Crazy Wisdom

Today’s guest is Ruth from ‘The Temple of Truth,’ an underground guide for death and surrender practice who 5-MeO-DMT as a tool to induce mystical states that mimic dying, and helps her clients integrate these experiences. In this episode we discuss death, the fear of death, letting go and surrender, 5-MeO-DMT, and much more.While she currently doesn’t have an online presence, Ruth is working on a body of work that will be made available to the online public. That said, there’s always the chance you can find her in person. Enjoy!(1:34 – 2:52) What does it mean to help people experience death and rebirth? What does surrender mean? Does it simply mean to give up? Does it simply mean to lay down and die? Is death such a bad thing?(4:11 – 6:39) How an uncanny penchant for vivid dreams, at a young age, brought an onslaught of anxiety and neuroses, and drove Ruth to eventually confront her fear of death(7:45 – 11:57) Living in fear is a feedback loop that’s perpetuated by the body and mind; it’s a ‘chicken and the egg’ situation; the mind signals the body to generate hormones which signal the mind to further signal the body to generate more stress hormones; it’s a survival mechanism gone wrong; Ruth explains how facing our fear of death helps us reconfigure this loop into a positive one.(13:54 – 17:32) 5-MeO-DMT’s role in cultivating wellbeing and overcoming the fear of death, and the dangers of using it as a distraction from the important work of integration.(17:37 – 26:05) What is 5-MeO-DMT? Where does it come from? How is it different from regular DMT? Why is it called the God/Source molecule? How is Ruth able to use it to help people heal? Are there any differences between natural and synthetically produced 5-MeO?(27:43 – 32:05) The perils of seeking ‘oneness’ out of egoic desire, ignorance, or a means to control life, as opposed to deeply investigated intentions; the true cost of meeting ‘God.’ (Hint: There may be some screaming involved)(32:07 – 36:15) How skepticism can make the process of death and rebirth difficult, and the various reactions Ruth has witnessed skeptics have to 5-MeO-DMT.(36:17 – 38:50) You will never be free of the ego; why this isn’t a bad thing; how you can train the art of letting go.

Kelsey is working on a book that discusses both conscious-consumption and how to change reality from the inside. In this episode, we discuss creativity, perception, meaning, conditioning, circumstance, and how all these come together consciously and unconsciously to create our reality. Kelsey also shared some ideas from her upcoming book: “Mood Food.” You can find Kelsey on Instagram @luscious_alchemy. (1:32 – 2:51) The nature of reality; how our senses create reality, and how our choices, conditioning, and circumstances, in turn, influence how we perceive reality. (4:42 – 8:25) What a trip to Thailand taught Kelsey about how we can use our creative abilities, as human beings, to create an inner fulfillment that transcends experiences, whether good or bad; how seeking to create meaning in this way, as opposed to compiling a bunch of experiences is the key to this fulfillment. (Pro-tip: Getting good at it requires a fine balance). (8:50 – 15:22) How circumstances and conditioning create unconsciously unhealed wounds; trapped emotions and damaging inhibitions, especially as it relates to personal growth and creativity; how our conditioning creates narratives that keep us limited to certain behavioral patterns; suppressing our natural forms of expression; some techniques we can apply to dissolve these behavioral patterns. (16:27 – 19:38) The nature of being; what is being? What is the purpose of life? Is there a true purpose? How do we integrate the fact that we don’t actually know nor are we required to do any of the things we actually do as a society, save issues dealing with direct survival? How do we interpret emotion in a world that isn’t entirely objective? What does this mean for our ability to navigate and influence our experience in life? (19:40 – 23:14) Realms of reality; The various levels of consciousness that human beings experience, and how we can use this to grow through our pain. (23:14 – 28:37) Alchemy; the history of yoga; how the east inspired Carl Jung’s spiritual system; how culture moves through space and time and creates rifts among us when we see its practices as being more than what they are. (28:45 – 40:20) Kelsey shares themes from her book; how it was influenced by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; how we can navigate the path it charts (in no particular order) to better and more aligned states of consciousness and being; both in an individual sense and at a collective level.    

