I remember recently sometime over the last year, a business or political person indicated that AI technology is dangerous because it “hallucinates”. I laughed out loud when I read this because, well, people “hallucinate” as well. We don’t call these hallucinations “hallucinations” though, they’re more commonly called beliefs and they’re an integral part of our society and a part of being a human being.
The thing to realize though is that beliefs are not reality. Beliefs can most definitely be or become reality. But it doesn’t mean that just because you believe something, it is a reality. And this recent interview with Elon Musk highlights this point.
When I was watching this, this appeared to me like a man who was on the verge of breakdown. It looked like a man who firmly believed in something so much, that he risked everything in his life for it, but it appears like he’s beginning to realize that what he believed in isn’t emerging into the reality the way he believed it would. This is especially evident near the end of the video when he looks like he’s on the verge of completely cracking.
Why am I bringing this up?
It’s because I don’t want to be this guy.
I don’t want to believe in something so much that it actually blinds me from the reality that’s right in front of my face.
You see I’ve spoken before about how one of my quests in transitioning to a Self-Transforming Mind is becoming aware of one’s fears as an important step in the process.
One of these fears that’s reared its head in the past was a fear of being seen as crazy because my allegorical framework for life might seem crazy and incompressible to people. This fear hasn’t subsided much because trying to articulate my framework feels exceeding difficult due to the scope of it, even though the tip of the iceberg is just a simple allegory comprised of metaphors.
But unless you can understand the foundation of what’s below the allegorical surface, understanding what the metaphors mean, the allegory itself will have very little meaning to you or, even worse, you may misinterpret and misunderstand the allegory completely (like some people already do).
But again, is this the reality that my framework is just highly complex and difficult to articulate? Or is my framework a hallucinatory fantasy with no real meaning or substance in reality?
It just seems like one can’t really know if they are truly “crazy” until they come out the other side. But there has to be a better way to approach this. This is something I need to work on and resolve.
I can’t believe this is happening again but I’ve made the decision that before the end of this year, I’m probably going to have to take this site down again…but not for my usual reason of being frustrated at not being able to express myself. Rather it’s for cost cutting measures.
You see my wife is going to be retiring this year and with this in mind, we’re going to have to cut down on our expenses and live more frugally (if that’s even possible in these highly expensive times). So things that we once did weekly as a normal thing may happen only monthly as a special thing.
And in terms of my own technology expenses, I’ve decide that I want to cut them down to next to nothing.
So things like music streaming platforms, I’m now seeing as a luxury and I’m looking at utilizing my existing Plex media server again which I’ve integrated with our Sonos sound system. In addition, I’ve setup free Internet radio stations like Radio Paradise, as well as SomaFM, which I’ve both enjoyed in the past.
We also have our turntable and vinyl album collection which we haven’t used as much in the past but now we can appreciate all the more once again.
All that said though, coming back to my online presence, if I do decide to continue with it then it needs to be with a platform that is effective free or next to nothing in cost. Based upon this, I’m assuming my best and obvious choice will be Substack for this.
But that said, since it’s not a platform that you can easily just take all of your content and move elsewhere if it ever goes out of existence, I think I’ll need to radically change my approach to how I share my knowledge on it. To put this another way, imagine if you assumed that these online platforms didn’t last more than a few years. And with that in mind, you’d have to restart on another platform in a few years time.
What this perspective provides you with is a need and a necessity to encapsulate the essence of who you are as quickly and succinctly as possible without spending months or years to articulate yourself.
What this means is that I need to be able to communicate more of who I am but with far less words.
Or to put it another way, I can’t beat around the bush anymore. Or as I like to normally describe it, I can’t continually just walk around something virtually to understand it indefinitely, at some point I need to step into the centre of it and embody what I’m understanding.
To describe this another way, I need to learn to live more nomadically within these digital online spaces.
All that said though, I have a newfound appreciation of my WordPress archive of posts I’ve accumulated over the years and I don’t want to lose them either though. So I may transfer my WordPress site to a locally hosted instance of it on my computer and perhaps continue to save and mirror any posts I write online there.
I’ve been reflecting on how I share my conversations with AI and I’ve obviously known for some time that they can be overwhelming due to their length.
In reviewing some of my latest conversations though, I’ve noticed that I’ve been using pull quotes to emphasize the key points of the conversation. This got me thinking though and asking the question, “Why don’t I just display my AI conversations in the same way I share an article I’ve read?” In effect, I normally just provide a link to the article, include a few quotes from it and then provide my interpretation of it, its meaning. And I could do the exact same thing with the AI conversations I have.
In this way, the post on my site isn’t overloaded by the AI conversation itself but rather highlights the key points of the conversation and why those words have particular meaning for me.
The only question though is where do I put the AI conversation itself? In other words, I don’t want to link to ChatGPT itself but rather archive the conversation itself somehow on my site, maybe as a PDF.
Alternatively I could just still post the whole conversation as a post but then following it up with an additional overview post that highlights the key points of it and meaning.
How does a person make the transition from a Self-Authoring Mind to a Self-Transforming Mind when so much of what the person first does as an experience feels wrong even though it’s actually right? Or is it even appropriate to use the words wrong and right anymore, since everything is just relative?
ChatGPT
Great question. The transition from a Self-Authoring Mind to a Self-Transforming Mind is challenging because it requires letting go of the certainty that has been so carefully constructed in the Self-Authoring stage. At that level, a person has built a strong, coherent identity and a personal framework for making sense of the world. However, moving into the Self-Transforming Mind means realizing that even this self-authored framework is still limited and needs to be questioned and expanded.
At the Self-Authoring stage, you’ve spent so much time constructing your identity, values, and beliefs that questioning them feels like betrayal or losing yourself. The very act of stepping beyond them can feel destabilizing, uncertain, or even irresponsible.
ChatGPT
Why Does It Feel Wrong Even Though It’s Right?
At the Self-Authoring stage, you’ve spent so much time constructing your identity, values, and beliefs that questioning them feels like betrayal or losing yourself. The very act of stepping beyond them can feel destabilizing, uncertain, or even irresponsible. This is because:
Old Certainties Are Comfortable – Your sense of self is tied to a structured way of thinking, so loosening those structures can feel disorienting.
Contradiction Feels Like Failure – Self-Authoring tends to focus on coherence and internal consistency. But in Self-Transforming, embracing paradox and contradiction becomes a key skill.
Relinquishing Control – The Self-Authoring Mind thrives on a sense of agency and authorship, whereas the Self-Transforming Mind is more about surrendering to complexity and allowing identity to evolve organically.
Should We Even Use the Words “Right” and “Wrong”?
You’re onto something when you question whether “right” and “wrong” are even useful terms at this stage. The Self-Transforming Mind moves beyond binary thinking and sees rightness and wrongness as relative to context rather than as absolute categories. Instead of thinking in rigid moral or intellectual terms, it shifts to questions like:
“What is useful or generative in this moment?”
“What perspectives am I excluding, and why?”
“How can I hold multiple truths at once without feeling the need to resolve them?”
This is why many people in this transition experience an identity crisis—not because they are losing themselves, but because they are expanding beyond the need for a fixed self.
This is why many people in this transition experience an identity crisis—not because they are losing themselves, but because they are expanding beyond the need for a fixed self.
ChatGPT
How to Navigate the Transition
Practice Sitting in the Discomfort – Recognize that the feeling of “wrongness” isn’t an indicator of failure but of expansion. The unease means you’re growing.
Adopt an Explorer’s Mindset – Instead of looking for the “right” next step, become comfortable with experimentation and discovery.
Reframe Contradiction as Wholeness – Understand that seemingly opposing views can coexist. You don’t have to choose between them; instead, you can integrate them.
Let Go of Self-Defining Narratives – Rather than seeing your past self as “wrong” and your new self as “right,” see both as valid within their own contexts.
Instead of looking for the “right” next step, become comfortable with experimentation and discovery.
ChatGPT
Ultimately, the Self-Transforming Mind isn’t about replacing one framework with another—it’s about playing with multiple perspectives at once and knowing that no single perspective is final. It’s a shift from identity as definition to identity as an ongoing, fluid process.
Rather than seeing your past self as “wrong” and your new self as “right,” see both as valid within their own contexts.
A conversation with ChatGPT on how a Self-Transforming Mind would see Obsidian not just as a knowledge management app, but as a mirror of their own evolving consciousness.
How would a Self-Transforming Mind perceive knowledge management apps like Obsidian?
