New Year’s Edition 2023 - Issue 42 - 1st January 2023
This newsletter will be relatively short because I want a simple message to resonate. The recommendations I’m providing below relate to effective practices created by uber-successful individuals to undertake at the start of a new year other than New Year’s resolutions. I want to provide a practice of my own however that will hopefully make your 2023 fulfilling and productive.
Christmas Edition 2022 - Issue 41 - 25th December 2022
Recently, I overheard my partner watching a Christmas episode of Friends in which Phoebe, generally considered to be the odd one of the group, puts a skull on the table as a festive decoration. She then explains that her mother used to put it out at Christmas as a reminder that “even though it’s Christmas, people still die.” Rachel then whispers to Ross “you may need to use this year to teach Ben [Ross’s son] about Phoebe,” implying that Phoebe is indeed theodd and eccentric one of the group.
Connection & Community - Issue 40 - 18th December 2022
Whilst it may seem that what I’m advocating for is an individualistic society in which we only consider ourselves, our development and our success, this is not my intention. I do believe that when we are healthy and courageous, we are more helpful to others and therefore I’m not suggesting that we only consider our own quest for meaning without any regard for others’. Unfortunately, the capitalist societies that we occupy enforces certain mindsets and cultures that rigorously imply that success and happiness comes from individualist-thinking, materialism and competition. Whilst competition is important, issues arise when inequalities arise.
Pain Brings Strength & Bravery - Issue 39 - 11th December 2022
I want to explore a horrible and unethical experiment conducted in the late 1960s that may have positive consequences, even if the dog-subjects don’t agree. Researchers attached the dog’s hind paws to an electrical current. For obvious reasons, the dog was terrified during the first initial shocks showing symptoms such as dilated pupils, hair standing on end, ears laid back, tail curled between its legs and “expulsive defecation and urination” (1&2). Thedog was then freed from the harness and after the first shock, “it moved slowly about the room, appeared to be stealthy, hesitant, and unfriendly” (2). The dog’s heart rate rose to 150 beats per minute above resting baseline during the first shock, then the heart rate fell to 30 beats below baseline for one minute (1&2). As the dog endured further electrical shocks, “it’s behaviour gradually changed. During the shocks, the signs of terror disappeared.
Meaning Comes with Time - Issue 38 - 4th December 2022
What occurs as we distract ourselves with highly dopaminergic activity is that we becoming increasingly numb to the reality of the world. We become so accustomed to distraction that the world we’re distracting ourselves from becomes painful, leading to further distracting. We must unshackle ourselves from the prison of our own minds and become more accustomed to true reality, which is worrisome, painful and anxious-ridden, but it’s also beautiful, fulfilling and meaningful. In order to make friends with reality, we must first take responsibility. Unfortunately, the world we live in now encourages using our issues as reasons for inaction. Of course, many have been victims of horrendous traumas, however the route towards self-fulfillment does not come with victimizing oneself. I’m not suggesting taking responsibility for theharms done to you by others, just that you take responsibility for your inner-interpretation of these harms.
Cold Water Immersion & Dopamine - Issue 37 - 27th November 2022
On the subject of sacrificing modernity, the majority of us thankfully have theluxury of hot showers and warm houses. However, it has been proven that sacrificing this form of modernity is beneficial. The Dutch Iceman Wim Hof is the shining example of what benefits cold immersion can have. This is another way in which travelling back to the time of our hunter-gatherer ancestors is a wise route. Our ancestors lacked warm showers and baths but what if that was a benefit rather than a hindrance? Hof advocates for cold immersion as it has been proven to hold many benefits including the speeding up of metabolism, inflammation reduction, muscle recovery, improved sleep quality and improved immune response (1). Furthermore, it seems that cold-water immersion has profound effects psychologically. An experiment was carried out at Charles University in Prague in which ten male volunteers submerged themselves (head out) in cold water (14 Degrees Celsius) for one hour.
The Pleasure Pain Balance - Issue 36 - 20th November 2022
Although I intended on writing further on Existentialism this week, I’ve decided to explore the unintended consequences of mass drug-administration.
Not only have we achieved vast strides forward technologically causing unintended issues of over-abundance and comfort but the same can be argued with regards to medicine. Although we are living longer, we now suffer from over-consumption rather than the malnutrition of the past. We now have medicinal antidotes to the majority of our aches and pains. However, it seems that the intended good of these medical accomplishments have unintended consequences. The majority of drugs that alleviate some form of pain are pressing on the pleasure side of the balance meaning that they have addictive potential (1). Thus, the alleviation of one form of pain causes another.
Existentialism - Issue 35 - 13th November 2022
Deciphering the appropriate suffering to embrace and the appropriate suffering is a complex issue to solve. Embracing and accepting are two distinct mindsets and should be considered individually. Embracing requires action. Embracing suffering, by definition, requires voluntarily subjecting yourself to some level of suffering. Therefore, this suffering should be productive. Theconsequences of this embrace should be viewed as positive at some point in time. It should be healthy. Accepting suffering is part of Existentialist philosophy. The term Existentialism was adopted as a self-description by French playwright Jean-Paul Sartre and became identified with a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s and 50s, although nineteenth-century philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche were viewed as the precursors to the movement (1). Existentialism does not deny the usefulness of basic categories such as physics, biology, psychology, and other sciences, nor does it deny the validity of moral values and categories such as intention, blame, responsibility, character, duty and virtue (1). Whilst these both illuminate the human condition, the light shone is not bright enough according to Existentialists. Authenticity is the missing ingredient.
Those Who Sacrifice Are Rare - Issue 34 - 6th November 2022
Unfortunately, when we master the art of sacrifice, we are inducted into a rather small community. Those who apply the art of sacrifice to their lives daily are the minority. The majority of humans, tragically, will become lost and disillusioned by the world around them, will supplement this loss with highly dopaminergic activities and drugs and then wonder why they feel so pessimistic about the world. This will only worsen as technology advances, comfort becomes more abundant, sugar, fat and alcohol become more fabricated and the need to struggle lessens. Thus, those of us who can must start sacrificing now. The sooner we can master sacrifice, the sooner we can become fulfilled individuals, ready to help those that are trapped in the talons of modernity realise this ancient truth.
How To Harness Dopamine - Issue 33 - 30th October 2022
So how do we find meaning in an increasingly meaningless and distracting world? Fortunately, there are multiple antidotes, the majority of which involve travelling back to a time in which social media, iPhones and targeted algorithmic advertising were still to be introduced into our lives. A world in which silence was prevalent, mental space was provided in abundance and our brains functioned more clearly with the absence of constant, fabricated and digital distractions. We must sacrifice our modernity. As a species we have spearheaded technological progress at such speeds with such impeccable advancement that we forgot the minor question of what it was all for. We never questioned the implications of such advancement and unfortunately theconsequences are rearing their ugly heads in the form of deteriorating mental health, increases in suicide, digital addictions, polarisation and more. Sometimes the answer to such complex issues is the simplest one: reverse theprogress. I’m not suggesting we get rid of our smartphones and technology and start from scratch, just that we take time without them. The cure to our diseased modernity is to take a break from it.