Updates: Price change, Experiments, Let's chat, Some reading
Journal, March 2025
Hello friends,
I’ve been stuck in bed with bronchitis. Keeping this one short. Some things that have been on my mind...
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men
Price change.
I lowered the Substack’s price to $7 a month and 77 a year — in line with personal/general interest Substacks. It feels strange to do this in an inflationary world, but it also feels right, like an overdue act of committing to go wherever curiosity takes me...
I worked with Substack’s support such that existing subscribers get the new price when their subscription renews.
Experiments I am currently running:
Record a short video for every major piece. I find it helps the writing to read your text out loud. You quickly notice when the rhythm is off or when the idea is half-baked. Your speech slows down, maybe you swallow words or start to waffle. But re-recording the entire piece to offer an audio version is, well, really boring and I’m not convinced it’s worth the effort.
Video on the other hand feels different, more intimate and free-flowing. Frankly, I overestimated the amount of work it would take. I’m using my laptop’s built-in camera, the Yeti mic, and Descript to record and do minor edits. And it looks… ok and is kind of fun? (I published Signs you are getting close to your mission on Youtube.)
More conversations! Let’s talk.
I’m feeling called to develop a method of journaling as a path of transformation, as a way to meet our shadow and find our gold. I want to have more conversations along those lines which is why I am opening up Zoom calls for paying subscribers again.
If you are feeling stuck…
… on a specific big goal, change, or decision (“I’m trying to [do / decide] and can’t seem to make progress.”)
… in an area of life (“I feel the need to make a big change in this area but I don’t even know where to start.”)
… in general (“Things are steady but I don’t feel connected to my purpose, my creativity, or my intuition.”)
Or if you connected with ideas and questions raised in one of my recent pieces:
Fear standing between you and where you want to be in life — There are no problems.
Killing time under the weight of your divine potential — In spite of time.
Disconnected from the energy of your stream — The momentum of mission.
… if you are wrestling with any of these, head to this form and send me an email.
I will follow up with a few questions to reflect on. Then we can have an informed conversation and see if something is ready to shift.
When my brain is working again, I will set up an experimental Zoom space to meet in small groups to write, discuss, share, and connect.
From a recent walk in the East Village. Good old Alan Watts. I can hear him chuckle from beyond. Preparing to listen even more this year.
A few things I’ve enjoyed recently.
I’ve added Heart Coherence Breathing to my daily practice. I try to do 5-10 minutes before meditation. I like many other types of breathwork, but this one has the benefit of being completely effortless and very relaxing (almost hypnotic).
I like this video (or do it with Rick Rubin & Andrew Huberman); there’s also a neat one on Othership by Guy Fincham (follow for all things breath) as well as an app.
It turned out that the most efficient breathing rhythm occurred when both the length of respirations and total breaths per minute were locked into a spooky symmetry: 5.5-second inhales followed by 5.5-second exhales, which works out almost exactly to 5.5 breaths a minute. This was the same pattern of the rosary. — Breath, James Nestor
Cedric Chin at CommonCog: Outcome Orientation as a Cure for Information Overload. Like mindfulness for your information diet. Very useful framework. I now often catch myself on Twitter — what am I trying to achieve here? Ah, nothing. I’m just looking for an echo of connection and killing time.
It is fairly common to hear investment professionals say “curate your information sources”; I used to think this meant ‘keep a good, well filtered information diet’. I now realise this is mistaken — investors have to consume large amounts of information as part of their job; there is no way a ‘strict diet’ approach would work for them. ‘Outcome Orientation’ is a more accurate description of what they do.
The point is not to control your time allocation, the point is to always be aware of why you are consuming something as you are consuming it. If you do this, you will automatically change your time allocation as a result.
Henrik Karlsson: A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox. A gem of a writer. If you’re looking for a reason to write (or record) and share online, look no further. Share to connect with like-minded people and build a tribe outside the increasingly toxic information landscape of the large platforms.
What would have made me jump off my chair if I had read it six months ago (or a week ago, or however fast you write)? If you have figured out something that made you ecstatic, this is what you should write.
I should tattoo this on my arm. He’s right. Write about what electrifies you.
Also, the post contains a compelling analogy:
The social structure of the internet is shaped like a river.
The way messages spread on the internet is by flowing up this order of streams, from people with smaller networks to those with larger, and then it spreads back down through the larger networks. Going over land, from one tributary to another, is harder than going up the stream order and then down again.
Everything Everywhere All at Once. This hit a lot harder than I expected. Boy, did I bawl my eyes out over a mother trying to save her daughter, her marriage, her life, everything...
There’s something incredibly stirring about the image of the black bagel, negativity compounding until it turns into a life-and-love-denying force. If every good experience is followed by pain and disappointment, if nothing means anything, hell, why not destroy time (and divine potential)? What do you say to someone in that headspace? Nothing. You hug them.
When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything.
The only thing I do know... is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind - especially when we don't know what's going on.
The Infinite Pussy Glitch: The Data Behind Dating as an Eligible Man in NYC. What life could have been like as a 30+ year old man in Manhattan.. I am currently staying far away from anything dating-related, but even I could not help but read this piece. Lana is on to something with her format that combines data, authenticity, experience, and a unique voice.
Nat Eliason: To Improve Yourself You Must Know Yourself
Self-improvement isn't about becoming someone else. It's about becoming a better version of yourself.
Dear Money by Mike. I like this idea — write a letter to money and say everything that’s been weighing on you.
I am writing to make amends. I am writing in hopes of changing our relationship.
I had declared you freedom.
And in doing so, I had declared myself imprisoned.
I had declared you choice….
Until next time!
— Frederik
Please continue to share some of the best things you've read. I've found amazing people to read from those who've shared articles they've read!
Henrik is awesome!
Are you still interested in finance? Your recent posts, aside from the current post, haven't included anything about finance or money. I can see that you are going through extraordinary personal change. Have your interests diverged from the past so cataclysmicly? What new fascinations have you found? Would you share those?
Frederik, thank you! Appreciate the thoughtful reflections.