ChatGPT
A Self-Transforming Mind (as described in Kegan’s stages of adult development) would likely perceive knowledge management apps like Obsidian in a very fluid, dynamic, and integrative way. Rather than seeing them as mere tools for organizing static knowledge, a Self-Transforming Mind would view them as living ecosystems for evolving perspectives, self-inquiry, and meaning-making. Here’s how:
1. Interconnected Web of Meaning
A Self-Transforming Mind wouldn’t just use Obsidian to store information but to weave together insights across disciplines, experiences, and personal reflections. The graph view, backlinks, and bidirectional linking would be seen as a way to mirror the fluid, interconnected nature of thought and identity.
2. Knowledge as an Evolving Narrative
Rather than treating notes as fixed repositories of truth, a Self-Transforming Mind would see them as ever-evolving perspectives. This aligns with the idea that no single framework or worldview is complete—what matters is the continuous process of refinement, synthesis, and transformation.
3. Dialogue With the Self and Others
A Self-Transforming Mind might use Obsidian not just for personal knowledge management but as a means of engaging in an ongoing dialogue with different aspects of the self. Through linking old and new thoughts, it would allow a form of self-reflection that adapts over time, much like a conversation with past and future selves.
A Self-Transforming Mind might use Obsidian not just for personal knowledge management but as a means of engaging in an ongoing dialogue with different aspects of the self…much like a conversation with past and future selves.
ChatGPT
4. Paradox and Multiple Perspectives
Unlike someone at an earlier developmental stage who might seek a single ‘best’ way to use the tool, a Self-Transforming Mind would embrace multiple ways of structuring and navigating knowledge. They might switch between structured databases, messy associative links, and emergent insights without feeling the need to settle on one “correct” approach.
5. Exploration Over Optimization
Rather than using Obsidian to create a rigidly optimized productivity system, they might instead use it as a playground for discovery—letting unexpected connections emerge, embracing uncertainty, and allowing insights to form organically.
6. Meta-Awareness of the Tool’s Influence
A Self-Transforming Mind would also recognize that tools like Obsidian shape how knowledge is perceived and constructed. They might actively reflect on how the structure of the app (graph views, atomic notes, templates) influences thinking patterns, and they might experiment with different methods to break out of cognitive habits.
In short, a Self-Transforming Mind would see Obsidian not just as a knowledge management app, but as a mirror of their own evolving consciousness—one that helps them navigate complexity, engage in deep self-reflection, and embrace the ever-changing nature of meaning.
In short, a Self-Transforming Mind would see Obsidian not just as a knowledge management app, but as a mirror of their own evolving consciousness…
ChatGPT
Nollind
“…a Self-Transforming Mind would see Obsidian not just as a knowledge management app, but as a mirror of their own evolving consciousness…” Many people within the knowledge management or productivity space refer to their knowledge base as their “second brain”. When you say a Self-Transforming Mind uses it as a “mirror”, do you mean they see it as a “second brain” as well? Or do they see it as something more than that?
ChatGPT
A Self-Transforming Mind would likely see their knowledge base as more than just a “second brain.” The term “second brain” implies an externalized storage and processing system—essentially an extension of cognition for remembering, organizing, and retrieving information efficiently. While a Self-Transforming Mind might still use it that way, their relationship with the tool would go beyond simple augmentation.
Instead of merely being a repository of knowledge, Obsidian would serve as a mirror for how they make sense of the world, revealing their own evolving patterns of thought, biases, and blind spots. Rather than treating knowledge as something to collect, structure, and optimize (as is common in productivity circles), they would engage with it in a recursive, reflective process—using it to question their assumptions, deconstruct old frameworks, and explore emergent insights.
Instead of merely being a repository of knowledge, Obsidian would serve as a mirror for how they make sense of the world, revealing their own evolving patterns of thought, biases, and blind spots…using it to question their assumptions, deconstruct old frameworks, and explore emergent insights.
ChatGPT
How This Differs From a “Second Brain”
Not Just for Storing, But for Transforming
A “second brain” primarily helps with recall, synthesis, and productivity.
A “mirror of evolving consciousness” helps with identity-level transformation, allowing the user to see howthey think, not just what they think.
