Name: Existentialism: An Introduction, Part 6 - Endgame (??) @ericdodson2644
Uploaded: 2026-09-19T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: Existentialism: An Introduction, Part 6 - Endgame (??)

Existentialism: An Introduction, Part 6 - Endgame (??)

Eric Dodson 2026-09-19 | Existentialism: An Introduction, Part 6 - Endgame (??)

Why is life so hard?

Eric Dodson 2023-06-16 | 0:00 – Why does it have to be this way?
0:54 – Born to a tragic lot
1:42 – Our cosmological suppositions
3:05 – What's making life so hard?
4:00 – Hell on Earth... and human history
6:18 – The problem of self-awareness
8:50 – The problem of responsibility
11:16 – Politics & false empowerment
13:33 – The problem of authenticity
16:19 – Wisdom and expanded consciousness
18:07 – A final benediction

Violence and Meaning

Eric Dodson 2023-05-22 | 0:00 – The emptiness of our souls
0:59 – The problem with political “solutions”
2:16 – The nature of meaning
3:10 – Creating a sense of purpose
4:20 – Violence as a failure of meaning
5:19 – Psychological abundance vs. destitution
7:02 – Meaning in our 2-dimensional world
8:12 – Mass-media & our reptilian brains
9:33 – Selling a simplified world
11:05 – Selling schadenfreude & blood
12:55 – Power's investment in violence
14:26 – Emptying our minds of bullshit
15:55 – Becoming agents of the infinite
17:18 – A final benediction

Wisdom and The Depth of Life

Eric Dodson 2023-03-11 | 0:00 – Introduction
0:32 – Our Mostly 2-dimensional World
1:49 – Life's Depth-dimension
2:12 – Spiritual and Religious Experience
3:07 – Self-actualization and Authenticity
5:00 – Our World's Problems: 3 Types
6:28 – Our Lack of 3-Dimensional Wisdom
8:01 – The Power of Distraction
9:13 – The Logic of Seduction & Addiction
10:11 – Evolution & Consummating Our Existence
11:43 – What's Standing in Our Way?
12:12 – #1: Our Prevailing Cultural Practices
13:58 – #2: Institutionalized Power
16:47 – #3: Wisdom's Paradoxical Nature
17:25 – #4: Addiction to Self-importance
19:08 – Summary of Obstacles to Wisdom
19:49 – Cultivating Humility
20:14 – Cultivating Self-awareness
22:18 – Cultivating Courage
23:36 – Summary of Prescriptive Suggestions
24:30 – All apologies

Why is the world so weird?

Eric Dodson 2022-06-07 | 0:00 – Matrix reading
0:28 – Introduction
1:48 – The irrationality of rationality
3:06 – Four examples
7:44 – The problem with non-holistic reason
9:16 – Living in a 2-dimensional world
10:15 – The sense of spiritual depth
12:41 – Speaking prosaically in a poetic world
13:50 – Why real understanding is rare
15:08 – Ideological divisiveness
16:06 – Why I believe in free thinkers
17:28 – Summary
18:39 – Hope... and take care of your soul

Dealing with rejection

Eric Dodson 2022-05-18 | 0:00 – Introduction
2:10 – #1: Recognizing its inevitability
5:37 – #2: Considering the source
6:14 – .....when people don't understand us
7:35 – .....when people do understand us
8:57 – #3: Bettering ourselves
10:50 – #4: Authenticity & integrity
13:33 – .....confronting our mortality
15:23 – #5: Finding our spiritual family
17:16 – .....waiting for a sign from one of our kind
18:32 – .....deepening our consciousness
20:51 – #6: Forgiving & moving on
21:38 – .....the selfishness of forgiveness
22:53 – .....forgiveness & self-defense
24:09 – .....letting go of self-importance
26:37 – Summary of 6 strategies
28:14 – Take care of your soul

Wisdom & Discomfort

Eric Dodson 2022-04-15 | 0:00 – Wisdom's Paradoxical Nature
1:14 – A Working Definition
2:34 – Encountering our shadows
3:50 – Paring away distractions
6:42 – Facing our mortality
9:57 – Becoming ourselves
13:13 – Letting go of our addictions
16:16 – Decisions & honesty
18:43 – The meaning of commitment
23:21 – Summary
25:16 – Take care of your soul

