🌀🐇 #128 talk to Alan Watts, Da Vinci on uncertainty, getting lost & being found

Plus Small Actions, Done Greatly  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts ✅ My Hero's Journey: Completing 30 Challenges to Enlightenment. [Read it here.](=)​ 🧭 The Path: How I Lost My Way Into Being Found. [Read it here.]()​ 🧠Hey Mind AI: Talk with Alan Watts, Lao Tzu and others using an AI chat interface.[Try it here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ The photo depicts a concert at The Caverns. This venue is a world renowned destination for live music with adventure caves open to explore and experience daily. 📏 Measures, Meaning, and Mutations In today's world, it's easy to become fixated on symbols that are easy to count and measure. We live in a society that values material wealth, social media followers, and physical appearance. These things can be easily tracked and measured, making them targets for our fixation. However, the problem is that many of the meaningful things in life are not eligible for such fine-tuned tracking. This desire to measure everything can lead to a distorted understanding of the world around us. There is a famous saying from Peter Drucker that "what gets measured, gets managed." This is true to a certain extent. When we track our progress towards a certain goal, we are more likely to achieve it. However, what many people fail to consider is that what gets measured, gets mutated. When we focus solely on the ups and downs of certain metrics, we limit our understanding of the complex systems we are engaging with. We reduce everything to numbers and abstractions, losing sight of the bigger picture. It's crucial to remember that there are many meaningful things in life that cannot be measured. Love, happiness, and fulfillment are all intangible, yet they are vital to our well-being. We cannot measure the quality of our relationships, the depth of our emotions, or the impact we have on others. We must learn to appreciate these things for what they are, without reducing them to numbers or metrics. It's important to measure what matters. We should track our progress towards our goals, but we should also be mindful of the limitations of measurement. We must recognize that there are many meaningful things in life that cannot be quantified. By embracing the intangible and appreciating the complexity of the world around us, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world we live in. 💯 Small Actions, Done Greatly From Eric Brown, HighExistence Steward: "How does a samurai become strong? How does a sage become wise? How does an ordinary person become great? Socrates was once asked “How would you climb Mount Olympus?” and he replied, “I would make sure every step I took was in that direction.” There’s nothing more to it. You already know this. You know your greatness already exists inside of you. All you need to do is walk, step by step, towards your most cherished vision and fall into its arms. - Consider the unshakeable strength you will unearth after 5+ hours of cold showers. - Imagine the self-control you will master after 1200+ hours of fasting. - Recognize the deep insight that will come from 30+ hours of meditation and journaling. - Dream of the relentless progress you develop from committing to your own ritual for 100 days, You will not be the same. You won’t be someone who can. You will be someone who does. The difference between hypothetical and actual is everything. It builds the evidence in reality of your own capacity and your greatness. More than this, you will have established an unstoppable momentum which will carry you through to a future that now you may not even be able to glimpse. This is exactly what we’re doing in the [Hero100](=). Bold steps towards greatness. Daily, devoted discipline. Commitment is scary, we get it. Drawing a clear line in the sand gives you the opportunity to fail. But with direct accountability, a live community, financial incentives, and serious play – you can do this. Bet on yourself. Commit to yourself." ​[Join us in the Hero100, we begin in 3 weeks, on April 1st.](=)​ 👁 Fathomless Wonder Sink your mind into these words from Rob Burbea: “There is space here, and space for reverence and devotion. When we see the void – the open and groundless nature of all things, the inseparability of appearances and emptiness – we recognize anyway just how profound is our participation in this magic of appearances. Then whether fabrication, which is empty, is consciously intended in a certain direction or not, the heart bows to the fathomless wonder and beauty of it all. It can be touched by an inexhaustible amazement, touched again and again by blessedness and relief. In knowing fully the thorough voidness of this and that, of then and now, of there and here, this heart opens in joy, in awe and release. Free itself, it knows the essential freedom in everything.” 🤓 Learn This Word Hyperstition: A special instance of social reality where people come to believe something will happen, act in accordance to that belief, and their acting thus causes it. ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[Leonardo Da Vinci’s Sfumato Principle: Embracing Uncertainty with Ease]()​ [leondaro da Vinci highexistence sfumato] ​ Life has been a mystery since the beginning. Death is the greatest mystery that we don’t like to talk about. Who can blame us? The uncertainty of not knowing can be painful, uncomfortable and even threatening. Uncertainty comes in all forms, and although we all-too-often shield ourselves with illusions of certitude, the present coronavirus pandemic makes uncertainty more palpable than ever. Despite an ongoing worldwide effort, we still don’t know much about the coronavirus. According to James Gallagher’s BBC news article, we haven’t been able to answer basic questions such as: How many people have been infected? How deadly is it? What are the full range of symptoms? Where exactly did it come from? Can you get it twice? Will the virus mutate? And more… As healthcare professionals continue to seek solutions, many of us confined to our homes during this Great Pause around the world wonder just how long this pandemic will last–we just don’t know. The misinformation, conspiracy theories and mixed-messages from both experts and leadership amplify our uncertainty of what to believe. The question remains: how can we transform the coronavirus crisis into an opportunity to better embrace uncertainty so that we may not only maintain our sanity but also thrive so as to create a better world out of these unsettling times? ​[Continue Reading]()​ 🎬 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: [()​ ​ ​ Mike Slavin ​[Check Out My New AI Newsletter]()​ ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 40 E. Main St. #1137, Newark, DE 19711 [Built with ConvertKit](=)