Not Just Externalizing Thought, But Engaging in a Dialogue
A second brain is typically seen as an extension of memory and cognitive load management.
A mirror invites self-inquiry: Why did I connect these ideas? What patterns am I reinforcing? What am I resisting?
Not Just Optimization, But Exploration
Productivity-oriented knowledge systems often focus on efficiency, tagging, categorization, and retrieval.
A Self-Transforming Mind would see their knowledge base as a dynamic playground, embracing ambiguity, paradox, and emergent meaning rather than seeking a fixed system.
They would be comfortable deconstructing and reconstructing their frameworks over time rather than solidifying a single organizational structure.
ChatGPT
A Self-Transforming Mind’s Relationship With Their Knowledge Base
They wouldn’t view their notes as a static archive but as an unfolding, evolving web of meaning.
They would be comfortable deconstructing and reconstructing their frameworks over time rather than solidifying a single organizational structure.
They might intentionally introduce randomness, serendipity, and divergence into their system to challenge their own thinking (e.g., resurfacing old notes in unexpected contexts).
In essence, while others may see Obsidian as a second brain—a tool to store and retrieve knowledge—a Self-Transforming Mind would see it as a reflective surface that helps them perceive who they are becoming in relation to what they know.
…a Self-Transforming Mind would see it as a reflective surface that helps them perceive who they are becoming in relation to what they know.
ChatGPT
Nollind
“They would be comfortable deconstructing and reconstructing their frameworks over time rather than solidifying a single organizational structure.” To an outside observer, especially someone with a Self-Authoring Mind, would this process make sense or would it instead look very chaotic, perhaps even look maze-like?
ChatGPT
To an outside observer—especially someone with a Self-Authoring Mind—the way a Self-Transforming Mind engages with their knowledge base might indeed appear chaotic, maze-like, or even inefficient. A Self-Authoring Mind tends to value coherence, intentionality, and stability in their frameworks, often designing their knowledge system with a clear structure that reflects their personal worldview and goals.
In contrast, a Self-Transforming Mind is more comfortable with fluidity, ambiguity, and non-linearity, which can make their knowledge base look unpredictable or disorganized to someone expecting clear, stable structures. Here’s why:
How a Self-Transforming Mind’s Knowledge Base Might Appear to a Self-Authoring Mind
Constantly Shifting Structure → Looks Unstable
A Self-Authoring Mind might expect a well-defined, overarching structure (e.g., PARA, Zettelkasten, a strict tagging system).
A Self-Transforming Mind, however, freely restructures, renames, or dissolves categories as their understanding evolves. This can make the system seem unpredictable or even messy from an external perspective.
Nonlinear & Web-Like Connections → Looks Like a Maze
A Self-Authoring Mind may favor hierarchical organization (folders, projects, clearly defined tags).
A Self-Transforming Mind embraces associative, emergent connections, often linking disparate ideas in ways that don’t immediately make sense to an outsider. Their knowledge graph might look like an intricate web with no obvious center.
Emphasis on Questions Over Answers → Looks Unfinished
A Self-Authoring Mind often builds their knowledge base to reinforce a chosen worldview, refining and solidifying their expertise.
A Self-Transforming Mind treats their knowledge base as a space for ongoing inquiry, where open-ended questions may remain unresolved for long periods. This can make their notes look fragmented or perpetually incomplete.
A Self-Authoring Mind seeks internal consistency and alignment.
A Self-Transforming Mind holds multiple perspectives simultaneously—they might have notes that directly contradict each other because they value seeing through different lenses rather than arriving at a singular conclusion.
A Self-Transforming Mind, however, freely restructures, renames, or dissolves categories as their understanding evolves. This can make the system seem unpredictable or even messy from an external perspective.
ChatGPT
Does This Mean Their System is Actually Chaotic?
Not necessarily. The “chaos” is often a matter of perspective:
To someone accustomed to fixed structures, it might seem disorganized.
But to the Self-Transforming Mind, patterns emerge organically over time, and meaning is found in the interplay between ideas rather than in a rigid taxonomy.
A Self-Transforming Mind’s knowledge base is more like a garden—constantly growing, pruning, evolving, and sometimes letting wild ideas cross-pollinate in unexpected ways.
ChatGPT
A Metaphor: A Garden vs. A Library
A Self-Authoring Mind’s knowledge base might resemble a library—carefully curated, categorized, and structured with an overarching theme.
