What you give your attention to is what will manifest into reality. Hyper vigilance is not a psychologically tenable position to hold over any long period of time. Recorded March 10th, 2021.

Ep 63: Confusion, Attention, and Satire

Your future is a fractal of infinite infinities. The creative force that you have as a divine conscious being, is to purchase reality with your attention.

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” - Viktor Frankl

Ep 99: Infinite Infinities

The truth is something like every plan played out to conclusion. And in the end, Love wins, and all is redeemed.

Show Notes:
1:42 - Control
3:45 - Poker
10:39 - Self-love
17:20 - Life story
25:56 - Truth
36:33 - Course changes
39:20 - Sacrifice
42:22 - Ultimate truth
49:45 - Objective truth
57:00 - Evolutionary experience
1:01:36 - Relational truth
1:08:02 - Legacy

Links to resources:
Lex Fridman Podcast | Daniel Negreanu  https://lexfridman.com/daniel-negreanu/
Jonathan Shedler | Twitter https://twitter.com/JonathanShedler

Ep 134: Everything is pretend, until it’s not

Forgiveness, like love, is both a feeling and a choice, and neither the feeling or the choice must come first. The feeling emerges from the choice or a choice can be inspired by a feeling. 

Show notes:
1:30 - Intro
2:38 - Forgiveness
6:25 - Love
9:12 - Trust
12:15 - Actions
16:22 - Emotional abuse
19:30 - Self-love
22:05 - Existence
26:05 - Creation
31:25 - New relationships
36:18 - 80/20 rule
39:09 - Milestones
42:51 - Progression
45:15 - Time and place
48:38 - Sacrifice
51:20 - Relativity
54:48 - Risk vs. benefit
58:50 - Impact

Links to resources:
Mumford & Sons https://www.mumfordandsons.com/
The Gulag Archipelago https://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Experiment-Investigation/dp/0813332893

Ep 135: As if saying the words will help me know how

You have to discover your values. It isn’t as though you create them. You don’t define them out of pure will and thin air. You discover them. And if you remove people’s ability to search then you remove their ability to discover and create.

Show Notes:
3:00 - Intro
5:48 - Convergence
9:49 - Manifestation
13:45 - Belief
16:50 - Monetary velocity
20:00 - Value
27:38 - Discovery
29:11 - Elections
34:15 - Ignorance
38:58 - Expansion
41:54 - Importance
48:05 - Appreciation
52:23 - Sacrifice
55:30 - Judgment
1:01:35 - Truth

Links to resources:
Elon Musk Buys Twitter https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63402338
Austin Powers Goldmember | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295178/
Liar Liar | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119528/
Kai Lenny | Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kai_lenny/
Daniel Lanois https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lanois 
Bret Weinstein | DarkHorse Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521
Eric Weinstein | The Portal Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-portal/id1469999563
C.S. Lewis Quotes | The Four Loves https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/14816053-the-four-loves

Ep 136: Say what you have to say

Conversation helps you figure out what you think about things. Often you don’t know what you think about things until you attempt to articulate them. When we talk, It isn’t as though we have a set of knowledge that we’re simply passing back and forth, the whole process of discourse is revelatory.

Ep 143: The revelatory nature of discourse

Pick something that you could do that you would do; that’s how we started this podcast. We made a decision that this was important to us, and then we made it our reality.

In this episode, we talk about…
0:35 - Michael’s toilet
3:02 - Dripping faucets
8:29 - Practice
12:10 - Identifying interests
15:43 - Cycles
20:45 - Future accomplishments
24:55 - Truth and desire
29:38 - Hoarders
37:40 - Death and rebirth
43:07 - Cognitive power
46:18 - Self-model
48:43 - What if…?
52:49 - True values
55:44 - Decision making
59:30 - Time to admit
1:01:06 - Ideas
1:05:00 - Gifts

References:
Matt McCloskey | Twitter https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael Vaclav | Twitter https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance | Book https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry-ebook/dp/B0026772N8
Tenet | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723592/
Chef | Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/

Ep 144: Divergence and Convergence

Matt loses his job. We discuss the darkness (and lie) of failure, how our creative consciousness has the ability to switch perspectives, for better or worse.

Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

References:
Hunter Gatherers Guide to the 21st Century: https://www.amazon.com/A-HUNTER-GATHERERS-GUIDE-21ST-CE/dp/1800750943/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1677119606&sr=8-1
Darkhorse Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521
Screwtape Letters: https://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-C-S-Lewis/dp/0020867409/ref=sr_1_9?crid=9J1ZLBEH2DI6&keywords=screwtape+letters&qid=1677119673&sprefix=screwtape+letters%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-9
Jordan Peterson on failure and aiming: https://youtu.be/ZwGDnSWmqhM

Ep 149: Hello darkness my old friend

Jan 6, Covid lab leak, the proxy war with Russia, unidentified flying objects, and fatherhood after divorce. Gaslighting seems to be all around us, and demoralizing those who care to pay attention. Perhaps in relationship to the truth, we are all estranged fathers.

[https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Crisis-Boys-Struggling-About/dp/1948836130/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678328981&sr=8-1](The Boy Crisis) - Warren Farrell
[https://www.amazon.com/Irreversible-Damage-Transgender-Seducing-Daughters/dp/168451228X/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgaGgBhC8ARIsAAAyLfFWCfFqO91EvfdLjDJIkf4hdOKaxDYENgVfucaeACxI0eSKWdauhhgaAo9SEALw_wcB&hvadid=477525236358&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028315&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8309418566870990920&hvtargid=kwd-1033150246705&hydadcr=22592_11320428&keywords=irreversible+damage+transgender&qid=1678329084&sr=8-1](Abigail Shrier) - Irreversible Damage
[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521?i=1000602784236](Dark horse podcast #164) - What’s the fundamental purpose of civilization?

Ep 151: The demoralization of gaslighting

This week our friend and musician Andy Davis joins us to discuss art, artificial intelligence, vision and transcendence.

Andy Davis - http://www.andydavisonline.com

Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 153: Art and AI with Andy Davis

Easter has always been curious to me. What is the meaning of this story? On it’s surface it seems almost benign. It has never carried the same weight of other holidays. Even our imagery around it is passive and confusing. Pastels, eggs, a bunny. Yet it is the single day that differentiates the Jews from the Christians, and informs the basis of the entire western modern culture.

We explore the story of Easter, and in particular the part of the story in which man kills god.

Watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChcLMXiaHcjfXHAwLxPzD8g

Matt’s Essay on Easter:
https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/easter-we-killed-god

Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

The Origins and History of Consciousness (Erich Neumann) - https://www.amazon.com/Origins-History-Consciousness-Mythos-Princeton/dp/0691163596
The Gulag Archipelago (Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1784871516/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jordanbpetery-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1784871516&linkId=06531289f54f6554dab9b39c1bb2e6d5

Ep 155: Easter - we killed God, but God rose again

I'll be honest, we struggled to make our point clearly in this episode. Here's what AI says we talked about: Michael and Matt discuss the importance of self-awareness and growth in individuals, families, and communities. They believe that striving to improve oneself and acknowledging one's potential is essential for creating a better world. Michael expresses his hope that this mindset can spread throughout the country, leading to positive changes on a larger scale. Overall, they emphasize the power of love and the importance of trying and learning from failures

Watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify: https://youtu.be/SNTxlh66x84

Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 156: How do you measure who you could be?

Matt's father, Michael T McCloskey, passed away without warning on April 18th, 2023. In this episode we discuss fatherhood, death, suffering, and play selections from episode 2, which Michael McCloskey was on.

Read Matt's eulogy for his father on his substack: https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/a-good-man

Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey
Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav
Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 157: The Death of a Father

What does it mean to be in proper relationship to the things that you want, and how does discomfort announce areas in your life where there is an opportunity for growth?

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 162: Need, Desire, and Growth

A conversation about the unbelievable likelihood of a Biden v. Trump rematch, turns toward the promise of the future, the risk of hope, and the sadness of foregoing difficulty rather than doing things we like.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 163: The best is being kept from us

Everything interesting that happens in life is downstream of something that we want. The more aware we are of what we want, the more of what we want we get. We discuss the role of luck in our outcomes, and how we can beat luck because we can respond to it.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 164: Everything is downstream of what you want

Just show up. Get your body there, things will work out.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 165: Just Show Up

We discuss the new year, the information bubbles we live in, and ask what we want to choose to focus on in the midst of the forces that desire our attention. This leads to a conversation about the necessity of death, and the life that deaths realization inspires.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 179: Learning to Die, Learning to Live

“The line between good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart.”
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 180: The line between good and evil

Like Ted Lasso, Viktor Frankl, and Joseph with his coat of many colors, your attitude has the power to transform the worst circumstances into unimaginable goodness.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 181: Attitude… what is it good for?

