity on chain, ie, “this was written by a human not a bot” so we can parse the forest and the trees better than we ever have. It’ll all be baked into the infra.
Source: I’ve spent quite a bit of time in that noise to find the signal.
Yet, it’s probably gonna hurt quite a bit n the psychosis will prob reach feverpitch in this eternal beginning.
But I think that’s the great joker to come in many ways.
AI tricks the science folk up to the truth in the mystic <->the tech improvements Cambrian explode us back into symbiosis with Gaia that all the new age worry turns into flowers at the same time 🧬🌸☮️
Thanks for such a potent commentary and expansive read.
Curious: how long did it take you to write?
It’s beautiful to feel kindred spirits across the digital interwebs as well as the cosmic ones. And this was really first thing I’ve got hype on via substack to date so deep bow homie.
🕯️💗🙏🏼
Ah, dude, thank you for this fucking gem of a response.
You are spot on the vibration bit. I hold two minds there. For one, of course, everything is, technically, a vibration, and if we can get people to truly grok this - and vibrate more coherently, that's where it's at. But then, yeah, the internet psy op you mentioned, lol - I see so many folks sharing the "raise the vibration" message in a way that I think is doing legit harm (and possibly coming from a wounded place within themselves). So when it comes to consciousness, for a broader message or the layman, I try and steer folks towards an "it's already here, just recognize it as such and stop putting the totality that is You into boxes that don't exist." I think this can, sometimes, be more a generous pov than making someone feel "lower." But I could be wrong here.
Re AI, are you saying you branch away from the AI doomerism? But either way, I think I'm with you here, too. I skew towards philosophical idealism in the sense that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to build a self-cognizing, fully realized AGI from materials extracted from the earth (since this perspective might misunderstand what "Consciousness," or the light of awareness, truly is - a la Donald Hoffman and others' research). But can it get close and do some harm along the way, triggering some psychosis? Likely. And it will also do enormous, truly incredible good for the world. And who knows what's possible, I appreciate the epistemic humility you maintain. We can't really know any of this. I hope what you're saying about blockchain is right. I've been a believer since the early days because of those philosophical principles you allude to.
This one took me a while; no clue how many hours. The ideas had been working through me for some time, and then I spent about a month working on drafts, revisiting, deleting, rethinking, feeling like I was being too much of a doomer, feeling like I was spiritually bypassing, thinking I should just bag the whole thing, you know how it goes :)
I'm also greatly enjoying and appreciating the shared resonance here. Thanks again my guy
Epistemological humility — I’m gonna keep that one for a future bio 🫡
Yeah I completely agree on the vibration game. It’s such a dance though bc it’s getting lost in all our own specific nuanced ways that allows us to say not this and not this too. I also steer people that way of the Totality, or just back into their hearts and own inner truth (same thing:)
I agree also we are often coming from a place of wounding when we speak about frequency and vibration without knowing the layers upon layers of the psychosis we are woven in. My last substack I just wrote got into a bit, I’m gonna hopefully unravel it a bit more over the next few.
All of it I have found, is just a deeper and more intricate invitation to have compassion for one another and all of humanity, and I feel the same resonance in your words.
Per AI yes deeper psychosis is inevitable—an accelerated psychosis— which is what is needed for this time of great catalyst. Any light twerker worth their mala beads knows it’s rock bottom that catapults them into the Self (sigh, for now).
Society will have to mirror that, that’s all I’m really saying. For me personally I just find myself focusing on what the way through looks like bc in my heart I know we get there, n it’s a dark passage. Crisis pulls us into the unified field, n we’ve been loosening that rocky sediment in our bellies at a rapid rate.
I view the rise of plant medicines, AI, karmic modalities like family constellation therapy, systems like the Gene Keys (<-what I sip) all all just as holy accelerants for this time of deep inquiry. Which again: this essay helped pixelate for me in greater detail so thanks man, truly 🙏🏼
I empathize with that writing process deeply too 🫠😅 def a lot of the same on this end.
Appreciate such a thoughtful reply brother; hope to keep chopping it up, and looking forward to more of your journey and writing. ☮️🕯️🪷
Brilliant. Thank you, Alex.