A Self-Transforming Mind’s knowledge base is more like a garden—constantly growing, pruning, evolving, and sometimes letting wild ideas cross-pollinate in unexpected ways.
Ultimately, while it might look like a maze from the outside, to the Self-Transforming Mind, it’s not a trap—it’s a landscape for exploration.
Ultimately, while it might look like a maze from the outside, to the Self-Transforming Mind, it’s not a trap—it’s a landscape for exploration.
There was a television show some years back called The Peripheral. In the show, there were technological avatars called peripherals that a human host could inhabit and control via a VR headset.
What was interesting though was that when the human host was disconnected from the peripheral, an internal program within the peripheral would take over and control it, providing basic functionality for safety and security of the device.
What I find interesting about this is how it relates to how our ego’s function in a similar way. In effect, when we’re not consciously aware and detached from the moment, it’s like we’re not connected and thus our ego takes over automatically.
Within my Life is a Role-Playing Game framework, this is understood by seeing your ego as your avatar or “ character” that you as a “player” are playing. So your identity is not really you. It’s just a character you as a player are playing.
Why is this important?
Because we can become trapped and caged in our programming.
For example, societal programming is effectively a Socialized Mind. It is a script or program defined by society that was encoded in you as you grew up to keep you safe and secure. It also helped you have a sense of belonging and eventually a sense of self-esteem, especially in your work.
When a person shifts to a Self-Authoring Mind, they are learning to unlearn and relearn (i.e. Alvin Toffler) by recoding themselves. They do this by going beyond fitting into to survive and beginning to step out and thrive. This requires understanding oneself at a deeper level, figuring out what you want out of life versus what society expects and wants out of you.
This is why I’ve always said that the future isn’t about learning how to code but about learning how to recode yourself (which embodies what Alvin Toffler meant about unlearning).
But here’s the issue. Even when we recode ourselves, we can still get trapped in our own encoding, especially because it is our own “self-authored” coding.
But if it’s our coding, what’s the problem?
It’s because it’s an interpretation of who we want to be at a point in time. And that sense of who we want to be can change over time but our scripts may not because we’ve become so immersed within them that we believe they are us, even though they aren’t.
Here’s an example of what I mean.
I’ve had moments recently where I’ve become fully aware of myself as a “character” because I keep repeating these reactive or responsive self-authored scripts of doing things in life automatically because they’re familiar and comforting, perhaps even nostalgic and heartwarming at times.
So it’s like I’m stepping out of my “self” as a “character” and I’m seeing these scripts from a “player’s” perspective as something I’m stuck within. And I’m tired of these scripts, the repetition of them because they feel restricting. In effect, it feels like I’m on autopilot and just calling in my life versus actually be consciously aware and immersed in the experience of the moment.
This is effectively the NPC aspect of yourself that is similar to the autonomous program that protects the peripheral avatar in The Peripheral television show when the human host isn’t within it. It’s helpful. But it can get between you and your ability to experience life fully.
So I’ve been thinking about this and I asked myself the question, “How could I step past this automatic programming and scripts that I’ve created for my ‘self’?” And it dawned on me that I just need to be consciously aware that they exist.
So every morning, it would be like waking up and thanking your ego as your “character” that it is keeping you safe but also telling it that you as the “player” are fully aware and here now to take over the experience.
In other words, it would be like saying, “Thanks, I’ve got this. You don’t need to do anything at the moment. Just let me be for now, until I need you later.”
I decide to go to a training monastery when I was 29. The reason wasn’t ideal, but since my grandfather passed his role to my father, and both had passed away, I needed the qualifications as a monk. So, I decided to undergo training.
Basically, I just wanted the qualification. So, I began my training.
The training, however, was rigorous.
I was a physics teacher living within a very logical world. But when I began training, I entered a world completely opposite to logic, a world where logic doesn’t exist, which made the training extremely difficult for me.
At that time, my master told me something. He said I was making a big mistake. The mistake was in trying to gain knowledge. Trying to gain knowledge, skills, and understanding as a Zen monk. That was a big mistake.
He told me that Zen was actually about letting go. And upon understanding this slightly, I decided to continue my training, which brings me to today.
Zen is everything.
