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I almost didn’t post this video.​ ​ Actually that’s not true: ​ I almost posted it, then didn’t, then almost posted it again, then didn’t. ​ But a few minutes ago I said fxck it, let it fly. ​ The clip comes from a fan-favorite session we held at our retreat last summer, on: ​ ​Consciousness & the nature of reality. ​ After 11 years of training in plant medicine and the internal arts, I have a lot to say on the topic. ​ But I rarely talk about it, because only a small segment of my audience is interested. ​ So if you’re one of the rare and weird few who’s into this stuff, salute: ​ ​This one’s for you.​ ​ – T ​ P.S. If you want to see more of this type of material, hit reply or drop a comment to let me know. ​ We have tons of clips in the vault I’ve never released on spirituality, consciousness, reality, and all sorts of wild and whacky sh*t that melts most people’s minds. ​ If there’s enough interest I’ll drop a few more. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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“I’m tired, boss. Tired of being on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. I’m tired of never having a buddy to be with, or tell me where we’s coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other.”

And from the wise words of John Coffey, The Green Mile…

I agree.

Stepping away from the internet for a few weeks really does a number on you.

People talking about dopamine detoxes? Sure this helps massively but what they don’t mention is that you look around in the real world and compare things to online (really compare it) and it’s like night and day in terms of comparison.

And the people being ugly to each other is massively amplified and I mean massively.

Was I part of the problem? Hell yeah. Some days I was the whole problem (and when it comes to bullying the AI nerds, that’ll always be the case) but in general. I was 100% ugly to people in a lot of cases. Was I too reactive? Definitely.

I think that’s where we all get stuck. We react to a lot things, mainly cause there’s a lot of things to react to.

Which on paper sounds really fucking dumb, but it’s true.

But where do we go from there? Do we all get together in person and snort a massive line of empathy together? (That would probably work) although it’s not practical.

Although what we can start doing more actively, is stop reacting to everything that happens online, even if we are online.

There’s a time and a place to unleash pure wrath on someone/thing but holding your breath or your fingers before you go wild is the next best thing.

(If you’re seeing someone getting dog piled, who can’t defend themselves. By all means step in)

But if you’re just watching and seeing things unfold. Sitting back and having a little bit more patience and understanding is key.

I’m also definitely not saying that you should give up standing up for what you believe in. All I’m saying is that watch how everything is unfolding online before you chime in. Think and sleep on it and more often than not, when you’ve done that. It works like magic. You’ll notice that your genuine intent for not giving a fuck really kicks in.

Let the rage baiters and political turds keep being ugly to each other, while we sit back and watch it burn a little before offering valid ideas/critiques (And only in circumstances that are justified do we crucify and go full metal jacket on them)

I’ve found just being me. Writing words and working on cool shit keeps me at bay from all of the psychobabble online.

Stephen Walker.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom

…but I’m back and want to hear everything.

Hey…

I know I should’ve told you I was vanishing for a short while, but honestly, I didn’t plan it. One day I just looked at my screen and felt this overwhelming urge to throw my computer into the nearest body of water.

So I did the next best thing.

I went completely offline for three weeks.

No social media. No email. No content creation. No endless scrolling through other people’s thoughts about other people’s thoughts. Just me, some books, a lot of staring at walls, and the increasingly foreign concept of being genuinely bored. Oh and a metric shit tonne of caffeine.

It was exactly what I didn’t know I needed funnily enough.

The first few days are brutal. Your brain keeps reaching for that dopamine hit that comes from notifications, likes, comments, the constant stream of external validation that we’ve all become addicted to without realising it.

Then something interesting happens around day four or five. The mental chatter starts to settle. You stop thinking in tweet sized chunks. Your attention span remembers how to focus on one thing for longer than thirty seconds. You start having thoughts that haven’t been influenced by whatever controversy is trending this week. (god damn rage baiters, uninstalling the twitter app off my phone was honestly one of the best things.)

By week two, I was actually thinking original thoughts again instead of just reacting to other people’s content. I was asking myself questions I’d been too distracted to ask: What do I actually want to create? What problems am I genuinely passionate about solving? (yes I used the word passionate. BITE ME) What would I write about if I wasn’t trying to optimise for engagement?

The boredom was a crucial step. We’ve become so afraid of being unstimulated that we never give our brains the space to wander, to make unexpected connections, to stumble across ideas that only emerge in the quiet moments between clacking away on the keyboard or at our phones.

I sat with that boredom until it turned into clarity. And while it was difficult to figure out. Lots of false starts, circular thinking, and moments of “what the hell am I even doing with my life”, the little hiatus was completely worth it.

I came back with a clearer sense of direction, renewed energy which is wild cause I generally have so much energy anyways, and a much healthier relationship with the online world that had been slowly consuming my mental bandwidth.

But with all that being said. Thank you to everyone who emailed and checked in to see if I was still alive. Seriously, it means more than you know. Getting those “where the hell did you go?” messages reminded me that there are real humans on the other side of this screen, people who actually give a shit about more than just consuming content.

Now I want to hear from you. While I was off having my detox revelation, you were all living your actual lives, and I’m genuinely curious…

Did you survive without me? (lol, but also genuinely, did you miss these emails or were you secretly relieved to have one less thing in your inbox?)

What wins did you have? Big or small, I want to hear about the things that went right. The projects you finished, the conversations that mattered, the moments when you felt like you were actually getting somewhere.

What shit punched you in the face? What kicked your ass? What problems are you wrestling with? What’s keeping you up at night or making you question everything?

Have you watched or read anything new and interesting? I’m always looking for recommendations, especially for things that make you think differently or see the world from a new angle. I did manage to binge Mayor of Kingstown and man, that was mental.

Hit reply and tell me what I missed. As always. I reply to everyone I can. One of the benefits of taking a break is remembering that conversations are more valuable than constantly blasting stuff out into the internet.

Good to be back.

Stephen Walker.

P.S. All will slowly be revealed in time.

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Stephen Walker, Unit 146317, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom