I loved reading this. This definitely feels like a synchronicity, I’ve been thinking a lot about Jean Baudrillard’s simulacra and Maslow’s theory lately.
I see Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a distillation of the chakra system for the Western mind. He even added self-transcendence later on. In the chakra system, there are seven (simplified) chakras: three below, connected to the material world, and three above, connected to higher realms — all joined in the heart. And the saying goes, “as above, so below.”
I’ve been struggling to understand what that really means until recently.
What I’m noticing is that progress isn’t always linear; it can be more like a leap. As we benefit from technological progress, some of us are starting to feel a pull inward seeking meaning and learning to listen to our own inner guidance (in whatever way works for us). While it can be tempting to stay in that reflective space (intellectual contemplation) there comes a natural urge to bring those insights back into the world: to create and act from a place of deeper alignment, following the principle of “as above, so below.”
To me, that’s the core of it: allowing space for contemplation, but instead of living there, starting to align it with action in the world, however small it may be. It might be messy at first, but that’s how we humans find new forms and evolve. So rather than escaping the simulacra, it’s about rebuilding it from the fringes. The more infrastructure we create in the real world from this place of alignment, the more others will be able to join in.
Total Meaning = Number of Human Hours * % of Hours Spent Meaningfully is a profound metric you have there Packy, a subjective, sublime statistic. More meaningful hours to become more meaningful days, weeks and months and eventually lifetimes of meaning. Hail Solipsism!
In Gospel of Luke (10:38-42), Mary chooses the contemplative role whereas Martha chooses the 'do it' role. Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part. Both roles need fulfilling but . . .
The contemplative monasteries and convents are just as, if not, more important than those that interact directly with the world.
I am currently reading Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Currently at the section which describes the life in the slums of Bombay. It seems to be much more meaningful than the current Western focus on TikTok and other social media. There is a real sense of community, lots of suffering but a focus on the other rather than just on oneself.
When on our honeymoon in the Phillipines over 30 years ago, I chatted to the Dive Shop owner, Jean, an American. He lamented the difficulty of recruiting locals to work for him. He asked Maria 'why people wouldn't stay long?". She replied, "Jean, I can listen to my neighbours radio. I can lift up my blinds and watch their tv. I look at you Americans who work hard all of your lives. Why? So that you can retire and live like us"
What a treat this was to read. I made a (very) simplified attempt at a solution to the ‘destruction of presentness’ many many years ago as a collaborative essay with a fellow write of passage student over Twitter DM’s - maybe you’ll enjoy it :)
Scottie Scheffler’s recent press conference echoed the “I reached the mountain top but now what” imagery you lay out in the introduction. Worth a listen as it supports your pov
1. I haven't read The Glass Bead Game but from your description it seems to be quite similar to Anathem by Neal Stephenson
2. "Meaning isn't found in things. It never has been, and never will be. We create it through attention." This feels very much like what Robert Pirsig says in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which is that Quality resides neither in the object or the subject alone, but in the interaction between object and subject (also - an interesting quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - "The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower.")
I think this is one of the best pieces I've read in the past months. It is really great. Went several times back and forth not only thinking, but enjoying the writing itself; paying attention.
Hey Packy! I think I arrived a similar conclusion through paying close attention to what seems to work in my personal life. My current approach is to embrace tech/innovation when it comes to work and getting things done, and then to basically avoid it when it comes to leisure. It's less about rejecting tech, but rather allowing the absence of it guide me to what truly matters and feels human - things like sports, time in nature, conversations in-person, dinner parties, etc. At first I thought this barbell approach would be too simplistic but I haven't experienced anything that contradicts it yet. I wrote about it here: https://morehumanpossible.com/p/work-wizards-and-leisure-luddites
A quote I just read in Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: "A real understanding of Quality doesn’t just serve the System, or even beat it or even escape it. A real understanding of Quality captures the System, tames it, and puts it to work for one's own personal use, while leaving one completely free to fulfill his inner destiny.”
Quality, in the book, refers to the dividing line between subject and object. Quality creates this trinity with classical thinking, left-brained as you referred to it, and romantic, right-brained thinking. It is awareness itself. I feel like this directly relates to wielding attention like magic as Nadia described, while also pointing to what meaning is.
This was an amazing read. I just listened to Jackson Dahl’s interview with Henrik Karlsson - I’ll have to check out the Nadia Asparouhova episode.
I’ve experienced some of those synchronicities you mentioned. Two days ago, I listened to George Saunders’ 2013 Syracuse commencement speech (found it odd to see his name pop up in this essay), then immediately walked out into a warm summer rain with my daughter and saw an insane double rainbow. Talk about magic!
An incredible reading. Took me 10 days to finish it, but it is inspiring as well as practical. The first time I’ve ever read a sensible answer to the “Capitalism is the worst evil ever” argument. Thanks for this Packy!
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…
I loved reading this. This definitely feels like a synchronicity, I’ve been thinking a lot about Jean Baudrillard’s simulacra and Maslow’s theory lately.
I see Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a distillation of the chakra system for the Western mind. He even added self-transcendence later on. In the chakra system, there are seven (simplified) chakras: three below, connected to the material world, and three above, connected to higher realms — all joined in the heart. And the saying goes, “as above, so below.”