My Approach to YouTube (40K special)

Eric Dodson 2022-03-09 | 0:00 – Introduction
0:36 – I don't beg
2:31 – I don't waste time with fancy graphics
3:21 – I don't pan-handle
6:34 – I don't do social media
8:06 – Speaking the truth as I see it
8:25 – Giving to other people
9:00 – Giving back to YouTube
10:00 – Self-discovery
10:45 – Creativity
11:49 – Who do I think you are?
12:54 – Captaining your own ship
14:00 – The importance of passion
15:06 – Opening the wings of our souls
16:12 – Thanks for being born to this world

What I Believe... (part 2)

Eric Dodson 2022-02-26 | 0:00 – Awakening, waiting & moderation
1:13 – Wounds, destiny & danger
2:16 – Needs, limitations & childhood
3:20 – War, hatred & privilege
4:47 – Growth, entropy & dying
5:27 – Stupidity, gratitude & change
6:24 – Silence, arguments & crowds
7:22 – Fear, freedom & potential

What I believe...

Eric Dodson 2022-02-19 | 0:00 – Human nature
4:53 – Our world's problems
5:47 – Life generally
6:40 – Politics
7:21 – Our dictatorial desires & projects
9:21 – Humor & laughter
10:08 – Teaching, learning & wisdom
11:18 – Finale

The Seducer Archetype (and why our world needs it)

Eric Dodson 2022-02-09 | 0:00 – Introduction
1:29 – Some basic definitions
2:20 – Seduction is all around us
3:00 – Understanding seduction
4:03 – Our dark, forbidden desires
6:08 – Appealing to our hidden impulses
9:33 – How self-awareness protects us
12:27 – Self-awareness & the nature of trust
16:21 – We're creatures of desire, not reason
19:39 – Summary
21:41 – Sometimes we need to go astray

The Sage Archetype (and why our world needs it)

Eric Dodson 2022-01-29 | 0:00 – Introduction
1:03 – Defining archetypes and sages
2:24 – Wisdom vs. intelligence
3:47 – Wisdom as holistic
5:36 – Our world's problems: 3 categories
7:06 – Problems relating well to each other
9:13 – Problems relating well to ourselves
10:49 – Problems relating well to the world
12:47 – Becoming aware of wisdom as a value
15:17 – Changing our lives
19:28 – Some representations of the Sage Archetype
20:59 – Wisdom & the task of consummating our lives

The Hero Archetype (and why our world needs it)

Eric Dodson 2022-01-20 | 0:00 – Why so few heroes among our leaders?
2:06 – Preliminary 1: Basic definitions
3:08 – Preliminary 2: Courage
4:33 – Preliminary 3: The Hero's Journey
5:19 – Descending into the underworld
6:54 – Actualizing what's powerful in our souls
8:00 – Honoring our suffering
9:13 – The problem with Mary-Sue's
11:59 – Our resistance to the heroic
14:36 – Our fear of responsibility
17:03 – Our fear of alienation & rejection
18:50 – Our fear of our own souls
20:14 – Our addiction to self-importance
23:13 – Summary of 8 main points
25:31 – Reclaiming ancient wisdom

The Trickster Archetype (and why our world needs it)

Eric Dodson 2022-01-13 | 0:00 - “One must still have chaos within oneself...”
1:30 - Defining archetypes
3:15 - Carl Jung & Joseph Campbell
5:53 - Liminality: Fools, creativity & progress
11:31 - Resisting dictatorial tyranny
14:05 - Tricksters & wisdom
19:38 - Infinite games & having fun
24:22 - Summary
25:56 - The terrible blood-wound of life

Soul-work & psychopomps

Eric Dodson 2022-01-07 | 0:00 – Comedic invocation
1:08 – What is a psychopomp?
2:34 – Losing the sense of soul
3:50 – Reclaiming the sense of soul
7:52 – Psychotherapy as soul-work
9:21 – Teaching as soul-work
11:25 – Comedians, poets & oracles
14:43 – Psychopomps in everyday life

Why is life unfair?

