🌀🐇 #71 healing vs. awakening, meaning crisis, experiencing awe

Plus Tao Te Ching  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web 🚨 The following links include insights and wisdom from individuals who will be speaking at our upcoming FREE 3-day online transformational gathering, Metamorphosis. Haven't claimed your ticket yet? [Do that here.]()​ 🎧 Healing vs Awakening, Zen Koans and the Antidote to Aloneness: A new HighExistence Podcast With Zen Meditation Guiding Teacher, Henry Shukman. [Listen here.](=)​ 👁 Awakening From The Meaning Crisis Summaries: This popular lecture series from Psychology Professor Jon Vervaeke dives deep into Flow, Wisdom, Mindfulness, Consciousness, and more. Want a primer on the first 10 lectures in the series? [Read summaries here.](​ 💎 Aesthetic Resonance: A thread on cultivating an aligned style from Visakan Veerasamy: "I personally believe that each person has within them an entire universe of aesthetics that's rich, dense & ripe for exploring. one of life's grand adventures is: you get to build out the extended cinematic universe of yourself." [Read it here.](=)​ Did someone forward you this email? Get this newsletter every week when you [sign up here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ Here's something you probably didn't know: we can see our feelings from heat maps. This image above is from a study described in the book The Neuroscience of Emotion. There is (obviously) a large spectrum in how people express their emotions verbally but the representations in the body are relatively stereotyped. Fascinating! 🦋 Emerging From The Cocoon For the past couple weeks I've been telling you about [Metamorphosis.]()​ This is our free 3-day online transformational gathering focused on designing sacred rituals that is happening on February 18th-20th. So why rituals? Many reasons. They help us recontextualize our role in the unfolding of life, they help us feel more deeply connected to the cosmos, they inspire reverence and appreciation for the little things. That's just scratching the surface of the value rituals can provide. And yet the spirit of ritual is disappearing. They have become almost synonymous with things like "routines" and "habits." But ritual is much deeper than that. Rituals can open doors to sacred ground. That's why we've focused this immersive 3-day event on them. By attending Metamorphosis, you will plug into a powerful set of transformative practices you can harness to experience more peace, passion, and meaning in your daily life. We've added a ton of details to the [registration page]() including 13 speakers (with more to be added) who will be sharing their unique gifts with us. ​ ​[See the full speaker lineup here.]()​ Don't take my word for it. Here's what some people said about the last Metamorphosis gathering: “What I gained the most from the interactive conference was a sense that there are many others in the world who seek connections with compassionate people plus it was a joy to witness so many expressions of love.” “The number 1 thing I took away was the power of engaging in online groups of like minded individuals. The content you presented was top notch! But the engagement piece and sharing ideas with others in the chats was also very useful. Thanks so much guys!” "Absolutely awesome. Things I knew and interesting topics on things I didn't know. Met fabulous people. I have a newfound sense of confidence. Will definitely recommend to others." “Overall, Metamorphosis was a unique and beautiful event. I'd love to join the upcoming events. I especially enjoyed breath work, meditation, and networking sessions. Thank you very much for this amazing opportunity. I brought home some really good ideas." I hope you'll join us. :) [Claim Your Free Ticket]() 🤯 Experiencing Awe Enjoy this excerpt about attuning to awe from [Michael Ashcroft.](​ "Here’s what I’ve learned from exploring my own sense of awe. I feel it most frequently when my attention is captured by nature or by some impressive expression of human civilisation. This tells me that these things are connected to each other and I to them. Carl Sagan captured this connection when he said “the cosmos is also within us, we’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” This has become one of my personal axioms. We are not separate from the universe, we are it. As we learn, understand and experience more of the universe, the universe learns, understands and experiences more of itself. This perspective is partly why I find human experience so interesting and why feeling awe in the Natural History Museum is so powerful. As a cathedral to nature it’s a cathedral to the universe. In a brief moment of awe – as the walls between the isolated ‘me in my head' and the ‘universe out there’ come crashing down – it’s all just one thing. I am that. And in that moment the universe is awestruck by its own majesty, seen through my eyes. That perspective moves me. It guides my belief that advancing human progress across vast timescales is worthwhile. It means we should seek to grow through existential threats like climate change. It means we should one day explore beyond our solar system. And it means we should be curious about the nature of our own subjective awareness. Our continued growth is after all how the universe will get to know itself even better. So I invite you to reflect on those moments when you feel awe. What connects them? What do they say about what matters to you? And what might happen if you share them with others?" At Metamorphosis, Michael will be leading a workshop on The Alexander Technique. As he describes it, this practice "gives you conscious control of awareness so you can notice, expand and play in the space between stimulus and response. This lets you get out of your own way, embrace the unfamiliar and make new choices within a space of ease and playfulness in daily life." Don't miss out. [Register for Metamorphosis here.]()​ 🤓 Learn This Word Interoception: the perception of sensations from inside the body and includes the perception of physical sensations related to internal organ function such as heart beat, respiration, satiety, as well as the autonomic nervous system activity related to emotions. During Metamorphosis, Jonny Miller will lead us through a set of nervous system recalibration rituals to hone our interoception so we can consciously shift our state. [Make sure you register here.]()​ ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[The Tao Te Ching & Taoism: A Chill Book, a Chill Philosophy](=)​ is one old book. Like older-than-Jesus old. Written around the 6th century B.C.E by the poet-philosopher Lao Tzu, the relatively short workis the fundamental text of Taoist philosophy. It’s also a stirring and delectable little read, 2600 years later. Taoist teachings (along with other Oriental philosophy) seem to calm, stimulate, and refresh me, in part, I think, because they bear such a striking contrast to many of the ideas I was exposed to growing up in the Occident (the West)—i.e. the superiority of humankind, the glorification of force & control, the concept of a personal male deity, the desirability of individual accomplishment & recognition, etc. Still, it seems to me that studying the humble and non-resistant ways of Taoism has provided a healthy and necessary counterweight to my understanding of my identity, my values, and how to approach this jaunt through time and space. By no stretch of the imagination am I a Taoist master, and this is not an attempt to summarize or analyze the entirety of the Tao Te Ching. I intend, rather, to share several passages and reflect on their meaning, in hopes of illuminating a basic picture of how Lao Tzu (or any Taoist) might have seen the world. ​[Continue Reading](=)​ ​ 💸 Psychology of Money The next issue of our premium newsletter [Stairway To Wisdom](=) is coming out on Friday and we'll be diving into The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. =​ Here's just a taste of what's inside this collection of timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness: “Money’s greatest intrinsic value - and this can't be overstated - is its ability to give you control over your time. To obtain, bit by bit, a level of independence and autonomy that comes from unspent assets that give you greater control over what you can do and when you can do it." Want access when it's released on Friday plus 60 additional book breakdowns? Sign-up for the Stairway To Wisdom. Right now you can claim a free trial so you can test-drive with zero risk. [Get Your Free Trial](=) 🎬 Endnote We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think. Want to help us spread the word? We love sharing these gems of wisdom and wonder with you each week. If you love receiving them and want to help us spread the word, here is one quick way you can do that: Forward this email to one friend. That's it. It will take 5 seconds and will help us spread the good vibes and reach more people. We appreciate you. With Wonder, Mike Slavin & The HighExistence Team P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Read previous issues and sign-up to receive future issues here: [(​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 40 E. Main St. #1137, Newark, DE 19711 [Built with ConvertKit](=)