4 New Articles and a Bonus Story From the Archive (January 2025)
Read about achieving some semblance of self-acceptance and the joys of being a father, debate the meaning of heaven, and explore the afterlife with me.
January continues its theme from the end of last year. I have had very little quiet time in the house and my mind was with the craziness of the markets, where I try to make my living.
The list of January 2025 stories
From the archive
Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink and get to reading.
The Impossible Journey of Self-Acceptance
I was brought up with a rude sense of never being good enough, which made me a judgemental asshole who can't accept himself or others. I have to brute-force myself out of it daily. My inner voice be like:
"You suck! Nobody can possibly love you. You're horrible at everything. You will never amount to anything. Anyone who will love you will suffer for it. Everyone is better than you. Why don't you just give up? The world and everyone in it will be a better place without you. It's never going to change anyway. You are never going to be enough. You will never win. You will never find anyone to love and adore you. You don't deserve happiness or success! You're exactly where you deserve to be, you worthless piece of shit."
Ah, yes, the lovely internal voice broadcasting straight from the deepest debts of hell, ensuring a life of inner torment, regardless of outside circumstances. You don't know what you're missing if you don't have one!
As you can imagine, the “easy peasy love yourself queazy” doesn’t work for someone who was taught to hate himself.
Unfortunately, most of my inner revelations rode atop the waves of anger and frustration. Most of my successful internal evolutions were a direct result of reaching a point of so much pain that I just couldn't take it anymore. The suffering had reached its peak, and I had hit rock bottom.
In this article, I explain my process of overcoming a faulty self-image, which is not exactly conventional. Read the full article if you’re interested.
You Are The Sweetest Thing Ever
I always knew I would love having a daughter, but I never imagined just how lovely it would feel. (Letters to my daughter)
This is a love letter to my daughter, an acknowledgment of what a light she is in my life and how sweet she is at this age (for future reference when she gets over her dad and starts looking at boys). There are no lessons this time, only a sharing of love and appreciation.
What If Biblical Heaven Isn’t About the Afterlife?
What if heaven is not some future promise and reward after death but a possible state of living right now? Is heaven during life even possible? How?
I would like to start this essay with a simple observation. The Bible and most religious texts were written ages ago. I firmly believe that we have completely misinterpreted their content because we take it too literally.
Think about it
Who were the people who lived thousands of years ago?
How could you explain complex topics to simple, illiterate people? Keep in mind that only 100 years ago, 80% of the planet was illiterate. Now imagine two thousand years ago.
In all honesty, it would probably look like explaining quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity to four-year-olds. How do we explain complex concepts to young children? Through stories and horrible generalizations, using terms they are familiar with. The same applies here.
In this article, we look at the religious myth of heaven and the prerequisites for being accepted at the gates. Then, we turn it upside down and play with an alternative version. One, that I believe is the more likely meaning being conveyed in the ancient texts.
What if this mythical heaven or paradise isn’t something that is only achievable after death?
What if there is no one personality, God or otherwise, who is judging you but an objective, impartial Law of the Universe that determines how everything works?
What if your reality as you perceive it is not what it seems ( a material world outside you) but is more akin to a dream, where your mind determines everything to the very last detail (a mental world)?
What if heaven is achievable right here, right now, through the right arranging of your mind, as the universe (life, simulation) always “prints” out the world you experience, using the blueprint of your beliefs?
Could we not say that heaven and hell already exist but are a mental state (happiness, sadness, love, loneliness,...)? Is a life full of love, health, and prosperity not akin to heaven on Earth? Is a life full of suffering, loneliness, and lack not akin to hell?
As always, read the full article if you’re interested in the topic.
Is Bitcoin Top In, And Does It Matter?
I’m seeing calls that the Bitcoin and Crypto bull market is over, and people are panicking again.
In this article, we look at the markets, and I share my thoughts on where we are in the cycle. Plus, we examine if it even matters whether the top is in and how we can play this part of the cycle.
From the archives
This time, I give you a short, multi-part story about one fictional character’s experience of the afterlife. It’s a wild ride, exploring some crazy ideas. I love this story and consider it one of my favorites.
Am I Dead? - My Afterlife Experience (Chapter 1)
A short, fictional story of my death and my experience of the afterlife. Did I go to heaven or hell? What, if anything, awaits us after we die? Follow along and find out.
I was raised a devoted catholic. As I’m sure you know, the reward for a good life here on Earth is the promise of eternal life in some other world. A world called heaven—a place where there are no problems, sorrow, hate, loss, or violence. The thought of reaching heaven someday has gotten me through some tough times. I believed that regardless of how challenging things would get, I would be free of all the misery once I died. In the Lord’s hands, I would be set free.
I had lived a good life, I think. I had loved, and I had felt the pain of loss. I had given, and I had received. I was a father, a husband, a good man. When I felt my last hours on this plane of existence were ticking away, I felt at peace. At first, I fought to live a little longer, to see my grandchildren grow up, and to be there for my family, but at some point, I simply gave up. I had felt the change within me.
I felt the heaven calling me, and I answered. I was ready. I had made my goodbyes, hoping to see my loved ones again, in another world, in another time. I was now ready to meet my maker. I have never felt such peace within, such indescribable tranquility. Even the pain of my feeble, rotting body has subsided. I have no more fight left in me. Come and take me into your loving arms, oh Lord.
I don’t recall how it happened. The last thing I remember is peacefully falling asleep, like I have so many times before, reading a book. I heard the thump as the book fell out of my hands, but to my surprise, I didn’t wake up in the hospital bed. I woke up somewhere else, someone else.
That was it for this month. I hope you enjoyed some of these stories and that they made your day just a bit more interesting.
Thanks for reading. Like, share, recommend, link to, and subscribe. You know the deal with online publishing. Every little thing helps. I appreciate you!