Eric Dodson 2022-01-03 | 0:00 – Introduction
0:24 – Reason 1: Life's logic isn't about fairness
3:37 – Reason 2: There's no definitive reference point
5:22 – Our personal view of fairness isn't the only one
8:05 – What we desire vs. What is real
11:16 – Unfairness, misery & letting go of entitlement
14:08 – The illusion of needing things before we can start
17:19 – The illusion of faux empowerment
19:35 – Resenting other people's good fortune
22:09 – More on luck & unfairness
24:19 – Moving from resentment to enjoyment
26:41 – Fortune favors equanimity & being sanguine

Why are we here?

Eric Dodson 2021-12-29 | 0:00 – Introduction
0:50 – Why bother asking why we're here?
1:53 – Reason #1: Enhancing our experience of life
3:15 – Reason #2: Discovering our deeper possibilities
4:50 – The anxiety of confronting life's uncertainty
6:53 – The anxiety of deviating from social norms
9:19 – Deferring to religious belief-systems
12:41 – The narcosis of commodity/entertainment culture
15:06 – My answer: Phenomenological holism
16:27 – My answer: Riding the wild stallion of life
18:14 – My answer: Becoming the artists of our answers to life's riddle

Seeing Public Figures as Human Beings

Eric Dodson 2021-12-06 | 0:00 – Introduction
2:00 – How we're all composites of good & bad
4:00 – Judgment vs. understanding
5:33 – Humility & our fragile egos
7:03 – Our addiction to self-importance
8:48 – The problem of confirmation-bias
10:07 – Seeing Joe Biden as stupid
14:00 – Seeing Donald Trump as an arrogant jerk
17:30 – Letting go of our demonizing rhetoric
18:47 – Letting go of our self-importance
20:01 – Becoming a conduit for compassion & freedom

Holism, Addiction & Wisdom

Eric Dodson 2021-12-01 | 0:00 – Invocation
1:14 – Holism as relational
3:12 – Holism as contextual
4:22 - How life resists reduction
5:59 – The dark side of life
8:50 – How holism includes anti-holism
12:16 – How holism alters thinking itself
14:29 – What is wisdom?
15:53 – Addiction & self-importance
19:38 – Accepting things as they are
20:59 – Wisdom & humility
22:31 – Humanity's evolutionary struggle
23:45 – An exercise you can try at home

The Value of Humor

Eric Dodson 2021-11-17 | 0:00 - Introduction
2:24 - Qualifier 1: The issue isn't a matter of absolutes
3:21 - Qualifier 2: My own, personal biases
4:25 - Value 1: Humor is a way of experiencing the joy of life itself
6:19 - Value 2: How humor expands our awareness
7:32 - Value 3: How humor fosters wisdom by deflating our self-seriousness
9:04 - Value 4: How humor fosters the humility to perceive reality as it is
11:47 - Value 5: How humor loosens social repression and fosters honesty
13:33 - Value 6: How humor safeguards a space for chaos, magic and the Dionysian
15:07 - Summary
16:34 - Humor's power to unsettle and challenge us
18:24 - Our eagerness to take offense... and our dictatorial impulses
19:59 - How free are we really? The Emperor's shlong is flopping in the wind!

What Makes Life Worthwhile?

Eric Dodson 2021-11-06 | 0:00 - Introduction
2:03 - The perspectival nature of the question and its possible answers
4:29 - Answer #1: Pleasure & happiness
5:25 - Problem: Times when suffering makes life worthwhile
7:33 - Problem: The interdependency of pain and pleasure
9:57 - Answer #2: Aesthetics & wisdom
13:26 - Answer #3: Sociality... giving & receiving
16:52 - Answer #4: The adventure of transcendence
18:06 - Danger, fear and the prospect of annihilation
20:42 - Transcendence requires no special occasion
24:04 - The necessity of cultivating a strategic sense for danger
25:32 - Practicing self-awareness
29:53 - Summary & conclusion

Here's a link to my earlier video on anti-natalism and efilism, which has to do with the question of what makes life NOT worthwhile:
youtube.com/watch?v=xFzxgZq6Vcc&t=2s

