God is Dead and you're Alone(?)

In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast psychology professor Jordan Peterson discussed important aspects and problems of contemporary Western culture. Especially his analysis of Nietzsche's "God is dead" rang a bell for me. Building on what he said, I would like to propose further conclusions regarding the state of culture in certain aspects.

Joseph Campbell And The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell, professor of comparative mythology, has spent his life studying all sorts of mythological stories, symbols and characters from all over the world. He came to the conclusion that one particular kind of story can seemingly be found in every single culture and also appears again and again in contemporary literature or film. He termed it Monomyth or The Hero's Journey.

One of the main reasons why this particular story shows up in basically every culture is that it engages human beings at a level which is so fundamental to our existence that we all can identify with it. The Hero's Journey is something that happens to virtually everybody. It is the classic story of a youth, living comfortably at home, sheltered by the parents, being called out into the world in order to face adventures and challenges, growing stronger and gaining self-knowledge in the process. It is Luke Skywalker setting out to defeat the dark side and gaining knowledge about who he really is; it is Hercules confronted with challenges and adversity in the shape of The Nemean Lion (for example) only to slay the beast and increase his strength; it is yourself moving out from your sheltered home and looking to become your own person in this world. In this article, considering my age and experience, I will focus on the first couple of steps of the journey today.

"Each Moment is Precious" Meaning and Experience (feat. The Fool)

At this point most of us have probably come across these neat little quotes and sayings with which people plaster their walls, be they physical or virtual. They range from something like "Carpe Diem" to something like "Sometimes we just have to let things go" and whenever you find yourself in someone's apartment at their kitchen counter disguised as a cool self-made bar you are invited to ponder these deep secrets of life over your matcha tea. I'm not saying that all of these things are complete bullshit however, there is something about this that doesn't sound right. Author and host of the Drunken Taoist Podcast Daniele Bolelli has already touched on it during one of his podcast episodes while talking about the New Age movement. While there may be some truth to certain claims, often times there seems to be nothing behind them, no experience or proof that could provide these quotes with a real significance or meaning. It's fairly easy for someone who has never experienced any difficulties in his or her own life to claim that if you only think positively or do good things, good things will come to you. Firstly, there is no proof of there being a law or something similar which will provide you with good fortune once you start thinking positively and secondly, it is almost insulting to good people who have to live through horrible things. For further inquiry into the debunking of the New Age movement and critical thinking in general I recommend MMA pioneer Matt Thornton's blog: http://thorntonsguerillablog.blogspot.de/

Philosophical Roots of SBG: Matt Thornton and the Message of Aliveness

Via Wikimedia Commons. Pic by: Zero Xero

This post will be dedicated to the man behind the famous Straight Blast Gyms, Matt Thornton. Over the last couple of years especially SBG Ireland with head coach John Kavanagh has been featured in MMA media almost daily, both due to Conor McGregor's extreme starpower and the sheer skill of SBG based fighters (McGregor, Gunnar Nelson, Cathal Pendred, Paddy Holohan etc.). The man who started it all, the founder of SBG however, is Matt Thornton. His approach to MMA and Martial Arts in general is very unique and has a solid base in philosophy. Thornton, being one of the pioneers of American Mixed Martial Arts, has developed his very own philosophy to accompany his Martial Arts training, taking ideas from e.g. Jiddu Krishnamurti among certain other schools of skeptical thinking and philosophy. In this article, I want to focus in this philosophical approach - as the title indicates - which underlies his training methods. Since his philosophy is the result of years and years of research, this text will attempt to be a first glance at one of the core principles to which Thornton refers rather often. The concept of Aliveness. 

