Bog! Welcome to this week's digest. This is a very special "Rage Against the Machine" edition, because I <3 them and because... well just read it and you'll see ;D This week's topics include subway zen, meat cleanses, taking repeated shots at the typical corporate grind, self-compassion, and being really fucking excited. Enjoy!

If you like this digest, please consider sharing with friends, building a schooner, and / or slamming a tent flap. xoxoxo <3

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TDD TL;DR

MORNING MANTRA OF THE WEEK - ASPIRE TO "SUBWAY ZEN"
TOPIC OF INTEREST - MEAT CLEANSE (I.E., PLANT-FREE DIET)
BLOG POST - Ribbon Farm: Jonathan Livingston Corporation by Venkatesh Rao
ARTICLE - The Guardian: How a corporate cult captures and destroys our best graduates by George Monbiot (Thank you Anthony for sharing!)
ARTICLE - Aeon: You’re simply not that big a deal: now isn’t that a relief? by Melissa Dahl
BLOG POST - Fuck Yes or No by Mark Manson

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Maybe the most compassionate attitude you can take toward yourself is to stop obsessing over yourself." ~ Melissa Dahl

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (AKA I have a lot to learn from you)

Pat, replying to re-naming TD Digest: If there was any justice in the world it would be called Teddygrams.

Agreed. There is no justice in the world. Plus, no one wants to see me in that outfit ;D

MORNING MANTRA OF THE WEEK - ASPIRE TO "SUBWAY ZEN"

Every day, as part of my morning ritual, I read my "morning wake-up poster". It is a collection of mantras that I find incredibly motivating. Continuing the momentum from these past few weeks, I will select a mantra and go into detail on why it is important to me.

This week's highlighted morning mantra is "Aspire to "Subway Zen"." This refers to a blog post I read years back, which talks about certain angsty feelings that arise in the NYC subway. In particular, the author highlights that sense of urgency that comes up if we are about to miss a train. The funny things about this feeling are: 1) It can sometimes feel intense and existential; 2) The feeling can arise even if we are not in a hurry in the first place. So the author came up with a test for how calm / present / 'Zen' we are in the moment: When you hear that train coming, what happens to your pace? Do you speed up? Does your heart rate change? Does your pattern of thinking (or non-thinking) get interrupted? My current, Santa Monica version of this is the three-way crosswalk. When I see that don't walk countdown, too often, I still quicken my pace to make a light that does not fucking matter. And it makes me think, where else in my life am I acting with extra urgency, or outside of my normal way of being, for the sake of mentally-created, illusory problems that do not actually matter?

TOPIC OF INTEREST - MEAT CLEANSE (I.E., PLANT-FREE DIET)

TL;DR: On Sunday, I started a meat / fish / eggs + fat only diet (plant free!). I was curious to see what fully cutting carbs out does to me. So far so good! I recommend you get curious and try a (harebrained) lifestyle experiment this week. (And of course consult an expert / physician before making major lifestyle changes... mine told me I was going to die ;D).

Where This Began: Last week, I ate so fucking poorly. I'm talking pints of ice cream, sleeves of cookies... even bread (*gasp*). Anyway, recovering presented an opportunity to get curious and experiment beyond doing my normal meat + veggies thing (which has worked well the last 6+ years). Thankfully, we already know that cleanses, juice, meat, or otherwise, are bullshit. Reaaaaaaally weak anecdotal, short-term evidence at best. That said, I had a strong urge to troll juice cleansers, and I randomly remembered this old Joe Rogan podcast that talked about the carnivore diet.

What the Hell Does a Meat Cleanse Even Mean: It's the meat version of a juice cleanse - only eating meat (and related animal products). Imagine going to a barbeque for every meal where you eat all the meat you want, just with no sauces, sides, or alcohol. This blog post sums it up well (Thank you Daniel for sharing!!) It's basically meat + fish + eggs + fats like butter. I am technically cheating in a few ways: drinking coffee and tea (+ butter ;D), olive and coconut oil for cooking, MCT oil in my coffee, both salt and pepper as seasoning.

The Bullshit Story: What a magical joyride of an adventure. Nothing but rainbows and happiness and smiles. I've lost 7 pounds in 5 days. I've worked out every day and absolutely crushed it. My energy is infinite, people find me more attractive, and I've figured out cold fusion. Now buy my diet program for $299.99 per week and see the results for yourself!!

The Real Story: Life has been basically the same. I'm cooking more, which is fun. Most restaurants can serve just meat, so it's not a big deal eating out with friends. I started 2 pounds above baseline, and there's probably 3-4 pounds of water variance, so of the 7 pounds lost I've only really 'lost' maybe 1-2 pounds. This is quite typical for the first week of switching from eating like a jerk to eating clean, and I don't even know if this lost weight is fat, muscle, heartache, etc. I've definitely felt more tired than normal a couple times, but lifting and yoga have felt fine. It's hard to know how much to eat, but I haven't felt hungry all week which is great. I got my first zit in years. My sex drive is lower. It's hotter in Santa Monica, which is clearly linked to what I'm eating ;D All in, it's just not as drastic as it sounds.

Ethical Note #1: When it comes to diet, a few questions tend to get conflated: 1) What diet(s) are best for N=1 human flourishing and performance? 2) What food sources are sustainable for the human population / planet? 3) What human food consumption patterns do the most good for all life on earth? In my opinion, these questions ought to be prioritized and answered in this order.

