⚡️ Enlightening Bolts

🙂 Small Kindness: A poem reminding us of the small ways we care for one another. Read it here.

🫶 The Easiest Way To Not Hate Yourself: A quick video reminder from Josh Czuba on radical self-acceptance. Watch it here.

⛓️‍ Stop Looking for a Fulfilling Job: And then you’ll find the meaning in work. Read it here.

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🎇 Image of The Week

“On August 18, the skies above Chengdu, China, displayed a rare and unusual sight - six extra suns appeared alongside the actual sun. This phenomenon, known as parhelia, occurs when atmospheric conditions cause "sun dogs" to appear. Typically, one or two sun dogs are visible, but in this case, seven suns were seen, a truly extraordinary event. The spectacle lasted for about a minute before returning to normal.” Watch the video here.

🔮 Kill Your Dreams, Gain The World

"Kill your dreams, gain the world." These words, at first harsh and counterintuitive, unfold like a lotus in still water, revealing layers of meaning and inviting us to peer deeper into the nature of existence and fulfillment.

Dreams often serve as both compass and cage. They guide us through the labyrinth of choices, yet sometimes trap us in a prison of expectations. We borrow from these imagined tomorrows, using them as collateral against the perceived poverty of our present. But in this transaction, we risk mortgaging the very essence of our now.

Consider the paradox: In our quest to become, we forget to be. The future, that ever-receding horizon, casts a long shadow over the landscape of our present, obscuring the beauty that lies at our feet. We trade the warmth of the rising sun for the promise of its zenith, forgetting that each moment of its arc across the sky holds its own unique splendor.

To kill our dreams is not an act of despair, but one of profound liberation. It is to break the chains that bind us to a single path and to open our eyes to the myriad possibilities that surround us in each breath. It is to step off the treadmill of perpetual becoming and to plant our feet firmly in the rich soil of being.

Imagine a world where the pressure to achieve a predetermined future dissolves like morning mist. In its place, a vast expanse of presence unfurls. Here, in this expanded now, we find a wellspring of energy and potential that was always within us, merely obscured by the clamor of our aspirations.

As we learn to inhabit this space of presence, we cultivate a garden of contentment. Each moment becomes a seed, each experience a bloom. We no longer strain our necks looking towards a distant horizon but instead bend close to the earth, marveling at the intricate dance of life unfolding beneath our feet.

In this state of engaged presence, we paradoxically become more capable of shaping our world. Unshackled from the weight of predefined outcomes, our actions gain a vibrancy and potency born of genuine connection with our surroundings. We move through life not as conquerors bent on achieving a vision, but as cocreators, our every interaction a brushstroke on the canvas of existence.

The beauty of this philosophy lies in its ultimate freedom. By releasing our grip on specific dreams, we open our hands to receive the gifts of the present. We trade the narrow path of expectation for the wide-open fields of possibility. And in doing so, we may find that the world we gain is far richer, far more wondrous than any we could have dreamed.

So let us consider this invitation: to kill our dreams not in an act of resignation, but in a bold affirmation of life as it unfolds. To gain the world not through conquest, but through presence. To find, in the depth of each moment, a fulfillment that no future achievement could surpass. For in the end, it is not in reaching a destination that we find joy, but in fully inhabiting the journey itself.

📰 News That Doesn’t Suck

All your news. None of the bias.

Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 3.5 million readers find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight.

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🦴 Roll The Bones

Heed these words from Cameron Rosin:

“Well, you could just play it safe. Stay within the boundaries. Be responsible. Adhere to all of the wayward reasonings of an institutionalized society built on fearful adherence. You could just do that. Or, you could roll the bones. Do what you are here to do. Realize that the greater the calling, the greater the resistance, and the greater the resistance, the greater the growth. Only you can take steps towards creating a life that sets your heart on fire. And when they tell you that you can't, as they will, you don't need to respond. They will witness.”

🤓 Learn This Word

Werifesteria: To wander longingly through the forest in search of mystery

⏳ From The Archives

A hand-picked classic HighExistence article.

10 Healing and Empowering Spiritual Practices Learned on a Pilgrimage Through Spain

By Eric Brown

In the Beginning…

Early human life was difficult. Treacherous. We didn’t have germ theory, didn’t understand proper sanitation, and couldn’t combat the darkness when night fell.

For thousands of years, this state of existence continued in the dark, until the invention of fire. Once we controlled fire, we could cook, coordinate, and converse after dark. Our control of fire led to the creation of candles, and humans could now control when their surroundings were dark.

The problem of the dark plagued humanity for ages. However, much like the dark and shadows when a beam of light falls on them, the problem of darkness disappeared with the invention of flame and candles.

Oftentimes it is not the problem that gets in your way, but the lack of the appropriate tool to address the problem.

Read that again. The problem is not the real problem, the problem is that you do not have the right tools to address the problem.

Having the Right Tools

This is the hidden secret of any successful, high-performing individual. It isn’t that they are geniuses, innately better at problem-solving than everyone else. It is the fact that they have the best tools to tackle specific problems.

By using the appropriate frameworks, mental models, and systems to approach your problems, you can systematically address and conquer any problem in front of you. The right tools make the task at hand infinitely easier. You could hammer in a nail with a screwdriver – but you’d have an easier time with a hammer.

This solution works very nicely for simple problems like hammering a nail or finding light in the darkness. However, for issues such as spiritual growth, personal development, or conscious exploration, it is not clear what tools are available, or how they can be leveraged.

Paulo Coelho, in his esteemed work The Pilgrimage (original title ‘O Diario De Um Mago’), presents a solution. As we follow his protagonist’s pilgrimage across the Spanish plains, we build a toolbox—a conscious toolbox, if you will—filled with the tools and tactics necessary to address problems of personal importance.

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