Mystic Atheism

I describe myself as mystic atheist.

There is no god. There is no life after death. There is no reincarnation. I don’t believe in karma.

The fundamental interactions of the Standard Model can explain all observable phenomena. Forces beyond these, while theoretically possible, will likely have zero impact on my life. I choose not to worry about it.

However, my direct experiences with the mystical — both with and without the aid of psychedelics — are un-dismissible. Whether hallucinations, delusions, apophenia, limit experiences, or something entirely else… these experiences cast a purely naturalist interpretation of reality into reasonable doubt.

Art

I believe artists have two jobs:

1. Not give up.
2. Help others not give up.

Because my work is conceptually-rooted, I have learned multiple mediums. My favorites are music, software, and photography.

Attachment

Events only become imbued with meaning when attached to a thought.

I am not a Buddhist but Sage and I shared a Buddhist wedding. Our vows emphasized sharing a life of non-attachment. We’ve been happily together since 2010.

Nondualism

I have found as much terror in the light as I have solace in the darkness.

Dualistic antagonisms like good versus bad, masculine versus feminine, or nature versus nurture are absurd at best and actively harmful at worst. Cultural relativism complicates each of these examples.

Even the binary absolutism of zeroes and ones cannot be trusted.

I strive to embrace gradients, ambiguities, and messiness.

Chaos & Change

I reject all flavors of determinism. Furthermore, Occam’s razor suggests models such as the many-worlds interpretation or the simulation hypothesis are unlikely. The simplest explanations:

• There is a single consensual reality.
• We are not trapped a supercomputer simulation.
• There is no basilisk at the end of the rainbow.

Anthropcentrism

I reject anthropocentrism, the belief that humans are privileged or superior to other species. I like plants and animals and coral and moss and mushrooms and dirt and clouds and rain.

I am probably somewhere between the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement and the Population Connection.

Anticapitalism

Capitalism ain’t working. I would like off this ride but, apparently, they forgot to build exits.

Anarchism & Socialism

I am skeptical anarchy at scale would result in anything other than violence and, ultimately, a regression to patriarchal tribalism.

I am attracted to socialism but remain unconvinced human greed and corruption can be sufficiently de-incentivized after centuries of cultural and mechanical programming.

Extraterrestrial Life

(Yes.)