Party Smart: Put the Goat before the Cart

Apollo and Dionysus by Leonid Ilyukhin

“Like wildfire, the madness of the wine god brought with it a glimpse of the world that lies outside the Apollonian and a new solution that promised to reconcile man with nature in a mystical primordial unity.” – Antonis Chaliakopoulos

Good Morning Canadian Sherry, I spent last night putting back vodka mixers and even drank a bit more than usual on purpose as an experiment. You see, one of the health stores I frequent has been selling anti-hangover pills for several years and customers can’t get enough of them, so I decided to try it and see for myself. Here it is the next day and I am without any signs of a hangover.
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Unlike other anti-hangover products, this particular one is completely herbal. GNC also carries them but the manager told me that they are all sold out within days of receiving them in store. Anyhow, they are called

Egoism and its Enlarged Byproduct

“Christianity was from the beginning, essentially and fundamentally, life’s nausea and disgust with life, merely concealed behind, masked by, dressed up as, faith in ‘another’ or ‘better’ life.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy

Why do we call a RC Sister a Nun? Because she isn’t getting none. If that one went over your head then you’re not missing out son. How so? For it’s a cross between being rude and crude. But Aristotle said that virtue exists between two vices yeah. By Charles you’re right, but there’s a night & day difference between cleverness and the art of life.
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Those who fly too close to the sun need their wings clipped. Sort of like Jordan Peterson who ‘was ordered by the College of Psychologists of Ontario to undergo a coaching program on professionalism in public statements.’ True that, some feel that he is guilty of corrupting the youth and introducing a new notion of god. So he’s trying to play Socrates. Apparently so, there was even an attempt on his life but it’s going to take more than poison to put this fellow down.

Synergize the Journey with Journaling

“When you retire, your object should not be for people to talk about you but for you to talk to yourself. And what will you say; the harsh assessment. Get used to speaking the truth, and to hearing it.” – Seneca, Letters on Ethics 68.6

Journaling has been a significant part of my life for several decades now. It has been therapeutic, practical and thought-provoking in most respects. That is to say curative in that it helps to air out problems, pragmatic in that it lays down a course of action and provocative because it’s an ideal way to generate fresh ideas. One can also record events as they transpire and resort to such detail at a later date should the occasion call for it.
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There are numerous ways to go about journaling. Some use a large list of set-questions or begin by observing the environment about them; such as the weather outside or the emotional weather inside. While audio journaling, it’s not uncommon for me to talk about my physical and mental health at different intervals of a session. Over time we may begin to see a correlation between good energy and constructive thinking. Whereas when we feel fatigued or tired our overall thoughts may gravitate towards cynicism or pessimism.

How To See Voids

“Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.” — Hypatia

Some part of me, whether by history or synchronicity, who can really say for sure, recognizes the soul of Hypatia through Sarah Perry. Yet instead of exploring the external space of astronomy, she intimates the liberating essence of emptiness; an inner freedom by which we can create our life rather than fall into the cracks of egomania and stagnation. She seems to have gracefully let go of the extremes of being & nonbeing, even her fond conception of the cradle as death has dissolved in some way, lightening her steps upon the earth and allowing for a broader space of imagination, self-awareness and empathy.

Use Your Sandals & Light Fewer Candles

“Sit as little as possible; do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement — in which the muscles do not also revel.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

One of my greatest joys this time of year consists of hiking the forest while talking to myself about philosophy. In fact, my alter ego; namely the Philosopher Muse, was born out of the desire to keep this inner dialogue on track. Some of us do our best thinking while walking through nature.
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Just about all the philosophers who have ever made an impression upon me happened to have worn sandals, and surely must have given thought to the blisters that form upon the flesh and not just the sort that stem from within the mind. An uncomfortable walk can take the good right out of one’s contemplation, so even from this perspective it requires some forethought.

Another Kind of Synchronicity

“Synchronicity postulates a meaning which is a priori in relation to human consciousness and apparently exists outside man,” – Carl Jung

I attempted to put on a concert of Leonard Cohen songs back in the winter of 2007/08 and personally approached everyone who might be interested in attending, including co-workers and students alike. Also invited a number of musicians to participate. Purchased a PA system ideal for the theatre in mind and practiced my repertoire for hours on end. Even read a couple of books (biographies) about the fellow so as to bring additional splendour to the show.

The Reemergence of Satan’s Choice

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

So you’re probably wondering what your Philosopher Muse is up to these days. Well, he’s back working at another section of his apocalyptic fiction started back in the early summer of 2020. However, this installment consists of the revival of Satan’s Choice Motorcycle Club. Here are a few details about the gang to help prime your imagination:
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Prepare for Death & Learn to Die

“In any event, from our youngest years we must train ourselves to make light of death, since the man who does not so train himself can never have peace of mind. For die we must, and for all we know, on this very day.” – Cicero, On Old Age

Seneca, advisor to the one of the most diabolic rulers to have stained the earth with blood, provides advice on how to die. The passages in the associated video are taken from his letters on ethics, some of which are believed to have been written prior to his execution by suicide. The historian Cornelius Tacitus states that Nero spared Seneca’s wife from bleeding to death during their bloodfest, even though she consented to die with her husband. Her remaining months were nothing shy of a living nightmare and yet most minions of our age would assume that Nero acted out of kindness, though by deceit the intention of his heart was dark as night.

Explore the Intricacies of Virtue

“He who holds the highest good to have no connection to virtue, and measures it by his own advantage, not by honorableness, this person, if he is to remain consistent and not now and then succumb to the goodness of his nature, cannot cultivate friendship, justice, or liberality.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Duties 1.5

I’ve constructed a virtue diagram that contains the civic virtues, as well as what might be considered its extensions. I’ve also included 8 aspects or dispositions of a mind in accordance with virtue, such as joy, resolve and peace. However, my focus at this time is on the virtues itself, so I was wondering if you could take a good look at my diagram and let me know if you feel it remains in chord with the Stoic paradigm of virtue and if not what needs to be altered in order to be a better representation of Stoic principles?

Feeling Alienated vs Being Alienated

“A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness.” – By Albert Einstein

Feeling alienated and being alienated are two different states of experience. One does not imply the other, even though they may often overlap. Neither does ‘feeling separated’ equate to ‘being separated’. Perhaps what many of us intimate by feeling alienated ‘is’ simply loneliness.