Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A myth, in the proper sense, then, is a story that has emotional resonance at the abyssal depths of the human psyche — for that is its very source, its point of origination in what Campbell called “the mythological zone.” — Joseph M. Felser Live mythically. If an unmythological life were possible, it might not…

This image relates to a very practical and grounded way to navigate your pathway through a chaotic world. I have a very poor natural sense of direction, and yet I was able to use ordinary map and compass skills to navigate myself, and a small group, through a maze of canyons with no marked paths…

“Man must make his peace with his seasons or the gods will laugh at him.” — Mary Renault “The fates guide him who will; him who won’t, they drag.” — Ancient Greeks Each of the seasons of aging — youth, middle age, old age — has its hardships, trials, and rewards. Dorothy Canfield Fisher said,”One…

This card uses wave function collapse, a concept from quantum mechanics, as a metaphor for two states in the human domain — the state of indeterminate potential and free floating possibility, and the state of definite commitment and grounded engagement in the particular. I emphasize the metaphorical aspect because there is a New Age tendency…

Boundaries are essential to life. I recently saw a documentary that speculated about the origins of life. Crucial to the beginning of life was the formation of some sort of molecule (a lipid, I think), or chain of molecules, that could create a boundary, an interior space, because life cannot happen if its contents are…

We are creatures of light sheathed in flesh. With some people, however, the light shines through much more visibly, while others seem more a topography of skin, hair and clothing relieved only by an anxious sliver of light coming from eyes that seem nearly buried by unhappy flesh. The people who seem to have a…

Life is forever confounding the left hemisphere mind, which likes clean, straight edges and linear progress. The way of the creative is an inscrutable zig-zag. Life throws elbows at us when we expect the way to be free and clear. We are constantly getting results that are at cross-purposes with our agenda. At times the…

Life is forever confounding the left hemisphere mind, which likes clean, straight edges and linear progress. The way of the creative is an inscrutable zig-zag. Life throws elbows at us when we expect the way to be free and clear. We are constantly getting results that are at cross-purposes with our agenda. At times the…

The Warrior stance I call “existential impeccability” means that you are path-oriented rather than goal-oriented. Your focus is on being impeccable in the moment. The emphasis on impeccability is not so much on gaining recognition or rewards, but on being impeccable for its own sake. You are focused on the path — on being humble,…

In a repeated dream motif I am in a vehicle that is moving with traffic when I discover that I am not in the driver’s seat and that no one else is either. There is a feeling of unregulated momentum and panic as I try to get into the driver’s seat before an accident happens.…