In Nietzsche’s most popular book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, he described what would become one of his most memorable theories—that of the Übermensch. In English versions of the work of Nietzsche, “Übermensch” is translated as “Superman” or “Overman”. The term “Superman” has adopted many connotations as a result of the comic book hero in popular culture, so for most [...]
“They just have a different reality tunnel, and every reality tunnel might tell us something interesting about our world, if we are willing to listen.” — Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson, if you’re unaware, was something of a countercultural Gandalf, a white-haired wizard of skepticism and subversion. Wilson lived a remarkably diverse life, becoming, at [...]
I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process — an integral function of the universe. — R. Buckminster Fuller If you ask my parents, they’ll tell you that I came [...]
“There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life . . .” Recently, I read a book called The Tao of Pooh. This charming little book is centered on the premise that one can understand the fundamentals of Taoism through a close reading of Winnie the Pooh, the classic children’s book [...]
“When you feel happy, really happy, it somehow seems that you’ve always been happy and that you’ll always be happy. The same is often true when you feel sad, or lonely, or depressed, or broke, or sick, or scared. Something, perhaps, to remember.” A couple of weeks ago I had a sudden and sort of inexplicable [...]
“Now you just dig them in front. They have worries, they’re counting the miles, they’re thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they’ll get there—and all the time they’ll get there anyway, you see.” The “Beat Generation” is a term used to refer to a group of post-World [...]
“Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast…a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it.” I first heard of Edward Abbey when I met a rather raffish [...]
“Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the Gods made for fun.” The sentiment that “life should not be taken too seriously” is a sort of dry, crusty sponge of a cliché—a statement that seems to have had every drop of nourishing value squeezed from it after ten trillion uses. And yet like so many [...]
“And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades.” Haruki Murakami, a modern master of magic realism and mind-bending metaphysical mischief (holy alliteration!), has an uncanny [...]
A few weeks ago, I boarded a massive ship — a cruise ship, to be precise — and went to Alaska with my family. After porting out of Seattle, we chugged along the Canadian coast for a few days before reaching the promised land of vibrant forests and mountain streams. Words cannot do justice to [...]