Sweyn Plowright

The second essential element of a full and happy life lies in mastering the balance between Wealth and Lifestyle.

Putting aside the question of money for a moment, I would like to point out that man cannot live in a vacuum. We need things. If you are going to survive in a human body, you will need a certain minimum amount of food and shelter. If you are going to survive in a human society, you are going to need a certain minimum of respectable clothing, transportation and some cash to spend on social events as well.

Oops, we didn’t get very far before the question of things became a question of money, did we?

The bottom line is we do need stuff to live and, in this day and age, we need money to buy the stuff we need to live. If you want to talk about going back to a DIY hunter/gatherer/farmer lifestyle, then we can talk, but I don’t want to hear anybody give me any crap about how the spiritually enlightened don’t need material possessions because that’s just a bunch of crap.

The monks, priests and yogis who preach most fervently against materialism are also the ones who beg for a living, in case you hadn’t noticed. I really fail to see how begging can be considered somehow more noble than producing something of value that you can trade with others.

The third possiblity would be to steal what you need, I suppose, and it certainly seems that some of our ancestors considered this a viable option. Personally,  jail time would interfere too much with some of my lifestyle preferences. So I’m planing to stick with earning a living for now.

This is, in fact, the important point that most success gurus overlook. Once you get beyond the bare essentials, how you make your money very quickly becomes more important than how much you make. It’s not much good making $10,000,000.00 a year if you have to work in hell eighteen hours a day to do it. It might make sense, in some cases, to put in a few hard years and save for an early retirement. To me it makes much more sense to find a way to make the money you need doing something you love and still have time for friends and family.

So what are the essential steps to mastering the balance between Wealth and Lifestyle?

1. Make a decision that you’re going to take responsibility for your own financial situation. The universe does not owe you a living and you’re not going anywhere in life until you realize that fact.

2. Develop a valuable specialized skill. Unskilled laborers earn peanuts and are generally subjected to crappy working conditions into the bargain. You need to make yourself valuable to your fellow man if you want to earn anything more than a subsistence.

3.Make sure that your special skill is something that you enjoy and that you have a natural talent for. There’s no such thing as nine-to-five in the real world and you may need to be doing your thing for a long time

4. Find an honest way to make money off of your special skill. Unfortunately, the money does not roll in automatically just because you happen to be great at something. You have to learn how to sell your services and you still have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day.

5. Learn how to manage and invest the money you do make. I’ve met plenty of poor/rich people who bring in huge paychecks but blow it all on crap and live neck-deep in debt. Don’t be one of them.

6. Don’t forget the meaning of life! Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Take the time to relax, enjoy yourself, look after your health and never ever forget the people in your life who make it all worth while.

That’s it! Not a lot of detail this time, just the broad strokes. The details are going to depend on you! What’s your greatest passion? What are your special talents? What do you want out of life and how far are you willing to go to make it happen?

Some readers may have wondered if I’d dropped off the face of the earth. Well…that’s actually pretty near to being an accurate explanation, but there’s a simpler explanation for why it’s taken me so long to get back to writing. Before I could comfortably preach my new philosophy, there were certain elements that needed to be put more rigorously into practice.

That said, let’s take a look at the first elements of a life…

Health

It should be pretty obvious that if you haven’t got your health it’s going to be pretty difficult to get your life together in other ways.  It should be obvious, yet we so often ignore common sense preventative maintenance until it’s too late.

When you’re sick or out of shape your productivity declines, making it that much harder to make a living. To make matters worse, poor health decreases your your sexual and romantic attractiveness. It’s going to be that much harder to find true love when you’re fat, sick and tired looking. Finally, physical illness can lead to depression and other psychological disorders. Your brain is a part of your body, after all.

Letting your health slide is usually the first step in a vicious cycle. Stop taking care of yourself now, and you may soon find that you no longer have the energy, resources or support you’d need to stop the downward spiral.