Ray Alejandro is the Access to Finance Leader, Endeavor, Mexico City. He’s passionate about figuring out better ways to signal skills and talent, optimizing for the things you want, inequality of opportunity, properly contextualizing ideas, improving the education system, navigating upward and social mobility in emerging regions, philosophy and ideas, and economics and that forms the basis of this episode’s discussion. You can catch Ray thinking out loud on Twitter and medium @rayalcas. Enjoy. (1:52 – 10:54) Why you should treat life as a videogame; How Ray’s fundamental beliefs have been shaped by death, limitation, living in an emerging market, self-awareness, and trying to accomplish his goals via experimentation.   (12:11 – 19:49) The role of credentials in emerging regions, such as Latin America, for aspects of life like mobility and social freedom; how these credentials are limited to certain aspects of the population and how knowledge of this limitation should guide your optimization process, such that you neither end up stuck nor end up enslaved by the glamorization of credentials. (20:12 – 21:56) How Ray learned to avoid the hype offered by credential-based thought leaders; the importance of contextualizing and idea-debugging. (23:15 – 27:40) Why the movement to liberate the lower class and create opportunities for social mobility of people of all classes should be supported just as strongly as movements such as feminism. (31:50 – 35:50) Mexico City in 15 years: Ray’s projections on the effect of urbanization on the city, based on the current trends. (Hint: large tech companies currently have very little impact on the lives of the majority of individuals.) (37:00 – 41:17) Why the education system is a cultural monopoly and how it holds the middle-class ransom to maintaining narrow forms of credentialing and signaling if they’re to experience any forward mobility; how this credentialing system is maintained by the inability, in most fields, to measure competency. (46:46 – 53:04) Creating your own life philosophy vs copying the playbook of people who have what you want; how to navigate this tension, and having the self-awareness to define success for yourself. (53:42 – 58:18) How Ray navigates consciousness, the sense of self, and personal identity and how he uses the insights he’s gained from studying this to deal with the struggles of life.

Norland Tellez is an artist and teacher, with a degree in film animation from Cal Arts, and a student of mythology and mythological history with a master’s and a doctorate degree in mythology from Pacifica Institute. In this episode, we discuss the Jungian idea of individuation, the nature of the individual, the two-ness of nonduality, and much more. You can reach Norland on Twitter @mythistorian or via his website: norlandtellez.com (3:47) Asking “who am I?” is a narrow approach to self-discovery; a better trail of inquiry as suggested by Norland. (5:10) Are the worldwide instabilities and widespread crises of meaning that are occurring in today’s world a sign that the religious and philosophical movements that were inspired in the axial age are coming to an end? If so, what attitudes should we take in response? Does the Popol Vuh say anything about this? (11:25) An interesting breakdown of the term ‘image,’ in the context of the religious idea (found across a variety of religions; not just Christianity) that “God/the gods attempted to make man in their own image” (13:12) What Carl Jung failed to see about the human psyche and why his psychological worldview is incomplete. (15:49) What exactly is Western Civilization? What is it and is it really behind the ‘hyper-individualistic’ psyche that dominates the majority of human society in today’s world? That said, are we just cogs in society’s machine? Or are we individuals with free will? Or is it both? (28:10) Individualism is a relational concept; an individual is a collective process. (31:50) How the concept of twinship, from the Popol Vuh, correlates with the structure of consciousness; the primordial archetype of ‘two-ness’; why the ‘One’ is actually a ‘twinship.’ (47:45) How we can deal with ideological traps.  