Thank you, Julia
Beautifully articulated. My question is, how can I help? I’m focused on psychedelic / global health / spirituality research and related offerings (ie. retreats) but there must be more that can be done. I wonder…
I think that's important work and a great offering already, though I am assuredly biased. Any type of community offering is also helpful, whether local or online. But I'm also also right there with you in wanting to do more and wondering ...
What do you think the role of myth / story is? We lack collective meaning, might ceremonial and culturally integrated psychedelic use help us find meaning in the universally accessible mythical imagination?
I think the environmental crisis offers a purposeful / meaningful place to start in terms of collective meaning making and psychedelics. Its what Im looking at with the Psygaia hypothesis at the UofOttawa right now.
I have a public version on my Substack if you’re interested.
What a beautiful piece. Thank you!
Thank you so much :)
Spot on Alex, Love your writing. I believe others are telling similar stories, personal awakening matters. ❤️🙏❤️
Good for Earth 🌍 the original mother.
The OG mama <3
Holy fuck this was a beautiful piece. I have been trying to conceptualize this broad perspective since I first took psychedelics at 15. Thank you for writing this Alex. You are a brilliant mind and wonderful writer. I plan to become a paid subscriber after reading this and will be sharing this post to all my close friends that have pursued this existential journey with me over my lifetime.
Ah! Well, this is just about the best news I could receive. Thank you so much, Kade, for all this, especially sharing with your homies on the path
I got chills! Really inspiring read, thank you.
v glad it was inspiring instead of dooming, thank you!
Have you seen all the new OpenAI videos generated by text prompts? Wild and exciting times for artists, writers, and creators.
I have seen clips! Def exciting for creatives, but also terrifies me tbh about the deep fakes
Totally and also the cheapness and speed of propaganda production.
I basically wrote about most of this in my 2006 book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcóatl… so strange, the book was a bestseller at the time but there seems to be collective amnesia around it… hardly anyone mentions it or notes that I was correct about pretty much everything including the psychedelic renaissance… anyway perhaps we can have a dialogue.
I haven't read that one, but I've read many of your words. I'd love to dialogue on this topic with you... some especially juicy threads to pull on with your recent explorations of monistic idealism, Dzogchen, Swift conspiracies, and the Middle East.
best way to reach you? I'm alex@deepfix.co
I'm late to the party on this one, but as always Alex, your description of where the world stands, and how we can impact it remains profoundly accurate.
Thank you B!!!!
This one’s a ripper Alex. Thanks!
Hard to face in places, but overall it tipped me toward hope and agency.
I smiled at reading Bunjil’s name (not Bunji by the way, which means friend).
I’ve just finished reading “I Am That” and your ending reminded me his responses when repeatedly asked about global suffering e.g. “All suffering is caused by selfish isolation, by insularity and greed. When the cause of suffering is seen and removed, suffering ceases. … To understand suffering, you must go beyond pain and pleasure. Your own desires and fears prevent you from understanding and thereby helping others. In reality there are no others, and by helping yourself you help everybody else. If you are serious about the sufferings of mankind, you must perfect the only means of help you have -- Yourself.”
Good catch and thank you for letting me know re Bunjil - updated. I remember that exact line from Nisargadatta, thank you for reminding me and bringing it here <33
Look within. You know what you know. 🙏 Thanks Alex.
This is incredible. Thank you. I’ve been looking for more comprehensive writing about this transition we’re in and this was so helpful. 🙌💛🔥
So glad to hear this, thank you, Catherine
Hey Alex, this was an amazing piece, thank you for writing it.
A small correction, Kali yuga isn't named after the goddess Kali, but another demon Kali (pronounced differently)
See link here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga
That wiki page, as far as I can say, doesn't mention the demon Kali, though? But thanks to your prompt, I did more research, and despite some other conflicting pieces I read in my initial studies, you seem to be very right. I also haven't done a deep study of the Kalki Purana or Mahabharata, where he appears.
I have updated and corrected the mention in the essay. Thanks again
all i can say is, WOW!
a beautiful read.
thank you so much :)