So, how will the Great Evil finally be defeated? How will the heroes possibly prevail, as Hell gets unleashed on Earth? Dustin! One more drum roll, please…….. My best guess is that Vecna is going to rebel at a key moment, acting on some deeply buried vestige of his humanity which has retained a tiny…
129) Stranger Things, Part 3: The Master of Puppets
The true villain of Stranger Things isn’t Vecna, obviously. The Upside Down already existed when Henry fell into it, and he was initially terrified, thinking that he was dying. However, he was transformed into Vecna. Why? Presumably because he was already a super-powerful psychic dude, and he was psychotic, and he was willing to offer…
128) Stranger Things, Part 2: Eleven’s real “papa”
***SPOILER ALERT*** This contains mad spoilers for Stranger Things. If you haven’t watched it, don’t read this! * * * * * One of the enduring mysteries of the show is, WHO is Eleven’s true “papa”? Well….(Dustin! Drum roll please…..) ——— I think it’s Henry AKA Vecna AKA 001. I know, icky icky icky,…
127) Stranger Things, Part 1: I am finally cool (Plus, some Season 5 plot predictions)
I am finally cool. It took half a century, and I’m sure my newfound status as cool likely only extends to two people on the planet, but hey, I have finally joined the ranks. What a feeling! How did I attain this exalted status? Well, the other day, I was hanging with my kids, and…
126) All Cops Are Not (Necessarily) Bastards: The Inescapability of Hypocrisy for Inherently Flawed and Limited Humans
Not long ago (post #122), I wrote how “All Cops Are Bastards”, and I freely admit, a lot of well-earned emotional energy went into that. Well-earned on the part of cops, that is, in the sense that the emotional unhealthiness of several police officers, has played a huge, profound, and long-term role in my life,…
125) If I Could Write a Poem
I want to write a poem about beauty and love and laughter and kindness and inspiration and heroes, about Grandma’s hands, and Grandpa’s chuckles, and the smell of the dog I had as a child and the sweet tartness of apples and the purring pleasure of an orgasm and snowflakes sparkling in sunlight and those…
124) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 10: Finding out who you really are: Rational self-analysis
The predominant workhorse of the psychological healing world is a family of therapeutic practices and exercises centered on what I call “rational self-analysis”, or more colloquially, finding out “who you really are”. This journey towards “authenticity” is central to most forms of talk therapy, and what most people likely think of when they think of…
123) Arm the kids. (Sort of.)
So after talking about school shootings with my kids, we are all wondering — why not teach kids & teachers to plan ambushes in their classrooms? Just like in, say, a roleplaying game; teach them to plan ahead, know how to fight, have strategies, and when the shit goes down, prepare to kick ass. Sure,…
122) All cops are bastards: School shootings, the police, and taking back our society
I shared this on Facebook this morning — Now, we are told that the police are “to serve and protect”. That is, to serve and protect us, the public. My experience has repeatedly shown me this is not true. The police exist to serve and protect CAPITAL. And time and time again, when the interests…
121) When you feel you’ve been turned into a newt
“Waking up this morning, I smile;24 brand new hours lay before me;I vow to live fully each moment,And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” — morning gatha; Thich Nhat Hanh * * * * * So, I started this practice about 20 years ago, after reading one of TNH’s books. The…
120) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 9: Healing, and the Doctrine of Original Awesomeness
The essence of all three approaches to healing that I am planning to cover is the same. It is rooted in what I have previously called the Doctrine of Original Awesomeness (https://dandolderman.org/2020/09/22/88-jordan-peterson-part-7-psychology-at-the-ending-of-the-world-subsection-2-the-doctrine-of-original-awesomeness/). This, in short, is the basic starting point of Humanism, and is increasingly recognized within the bio-psycho-social sciences as “the way we are”.…
119) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 8: Oops, I fucked up
I made a mistake in my last post, and it has caused me some consternation. More accurately — I made a mistake in my last post, and it has activated a set of sub-routines in my consciousness-program, or “parts of my self”, that function to erase me from existence. Yikes. What was this oh-so-terrible mistake? …
118) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 7: Resistance, the sneaky bastard
In this series on healing, we have been discussing the “problem” of resistance, and noting how people’s deeply internalized self-feelings and beliefs can be so strong, so reactive, so “resistive” that they are able to forestall, sabotage or otherwise prevent the person from truly walking the path to healing. In other words, far too often,…
117) Moral hypocrisy and the consequent impossibility of lasting international peace
As we prepare to send more arms & $$$ to Ukraine (which I support), it is interesting that we also widely condemn China for potentially providing the same support to Russia. I mean, sure, obviously, we disagree vehemently with what Russia is doing, to the point that we are near-ready to go to war over…
116) Dealing with the Devil: Adventures in parenting, Part 4 — Role-play, kids, and personal growth
So, Siskenet had a pretty interesting discussion with a Lord of Evil eh? What fertile ground has been prepared! And seeded! Such rich soil, such abundant energy, for future conversations and questions about topics like power, compassion, maturation, stereotypes of masculinity, personal responsibility, and Lord (of Evil) knows what else! This is one of…
115) Dealing with the Devil: Adventures in parenting, Part 3 – Philosophizing with Asmodeus
“It’s like a game, Siskenet. You like games?” After a pause, reluctantly, Siskenet nodded. “Right, so if you want a really excellent, super-satisfying game, what has to happen?” Siskenet answered right away. “You have to win?” The man laughed heartily, holding his belly. “Well,” he sniffed, wiping his eyes, “that does help.” He blew his…
114) Dealing with the Devil: Adventures in parenting, Part 2 – Asmodeus and Siskenet
Siskenet glanced sideways at Faeruz, hoping for a signal, a suggestion, anything helpful at all. Faeruz, unfortunately, was staring ahead, blank, as if in shock. Which made sense. They were, after all, being interrogated by a very large, terrifying, horned creature; an actual Demon, from the actual Hells. And not just one. This one,…
113) Dealing with the Devil: Adventures in parenting, Part 1 – A Sentient Universe
So, the other day, my kids and I made a deal with Baphomet. It was our second time making a deal with a Lord of Evil. Hmmm, you may be getting the wrong impression here. Let me explain. In my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaign, demons and devils are quite real, as the incarnation of…
112) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 6: Backlash, resistance, and dissociation
Why am I making such a big deal about Backlash & resistance? It’s because resistance, learning to feel into it, to approach it and eventually learn from it and harness it, IS much of the healing path. If you want to heal, or “grow” as a person, then you are working with resistance. Inevitably. …
111) From Shitty-ness to Well-ness, Part 5: What Backlash can teach us about ourselves
Backlash, as we were discussing, is a major impediment to healing. I believe the technical term is “pain in the ass.” Backlash causes so much bloody suffering, causes us to perpetuate our own misery, undermine our goals, mess up our relationships, underperform in our careers, neglect our health, and transmit our dysfunctions onto the next…