And the nature within a mystical experience — “Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.” — William James *** “I went across the road, as I often did, for a cup of…

And how the center cannot hold… — “The poet…is the man of metaphor: while the philosopher is interested only in the truth of meaning, beyond even signs and names, and the sophist manipulates empty signs…the poet plays on the multiplicity of signified.” — Jacques Derrida *** “To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only…

“Fiction is one of the few experiences where loneliness can be both confronted and relieved. Drugs, movies where stuff blows up, loud parties — all these chase away loneliness by making me forget my name’s Dave and I live in a one-by-one box of bone no other party can penetrate…

Should we stop the never-ending processes of conquering our inner self? — “But there is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest courage, the courage to suffer.” “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word…

Welcome to the eternal becoming in the riddle of life… — “Everything exists; nothing exists. Either formula affords a like serenity. The man of anxiety, to his misfortune, remains between them, trembling and perplexed, forever at the mercy of a nuance, incapable of gaining a foothold in the security of being or in the absence of being.” — E. M. Cioran …

“Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.”— David Foster Wallace *** “The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.” — David Foster Wallace *** “We’re all lonely for something we don’t know we’re…

So, here’s a (hopefully) more grounded perspective… — I’ve been researching beliefs, poetic perspectives, philosophy, and general life advice around…. love. Now, this is not some sappy post, or maybe it will be? I don’t know that yet; I suppose. However, I want to have a love subplot in my novel. Is this a trope? Is this a…

Lessons from the distractions and uncertainties of life… — “Since he has nothing, since he is nothing, he can sacrifice everything.” — Julia Kristeva *** “A reminder to remember: just because the sharpness of the sadness has faded does not mean that it was not, once, terrible. It means only that time and space, creatures of infinite girth and…

Recently I stumbled upon an article from the Wall Street Journal titled: For the New Year, Say No to Negativity. For those that have been reading more for a while, this caught my attention. Although, I think the article provides important insights, its overall message felt oversimplified—and their title summed…