When people ask me how to cultivate a writing or artistic practice, I recommend
’s book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work.
Before reading, I thought artists were these whimsical creatures, creating whenever the daemon wanted them to. After reading, I realized great artists were highly disciplined, like athletes of spirit, with regimented daily schedules. With my writing, I have cultivated this approach, writing at the same time, with the same ritual, meeting and honoring whatever state I am in.
The ritual book answers my “how” and another book answers my “why” …
In The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Pierre Hadot writes about the good emperor's spiritual practice of writing to himself (“ta eis heauton”), a practice that cultivates his “'hegemonikon,” the internal ruling faculty.
"It alone is free, because it alone can give or refuse its assent to that inner discourse which enunciates what the object is which is represented by a given phantasia. This borderline which objects cannot cross, this inviolable stronghold of freedom, is the limit of what I shall refer to as the “inner citadel.” Things cannot penetrate into this citadel.” - Pierre Hadot
Writing makes you free. Writing overcomes intellectual servitude. With each word, you ensoul your mind, protecting it against the copious amount of bullshit out there. Less Foolish is not a Substack; it is my inner citadel. One needs clear, protected boundaries. Never underestimate the manipulative influences of the subtle realm. True freedom requires this awareness. Otherwise, words will be bent to the unconscious whims of others who don’t know what’s best for you or themselves.
The internet is easy to complain about, but it is, in fact, the best tool to cultivate an inner citadel. Here are the three steps:
Schedule daily rituals, and be relentlessly consistent, especially with your writing.
Write to yourself in a way that strengthens the hegemonikon.
uBlock the entire internet, and protect against all memetic invaders.
All of this is easier said than done, but what it affords is great peace, spiritual freedom, and personal sovereignty, allowing for real choice.
Imagine this: an exclusive experience for inspiring anarchs called The Inner Citadel, a psychotechnology that treats the internet as one big place for temperance training. The experience provides memetic protection, ultimately freeing minds. Send me a message at thestoa. at protonmail dot com, telling me why you feel called to participate.