To begin on the path to building a life, you must first come to understand your body as your vehicle and your temple. If fact, it is often best if you stop thinking of your body as “your body” and start thinking of simply as “yourself”. I am my body and there is no sense in which it is possible to conceive of “my body” as spearate from “me”.

While it’s obviously not necessary, possible or desirable for every adult human being to go to medical school, there are a number of basic skills that are necessary for self maintenance. A preliminary (i.e. incomplete) list for your consideration would be…

A working knowledge of basic hygiene.

A working knowledge of nutrition.

A working knowledge of cooking, in order to make good nutrition pleasant and palatable.

A working knowledge of exercise science.

A favored sport or physical activity, in order to make exercise fun, purposeful and meaningful.

A basic understanding of medical principles, in order distinguish good medical advice from bad.

A working knowledge of natural home treatment options.

and

A working knowledge of First Aid.

This last item on the list brings us to my next point, the other side of the first element…

Safety

Make no mistake, the primary causes of death for educated people living in civilized countries are the completely preventable, self inflicted “diseases of civilization”. There are few things more ironic than the sight of a sick, out of shape “martial arts expert”. (Except perhaps a sick, out of shape doctor, fitness trainer or nutritionist.) That said, there are other threats to your long term health and physical integrity that need to be adressed if you plan on functioning in the real world.

Just as it would make no sense to spend your life in paranoid fear of criminal attack, only to end up dying of heart disease, it makes equally no sense to cultivate a perfect healthly body only to end up stabbed, shot or smashed up in a car accident.

With that in mind, there are a few additional skillsets you need to master…

A working knowledge of practical self defense (note, I did not say “martial arts”).

A working knowledge of the most common weapons in your area (should be included under the heading of “practical self defense” but people tend to skip over this part).

A working knowledge of First Aid (yes, I included First Aid twice).

A high level of competence in Defensive Driving (car accident is a much more common cause of death than violent assault).

Again, note I did not include Martial Arts anywhere on my list essential skills. Now I happen to love martial arts (or rather, I love real martial arts) but formal training in martial arts is not necessary for most people.

As I believe I may have mentioned before, not everybody can (or should) be a warrior. Every free man and woman should , however, take responsibilty for their own health and safety. What we’re talking about here is the development of basic, practical skills, stripped of any  ritual or tradition. On the other hand, basic practical skills are where it’s at when you’re talking about real martial art, anyway. It is precisely the process of taking responsibility for yourself and developing these practical skills that leads to the catharsis that warrior training is so famous for.

Now the above may sound like a lot to learn, but remember that these are essential life skills we’re talking about. This is stuff you need to know to keep yourself fully functioning, healthy and in one piece.

These are also, ironically, topics that have been among the most terribly abused by confidence artists great and small. There is a huge amount of disinformation out there about health and safety. Learning to see through the bullshit may well be the first and most important step on the path to becoming a true Occult Philosopher, as well as a healthy, happy, free human being.

Think about it.

Most, so-called, magickal and occult training systems are no better. In fact, they’re usually worse.

But it’s easy to level criticism without offering any solutions. What is important? What do we need to know? I’ve spent a bit of time thinking about these questions, and I think I’m getting pretty close to having a definitive answer.

In my view there are four elements, four key components, to building a life.

Health & Safety

Wealth & Lifestyle

Sex & Relationships

Meaning & Purpose

Each of the elements has two main aspects and each of the four (or eight) implies a critical skill set you must master in order to function as a complete, independent, adult human being.

Astute readers may notice some similarity between my list and Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. You may also notice there’s a fair degree of crossover with Carroll’s “Eight-Colour Theory of Magic”. Actually, the inspiration for my four element model came from somewhere much more unexpected. A simpler version of this model was published in the book “The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed” by Erik von Markovik. (Told you that was unexpected.)

In Mystery’s (von Markovik’s) version, the meaning of life is given as “Survive/Reproduce” and the elements of a life are given as Health, Wealth and Sex.