Ethical Note #2: Factory farming is a goddamn travesty of suffering for animals. That said, I believe that an animal can be raised for slaughter, in a 'humane' (compassionate) way, and live a net positive life (that is probably also a better life than most pets). I also believe that many animals raised for slaughter wouldn't be born if we didn't eat them (see: supply and demand). So from a purely Utilitarian (and I guess Capitalist) perspective, eating more of these animals ultimately leads to more supply / more of these imperfect and net positive lives being lived, and more net happiness for them.

Ethical Note #3: My view is quite subjective and almost definitely wrong in some key aspects, as this is not an area of expertise for me. I'd love to hear your perspective!

BEST OF WHAT I CONSUMED THIS WEEK

BLOG POST - Ribbon Farm: Jonathan Livingston Corporation by Venkatesh Rao - Shot #1 at the typical corporate grind. I love Venkatesh's aliveness heuristic (plus his blog is a lot of fun and zany in general).

My highlights:

15/ To come alive through work, you have to find a deeper motivation to work on business problems than money. You have to solve for aliveness rather than money. This is not easy. Not all economic activities satisfy the necessary conditions to allow solving for aliveness.
21/ Money-motivated solutions to business problems tend to have a dull, mechanical quality to them. Even when very exciting, they drain life energy rather than renewing it. You have to go to expensive nightclubs after to try and actually recharge.
47/ Freedom lies in the privilege of being able to solve a problem for aliveness, rather than money. Anyone who has, or seeks, such freedom is a free agent. You can't always get it, but if you're not always striving for it, you're slowly dying rather than coming alive.

ARTICLE - The Guardian: How a corporate cult captures and destroys our best graduates by George Monbiot (Thank you Anthony for sharing!) - Shot #2 at the typical corporate grind. I feel similarly about big tech (the Tristan Harris stuff) and professional services firms. Yes, freedom to choose this path is important. And we can also recognize that the large incumbents have spent years honing their recruiting and retention tactics to prey on human psychological biases. My last two highlights are particularly pernicious. I know some amazing people who have become [insert professional services firm of your choice] lifers, simply because it's where they started and the default path was always easier than figuring out alternatives.

My highlights:

Those who graduate from the leading universities have more opportunity than most to find such purpose. So why do so many end up in pointless and destructive jobs? Finance, management consultancy, advertising, public relations, lobbying: these and other useless occupations consume thousands of the brightest students. To take such jobs at graduation, as many will in the next few weeks, is to amputate life close to its base.
At first they said they would do it for a year or two, “until I pay off my debts”. Soon afterwards they added: “and my mortgage”. Then it became, “I just want to make enough not to worry any more”. A few years later, “I’m doing it for my family”. Now, in middle age, they reply, “What, that? That was just a student fantasy.”
I have come to see the obscene hours some new recruits must work – sometimes 15 or 16 a day – as a form of reorientation, of brainwashing. You are deprived of the time, sleep and energy you need to see past the place into which you have been plunged. You lose your bearings, your attachments to the world you inhabited before, and become immersed in the culture that surrounds you. Two years of this and many are lost for life.
Recruitment begins with lovebombing of the kind that cults use... They persuade undergraduates that even if they don’t see themselves as consultants or bankers (few do), these jobs are stepping stones to the careers they really want... They offer security and recognition when people are most uncertain and fearful about their future... Entrapment is a refined science.
... at this vulnerable, mutable, pivotal moment, undergraduates must rely on their own wavering resolve to resist peer pressure, the herd instinct, the allure of money, flattery, prestige and security.

ARTICLE - Aeon: You’re simply not that big a deal: now isn’t that a relief? by Melissa Dahl - No raging at machines here! Finally (*phew*). Just raging at our disproportionate sense of self :D (Tricked you!) Pantheism was introduced to me via Baruch Spinoza (via Will Durant), and articles like Dahl's help me continue to process those ideas.

My highlights:

Instead of single-mindedly trying to love yourself, may I suggest a self-directed attitude that has been famously called the opposite of love: indifference.
...self-compassion, which Kristin Neff at the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 defined this way: [B]eing open to and moved by one’s own suffering, experiencing feelings of caring and kindness toward oneself, taking an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude toward one’s inadequacies and failures, and recognising that one’s own experience is part of the common human experience.
You are important, and you are worthy of love, just like we millennials were taught in school – but that’s true only because everyone is important, and everyone is worthy of love. You matter because everyone else matters.
Maybe the most compassionate attitude you can take toward yourself is to stop obsessing over yourself.

MOST FAVORITE FROM THE PAST

BLOG POST - Fuck Yes or No by Mark Manson - Rage against indifference! Mark's (and Derek Sivers') lovely heuristic is applicable in decisions well beyond dating (e.g., job, career path, road trip playlist). When you set high hurdles with strong boundaries, you can unlock more of the amazing in life - every No ideally leads to more Fuck Yes.

My highlights:

If you’re in the grey area to begin with, you’ve already lost. Let me ask again: Why would you ever be excited to be with someone who is not excited to be with you?
Establish strong personal boundaries and enforce them. Maintaining strong boundaries not only makes one more confident and attractive, but also helps to preserve one’s sanity in the long-run.
The point is: both you and the other person need to be fuck yes about something (and it must be the same thing), otherwise you’re just wasting your time.
When applying the Law of “Fuck Yes or No,” there are really only two problems one can have. The first problem is people who never feel a “Fuck Yes” for anybody they meet... Remember, it’s your job to look for something cool in everyone you meet; it’s not their job to show you. This is life, not a fucking sales convention. Learning to appreciate people you meet is a skill you cultivate.

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