Don't Miss It: 🌀🐇 #77 overcome shame, geography of sorrow, ancient cave paintings

Plus Rudyard Kipling's Wisdom  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web 🗺 The Geography of Sorrow: This interview with Francis Weller is one of the best things I've read in a while. Highly recommended especially if you've been wrestling with grief lately. [Read it here.]()​ ⛓ Overcome Shame, Become Who You Are: How to move past toxic shame using the wisdom of Nietzsche. [Watch it here.](=)​ 🎧 Zen Sounds: Free background audio to focus or meditate. [Listen here.](​ 💙 Understanding Eros: Eros is the force that emerges in you when there arises a gap between you, now, and something you want. [Read more here.](​ Want to sponsor this newsletter? Reply to this email and let me know. 🎇 Image of The Week ​ These are the cave paintings of Chauvet Pont d'Arc discovered in 1994 are 36,000 years old. The way these animals were drawn would create the illusion of movement in ancient torchlight. "Our distant ancestors had used perspective, shading, and the natural contours of the cave to enhance the aesthetic glories of the Ice Age menagerie roaming the walls. The artists had created images of cave lions and panthers, woolly rhinos, hyenas, bison, megaloceros, and mammoths among cave bears, an owl, horses, stags, ibex, musk oxen, and the outline of a human hand." [Learn more here.]()​ 🌊 Spreading Goodwill What if you sent a message to a friend or a family member that they really needed to hear? Nothing fancy or profoundly creative. Just a little nudge of love: "Hey I'm thinking about you. Hope everything is going well. Appreciate you." There are times when we can fall into dark nights and those around us are unaware. A message of care like that can really be a glimmer of sunshine. It can be the rope that gets thrown down to help us out of a pit. It can disconfirm the belief that others don't care and that we're all alone. A simple act taking a few seconds that can have beautiful consequences on another person's heart. And perhaps you reach out to someone who's doing well. Your message will still be a lightning bolt of good feelings in their world. It could make their day. This opportunity is always available to us but rarely do we think to actually do it. That's why I'm writing about this today. If just a fraction of you who read this email sent a quick note we could get a wave of goodwill started. Who knows how your kindness will impact those around your recipient. They could be more present with their kids, more patient with their elderly parents, more loving towards themselves, more hopeful for the future. Just a few seconds of energy opens up these possibilities. We can't be sure any of them will come to pass and we won't know if they do. But isn't a few seconds of energy worth it? With all this said, I encourage you to stop reading now and send a quick note of appreciation to someone you care about. ✨ An Alluring Luster Soak in this passage on Wonder from Robert C. Fuller: "Wonder, like joy and interest, is characterized by its rare ability to elicit prolonged engagement with life. Experiences of wonder succeed in motivating creative and constructive approaches to life by imbuing the surrounding world with an alluring luster. Experiences of wonder enable us to view the world independent of its relationships to our own immediate needs. They thereby foster empathy and compassion. It is true that wonder per se is likely to issue in contemplation rather than immediate action. Yet, as we saw in the lives of Muir, James, and Carson, this is not to suggest that wonder leads to passivity or an evasion of moral responsibility. Their lives provide ample evidence that experiences of wonder pull into our own circle of concerns objects that would otherwise be of remote interest. As De Pascuale points out, an experience of wonder 'brings the world into relief and makes a person take life seriously. In wonder you realize that this is it. You have the opportunity to swim through the river of life rather than just float on it, to own your life rather than be owned by it.' Wonder alters perception in such a way that we are afforded a new chance to choose how to be — to become true individuals and true citizens of the universe. Assessed for their 'moral helpfulness,' then, experiences of wonder would seem uniquely capable of luring us into what Rachel Carson called a reverence for life." 🤓 Learn This Word seelenerschütterung: the german word for trauma translating more directly to "soul-shaking" ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[Rudyard Kipling’s Timeless 149-Word Instruction Manual for Wisdom](=)​ Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) was the beloved author of books like The Jungle Book and The Man Who Would be King. He was also a prolific poet, and his poem “If” has been hailed by many as the most inspirational poem of all time. When I first heard “If,” it blew me away. The words struck me as the perfect combination of artistry and wisdom. In just 149 words, Kipling manages to list all of the qualities that beget wisdom. After reading it, you actually feel wiser. But, like any iconic piece of art, the more we’re exposed to it, the more blind we become to its beauty. Consider the Mona Lisa: we tend to see the postcard before the painting and the creator as more myth than man. To help you see the poem with fresh eyes I’ve attempted to retell “If” in all its glory, but with one twist. For each pithy lesson Kipling provides, I’ve included a cultural icon who embodies the teaching. Read slowly and savor this timeless masterpiece. ​[Continue Reading](=)​ 📚 Upcoming Book Breakdown The next issue of our premium newsletter [Stairway To Wisdom](=) is coming out on Friday and we'll be diving into G.I. Gurdjieff: The War Against Sleep by Colin Wilson. =​ Here's just a taste of what's inside this book: “Instantly, I was overwhelmed with amazement, not only at my own state, but at everything that I looked at or thought of. Each tree was so uniquely itself that I felt that I could walk in the forest for ever and never cease from wonderment." 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](=)