mercury rules alchemy because of the simple ability the mind has to assimilate information and make choices with it. 

If we were strictly unconscious and without awareness, we would be at the mercy of instinct. However, I believe that the condition of being human is about the condition of being straddled in-between the divine and the primal. We have “higher faculties” that I would attribute to “God” — God, in this case, defined as absolute awareness, the pinnacle of evolution. We have the faculties of reason, of compassion, of foresight. We are given the ability to consciously make decisions despite what raw impulse pulls us toward. This is perhaps related to Freud’s mental triad, the distinction between the id/ego/superego. Though there are some differences in the “semi-model” that I am proposing, there are enough similarities for it to be mentioned. The “human” within us is the ego, straddled between the raw impulses of the id and the higher reasoning power of the superego. I too see life in terms of a duality that we are seated in-between, giving birth to a triad — animal, human, divine. 

Through the gift of awareness, we are also necessarily given the gift of choice. One who is not aware does not have choice.

What is awareness? Awareness is matter becoming aware of itself — and, yes, it is defined in terms of itself, this circularity part of its divinity. It is this point that is ineffable, so full of splendor, that I define as the light of God within us. This light of awareness is the same as free will. This awareness is intrinsically related to choice, and there are some who use this awareness to move in an upward, ascending direction, and there are some who use this awareness in a downward, atrophying direction. This is our essential potency. It exists inside of all beings. It exists in varying degrees. It can be cultivated, it can be strengthened. 

I view my entire process of personal evolution as a means of growing my personal awareness. Through awareness, I become less at the mercy of regressive habits. Through awareness, I can consciously choose better ones. Through awareness, passion does not rule sovereign over me; rather, it is a tool that is sublimated towards ever-higher aims, a fuel that is consciously wielded and constructively directed. 

My gripe with modern civilization is that there is an array of potential pitfalls to the cultivating of awareness. Though this is tricky verbiage to use, I do, in some ways, view this as a “war.” It is a war because I consciously choose to go against the grain. It is a war because there may be the redirecting of natural aggression against the allure of certain modern distractions. It is an inward war, because the urges towards inertia and atrophy exist within me. It is an outward war, because the objects of “temptation” exist outside. 

Let me be clear that I am not advocating for an approach of extreme asceticism. I am advocating, rather, for balance — an ideal that I see alarmingly underrepresented in our world. Doomscrolling on social media for hours on end, to me, is a danger. It robs us from the mystery and wonder of the present. Instead of exercising our God-given ability to entertain ourselves through creative means, through imagination, through engaging with the world around us — all of these things that light up our eyes, light equaling awareness, awareness equaling “Godliness” — doomscrolling on social media dulls the eyes, dulls the mind, vampirically sucks our creative power, our executive function — 

and if we are to really begin talking about this, there is an injustice involved. Do we not realize that major social media companies are well aware that their products are addicting, and purposely craft them to ensnare our biological hardware? Do we not realize that they do this to make a profit off of the literal atrophying of the minds of the masses? If you are not paying, you are the product. We are a resource that social media companies are selling to advertisers to make money off of our dwindling cognitive abilities. 

If this sounds alarmist, perhaps it should! 

Simply imagine this: imagine if every time you had a lull in your day, and you had nothing to do, your phone wasn’t there. Instead of the sequence going brief lull > nothing to do > phone, your phone wasn’t even there. What would you get up to? Perhaps you’d phone a friend. Perhaps you’d read a book. Perhaps you’d engage with the present in any more meaningful way than the immediate satisfaction and instant gratification of social media. 

I.. genuinely feel so passionate about this. It genuinely makes me feel alarmed and… almost overwhelmed with the state of our world. 

What do I want out of life?

I want to create evermore moments with loved ones where there are no phones. Simply… to be out in nature. Maybe an entire week. We simply entertain ourselves with games, creative outlets, exploring, adventuring, learning, talking, laughing, appreciating the natural beauty of the world. Our phones in a locked box for the entire week. One person with adequate self-discipline who knows how to open it or something, I don’t know. But god, I feel so, so strongly about this. Where are the people who feel the same? Where are the likeminded individuals who want to live in this way, too?

Without extremism. I don’t want to be some crazy nut who immediately rejects all technology or products of human advancement. I just want… balance. Moderation. And we don’t have it right now, which is why I feel I need to so strongly pull the opposite direction.

When I choose to read instead of doomscroll, this is why. When I choose to exercise instead of laze in front of a TV, this is why. When I choose to immerse myself in nature alone, without checking my phone or taking pictures, just contemplating — this is why. When I choose to meditate and simply be, instead of feeding my mind with needless information, this is why. When I choose to look a stranger in the eye and smile with genuine compassion, I fight how our phones have made us more disconnected than ever. When I strike small talk with a cashier, this is why. When I…

I think you get the point.

This, to me, is the true counterculture of our modern day. It isn’t easy, and that is what makes it more of substance.