Why we dont trust the news

Eric Dodson 2021-10-22 | 0:00 - Introduction
0:42 - Distrusting the news media's ideological biases
2:33 - The news and The Boy Who Cried, 'Wolf!'
6:12 - The news foments division in our world
8:16 - The news compromises its own credibility & generates chaos
11:36 - Factual news & the task of living in a representative democracy
12:25 - Appealing to the lower brain
16:27 - Outrage, hatred and the quest for identity
18:23 - Our resistance to change, and to assuming responsibility
19:41 - Profit and the cerebral cortex
20:42 - Who's to blame? No one and everyone
25:55 - What to do? Starting with the man in the mirror

Meditation and Empowerment

Eric Dodson 2021-04-20 | 0:00 - Introduction
1:34 - Empowerment and hierarchies of advantage
3:02 - The illusory nature of hierarchical empowerment
7:27 - Empowerment that keeps us disempowered
8:46 - Introducing meditation: Presence, awareness & mindfulness
10:14 - The power of silence: Uncommon sanity... and contact with reality
12:57 - Self-awareness
16:08 - Understanding other people
18:50 - The failure of today's prevailing vision of empowerment
21:55 - The art of allowing: The power to accept things as they are
25:27 - Generating a divided, resentful world (like ours)
27:31 - A portrait of empowerment from a meditative perspective
30:42 - The automaticity of genuine empowerment

Existentialism and Empowerment

Eric Dodson 2021-03-31 | 0:00 - Introduction. Empowerment means...
1:13 - (1) learning to live authentically
6:35 - (2) assuming personal responsibility for the quality of our lives
9:21 - (3) wanting what we get, rather than getting what we want
12:06 - (4) improving ourselves, rather than blaming others
13:16 - (5) realizing that no one ever empowers us, other than ourselves
15:00 - (6) becoming a free thinker and a free agent
17:01 - (7) realizing that change happens as a function of acceptance and patience, rather than spiritual bypassing

Hauntology and hauntings

Eric Dodson 2021-03-05 | 0:00 - Introducing hauntology
1:10 - Jacques Derrida and post-structuralism
3:52 - Marxism's graveyard
5:02 - Forgetfulness and the reanimation of cruelty
6:39 - Hauntology and music
7:22 - Nostalgia: The steampunk and retro movements
8:41 - A personal anecdote: Coin collecting
10:09 - A personal anecdote: Learning Latin
11:09 - Hauntology and regret
13:19 - Hauntology and unrealized possibilities
14:54 - Finding value in our imperfections
16:24 - Learning to love the fugitive spirits that fill our hearts & minds

Here's the video I did that explains basic Structuralism & Post-structuralism
youtube.com/watch?v=Nx-RuOpg31E&t=757s

Here's a video that contains a lot of hauntology music
youtube.com/watch?v=EYBOOKtzTfY

The Meaning of Commitment: A Few Thoughts

Eric Dodson 2021-02-18 | 0:00 - Introducing commitment
0:30 - Commitment involves difficulty and pain
1:47 - Commitment involves being "half-sure, but whole-hearted"
3:58 - Commitment involves integrating our hearts and minds
5:40 - Commitment involves self-awareness
7:07 - Commitment involves authenticity
9:14 - The struggle to lay claim to our lives
11:52 - Consummating our existence itself

When our dreams destroy us...

Eric Dodson 2021-02-06 | 0:00 - Introducing the Icarus Complex
1:17 - Example 1: Addictive behavior
2:59 - Example 2: Crash-and-burn love relationships
5:00 - Example 3: Celebrity flame-outs
6:28 - Example 4: Cults & genocidal social movements
7:57 - The role of hubris
10:32 - The problem with deviating too far from reality
13:18 - A corrective: Learning to inhabit the present moment fully
14:57 - Daedalus's secret: Balance
15:57 - Finale: Navigating between truth and desire

The Source of our Fears: An Exploration

Eric Dodson 2021-01-26 | 1:24 - The problem with a narrowly scientific approach
2:49 - The problem with trying to see what we don't want to see
4:19 - Our fear of non-existence
6:08 - Our fear of the unknown
9:00 - Our fear of change & letting go of attachment
10:32 - Our attachment to suffering & misery
12:17 - Our fear of the reality of life & death
15:10 - Soren Kierkegaard's concept of dread
18:48 - Humanity's appetite for destruction
20:43 - Our desire for what we fear: The darkness within ourselves
23:23 - The project of living past our fears
25:12 - Why there's no shame in cowardice
27:18 - My own journey...