Realizing Purposelessness in Martial Arts and in Life

Purposelessness doesn't really sound like anything anybody would want to realize in their lives, does it? Particularly to western ears - I know this because I myself happen to possess a western pair of ears -  the first connotations might be that if there is no purpose in something, it's something useless and terrible which is to be avoided. Further this may lead to accusations of laziness or hedonism because if you do something that has no use you are not productive. Taking a look at the Martial Arts with this in mind, it may seem even wronger. Every move you make in a fight fulfills a purpose and going into a fight with a carefully worked out gameplan has proven to be effective for fighters at all levels, including the highest. Maybe though, just maybe there is something to be learned from accessing a state of purposelessness, at least sometimes.

Mountain Presence with Nietzsche, Lin-Chi and Conan the Barbarian

Lin-Chi

This text can probably be described as one step further from the last one. In the last text (Let the Thunder Rumble: Natural Movement with Thoreau and Chuang Tzu) I wrote about how moving in accordance with nature, which means constantly adapting, may reduce some of the suffering most of us live through (caused by the refusal to accept nature/change). Going further, it seems to me as if embracing this chaos of change, also makes for a special kind of person. "The torch of chaos and doubt, that's what the sage steers by.", is how the Daoists put it.*

Dan Hardy, Zen and Dancing with the Dionysian Goddess

Martial Arts and combat sports can teach you self-defense, grow your self-confidence and provide you with friends for life. Yet there is something more to be gained which will be today's topic. There is something that happens in the midst of battle, in the midst of chaos that can hardly be recreated in any other circumstances. It is the moment in which you have to trim your sails to the thunderous winds that try to tear you apart. In the midst of battle you lose yourself, because there is no time to think about what you're doing, as there often is not even enough time to act properly. Hence, often times you are left simply reacting.

In Zen Buddhism 'simply reacting' is an important concept. Of course this does not mean to just do anything, it is rather rooted in the belief that there is a form of intelligent mindlessness to be accessed. Often times, when Zen students would ask their masters heavy questions the answers would seemingly be completely out of context and leave the students confused. Not knowing how to deal with such a response they would often leave again in order to reconsider. Just about to be out of sight, the master would shout their name and in an instant they would answer "Yes?", to which the master would say "That's it!". Not concerned with coming up with the correct response, not rambling on about the best way to frame something, their mind was at peace and therefore instantly reacted appropriately. If you are in a race and you anticipate the next turn to be a left turn and it turns out to be a right, you have to first let go of getting ready for the right turn and then consider the left. If, however you do not expect anything and just react when the turn is actually happening, you can react faster and more adequately.*

The New Era: Daoism, Nietzsche and Conor McGregor

Both due to its young age and hybrid nature, MMA has allowed us to inquire not only into which kind of technical approach to combat might be the best, but also into which mental attitude could be the most beneficial for accomplishing the task at hand. Further, an attitude which is helpful in facing a trained killer in the octagon will probably also be helpful in the comparatively mild circumstances of everyday life. Yet the immense complexity and multitude of variables involved in determining the outcome of such hand-to-hand combat situations seemingly repel the possibility of a one-size-fits-all solution.

'Comfortable Conformity' with Rickson Gracie

This to me is an all too familiar issue. Actually, it might only become an issue once you become aware of it, that is, it may only piss you off once you have discovered it as is the case so often. However, once you are aware of it, there may also be a possibility of enhancing the situation. Recently, the great Jiu-Jitsu masters Rickson Gracie and Eddie Bravo joined the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) for an awesome podcast. Towards the end, Rickson mentioned a very interesting observation on society. He stated that in the past he considered cowardice to be the opposite of courage. Today however, he considers conformity to be the opposite. He went on to say that people are too afraid to change certain things, even though they do not like their current situation, like staying at a job you despise because you are afraid you won't find a new one, or staying in a shitty relationship because you are too afraid of possible consequences.

You Better Work Hard, or Else..!

First, I should mention that I ask myself all the following questions as well and that I do not claim to have found any answers. This is to be understood as a conglomeration of thoughts I have come accross and have come up with myself in order to explore possible answers. As always it is exploring, not dogmatizing.

Work is something you do regularly because you have to. It is something so abominable and boring that you need to get paid for doing it. Further, you have to work because you need money.