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Analects

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Analects

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Spiritual Architecture

stuff On those things greater than ourselves

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We’ve been taught that cults are dark and scary things. But we have been fooled. The cult is a prominent building block of modern community. If you’re not in one, you’re probably doing something wrong. The question is, is the cult you’re in a cult you chose?

Mundane Cults

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The word cult conjures images of hooded figures, mass suicide, and narcissistic leaders. But this dark image is nonsense—the kind that makes us more vulnerable to destructive groups. Cults are actually a pervasive building block of modern community, from veganism to fitness franchises to health movements. The question isn’t whether you’re in one, but whether it’s one you chose.

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collective-architecture connection on-(un)happiness on-being-fruitful on-culture on-leadership spiritual-architecture thought-architecture

article

System 1 vs System 2 is a useful shorthand, but our minds aren’t two-speed engines—they’re multi-process coalitions of specialised agents working in parallel and in series.

Beyond System 1 and System 2

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Kahneman’s System 1 and System 2—our fast, intuitive autopilot versus slow, deliberative override—have become a shorthand for human thought. But thinkers from Evans and Sloman to Stanovich and Minsky remind us that cognition isn’t just a two-lane road. It’s a bustling coalition of specialised processes—heuristics, conflict-detectors, symbolic reasoners—all running in parallel or in nested hierarchies. Fast versus slow will do as a starting point, but the real story lies in the many flavours and layers of mind at work behind the scenes.

System 1 vs System 2 is a useful shorthand, but our minds aren’t two-speed engines—they’re multi-process coalitions of specialised agents working in parallel and in series.

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betterment gratification on-(un)happiness on-being-fruitful on-thinking-and-reasoning somatic-architecture spiritual-architecture

article

There’s no hidden version of you. If anything, we are a collection of bits and pieces that we weave together from the stories we learn from others. You don’t need to find an authentic <em>self</em>, you need to find a story you can weave that makes you happy.

There is no authentic self

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There’s this idea that other people’s expectations stop us from finding our ‘authentic’ self. Other people somehow take us away from who we are. Inside us is some truer version of us that is slowly withering in the face of the demands of the world around us to be something else. And I just reject this premise out of hand.

There’s no hidden version of you. If anything, we are a collection of bits and pieces that we weave together from the stories we learn from others. You don’t need to find an authentic self, you need to find a story you can weave that makes you happy.

Check it out

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betterment gratification on-(un)happiness on-the-nature-of-things on-thinking-and-reasoning somatic-architecture spiritual-architecture

article

Glossolalia has a unique pattern of neural activity, distinct from psychopathologies and even other trance-like states. So, the feeling underneath is special, but the actual speaking itself seems learned. It makes you wonder where that feeling comes from.

Speaking in tongues

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‘Speaking in Tongues’, or glossolalia, is one of those fascinating things that first got me interested in the brain. At church, as a kid, you’d see people close their eyes, raise their hands in the air, and start murmuring in languages unknown, filled with some force they couldn’t explain. But a phenomenon so widespread, found in many religions and many cultures, across time and place, should surely be found in the brain activity of other activities? The answer is, maybe not, and maybe what the brain does tell is leaves us with a more interesting question.

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gratification on-culture on-leadership on-politics-and-power on-the-nature-of-things spiritual-architecture

article

Meditation generally involves either acknowledging or excluding thoughts, but can be problematic. Movement-based meditations (e.g. yoga, running) are better for people who can’t sit with themselves. More generally, many everyday activities meet the broad criteria.

Meditating for fun and for profit

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Meditation has well and truly captured the imagination of wellbeing enthusiasts across almost every sphere they occupy. If you spend more than 30 seconds exploring any influencer’s guide to life, you will discover that meditation is at least part of their answer. Which is a shame, because sometimes, meditation is a bit fucked.

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betterment gratification on-(un)happiness on-being-fruitful somatic-architecture spiritual-architecture wealth-architecture

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