Today’s episode is brought to you from the top of Shasta Mountain where I’m holding a virtual conversation with Woody Wiegmann, founder of the Woodside Investment Counsel. Our discussion focuses on gaining the courage to be disliked without losing your connection to community. You can find Woody on Twitter @woodywiegmann, or check his ideas out at woodsideinvestmentcounsel.com. Enjoy. (4:23) Navigating the balance between being okay with being disliked and being an asshole; Woody shares his daily attempts at navigating this spectrum. (Quick hint: you have no idea what anyone else is thinking.) (8:37) How our genetic programming to attempt to fit into an ingroup has led to the polarization of society and the steady disintegration we’re currently witnessing, especially in the political sphere, and once again, a metaphor we can use to parse the boundaries between seeking acceptance and living true to your core. (16:38) The downsides to identifying with the social identity, especially at the corporate level. (21:15) A suggestion we can practice to maintain our individual sovereignty without losing the attachment to community that gives our lives meaning, and what countries like Israel can teach us in maintaining this balance. (24:38) Have cities made us more ungrounded? What do you think? Have you ever lived outside the city? What was the experience like for you? Leave me a comment on twitter @stewartalsopIII with your thoughts on the matter and tag your post #episodewithwoodywiegmann (28:30) Woody’s interpretation of the US’ response to COVID-19; how America is becoming less and less habitable for the average householder. (31:43) What is America’s future in light of the various institutional and wealth inequality crises that are steadily nearing critical mass? (37:06) How America’s response to COVID-19 is killing capitalism and entrepreneurship in many places all over the country. (44:50) A solution to tackling the issues we face in today’s world. (47:43) Learning to deal with the unknown and a brilliant quote by Nicholas Nassim Taleb.    

Ryan Delk is the CEO of Primer, a company that seeks to revolutionize and rebrand homeschooling, and his mission is to revamp the education system so that children grow up more ambitious, creative, and able to think for themselves. In this episode, we discuss homeschooling, education, what to aim for with education, and much more. You can visit Primer’s website at www.withprimer.com (6:03) Why preparing to homeschool a child can be more difficult than the day to day lessons themselves. (9:20) The various approaches parents take to homeschooling, and why this makes it difficult to create a one-size all fits app (12:33) What is the right way to educate a child? What are the factors involved? How people are responding to the changes needed to be made in educational goalposts and how Primer intends to provide a viable alternative. (16:00) Does AI have a role to play in the future of education? Ryan’s opinion on technology’s role in education. How technology is aiding the reformation of learning as a whole. (24:11) The biggest misconception people have about homeschooling, and the top reasons people opt for homeschooling rather than more conventional options. (26:49) How the increased popularity of remote work can afford more parents the time to prepare effective homeschooling experiences. (34:10) Will the alterations that COVID has wrought in the educational sector last? What will be the effects post-COVID? (36:11) The current immovable barrier to homeschooling, and Primer’s plans to tackle that. (41:01) How the incentive structures for teachers in public schools divert from the outcomes we want to see in society.    

Ashton is a martial artist and yoga instructor dedicated to the exploration of human consciousness. He spent six and a half years traveling the world and has spent even more time practicing with various yoga instructors. In this episode, we discuss tantra yoga, the nature of bliss, meditation, escapism, wisdom traditions, and so on. Ashton's forte is tantric yoga and you can interact with his ideas at his website: yogawithashton.com, on his podcast: The anatomy of living, and on Instagram @yogawithashton. Enjoy. (3:48) Tantra is not what pop-culture has made you think it is. (7:04) Do you know you can pick out caves in North India for meditation retreat purposes? (8:21) Is your meditation practice really a tool to help you better handle the world or are you just using it as an escape from the world? (10:10) The wrong way to approach Yoga. (13:27) Why we can never fully rely on our beliefs (17:10) What Tantra can teach us about navigating differences (21:44) The goal of tantra (Hint: it has very little to do with the sexual or supernatural stuff) (27:22) How tantra avoids the fall into escapism (31:36) The point of tantra is how you reintegrate the insights you gain from states of samadhi into your daily life, rather than falling back into autopilot. (37:00) Is integration a practice or an attitude? (38:52) Freedom isn’t really about being able to do whatever your impulses dictate (43:32) Bliss isn’t happiness or pleasure  