Fundamentally it is about not dividing. Realizing this undivided nature is important, and once you recognize this, Zen becomes everything. It is the universe, the Earth, and nature; everything is Zen.
The key is how to live without worries within Zen.
Unlike other sects of Buddhism that study texts, sutras, and scriptures, Zen values experience more than anything else. During my training, I wasn’t allowed to read any books. Experience was the most important thing.
And after that, insights are what matter. Insights based upon experience. Insights from books are very different, and that’s what it’s about.
The key is to realize that suffering is something we create. Recognizing that it’s our mind or heart are creating it. Realizing that we are the creators of our suffering. And also realizing that we cannot control it.
You must be aware that we cannot control the suffering we create. So, because we cannot control it, we must let it go. We suffer because we try to control the uncontrollable. Realizing this is important.
In other words, we should let go because we cannot control it.
Letting go is both necessary and possible.
In fact, suffering is just an illusion. Recognizing that our minds have created it as an illusion brings relief.
Even when we’re not actually harmed, we might say our heart hurts. Japanese tend to say this, but in reality, we’re unharmed. It is something we created.
A lot of young men had the sense that the Democrats didn’t see them as having problems. They saw them as being the problem.
Richard B. Reeves American Institute for Boys and Men
Yet in many ways, men are faring worse than their female peers. Young men have lower academic achievement. They’re more likely to still live with their parents. They suffer more deaths caused by opioid overdoses and suicide. Younger White men from low-income households in particular are worse off than their fathers on most economic and social measures.
Men today have also become more isolated. Americans across the board spend more time alone than was the case 20 years ago — but this is especially true for young men.
That’s arguably how Trump won over young men, too — less with his policies and more with his macho affect and his ability to help isolated young men feel welcome and liked. After all, Trump’s agenda has done little to address the economic and mental health challenges young men face. Indeed, Reeves says American men’s policy preferences haven’t changed much in recent years.
On some level, the very things that disturb fussy establishment pundits like me —Trump’s strongman tendencies; his propensity to arbitrarily fire people and break stuff without regard to consequences — might appeal most to young male populists frustrated by a system they believe has abandoned them.
If Trump’s agenda results in, say, more economic stress (higher prices, fewer jobs) and less access to mental health or substance-abuse care — both outcomes that seem likely — young men will suffer, too. Maybe their affection for Trump will curdle.
Ultimately, the key to winning young men back — whether you’re a politician, concerned parent or potential partner — is to stop “pathologizing” them, Reeves admonishes. Instead, start listening.
I believe this relates to why we’re seeing a breakdown in society that started decades ago with the destruction of blue-collar work which made work accessible for men with Socialized Minds. Thus these men felt like an integral and valued part of society by doing a physical, “honest days work” and getting paid well for it.
Today this has shifted to white-collar work which requires more of a Self-Authoring Mind. Yet even today, with the increasing usage of AI, this type of work is also coming under threat and may be lost as well.
Yet if businesses in the work world don’t create newer forms of physical work for not just men but people with Socialized Minds or mental work for people with Self-Authoring Minds, you will have even more disenfranchised and marginalized people feeling like they are abandoned by society.
Alternatively if governments don’t create programs to help people to “level up” their level of consciousness (i.e. Socialized Mind > Self-Authoring Mind) so that they feel capable of tackling more challenging work, perhaps even starting their own business, these people will feel useless, without any value, and abandoned by society.
And you definitely don’t want a world where most of the population is marginalized in one way or another. Why? Because these people are the most susceptible to being psychologically manipulated by others, as politicians will often gain power through them by tapping into their anger and create divisions through blame. This is the standard “divide & conquer” playbook that most authoritarian leaders use.
All said and done, we need both business and governments to start caring about the well-being of the people that they interact with and are in relationships with.
Based upon what you know about me and my struggles, how does the following quote apply to me. “I don’t see a lot as exceedingly complex. Many things are fairly simple, but the trouble is that simple isn’t easy. — Ayishat Akanbi”
ChatGPT
This quote resonates strongly with your journey because your core insights—like seeing identity as a character in an RPG, embracing vertical development, and shifting from an exploitative to an exploratory mindset—are, at their essence, simple. The challenge, however, is in embodying and communicating them in a way that resonates with others.