I’ve been struggling to understand what that really means until recently.
What I’m noticing is that progress isn’t always linear; it can be more like a leap. As we benefit from technological progress, some of us are starting to feel a pull inward seeking meaning and learning to listen to our own inner guidance (in whatever way works for us). While it can be tempting to stay in that reflective space (intellectual contemplation) there comes a natural urge to bring those insights back into the world: to create and act from a place of deeper alignment, following the principle of “as above, so below.”
To me, that’s the core of it: allowing space for contemplation, but instead of living there, starting to align it with action in the world, however small it may be. It might be messy at first, but that’s how we humans find new forms and evolve. So rather than escaping the simulacra, it’s about rebuilding it from the fringes. The more infrastructure we create in the real world from this place of alignment, the more others will be able to join in.
This is beautiful. Lots to think (and then act) on. Thanks for sharing it!
This is brilliant, thank you SO much for sharing 🥰
Total Meaning = Number of Human Hours * % of Hours Spent Meaningfully is a profound metric you have there Packy, a subjective, sublime statistic. More meaningful hours to become more meaningful days, weeks and months and eventually lifetimes of meaning. Hail Solipsism!
In Gospel of Luke (10:38-42), Mary chooses the contemplative role whereas Martha chooses the 'do it' role. Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part. Both roles need fulfilling but . . .
The contemplative monasteries and convents are just as, if not, more important than those that interact directly with the world.
I am currently reading Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Currently at the section which describes the life in the slums of Bombay. It seems to be much more meaningful than the current Western focus on TikTok and other social media. There is a real sense of community, lots of suffering but a focus on the other rather than just on oneself.
When on our honeymoon in the Phillipines over 30 years ago, I chatted to the Dive Shop owner, Jean, an American. He lamented the difficulty of recruiting locals to work for him. He asked Maria 'why people wouldn't stay long?". She replied, "Jean, I can listen to my neighbours radio. I can lift up my blinds and watch their tv. I look at you Americans who work hard all of your lives. Why? So that you can retire and live like us"
I love that aspect of Shantaram. Beautiful.
🎯 Technology is part of the answer, but it’s not the whole answer
Thanks for making being human more amazing, Packy. This one’s deep, thoroughly appreciated, and meaningful.
What a treat this was to read. I made a (very) simplified attempt at a solution to the ‘destruction of presentness’ many many years ago as a collaborative essay with a fellow write of passage student over Twitter DM’s - maybe you’ll enjoy it :)
https://www.adamtank.com/new-blog/2020/8/11/whats-in-a-moment
One of your best.
Thanks Matt!
Scottie Scheffler’s recent press conference echoed the “I reached the mountain top but now what” imagery you lay out in the introduction. Worth a listen as it supports your pov
A wonderful essay, as always. A few thoughts:
1. I haven't read The Glass Bead Game but from your description it seems to be quite similar to Anathem by Neal Stephenson
2. "Meaning isn't found in things. It never has been, and never will be. We create it through attention." This feels very much like what Robert Pirsig says in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which is that Quality resides neither in the object or the subject alone, but in the interaction between object and subject (also - an interesting quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - "The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower.")
I think this is one of the best pieces I've read in the past months. It is really great. Went several times back and forth not only thinking, but enjoying the writing itself; paying attention.
Thanks so much, Edgar! I really appreciate that
Hey Packy! I think I arrived a similar conclusion through paying close attention to what seems to work in my personal life. My current approach is to embrace tech/innovation when it comes to work and getting things done, and then to basically avoid it when it comes to leisure. It's less about rejecting tech, but rather allowing the absence of it guide me to what truly matters and feels human - things like sports, time in nature, conversations in-person, dinner parties, etc. At first I thought this barbell approach would be too simplistic but I haven't experienced anything that contradicts it yet. I wrote about it here: https://morehumanpossible.com/p/work-wizards-and-leisure-luddites
The Pale King drastically altered my life course. What a masterpiece, even unfinished.
A quote I just read in Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: "A real understanding of Quality doesn’t just serve the System, or even beat it or even escape it. A real understanding of Quality captures the System, tames it, and puts it to work for one's own personal use, while leaving one completely free to fulfill his inner destiny.”
Quality, in the book, refers to the dividing line between subject and object. Quality creates this trinity with classical thinking, left-brained as you referred to it, and romantic, right-brained thinking. It is awareness itself. I feel like this directly relates to wielding attention like magic as Nadia described, while also pointing to what meaning is.
Great book that pairs well with your essay.
Great quote. I read the book ~15 years ago, probably time to read with new eyes
This was an amazing read. I just listened to Jackson Dahl’s interview with Henrik Karlsson - I’ll have to check out the Nadia Asparouhova episode.
I’ve experienced some of those synchronicities you mentioned. Two days ago, I listened to George Saunders’ 2013 Syracuse commencement speech (found it odd to see his name pop up in this essay), then immediately walked out into a warm summer rain with my daughter and saw an insane double rainbow. Talk about magic!
Incredible
An incredible reading. Took me 10 days to finish it, but it is inspiring as well as practical. The first time I’ve ever read a sensible answer to the “Capitalism is the worst evil ever” argument. Thanks for this Packy!
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…
Extracted from: https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/29-the-final-speech-from-the-great-dictator-