I was immediately attracted to the cynicism and simplicity of this model (for reasons obvious to anyone who knows me) and even more impressed with his explanation of how the elements are interrelated. According to Mystery, the three elements are interdependent. A deficiency in one area will sooner or later lead to a deficiency in another area and eventually to the collapse of the entire system (your life).

This is a radically different way of looking at things than the more commonly known Maslow model, but seems much more correct to me. My expanded, four element model is also intended to be taken as interrelated. Some elements might seem logically to be more fundamental (or more urgent) than others, but if you don’t cover all four you’re going to have a serious problem.

In my next few posts, I plan on reviewing the four elements in more detail.

Leave a comment if you feel I’ve left out anything important.

Clint.

Thank you all very much, and good night.

If I had any choice in the matter, I probably would have dedicated to Tyr ten years ago. But, I’ve never really been able to get Tyr “on the phone” as it were, and an excessive focus on Warriorhood has long since proven to be unhealthy for me.

My flirtation with Loki has proven to be rewarding in a number of ways. Loki’s opened a lot of doors for me, pointed out a lot of ideas I’d missed. Intellectually, Loki seems the perfect choice of deity for a “Discordian Heathen with Satanic Tendencies”. In the end, though, Loki feels more like a best buddy and “partner in crime” than a spiritual mentor.

While I’m at it, I probably ought to give Thor a little more credit. He’s done me a couple of solids that I really haven’t earned. Nor repaid, now that I think about it.

But, for some reason, all roads seem to lead back to Odin.

When I first began to learn about Asatru, I suppose, the idea of dedicating to Odin seem a little too obvious, too predictable. In retrospect it seems more inevitable that I would one day call myself an Odin’s man. Odin represents everything that is important to me.

Poet. Warrior. Shaman. Transhumanist.

Odin’s appeal is both primal and futurist, specific and yet universal. It’s easy to envision interstellar cults dedicated to Odin, a thousand years hence. It’s equally easy to recognize the Odinic spirit in some of the most primitive forms of Hindu Saivite Tantrism.

Odin is everywhere and yet is clearly not for everyone.

Hail Odin.

Aum.

The birth of my son last October has brought me a greatly enhanced feeling of connectedness. Suddenly, I really feel like a part of my own family in a way I never have before. Just as strangely, I find myself really caring about the future of humanity independantly of how that relates to me.

Things have been changing at work, too. After a semingly interminable period of stagnation, things have suddenly become much more exciting and challenging, and yet also much less certain and secure.

My personal, professional and spiritual lives have always remained somewhat seperate. I wear different masks in each. And yet, on some level, I’ve always understood that ultimately I would need to integrate my selves to truly feel whole as a person.

I’ve not yet figured out a way to reconcile the fundamental conflicts in my own personality, but I sometimes feel as though I’m getting close, and it is becoming increasingly clear that spirituality is something for which one needs to make time.

This is me making time.

Distracted and confused, with more questions than answers, but making time.

Aum Wotan.

I consider myself an Occult Philosopher rather than a religious man. I love learning, I love reading and I love thinking for myself. As a result, my ideas and opinions are constantly changing, growing and evolving. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My primary philosophical influences to date come from three major sources.

1. Western Mythology
2. Eastern Mysticism
3. Neo-Pagan Occultism

Christianity was never a major part of my upbringing. I was raised on primarily on myths and fairy tales, with just a few Bible fables thrown in. As I learned to read, I ravenously devoured the Hellenic and Arthurian classics. I did not have the great pleasure of discovering the Norse myths until my early twenties, but they instantly became an important part of my life and inner psychological landscape.

I might add that I have also always been a total sci-fi geek. I consider science fiction to be modern mythology and I consider classical mythology to be primal sci-fi.

From the East, I have absorbed much of the Mystic Philosophy. Buddhism and Taoism, I first encountered through the Martial Arts. Hindu philosophy became a part of my life much more recently, but I now consider Hinduism to be the ideal living role model for Heathenism and Neo-Paganism.

