Mindless Drivel
The Vapid Ascension
For close to a decade now, mindfulness has been waiting for me at too many corners of my life. It's everywhere I turn, promising inner peace, emotional well-being, and a clear path to self-discovery, which is nice, except for that glazed-over and sinister smile that usually adorns the acolyte delivering the message. But years ago now… probably 6?... the ever-growing prominence of vapid mindful-speak became too great and I lost interest in the conversation altogether, though not necessarily the practice itself.
If that doesn’t immediately compute, no worries - there’re some semiotic twists in that turn of phrase. Suffice it to say, though, conflating an activity with the name that it’s known by is a dangerous game, but I see that a lot these days, too. How often does the linguistic and emotional spectacle of something catch on only to forget to take with it the baggage of meaning in action except in the regressive?
Woof. Another mind-bender. But consider: Press conferences on revised Environmental Sustainable Goals met with raucous applause but which nevertheless beget ever more pollution. Public broadcasts of round table discussions on the evolution of ethical business practices coming from the very mouths of those who OK markedly unethical practices. National governments discussing digitization campaigns without providing The People with the means to actually pursue this avenue. These and many other examples of the duplicity of modernity come to mind in addition to the mindful practice I’m raging against in this particular entry, which itself has nothing on the larger Wellness industry.
Call me cynical, but my spider-sense tells me that most every corporation that can possibly benefit from the implementation of mindful language in their business corpus without the added responsibility of execution but the intent to profit thereby, does.
At the micro level, too, there’s a mindful gig economy for any aspiring and self-proclaimed guru to glom onto, packaging and selling it as the ultimate solution to all of life's problems.
The essence of mindfulness, a transformative practice at its core focused on the awareness of one’s own current circumstance in relation to the local environment, now appears diluted in the sea of profit-driven frenzy. It’s a foil, a disguise, often enough an outright lie to obfuscate the bloated profit incentives that remain at the center of these and other endeavors.
As I observe the commodification of mindfulness, I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment in how a relatively profound and certainly applicable concept has been co-opted by vampiric greed.
It's disheartening to witness the genuine pursuit of self-awareness and connection reduced to mere buzzwords and marketing strategies.
It’s gross watching the bastardization of an otherwise particularly nourishing activity by none other than the practitioners of the very issues it seeks to quell.
A Mindless Antidote
Amidst this endless background noise of vapid mindfulness, I noticed a yearning for authenticity and transformative experiences welling up inside of me, though I had no idea what to call it, how to identify it, or where to pursue it. A desire to rekindle the magic promised by mindfulness originally but corrupted by gainful pursuits that at least I had lost years prior due to its appropriation began to grow in me. With that interest came conceptual experimentation, to imagine how one might affect that change in the already-proven deleterious circumstances. This eventually led me to a mindful antithesis, to a merging of myself with my surroundings, to something that I ended up just calling mindlessness after the fact—a state of immersive flow that might celebrate the joy of being fully present in the things I do… if I weren’t so ensconced in actually doing them that I forgot to remember.
In the face of commercialization and shallow promises, I found mindlessness in a literal breath of fresh air—hiking in the wild forests, working raw foods with my own hands, relearning how to build a fire. It is an opportunity achieved outside of moderated exercise, fitbit data, or supplements. I stumbled upon the transformative power that seems to have been lost in the frenzy of corporate wellness where I probably should’ve expected it but hadn’t thought about it.
Where mindfulness seems to demand output, gains, and competition simultaneously with yourself or others, mindlessness becomes a rebellious act against these vapid pursuits to forget what you’re doing, and merely do it, with no measurement. Mindlessness is a way to resist the commodification of our inner lives, which necessarily creates a space for it that is separate from all others - a space that is intrinsically lonely and cold - and to become part of something greater.
In the pursuit of the mindless, I find solace, comfort, and connection in and with the people and the world around me, which brings with it a renewed sense of purpose, which I think is kinda just, like, to lose myself in experience such that I don’t think about it but am it. To immerse myself in whichever environment I find myself in and disappear into it. To eliminate the commodification of life and merely live.
In a word, I guess its just, “chill.”
Mindfulness Looms Heavily
This world of ours has latched onto what I’m incessantly calling vapid mindfulness so heavily that it suggests it is the only way towards any kind of comfort in or acceptance of our collective realities. Social media feeds our desire for instant gratification, or, honestly, verification, promoting the illusion that a mere display of mindfulness can provide the same benefits as a devoted exploration of the concept. This trend is latched onto by various organizations, offering mindfulness products and services that mimic the spectacle but at far greater scale. This further reinforces the fad, dictating our actions towards both ourselves and others, informing us at least subconsciously with a message that we still aren’t mindful enough, not paying enough attention, not self-caring enough.
And this is, to me, a particularly troubling trend. The overemphasis on the carapace of mindfulness but not the guts can and does promote self-centeredness and narcissistic tendencies. As we become more and more consumed with self-awareness and self-preservation, we risk losing our ability to truly connect with others on a deeper level, as if the only ones responsible for our own existence is ourselves, despite the notably social disposition our species has shown over the millennia. At this point, I default to a conceptualization of spiritual vampirism when I hear mention of mindfulness, where individuals adopt spiritual practices for personal gain rather than genuine understanding of themselves, others, or the universe we inhabit.