John Vervaeke is a professor of philosophy and cognitive science. He’s the mastermind behind the lecture series: ‘Awakening from the meaning crises.’ We explore, in this episode, the wonder of the human cognitive system; why our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses and how we’ve lost the society-wide ability to resolve this. You can find John on Twitter @vervaeke_john, check his ‘diologos’ series, called ‘Voices With Vervaeke,’ out, join his ‘Cultivation of Wisdom’ course, and community, or join his Discord community server. (4:07) Do you pass through deserts often? Does it feel like they play tricks on your cognition when you pass through? (5:26) Why the world feels alien to us. (11:12) The potential role of the virtual world (social media and internet culture) in bringing an axial age about. (16:22) Why everyone is actually seeking wisdom, even though it seems our society sees wisdom as irrelevant. (19:51 – 27:25) The most exhaustive description of wisdom, from a sensemaking perspective, you’ll hear this week (28:00) The mythos of crazy wisdom: what neural network techniques and transformational psychotechnology have in common. (38:41) The relationship between psychedelics and insight. (40:40) Why drugs should be decriminalized and yet treated with sacred respect. (43:27) Psychedelics and cognition cannot be reduced to the reductionist view that life is just the movement of atoms; how having an open mind towards the mechanics of these phenomena honors the ideals of science. (51:58) How do most people get postmodernism wrong? (57:52) Opponent processing: Why you always appear to be at war with yourself and why this is a good thing. Contradictory acceptance of self and others. (1:02:54) Spirituality is not just about the inside; inside and outside are one and the same; minds are group efforts  

Jude Gomila is the CEO and co-founder of Golden; a firm dedicating to mapping all of human knowledge. As you’ve come to expect a lot of topics were touched in this episode. Do enjoy. You can find Jude @judegomila on Twitter. (5:50) The hidden limitations of modern-day supply chains, despite their ultra-efficiency, with examples, and a better metric to work with. (7:51) The wonders of synthetic biology, and the possibilities (and hazards) it holds for the revolutionization of manufacturing and food production. (12:17) What is construction theory? And is there a connection between it and synthetic biology? (17:02) Are there contradictions between what is possible in quantum mechanics and not possible in classical dynamics? (24:22) How cats got a sweet deal by optimally navigating of the curiosity-survivability loop. (31:00) Modeling COVID-19 as a network problem; how this can allow for more flexible solutions; the uncertainties involved. (35:47) Atoms, bits, biotechnology and the dawn of a new Information Age (38:45) Why is science, which is one in actual reality, so fragmented in theory? (41:02) Why Jude believes our educational system, in its current form, is suboptimal. (46:06) A theory of U.B.I. as a means of making ownership, rather than income, more widely available; how making capitalist incentives and access to ownership widespread in a transparent market can make an economy flourish. (54:27) Is the loss of labor (increase in automation) leading to the loss of sovereignty among individuals? Is there anything we can do about it? (57:24) What can we do to steer the future in a different direction? How do we build a vision of where we want to go? (1:03:41) Does our generation have the courage to make the changes necessary to face our coming future? (1:12:31) Why social distancing should have been called physical distancing instead.

Thomas, like any other human being, is a lot of things and is working on a lot of stuff. He loves to code, play the bass guitar, and is devoted to truth and beauty, among others. You can interact with his ideas on life on his blog at thosmos.com. In this episode, we discuss identity politics, the battle between the left and the right, consciousness, plants, inequality, and of course, much more. Enjoy. (3:25) The strangest podcast intro you’ll listen to this week. (7:35) The consequences of modifying government policies to help the rich get richer (9:07) Is upward mobility possible for everyone? (12:44) Some business models that allow for more equality between employees and employers. (18:13) Why facts don’t change our minds (21:00) How are we to transcend identity politics? (24:55) What indigenous tribes can teach us about establishing a harmonious society (29:09) Are plants conscious? A scientists’ interesting experimental report on communicating with a plant. (30:25) Where do thoughts come from? And what exactly is consciousness? Is it produced from the brain or do we receive it? (39:17) The fundamental polarity at play in human relationships and cooperation (42:14) The 99% vs the 1% isn’t really a battle between the lower-class and the elite or at least it doesn’t have to be; there’s a better way to unify. (45:34) How Bernard Lietaer connected economics, psychology, and archetypes; how suppressing important archetypes creates a dysfunctional society, and how modern society incentivizes greed and fear (53:15) The government is reflective of the collective psyche of the people.