Excellent piece. I think it is more than just dynamic vs static though. It is the numinous vs the limited of language. A common instruction at the end of a mediation retreat is to not talk about the experience at least for a while because words cannot capture it and to even hear yourself trying can lessen the impact of the experience.
Dec 23, 2022·edited Dec 23, 2022Liked by Erik Torenberg
I spent the last five years getting off drugs and dealing with old capital-T-Trauma. By the end of it, I more or less *had* killed my identity--there wasn't much left of who I'd been before. I'm not sure, but I think that's a thing that happens to people who have done those things.
I haven't read ZatAoMM, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that Pirsig is a recovering alcoholic. Regardless, I know for a lead-pipe cinch that he's killed at least one identity himself, just from what little people have told me of his books. It's worth doing. The perspective afterwards is very different, and while you don't fit in the way you did before, you're comfortable in your own skin in a way I think most people aren't.
I'm not sure if you've read Jed McKenna, but one concept he advances (the core concept) is that it's all made up. Every bit of it. And the only thing you can truly say about yourself is "I am." Everything else built upon that is merely a figment of belief.
For me, that is not just a quaint idea I read in a book once, it's a practical concept that I've come to grips with through the annihilation of bullshit. If you sit down and ask "who am I?" and you refuse to accept an answer that you can't verify, it might take weeks or months of work but the answer ultimately is, "I am." It is impossible to prove anything else.
I was going to write an article about this and how it relates to thinking clearly especially in regards to investing/narratives/mainstream beliefs, but I guess I decided it would be too wonky. I think it's cool you published on the topic.
Only when the ego is exhausted to nothingness, will the illusion of separateness (labels) finally disappear… surfacing an awakening of our interconnectedness to everything / by the divine light/ always present, always in love.
Excellent piece. I think it is more than just dynamic vs static though. It is the numinous vs the limited of language. A common instruction at the end of a mediation retreat is to not talk about the experience at least for a while because words cannot capture it and to even hear yourself trying can lessen the impact of the experience.
I spent the last five years getting off drugs and dealing with old capital-T-Trauma. By the end of it, I more or less *had* killed my identity--there wasn't much left of who I'd been before. I'm not sure, but I think that's a thing that happens to people who have done those things.
I haven't read ZatAoMM, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that Pirsig is a recovering alcoholic. Regardless, I know for a lead-pipe cinch that he's killed at least one identity himself, just from what little people have told me of his books. It's worth doing. The perspective afterwards is very different, and while you don't fit in the way you did before, you're comfortable in your own skin in a way I think most people aren't.
Great, great piece.
Was just reflecting on things I want to leave behind this year, and one of them was "Judgement towards self / others".
"Make observations not judgements." "We judge/criticize in others that in which we most fear in ourselves." 🙏
I'm not sure if you've read Jed McKenna, but one concept he advances (the core concept) is that it's all made up. Every bit of it. And the only thing you can truly say about yourself is "I am." Everything else built upon that is merely a figment of belief.
For me, that is not just a quaint idea I read in a book once, it's a practical concept that I've come to grips with through the annihilation of bullshit. If you sit down and ask "who am I?" and you refuse to accept an answer that you can't verify, it might take weeks or months of work but the answer ultimately is, "I am." It is impossible to prove anything else.
I was going to write an article about this and how it relates to thinking clearly especially in regards to investing/narratives/mainstream beliefs, but I guess I decided it would be too wonky. I think it's cool you published on the topic.
Only when the ego is exhausted to nothingness, will the illusion of separateness (labels) finally disappear… surfacing an awakening of our interconnectedness to everything / by the divine light/ always present, always in love.
identity leads to narrative
narrative leads to suffering
suffering leads to conflict
conflict leads to identity
The cycle is natural but so often identity keeps us stuck between an old end and a new beginning