At least Aleister Crowley had the Goetia lol.
Forget Yourself
Amidst the overwhelming dominance of mindful rhetoric, this ill-defined concept of mindlessness I’m trying to elucidate seems like a decent counterbalance, or even a way to lure back the parts of mindfulness that have been kicked to the curb. To be mindless means that we’ve immersed ourselves sufficiently in our activities such that we lose track of time and ego. Engaging in such flow states allows us to experience pure joy and fulfillment, fostering authentic connections with ourselves and others.
When we engage in mindlessness, whether it's through painting, playing music, or pursuing a hobby, we break free from the confines of self-consciousness and overthinking. In these moments of immersive flow, we shed the burden of self and experience a profound sense of oneness with the activity at hand.
It’s then that the reintroduction of mindfulness becomes interesting, as it allows us to come back to ourselves and understand our relationship to the rest of existence more fully. This kind of ebb and flow if consciousness or awareness seems to me to not just be, somehow, natural, but also quite dialectical, thus potentially offering us deeper insights into how time, history, and culture, or, said another, more economically inclined way, business, works.
Authentic Navigation
As we navigate the landscape of modern life, striking a balance between mindfulness and mindlessness becomes crucial. By embracing mindfulness, we cultivate self-awareness and emotional resilience, fostering empathy and compassion. Simultaneously, mindlessness offers us a path to unleash our creativity, experience joy, and connect with the world in a deeply authentic way.
In this quest for balance, let us resist the allure of vapid mindfulness and embrace the transformative potential of mindlessness. In the same manner, let’s also be mindful (pun!) of the potential for mindlessness to be co-opted by organizations or initiatives with ulterior motives. By doing so, we can rediscover the true essence of mindfulness—a practice that goes beyond commercialization and profits. Let them live symbiotically together, thus allowing us to live more fully and authentically in whichever moment we find ourselves.
Newsworthy
U.M.A.
Long term Black Metal Buddy Will (of *#$R@!, H$#*!D, etc.) has recently started up a monthly DJ gig at GODZ over in Shinjuku and asked me to be a regular. Super stoked about that, as Will’s a well-known name around the underground so its, you know, an honor or something to have the standing invite.
Also cool cause its a great promotional platform for shows, of course, but also business. As I’ve said before, you’d be surprised at the level of professionals you meet at metal related events, and usually the more esoteric or extreme, the higher the level goes.
But perhaps coolest of all is that after doing a few of these, I can easily imagine it becoming the Cheers of underground extreme music in Japan. Trading stories, playlists, and gigs, all publicly accessible though the conversations you overhear probably aren’t all that easy to follow given the secret nature of our activities!
This time around was, unsurprisingly, a real riot, but made more riotous by me asking for a later slot in the night. While I am reliably nitpick-y about using precision language, especially in business, I’m not always on point, and this was one of those times. I foolhardily assumed that “late” meant maybe 10PM or so, but that was off by 4. 5 hours: my request for a later slot was granted, and my set started at 230AM.
Point is, don’t slip on how you communicate because you might get exactly what you unknowingly asked for lol.
Takayama DAO
Some friends of mine over at PlanetDAO have been making notable moves on the now-pretty-popular concept of DAOs across rural Japan. This is a concept I like very much, but am not too hot on how I’ve seen it deployed up until now, which is basically just time share models for vacation homes. Yawn.
PlanetDAO, however, is curious about taking the combination of Web3 & rural revitalization to the next, and meaningful, level. The most recent exploration they’ve asked me to contribute to has been in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, a rather well known historic preservation. What is not as well known is that the city has been experimenting with novel blockchain based local currency backed by a local Credit Union - the adorably named Sarubobo Coin - since 2017.
I’m still trying to figure out exactly what’s going on with this deployment. For example, I can’t yet trace what chain all of this is attached to, and I’ve just discovered that the Credit Union hired a firm called iRidge to develop the product whom I still need to dig into, but regardless its extremely encouraging to see boots-on-the-ground activity between blockchain folx and The People.
Osaka Bound
I’ll be headed to Osaka for a few things next week, including Blood Rite 17 on August 26th at Namba Bears! What a mean as fuck lineup, booked by Skvld:
Sex Messiah
Raunchy & raw black metal from Osaka.
Swazönd
Bitter, blasting blackened crust with members in Tokyo and Osaka.
Temple
Deathcore? from Osaka.
Seeping Protoplasm
Seeping, protoplasmic, gooey death-grind from Tokyo.
Iron Bludgeon
No bandcamp for these upstanding newcomers… yet!
Doors open at 17:30 and the show starts at 18:00. Check out the link below for directions to the venue, and see you in the pit!
Alternate Dimensions
Step into the realm, a space sometimes called the 'paywall.' Above, you've caught a glimpse of my world, a mere taste of the stories that lie ahead. But hold tight, for beneath, fellow explorers, await the treasured insights and unique perspectives that shape my journey—think of them as the hidden ingredients enhancing my triumphs.
Intrigued but seeking a way to unlock these insights for others? Worry not! Your opportunity has emerged, an invitation to spread the word and invite others to embark on this digital expedition!
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