By way of Good Will Hunting, C.S. Lewis, and 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, we explore what might be possible with the right orientation.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 182: A g’damn white unicorn with wings!

What are you responsible for? You might have your responsibility assigned to you, and yet you may transform yourself and the world by taking responsibility for something out of your own desire, and your own personality.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 183: Everything the light touches

From the structures of a relationship to the games that we play, how do we discover and use rules for better or for worse. When done well, a script can be flipped, and a life can be transformed.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 184: Old men should be explorers

"Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become... What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task."

- Viktor Frankl

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 185: Open the churches and close the bars

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear!”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 186: Be open to the tension

We celebrate the birth of Matt's daughter, Eletta Claire. 

You came like a sure fire, with unpredictable timing, unstoppable intent, and precise aim. You joined us with a calm precision entering space and time, relaxed, as if arriving pre-curtain.
Eletta - Truth - Veritas
If that is your banner, what is there to fear?
You are the boundary between anticipation and completion.
I look forward to applauding your curtain draw.
Love, 
Dad

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 187: Verity, Truth, Footloose & Free

Life can be at once wonderful and frustrating, full of joy and full of war. What are we to make of all of that, and how are we to live? We suggest that the answer has something to do with faith.

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 188: In Good Faith

Inflation sucks, bitcoin is the answer.

Links referenced in the show:
Sovereign Threads - http://sovereignthreads.shop
Broken Money - Lyn Alden - https://a.co/d/dgZ7yPh
The Hidden Cost of Money - https://a.co/d/66xAsrE
The Bitcoin Standard - https://a.co/d/36kniqY
Bitcoin is Time - https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 189: Bitcoin Is Hope

Truth, fact, science, religion. We're all bothered. What is ending, and what have we missed in our arrogance?

SOI on relationship - https://on.soundcloud.com/uNyo7eavFUow3LwU8
SOI on objectivity - https://on.soundcloud.com/ksCqptaSiUW9sVxG7  
Veritasium The man who killed millions and saved billions- https://youtu.be/QQkmJI63ykI?si=4ZWPbiPekeah9oPr
Sovereign Goods - http://sovereignthreads.shop/
All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey
All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Ep 190: We're coming to the end of something

This episode is based around a discussion Brett Weinstein and Sam Harris had about free will on Brett's podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bret-weinstein-darkhorse-podcast/id1471581521?i=1000459815266

The breakdown in this podcast on free will is really good.  I feel like they take it to the logical conclusions in which they decide what to believe.  I don’t know if this is the right words.  But Sam really shows that what he believes is impractical and he tries to get out of it by referencing our psychology as experiencing something like free will but it’s not really.  Brett deftly points out that if there is no free will then the conversation and all of Sam’s points are pointless.  Brett does agree that it is hard to get around determinism and almost says we have to accept free will no matter how limited it is.  I think Brett would argue more on how much freewill we have or assume to have than that it is a completely deterministic reality.  Brett mostly see the problems of a fully deterministic perspective and how impractical it is.


Paul Vanderclay response:
https://youtu.be/5dm7lTDdBOg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yIjoIy3Fk  Talk about Manifest image and Scientific image (Wilfrid Sellars)

Sam Harris, Ben Shapiro, and Eric Weinstein (free will)
https://youtu.be/jzXePwgeIBI

Daniel Bonevac - Manifest and Scientific Images
https://youtu.be/aVoWTnpF5ew

Sam’s Argument - Free Will
https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B007GCYUX8&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006

45 min def of free will
brain scans show that the decision is made ms before we know we made a decision.
Assumptions of free will. Could have behaved differently. We are the conscious source of our thoughts

Benjamin Libet
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet
11:10 imagine a perfect device. What?
At 14 minutes he mentions voluntary and involuntary and that this does not really matter
We are observers

Free Wiil - Sam's website April 5, 2012
https://samharris.org/free-will-and-free-will/

Sam Harris and Richard Lang

Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are mutually compatible and that it is possible to believe in both without being logically inconsistent.[1] Compatibilists believe freedom can be present or absent in situations for reasons that have nothing to do with metaphysics.[2] They say causal determinism does not exclude the truth of possible future outcomes.[3]

Ep 14: Free Will and Meaning / Brett Weinstein, Sam Harris discussion (Part 1)

A podcast by Matt McCloskey and Michael Vaclav

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