Courage, Fear & Danger

Eric Dodson 2020-10-24 | 1:11 - Courage isn't about a simple absence of fear
3:14 - Courage is a capacity we develop over time
4:47 - Why life itself is already dangerous, and calls for courage
7:25 - Developing a taste for strategically dangerous experiences
9:58 - Developing the courage to be what we are
11:06 - The cold caress of death
13:31 - Facing our most primitive fears: Death, suffering & rejection
16:04 - Our paradoxical fear of being brilliant & powerful
19:07 - What's really the alternative to becoming courageous?
20:20 - Learning to choose growth over fear

Having Compassion for our Enemies

Eric Dodson 2020-10-05 | Table of Contents:
0:54 - Why bother having compassion for our enemies?
3:33 - So called “Idiot Compassion”
5:27 - Compassion as "suffering with"
6:51 - Justifying our enmity through our perceived moral superiority
7:40 - The selfishness of forgiveness
10:22 - Letting go of our superficial self-importance
12:51 - Developing self-awareness
15:10 - Developing courage and a taste for authentic existence
16:35 - Experiencing danger, and transcending the limits that define us

Gratitude vs. Entitlement

Eric Dodson 2020-09-30 | Table of Contents
0:45 - Our tendency to focus on the negative
1:59 - An example: How we see our bodies
4:08 - Cultivating an awareness of the gifts we're receiving
5:18 - Addiction to suffering... and the Attitude of Entitlement
7:33 - How entitlement toxifies our world
9:31 - How gratitude enhances our world
11:09 - Perceiving beauty: Openness, vulnerability & safety
13:12 - Becoming intimate with danger: Choosing between love & fear
15:17 - How to change the world through gratitude
17:18 - Why love wins in the end

Confirmation Bias and Meditative Consciousness

Eric Dodson 2020-09-20 | Table of Contents
0:44 - What is Confirmation Bias?
2:17 - The difficulty of perceiving reality accurately
3:39 - An Example: Confirmation Bias and the nightly news
4:48 - The thrill of feeling superior to other people
6:15 - The problem of stagnating in our own echo-chambers
8:20 - Perceiving the world in terms of our personal investments
10:24 - "It's all bubbles..." Introducing Buddhist meditative practice
12:04 - Holding onto our attachments loosely
14:39 - Deepening our awareness by practicing mindfulness
16:00 - Freeing ourselves from the prison-house of our desires
19:17 - Don't take my word for it. Experience it for yourself.

How the world changes (and how it doesnt)

Eric Dodson 2020-09-12 | This video is about how change in our world occurs across the personal and social dimensions.

1:15 - Allowing vs. forcing: The paradigm of pregnancy
4:34 - The problem with spiritual bypassing
6:24 - The self-defeating nature of today's activism
8:34 - How our opponents choose their champion
9:47 - Denial and blame-shifting: How we deal with defeat
12:28 - Changing our lives: Becoming the change we want to see in the world
15:40 - Dropping our self-importance and ideological pretensions
18:37 - Cultivating patience, tolerance, acceptance, and a loving relation to life
21:04 - Assuming responsibility for ourselves, and giving up blame-shifting
24:04 - Allowing people to be what they are
25:54 - Our better and deeper destiny in this life...

Leaving the work-world: The meaning of retirement

Eric Dodson 2020-09-03 | 1:28 - Becoming the captain of our own ships
3:25 - The quest for meaning
6:25 - Choice, freedom and intrinsic motivation
8:24 - Sartre on Bad Faith and the horror of freedom
10:00 - Money, debt and how we enslave ourselves
12:33 - Our desire to be more than one-trick-ponies
16:38 - Interlewd: We are all whores
18:27 - Temporal regulation in the work-world
21:02 - Slowing down and living in temporal abundance
22:55 - Retirement as an intimation of death

Message to a Young Millennial

Eric Dodson 2020-08-24 | Table of Contents
0:57 – Andrew's message and how I understand it
3:23 – Three positive signs
5:56 – Living a meaningful and satisfying life
7:54 – Responsibility: Sailing into the storm that scares us
10:50 – The trickiness of meaning
12:28 – What's getting in your way?
13:08 – Finances?
13:27 – Family and/or friends?
13:57 – Self-doubt?
15:52 – Impatience?
16:58 – Addictive behavior?
18:11 – Becoming strong: Letting go of addictive behavior
21:53 – Discovering your power
23:55 – Dealing with a crisis of imagination
26:29 – Finale: Affirming the value & validity of your struggle

