chapters

Knowledge to Volition

“I used to think my brain was my most important organ —
until I realized who was telling me that”

 —  Emo Phillips

What do you really know about yourself and how you react to the things that happen?

Three shows [links above] invite you to explore some interesting phenomena from the first-person perspective as well as from the observer's perspective.

Researching subjective experience, including how you acquire knowledge, does more than satisfy your curiosity. The payoff for discovering the cause-and-effect principles that determine how you react to the things that happen is the power to influence the course of events. This knowledge is especially valuable when the current course of events predictably leads to unwanted outcomes.

Knowing the truth about yourself and the causes of your excessive appetites [food, alcohol, drugs, sex/porn, gambling], or emotional reactions that sabotage your relationships or goals can set you free [irreversibly] from the unnecessary suffering you cause yourself.

We live in a deterministic universe. Experiential phenomena doesn't just happen, they are determined by antecedents [e.g., biological predispositions, earlier conditioning]. You had no control over these things, and so as a child you were not responsible for the errors you made.  But now that you are capable of understanding cause-and-effect, you are responsible for getting yourself to act in accord with your interests and principles even in the face of stressors and temptations that would motivate you to defect.

A self-guided course containing abstract information for your rational mind [the observer] and invitations to direct experience [the first-person perspective] will help you develop the mental faculties and practical skills to follow your path of greatest advantage rather than continue to drift in the direction of least resistance.

Two versions of this course focusing on different problems are available. They are similar, so you only need to follow the one you judge best suited for your circumstance. There is no charge for access to the materials. Online collaboration is available for a fee.

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