I talk with my friend LL about Yuval Noah Harari’s idea that humans prevailed over other species primarily because of our ability to unite through stories, but that things go badly when, instead of using stories, we are used by them.

Narrative is very powerful on the group and individual levels both. How have you used story to live or learn in life? How has it hindered you?

We start with a thought from Pascal that can be put, “There is a God-shaped hole in every human heart.” So much of our discourse has an implied focus on ourselves, and spirituality seems to shift the focus away from that human I. We discuss some thoughts and conceptions around this, including man created in the image of God, and spiritual work. What makes you feel you’re alive and growing? Are you Pascalian or Cartesian?

“As opinions proliferate, it seems you have to burden your brain with them as part of knowing about the world.” There are so many opinions – everyone has one. Don’t lies spread faster than truth? My friend LL and I talk about how to think about this turbulent sea of opinions, which are powerful wherever humans gather.

We start with a quote from Camus, in The Myth of Sisyphus, “There is but one true philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” We discuss the nature of a philosophical problem, and some reasoning behind Hamlet’s problem. We expand the question to one encompassing most of the species, in the example of a nuclear apocalypse, and rephrase the question: “Why live if there are no others to live for?” And what if those others lived only after you, and your connection to them is remote? In what ways is every human like Sisyphus? How much are you living for the story of your life, for expressing yourself? I explore my sentiment that I would choose to go on, at least immediately, with an apocalypse. Why go on, right now, if you know doom is assured? After all, there are goods here, still. And anyway, the world would not be the same without any humans, don’t you think?

We check in and start off talking about how we deal with stress and how we can feel about ourselves. We then talk about the Christopher Nolan movie Oppenheimer, which I love; we start off with our differing interpretations on the relationship with the unstable Jean Tatlock and then segue to related talk of dramatic character and the attraction of unstable ones. From humans, we transition to LL’s cryptozoology and other interests in the Unknown. What are you attracted to in movies and people, and what is your orientation to mystery?

My friend LL and I start with a quote from Cicero from a Sam Harris podcast and talk about the Eleusinian Mysteries, its founding story, myths, Joseph Campbell, death as a part of the cycle of life and the possible liveliness to one’s life with this realization, and rest. LL talks about her healing and insight from lucid dreaming and journaling. I see myths as deep wisdom passed down to us for prudence and spiritual growth. I am very interested in personal, religious transformation and plan to keep reading, learning, and talking about this! How does death contribute to life? What is it to be a civilized human being? Thanks for listening.

My friend LL and I read the recent Snow White and the Widow Queen by Jonathan Pageau (a great retelling and beautiful pictures!). LL summarizes the story and then we talk about this classic tale.

A conversation with my friend LL where we start talking about masculinity and machismo (vs. “toxic masculinity”), and then we transition to a discussion of ritual, including the Eleusinian Mysteries, with a beautiful passage from Cicero. “We have learned from them the fundamentals of life…”