A meaty & mirth-filled conversation with The Skrauss that takes us all around the houses, from finding spiritual purpose via material engagement to the history of suffering, siddhis, questions of the afterlife, octopus' brains, enlightenment vs. embodiment, and why we are here at all.

Part One: Hope Life (0 – 32 mins)

Dressing for phone interviews, dandyism, an agreement not to complain, pressure to be positive, Canadian pennies, taking on a thrift store, a failed radio station, God’s laugh, our plans, (edit 9 mins) the anti-hoper from Hope, experiencing despair, demolishing delusion, Tigger & Eeyore, making the world a better place, giving back to community, a natural social system, combining material problems with philosophical ones, dismantling the CIA for fun.

Part Two: Contemplating the Infinite (32 mins – 1 hr 04 mins)

Stripping in the fields, grandmothers & mothers, running from the Russians, inconvenience & suffering, the cost of convenience, helping the chicken hatch, what makes the world better, the abortion controversy, caesarian birth, are things getting worse, arguments against, spiritual suffering, layers of artifice, killing a rat, running from the score, the myth of progress, dealing with death & neutralizing the sociopathic drive, the afterlife, galactic consciousness, how conscious are we when we’re dead, basically enlightened.

Part Three: Siddhi Life (1 hr 04 – 1 hr 34 mins)

Connected to the physical world, Norman O. Brown, facing death, consciousness in the body, the quanta of thought, octopus’ brain, Dave Oshana & the false identity, a neurological body, body sentience, kids & smart phones, a symbiotic entity, neurotic gods, siddhis as temptations, parallelism, focused & unfocused awareness, no-mind, a super-slow operating system, William Blake, the miracle of boredom, Game of Thrones, the mind’s promises, bait & switch of the mind.

Part Four: Invisible Community (1 hr 34 mins – end)

Positive disintegration, an internal colonization, microbes in the body, speaking on tongues, the natural fragrance of the body, signing with the angels, refining enjoyment, being wholesome, letting the body lead, mind-sex, losing the flow in sex & conversation, discovering connections via technology, unrepresented layers of experience, meaning & futility, a non-social purpose, an invisible community, what we are here for, why we have a body, dropping out of Dave Oshana, the embodiment cheesecloth, American Cosmic, a detrimental metaphor, a technological stutter.

Skrauss site: ImageForHire.com

Songs: “Knob Wobbler,” by Gib Strange; "Lucifer Rebellion" by Hypatia Lake; “Cloudy Shoes,” by Damien Jurado; “Lonely Alibi,” by Sky Parade; “These Words” by Hazelwood Motel.