From within the Neo-Pagan scene, my influences can also be traced to three primary sources.

1. Reconstructionist Heathenism / Asatru
2. Chaos Magic / Discordianism
3. Satanism / Luciferianism

I was introduced to both Heathenism and Chaos Magic by my spiritual brother Henry almost ten years ago. My predilection for the Left Hand Path, however, seems to come from somewhere much more basic and instinctual.

Politically, I identify as a Libertarian and a Transhumanist.

I’ve come to refer to myself as a Pagan or Heathen as a shorthand way of explaining that I believe in a whole mess of weird, unpopular and apparently crazy ideas. Barbarian or Savage would probably get the point across just as well.

Deciding on a more specific label is difficult for someone who changes his mind as often as I do, but there are two which seem loose enough to fit me for some time to come.

Indo-European Pagan describes the philosophical milieu from which my Path has been born.

Chaos Heathen describes the only fellowship I need. We are an odd group, but we are true to our selves and that is what makes all the difference.

Hail Chaos

Viva Loki

Aum Wotan

Regarding the specific study areas of sales and social interaction, I believe these deserve special emphasis from all students of the Occult. Knowing the rest of the Heathen and Neo-Pagan community to be just as big a bunch of geeks as I am, I cannot recommend the utility of these particular skill sets highly enough.

While I’m pretty far from considering myself a master of these technologies, I have been working on this area for some time and have achieved some success. With that in mind, there is a related sub-specialization of occult study that I would like to recommend; The Art of Seduction.

The Art of Seduction is “Occult” by virtue of its status as a subject that is taboo and forbidden…at least for men. Socially, for some reason, it seems completely acceptable for women to study Glamour and Seduction (read Cosmo lately?) but any man known to study these subjects is regarded as creep and a potentially dangerous weirdo. By writing this article I am actually violating rule number one of the Art of Seduction; Seduction is an Art which must be studied in secret.

As a faithfully married man, my study of the Art takes on a slightly different focus than it did it my younger years…

Firstly: I make the effort to seduce my own wife anew every day. I see skill in Seduction as a pre-requisite to successful relationship building and healthy relationship building as an advanced level of the Art of Seduction.

Secondly: I must retain sufficient confidence in my skills to know that, should everything one day go horribly wrong, I’ll always have other options. It’s been proven to me many times over that to become dependant on another person is dangerous and unhealthy. Ironically, it seems that it is only by retaining this sense of aloofness and independence that a man is able to maintain his status as a “good catch”. Again; Seduction is a pre-requisite to successful relationship building.

Third: Knowing how and when to flirt is still an essential skill for socializing and in sales (and if you’re in business, then you are in sales). Political correctness and sexual harassment laws aside, flirtation is a big part of how socially functional people interact.

In retrospect, things were a whole lot simpler when I was still single (though I wouldn’t trade being married for anything).

Considering what’s at stake, it hardly seems reasonable not to make a serious study of the Art of Seduction. Unfortunately, the cultural expectation that we ought to intuitively understand this subject without study cripples the romantic opportunities of many men. It is thus, contrary to all social norms, that I insist that Glamour and Seduction are subjects that demand research, practice and deep contemplation.

I will not share my own methodology with you here. (Seduction is an Art which must be studied in secret.) Instead, I offer for your consideration a short list of recommended introductory reading. Make of it what you will.

The Satanic Witch by Anton Szandor LaVey; explores some interesting concepts in Glamour Magic.

The Mystery Method by Mystery; provides an excellent breakdown of the process of seduction and the best explanation I’ve yet seen on how to start a conversation with a complete stranger.

The Game by Neil Strauss; is a hilarious autobiographical sketch of one man’s journey into the world of the Pick-Up Artists.

The Guide to Getting It On, 6th Edition
by Paul Joannides; So you’ll know what you’re doing when you get there.