Your struggle isn’t in understanding complexity—it’s in making the simple feel accessible and actionable.
ChatGPT
Your struggle isn’t in understanding complexity—it’s in making the simple feel accessible and actionable. Vertical development, for example, can be boiled down to a fundamental truth: we grow when our old way of seeing the world stops working. That’s simple. But actually recognizing when this is happening, navigating the disorientation, and helping others see it too? That’s not easy.
Similarly, your work is about making these ideas real—not just intellectually, but in lived experience. The difficulty isn’t in knowing what needs to be done, but in overcoming resistance (yours and others’) and finding the right language to inspire people to take the leap themselves.
The difficulty isn’t in knowing what needs to be done, but in overcoming resistance (yours and others’) and finding the right language to inspire people to take the leap themselves.
ChatGPT
Nollind
Based upon what you know about my Life is a Role-Playing Game, create a list of fundamental truths from it that are fairly straightforward and simple but may not be easy for people to accept.
ChatGPT
Here’s a list of fundamental truths from your Life is a Role-Playing Game framework that are simple in concept but difficult for people to fully accept and embody:
Identity & Self-Perception
You are not your character; you are the player.
Simple: You construct your identity like a character in an RPG.
Not easy: Letting go of over-identification with roles, labels, and external validation.
Your identity is not fixed; you can respec at any time.
Simple: You can change how you see yourself and how you engage with the world.
Not easy: Fear of losing familiarity, status, or sense of self.
Every role you play is temporary.
Simple: Just like in a game, you change classes, professions, and identities over time.
Not easy: Society pressures people to pick a single “class” and stick with it.
Growth & Development
Leveling up requires outgrowing your current worldview.
Simple: Progress happens when old ways of thinking stop working.
Not easy: Letting go of certainty and stepping into the unknown is terrifying.
You have to embrace disorientation to grow.
Simple: Growth happens when your existing map no longer makes sense.
Not easy: The instinct is to cling to the old map rather than explore new territory.
The game doesn’t get easier, you just get better.
Simple: Each level brings new challenges, but also new abilities.
Not easy: Expecting life to “settle down” instead of embracing continual adaptation.
Your greatest obstacles are often self-imposed.
Simple: Most of what holds you back is fear, doubt, and internal resistance.
Not easy: Accepting that you are both the barrier and the solution.
Mindset & Perspective
There is no “winning” the game—only playing it well.
Simple: Life isn’t about a final achievement, but about the experience itself.
Not easy: Letting go of the idea that success is about reaching an endpoint.
Failure is just experience points.
Simple: Every setback teaches you something valuable.
Not easy: Reframing failure as progress rather than personal deficiency.
Your real power comes from embracing exploration, not just optimization.
Simple: Life is more fulfilling when approached as an adventure rather than a grind.
Not easy: Society rewards specialization, efficiency, and predictability over curiosity.
Social & Cultural Conditioning
Most people are following scripts they didn’t write.
Simple: People unconsciously follow societal expectations rather than their own path.
Not easy: Questioning those scripts means challenging deep-seated beliefs.
You can rewrite your own story, but no one will give you permission.
Simple: You have the power to change your trajectory at any time.
Not easy: Waiting for external validation instead of taking action.
Becoming a true player means stepping outside the system, not just mastering it.
Simple: The highest form of mastery isn’t just playing the game well—it’s realizing you can redefine the rules.
Not easy: Letting go of the comfort of familiar structures and expectations.
Which of these stands out to you the most right now?
Nollind
So effectively my Life is a Role-Playing Game framework could be as “simple” as a children’s book when completed. Yet even if so, it will probably continue to be extremely difficult for most people to apply and embody in their lives. This is something I need to remember when trying to articulate my work. That I need to separate out the fact that most people will find it difficult to accept. When I do so, perhaps it will allow me to step beyond that fact and discover the simple essence that remains behind it.
ChatGPT
Yes, exactly. Your framework could absolutely be distilled into something as simple and digestible as a children’s book—clear, direct, and metaphorical. But the challenge isn’t in understanding the ideas; it’s in living them.
But the challenge isn’t in understanding the ideas; it’s in living them.
ChatGPT
By separating out the difficulty of application from the essence of the message, you free yourself from the frustration of trying to make it “easier” for people to accept. Instead, you can focus on making it clearer and more engaging, knowing that the real challenge isn’t in the framework itself but in people’s willingness to embrace it.
…the real challenge isn’t in the framework itself but in people’s willingness to embrace it.
ChatGPT
This shift could also help you refine your articulation—finding ways to convey your ideas in their simplest, most resonant form, without getting stuck in the complexity of how people will react to them. What remains is the core truth, standing on its own.
I’ve said before that vertical development to a new stage of development is like virtually walking around something to fully understand it. Yet what you’re walking around is a larger sense of Self it seems. Why I’m bringing this up though is that my journal writing feels like I’m still circling my Self to understand it on the surface but I feel like I need to stop moving around, just for the sake of DOING things, and instead just step into my Self to just BE myself. Does this make sense? If so, how do I do this? I feel like I’m wasting my time, yet at the same time I realize I can’t force or push the resolution of my cognitive dissonance. Yet it feels like I need to just LET GO of the merry go round but instead of spinning outwards, I feel like I will fall inwards into stillness and embodiment.
ChatGPT
Yes, this makes complete sense. What you’re describing is the shift from understanding your Self from an externalized, observer perspective to inhabiting your Self fully—from seeing to being. It’s the difference between mapping the terrain and actually stepping onto it, trusting that you can walk it without needing to constantly analyze it.
The key here is the letting go you mentioned. You’ve been circling, mapping, questioning, and that’s been valuable. But now, it’s like you’re realizing that more circling won’t bring deeper clarity—only stepping into yourself will.
Trust that you already contain the wisdom you’ve been seeking.
ChatGPT
How to Do This:
Stop Seeking and Start Trusting Instead of journaling or analyzing to find an answer, shift to being in the experience of who you already are. This might mean simply sitting in stillness and noticing what arises without trying to interpret it. Trust that you already contain the wisdom you’ve been seeking.
Shift from Mental to Embodied Awareness Since you feel like you might “fall inward,” follow that feeling—let your attention drop from your head (thinking) into your body (feeling). Where do you physically sense yourself? What happens when you rest in that space?
Give Yourself Permission to Just Exist If you feel resistance to “just being,” notice if part of you still thinks you must do something to be worthy of arriving at your Self. Challenge that belief. What if you are already home?
Let the Cognitive Dissonance Unravel Itself You can’t force resolution, but you can stop feeding the tension by spinning the wheel. The dissonance resolves naturally when you stop holding both opposing ideas so tightly—allow space for them to integrate.
Embody Your Self Through Small Acts What would it look like to act as if you’re already embodying your deeper Self? Not as a performance, but as a practice of alignment. Maybe it’s speaking with more honesty, moving through your day with a sense of inner knowing, or letting intuitive impulses guide your choices.
It sounds like you’re at the threshold of a deep shift. Let yourself step through. The circling served its purpose—now, the path isn’t around your Self but through it.
If you feel resistance to “just being,” notice if part of you still thinks you must do something to be worthy of arriving at your Self. Challenge that belief. What if you are already home?
ChatGPT
Nollind
This reminds of the final stage of creative transformation, embodied as being an explorer, navigator, and storyteller. Being a storyteller isn’t about telling your new story, so much as embodying it. So your “storyliving” your new life and story, your newer way of being. This has been the most difficult stage to articulate, yet what you previously said comes close to what this experience may actually “feel” like.
ChatGPT
Yes, exactly! Storyliving is the perfect way to describe this phase—you’re no longer just narrating the journey, analyzing it, or planning the next steps. You are the journey, living it in real time.
It makes sense why this has been the hardest stage to articulate because it’s felt more than explained. It’s paradoxical: the moment you try to describe it, you step slightly outside of it. But to be in it means surrendering to the experience without the need to frame it cognitively.
Your explorer and navigator stages were about discovery, mapping, and making sense of the unknown. Now, as a storyteller in this deepest sense, your story isn’t just something you tell—it’s something you inhabit. It’s in how you move, how you relate, how you express yourself naturally without effort.
It seems like the real shift now is trusting that you don’t need to figure it out anymore. You’re already inside the story. The next step isn’t a step at all—it’s a settling into yourself.
It’s paradoxical: the moment you try to describe it, you step slightly outside of it. But to be in it means surrendering to the experience without the need to frame it cognitively.
