Simon’s Book Club Podcast

Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" is not the sci-fi book I was expecting, but it was definitely the post-capitalist, relationship anarchist book I so needed to read.

00:00 Introduction to 'The Dispossessed'

00:51 Context and Background of the Book

01:57 Exploring the Anarchist Society

04:11 Ideologies and Their Flaws

06:18 The Human Condition and Political Discourse

09:25 Buddhist Insights and Final Thoughts

10:37 Conclusion and Next Reads

I listened to a lot of Jack Kornfield’s talks. He’s one of the prominent figures that brought Buddhism and meditation to the West, and has written many books about mindfulness and spirituality that really guided me through my phase of intense Buddhist practice.

I really like how he talked about attention and mindfulness as “Loving Awareness.” That was a phrase I heard him use often. When we’re mindful, then we’re paying close attention, and from that arises a feeling of love. That aligns with Barbara Frederickson’s work on the neuroscience of love, and it also aligns with what Mr Rogers is talking about here. You can love anybody, ANYBODY, if you just choose to listen to their story. Nobody is exempt from this rule.

If you want to feel love, to feel it deep within your bones, to feel it in an embodied way, then a very easy way to do it is to really connect with someone else’s story. Listen to them deeply. Ask more questions. Investigate. Uncover their story and visualize it in your mind the way you visualize the stories of fake characters actors play as on screens.

I remember hearing somewhere else that it’s really hard to maintain a loving romantic relationship with someone if you aren’t connecting with them for at least a couple hours weekly, just to hear what their inner worlds are like. If you’re just running tasks with them of taking care of children, maintaining a home, and working, but not spending time to hear what’s happening through your partner’s subjective experience, then connections tend to fade.

What we’re not mindful of, what we’re not paying attention to, what we’re not offering micro moments of resonance, what we’re not giving our loving awareness to, will fade.

And so, if we’re going to be listening to stories anyways, whose stories do you want to listen to?

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Today I had a call with a company from Japan that is interested in creating a product line with me. We talked about the Japanese idea of Takumi, which refers to artistry and mastery. They talked about how many products are mass produced, cheap and fast, and they’re interested in creating higher quality products that promote Japan’s interest in craftsmanship and mastery.

I shared with them the story of a man I met in Japan whose name I don’t remember anymore. He was a salaryman in Tokyo, and one day for a lunch meeting he had Parma Ham for the first time. The story goes, the next day he bought a ticket to Italy, and ripped up his return ticket. He then went from factory to factory to learn the best way to make Parma Ham. After 10 years in Italy, he came back to Japan, not to Tokyo, but to the mountains of Nagoya, where they have the perfect humidity and atmospheric pressure to make ideal Parma Ham. And now he has his own factory there, where he runs it by himself. When I met him, I saw two lines of restaurant owners, begging him to sell his ham to them. He has a limited supply, and only gives it to people he trusts. His ham is so good that Italian masters come visit him to learn some of his techniques.

I’ve been thinking about mastery lately as an antidote to perfectionism. This nameless man didn’t start off with making great ham. He just made the commitment to show up and try, and everyday to learn. That’s the approach I’m taking with this writing practice. I show up everyday at the same time, write my pages, make my video, and share it with the world. Every day, I’m hoping that I’m getting better, if not noticeably at least marginally.

A journal, for me, isn’t about what I should write or what questions I should answer. It’s just about showing up, every day, and trying to figure things out. I have no clue how far I can go with this, and I’m happy to see where I’ll be one year from now.

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I stopped watching the news because it didn't impact my life in any positive way. Now, I'm questioning how I've justified paying attention to big tech news.

In the few yet too many Digital Nomad meetups I’ve been to in Lisbon, the conversations I often slip into answer the question “so, what do you do?” The answers I hear are always tied into a project they’re working on with others, at some small, medium, or large sized company. The answers are never about what they’re developing in themselves, for themselves, about themselves, or any other preposition followed by “themselves”. There’s a thing people are trying to build rather than a skill, a product people are trying to develop rather than a talent, and the time they spend are in service of others rather than themselves.

A phrase I often heard growing up was to “be a productive member of society,” and - if you’re not one - well, ooof! That’s a big sting. You want to be producing something for the world, for the society you’re living in, and not just mooching off of it. To be producing something for yourself, for your own sake, is selfish unproductive narcissism. Give your time to a company and get money to be able to cover your basic needs so that you can continue to give your time to a company.

I’d love to give time to myself, and to see what I can develop from there, and see how I can shape my life around my continuous development. What’s the Infinite Game I’d like to play for the rest of my life? Reading, Running, Writing, and Lifting (damn I wish it was pronounced Rifting instead) is a game I love to play, and I’d love to see how far I can go with it.

I’m currently writing these emails and making these videos to embolden myself to believe in myself and my development and craft. I have worked on projects for others for the past couple of years, and now I’d like to spend a few months just working on my own development. I want to develop my athleticism and my wordcraft, my body and my mind, side by side, and to see what I can grow from there. I don’t have a product in mind, just a process.

But, if you like this project, and want to support it and to see where it goes, I’d love if you consider becoming a member of this newsletter:

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Create an environment where you're free to say what you're afraid to say.

Leave no drops behind. Squeeze every bit of juice out of me. While I still can, why not see what I’m capable of?

Today, I'm answering a question from Jennifer, and talking about my writing throughout my lifetime.

Where are all the buff philosophers, and why did Nietzsche call Socrates ugly?

Healing and Developing are the same thing, but coming from different positions. One is focused on empowerment while the other is on victimhood. The work is the same. Which language, then, serves us better?