An Introduction to My Channel

Eric Dodson 2020-08-06 | This short video is about my YouTube channel, which I'm going to be revamping and expanding pretty soon. I also have a second YouTube channel, which is devoted to more formal academic lectures. Here's a link to that channel, if you're interested:
youtube.com/channel/UCPNNoDL-z-qLcc7lF5bsWGA

Becoming a Free Thinker

Eric Dodson 2020-08-05 | Table of Contents:
1:24 - Two personal motivations
2:54 - The problem with today's politics
4:53 - Avoiding advocacy
8:07 - Avoiding critical douchebaggery
9:10 - Embracing traditional wisdom
10:51 - Creativity and originality
11:37 - Seeing things from multiple perspectives
12:16 - Transcending defensiveness and territoriality
13:30 - Humor and playfulness
15:10 - Becoming a passionate thinker who doesn't cling too tightly
16:36 - The trap of becoming dependent on the idea of independent thinking
17:48 - Revisiting the stuff in the beginning of this video
18:53 - A message to you viewers

Addiction To Distraction

Eric Dodson 2020-06-09 | Table of Contents
1:20 - Why addiction is mostly about distraction
2:22 - Why news is mostly about distraction
5:08 - Why Outrage™ is mostly about distraction
8:15 - Why commodity-culture is mostly about distraction
10:31 - Our distracted consciousness
12:25 - Why we need vacations from ourselves
15:26 - The road to recovery
18:53 - Acceptance as a gateway to wisdom

Anti-natalism & Efilism: Is Life Affirmable?

Eric Dodson 2020-05-24 | Table of Contents:
1:29 - Definitions
3:09 - Avoiding the trap of obstinate closed-mindedness
4:22 - The disproportionate amount of suffering in life
8:09 - Why meaning falls short
12:06 - Why believing in God falls short
13:53 - Why the narcosis of commodity-culture falls short
15:29 - Nietzsche and aesthetics
17:18 - The immediacy of aesthetic experience
18:11 - The transformative power of aesthetic experience
20:21 - What anti-natalism and efilism offer us

Finding our Best Path in Life

Eric Dodson 2020-05-15 | Table of Contents:
0:40 - Individual variability
1:58 - The clarity of hindsight
4:20 - The urgency of the present moment
5:36 - Authentic existence vs. Inauthentic existence
8:03 - The price of inauthenticity... from the perspective of death
9:21 - Sculpting away the inessential
12:33 - Who are we really?
15:08 - Knowing who we are... is challenging
16:13 - The task of cultivating self-awareness
17:27 - Emptying ourselves... and learning what silence is like

Here's a quick primer I did on Heidegger:
youtube.com/watch?v=A04RhtR0imY&t=19s

Here are some longer lecture videos I did on Heidegger:
youtube.com/watch?v=EJpFJUe6be0
youtube.com/watch?v=u8oULtomILA
youtube.com/watch?v=5EqUTvX2zxA
youtube.com/watch?v=Lw2C1C1CTJg
youtube.com/watch?v=jyazvLR-MpM&t=419s

The Limits of Debate

Eric Dodson 2020-05-12 | Table of Contents:
0:52 - A qualifier: Why debate is still important
1:43 - Debate in politics, academia & everyday life
3:37 - Surprise! Debate hardly ever changes anything
5:05 - The desire to feel like we're right, and hence superior to others
6:49 - Resistance to changing our minds
8:15 - Interlude: A rant about Internet Flame Wars
10:27 - Summary
11:20 - 3 easy rules for determining if people are actually thinking
12:33 - Winning a debate vs. Seeking the truth
14:19 - Why our reason is subservient to our desire
18:43 - The hidden language of desire: An alternative paradigm
21:55 - Opening the wings of our souls: A final exhortation

Burnout

Eric Dodson 2020-04-12 | Table of Contents:
1:09 - A working definition
2:04 - Three primary causes
2:42 - 1. Exhaustion
3:47 - The role of self-awareness
5:24 - Learning to say, "no."
7:11 - Recognizing when we need a new type of life
8:07 - 2. When the world carries us away from what we love
8:42 - An ode to carbon tetra-chloride
11:09 - What price are we willing to pay?
12:04 - 3. Repetition and boredom
13:58 - Burnout: A friend disguised as an enemy
15:06 - What meditation has taught me about repetition & boredom
17:12 - A crisis of the soul... revolution in our perception & values
19:08 - Finale: Developing a helping relationship with ourselves

Respect: What is it?