Hail Eros and Aphrodite!
Hail Freya!
Happy hunting, boys and girls!

The trip was not just my first to Paris, but actually my first to Europe as well. Needless to say, the whole experience stirred up some interesting feelings on multiple levels.

I’ve always felt a strong appreciation for history and I have a special love for old buildings and old trees. The EiffelTower I found unbearably boring, but in the oldest segments of the Louvre I felt a sense of throbbing power. In the Cathedral of Notre Dame I felt a sense of undeniable awe and in the cobble-stoned alleys of Montmarte I felt an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Though I lack any known French ancestry, the trip did give me a feeling of being in touch with my European cultural heritage. Many of my memetic ancestors walked these streets, even if my genetic ancestors may have not. It was not lost on me that Catholicism and Greek Mythology ranked equally as the most common themes in art and sculpture.

Catholicism always stirs mixed feeling in me. I find the aesthetics of the tradition almost irresistibly appealing and I find the morality of the teachings absolutely and unbearably repugnant. My fascination with Voodoo and related traditions is due in no small part to the skill with which the practitioners have managed to absorb the power and aesthetics of Catholicism, without compromising too much of their own worldview. This is also one of the advantages of embracing a Satanic or Luciferian approach.

We Heathens are missing out. In our zealous attempts to purge ourselves of a poisonous philosophy we have denied ourselves a connection to a great artistic heritage. I say to hell with purity. The weapons of the enemy are expedient. We must snatch them up and turn them to our own ends.

Our neglect of the Greco-Roman tradition is even less understandable. Through the intermediary of Rome, the Greeks have become the cultural ancestors of all of western civilization. We may not necessarily be in love with civilization, but we cannot deny who we are.

A study of early Greek philosophy quickly proves that mysticism was never exclusively eastern and an exploration of modern Hellenismos reveals a tradition that is highly compatible with Heathenism, to say the least. Besides, the Iliad and the Odyssey are such ripping good yarns that it’s a shame to exclude them.

If you’ll join me in a moment of selective fundamentalism I might propose that we accept Snorri on face value. There, now we’re all descended from the Trojans and the Iliad is, at least, an important clue to our heritage. For those who care to notice, the Trojans of the Iliad speak Greek and worship Greek gods. We all get to be Greeks, too!

And so we come to the end of this, one young Heathen’s rambling reaction to his first footsteps on European soil. It’s taken me a long time to digest what I learned about myself in Paris. But, in the end, the lesson is simple and obvious. In order to truly understand ourselves as Germanics, we must understand ourselves as Europeans as well.

Viva Europa!

The Balts are close neighbors of the Germans and Scandinavians and have even used runic letters in their writing, though they speak a different language group and practice a different form of Indo-European Paganism.

The surviving members of the Baltic language family today are Lithuanian and Latvian, but in the past this family included mighty Prussian. Though the Prussian identity has since been absorbed by Germany, the Latvians and Lithuanians have retained much of their own original language and culture.

The Lithuanian language in particular, is said to be the most archaic surviving Indo-European language. That is, Latvian is closer to Proto Indo-European than any other language in existence.

Anyone wishing to hear how Indo-Europeans spoke should come and listen to a Lithuanian peasant: Antoine Meillet

The Lithuanians were relatively late converts to Christianity, even later than the Scandinavians. The official conversion of Lithuania was not completed until the 14th century and Paganism remained in practise among the peasantry until the 17th or 18th. Of course, many Pagan elements have remained in Lithuanian folk practise right up to the present day.

The Lithuanian Pagan revival movement, known as Romuva, began early in the 19th century and survived even during the Soviet occupation. The Romuvans can rightfully lay claim to an ancient tradition that is unbroken or very nearly so. Today, Pagansim is said to be a well accepted part of Lithuanian culture and folk traditon. The face of one famous Pagan revival leader even graces the front of the 200 Litas banknote.

Much more research is necessary.

Hail Perkunas!