soul gum

The floating rock mentality—nihilism with rose-colored glasses—is quickly becoming the zeitgeist of spiritually deconstructed young people. What is it? How did we get here? Cosmologically speaking, are we really just insignificant creatures on an insignificant floating rock? Is life meaningless? What are the pros and cons of believing that it is? Is optimistic nihilism going to turn you into Tyler Durden or Jobu Tupaki? What can we learn from Nietzsche, Albert Camus and Sisyphus? How do we find value in a potentially meaningless universe? Are spirituality and rationality mutually exclusive on this floating rock in space?

JUMP AROUND

I. intro

II. disclaimers (2:37)

III. floating rock mentality (6:48)

a. what is it? (6:48)

b. how did we get here? (9:37)

c. is it true, literally & cosmologically speaking? (11:41)

(ad break)

IV. nietzsche and nihilist philosophy (21:24)

a. sad early life (22:19)

b. sad love life (23:58)

c. nietzsche’s philosophical model (24:47)

V. the pros of purposelessness (29:45)

VI. the cons (35:27)

a. will you turn into tyler durden/jobu tupaki? (36:57)

b. volatile valuation of your own life (40:50)

(ad break)

V. finding value in a (possibly) meaningless universe (43:06)

a. sisyphus (44:13)

b. albert camus on sisyphus (absurdism) (44:47)

VI. how does god fit into all of this? (50:25)

a. pascal’s wager (51:22)

b. choosing between purposelessness & spirituality (58:09)

c. redefining spirituality (1:00:06)

SOURCES & REFERENCES

re: rise in disaffiliation from organized religion among Gen-Z and millennials: https://tinyurl.com/2p9d5474

re: size of the universe, super habitable planets, SETI Luyten B communications: https://tinyurl.com/3kmyy5av; https://tinyurl.com/3hdc8u8m; https://www.seti.org

“Important” by Ian McConnell: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRGqbRHa/

Rhett McLoughlin spiritual deconstruction podcast episode: https://tinyurl.com/yytywu4c

Re: biographical info about Nietzsche: https://tinyurl.com/ye28xbxe; https://tinyurl.com/2za4nsc4

Nietzsche referenced works: Human, All-too-Human (1878), The Gay Science (1882, second expanded edition 1887), On the Genealogy of Morality (1887)

re: Lou Salome, Nietzsche’s love interest: https://tinyurl.com/5bvdymd7; https://tinyurl.com/5598dycu

Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher; starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert; starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Pascal’s Wager: https://tinyurl.com/ftrrssth; https://tinyurl.com/7nkhw79b

Let’s talk about death, baby. Today we’re asking: Why are we so afraid to die? Are we 21st century humans any different than Gilgamesh (remember Gilgamesh)? Who’s the most afraid of death: baby boomers, millennials or Gen-Z? Should you freeze your brain in case future humans figure out how not to die? What’s death meditation? Can Victoria talk about her spiritual breakthrough without sounding unbearably woo woo? How do we get less afraid to die???

JUMP AROUND:

I. disclaimers 0:37

II. what is death anxiety? 5:19

III. the paradox of being human (ernest becker) 8:09

IV. trying not to die across history (from gilgamesh to cryonics) 12:50

V. afterlife beliefs: then and now 17:13

ad break (are you proud of me or annoyed or both??)

VI. demographic differences in fear of death 20:03

a. nationality 20:49

b. religion 24:15

c. age 26:27

VII. my experiences with death anxiety 30:37

a. fear of being buried alive 33:53

b. false memories related to death 37:22

c. fear of oblivion 39:02

d. spiritual crisis 41:51

ad break

VIII. my experiences with death meditation 43:38

IX. my ego nap 51:44

SOURCES:

definition of death anxiety: https://tinyurl.com/death-anxiety 

Collett-Lester Fear Of Death Scale (CL-FODS): Cuniah M, Bréchon G, Bailly N. Validation of the Revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale in a French Population. https://tinyurl.com/4sp6rh5k

re: the paradox of being human: The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker

re: trying not to die across history: The Epic of Gilgamesh; cryonics (https://tinyurl.com/yckp6jsf); monkey testicle transplant (https://tinyurl.com/3w3svbtm)

re: gen Z attitudes towards death: https://tinyurl.com/bdf2u9yx

re: nationality and religious divides in attitudes towards death https://tinyurl.com/m6f9mepx; the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS; Hoelter, 1979; Neimeyer & Moore, 1994), DePaola, Griffin, Young, and Neimeyer (2003); Duff and Hong (1995); Alvarado, Templer, Bresler, & Thomson-Dobson, 1995)

Is friendship harder than dating or are we all just a little gay? Who did friendship labels better, Aristotle or the Myspace Top 8? Was Alexander Hamilton bi or were we just more comfy with deep friend love back then? How do you make friends as an adult? Is the self care era making us bad friends? Can you love yourself well and love your friends well at the same time?

EPISODE SUMMARY

I. WHY IS MAKING FRIENDS SO HARD?(2:34)

a. no clear labels (3:22)

i. the myspace top 8 - a fleeting moment of clarity (5:47)

ii. aristotle's take on friendship labels (8:00)

b. no hallpass for jealousy (14:34)

i. alexander hamilton: bisexual or just comfy with friend love? (15:55)

c. no roadmap for initiating friendships (20:38)

d. we're all a little gay nowadays (24:05)

II. HOW DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS AS AN ADULT? (27:25)

a. using the internet (28:05)

b. get okay with pleasure-based friendships (31:00)

c. be patient (32:07)

d. emotional openness (32:56)

e. following through (34:53)

III. IS THE SELF CARE ERA MAKING US BAD FRIENDS? (36:33)

a. 2 stories about flakiness (37:53)

b. the self care over everything era (43:57)

c. how can we love ourselves and our friends well at the same time? (46:40)

SOURCES

Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

Glennon Doyle, Untamed

article re: Alexander Hamilton being bi: https://tinyurl.com/53328d5d

self care tweet by @kevinfarzad: https://tinyurl.com/yrddpaw6

Is discipline a dirty word in your book? Hustle culture and diet culture have turned a lot of us against discipline. Should discipline have a place in our lives post-hustle culture? How do you redirect your discipline towards your passions instead of your body and your job? How do you unplug from hustle culture without quitting your job/school? How do you remember your passions post-burnout? 

EPISODE SUMMARY: 

I. WHAT IS DISCIPLINE? (4:19)

II. THE #GIRLBOSS ERA (7:02)

a. post-2008 recession: lean in or lose your job (8:09)

b. 2010s: hustle culture and glorification of overworking (11:04)

c. 2014: rise of the #girlboss (15:38)

d. mounting pressure to have a side hustle: MLMs and beyond (17:35)

e. meanwhile, diet culture reigns supreme (18:26)

III. BUT I DON'T WANNA BE A GIRLBOSS - THE FALL OF HUSTLE CULTURE (20:58)

a. COVID, the great resignation and mass burnout (24:10)

b. growing anti-diet culture sentiment (25:55)

c. “soft living" trend / rejection of discipline (27:34)

IV. TAKING BACK DISCIPLINE (31:22)

a. my experience with burnout & rejecting discipline (31:52)

b. what life without discipline actually looks like (38:37)

c. non-hustle-y examples of discipline + reframing discipline as devotion (42:03)

d. but what if I can’t unplug from hustle culture? I have a job lol (44:19)

e. what if I don’t even remember who I am outside of work/school? (50:29)

SOURCES:

Merriam Webster (definitions of discipline and self-control)

Brittanica (definition of will power)

Re: discipline in the Spartan military (https://tinyurl.com/htb6sfrz/)

Re: hours spent on work and school in the US (https://tinyurl.com/bdhn7wz9; https://tinyurl.com/yeykvhdp; National Center for Education Statistics from September 2006)

Re: diet culture in the 2010s (https://tinyurl.com/2p5cbr89)

Re: weird habits of tech CEOs (https://tinyurl.com/4uw5tduh)

Re: Michelle Obama criticizing Lean In (https://tinyurl.com/yxruv83j)

"I don’t wanna be a girl boss” tiktok by @mjwritess (*corrected username) (https://tinyurl.com/jtbj4zc4)

Elon musk tweets (https://tinyurl.com/5bc272kc)