Eric Dodson 2020-03-07 | Table of contents:
0:28 - High regard and esteem
0:57 - The self-referential and transformative side of respect
1:55 - "Respect" that takes the form of hierarchical dominance through fear and obedience
2:56 - Unconditional respect vs. Conditional respect
4:01 - Why unconditional respect isn't realistic
6:38 - Why insisting on unconditional respect is self-defeating
8:38 - Why people insist on unconditional respect
10:29 - How earning other people's respect solves a lot of problems
12:11 - Respect and authenticity: The problem of pretending
15:41 - Respect and happiness: How to consummate our existence

Philosophy and Love of Wisdom: A Defense

Eric Dodson 2020-02-26 | Table of Contents:
0:28 - Philosophy's project: Love of Wisdom
1:51 - Wisdom is often born in our shadows
3:16 - When knowledge and intelligence aren't enough
6:22 - There are many paths toward wisdom
8:15 - The big questions of life
9:48 - Our world's imbalance: Fixating on the trivial
11:28 - Paradox: It would take wisdom to realize that we lack wisdom
12:52 - Why government & politics won't make us wise
14:00 - Why education won't make us wise
14:53 - Critical thinking... and what's wrong with the world
17:01 - Taking responsibility for the quality of our lives
18:35 - The art of allowing
19:53 - The only way our world changes... is when we ourselves change
21:01 - Well... why not?

Creativity: Facing our fears

Eric Dodson 2020-01-18 | Table of Contents
0:00 - Summary of previous video & introduction
2:31 - Assuming responsibility for our existence
4:15 - The seduction of conformity & obedience
6:16 - Growing sick of enslavement
8:02 - Addiction, bottoming-out... and learning to live our own lives
10:50 - Making friends with failure... and the sensation of danger
13:25 - Swimming in the seas of chaos
14:43 - On being a destroyer
17:24 - Becoming intimate with death
19:28 - Opening ourselves to change
22:35 - Summary: Seven recommendations
23:50 - A final exhortation

Here's a link to the previous video in this series:
youtube.com/watch?v=70n_8wpcOU0&t=73s

Creativity: Where does it come from?

Eric Dodson 2020-01-15 | Table of Contents:
0:51 - The idea that creativity comes from God
1:53 - The idea that creativity comes from the principles that govern the universe
3:03 - Problem: Confirmation bias
4:43 - Problem: The assumption that creativity has to come from somewhere
5:52 - An alternative: Creativity as an manifestation of impermanence
7:04 - An illustrative example: "You can't step in the same river twice"
9:58 - The Jonah Complex: Why life doesn't seem creative
11:57 - The ghosts that haunt us: Facing our fears

Here's a link to the next video in this series on creativity:
youtube.com/watch?v=1fTAO7_2k5A&t=55s

Searching for the Profane

Eric Dodson 2019-12-15 | Table of Contents:
0:48 – Why should we explore the Profane?
2:23 – Everyday profanity: Cussing and swearing
4:13 – The triviality of everyday profanity
6:31 – Intentional rebellion against the sacred
8:04 – Moby Dick: Hating what's behind “the unreasoning mask”
9:19 – Rebelling against the suffering side of life
12:15 – Satan's motivation: Pride, envy, ambition and hubris
14:57 – Satan's motivation: Freedom and enslavement
17:47 – The Profane... and the ecstasy of liberation
19:07 – Summary
20:19 – Understanding the Profane... and the value of compassion

Here's a link to my earlier video on The Sacred:
youtube.com/watch?v=cvE2KjyJsEY

Searching for the Sacred

Eric Dodson 2019-11-18 | Table of Contents:

1:01 -- What does the Sacred feel like?
5:28 --- Holism and the Sacred
9:51 – The Age of Distraction
11:26 -- The post-modern fourfold
12:44 -- Comedic interlude
14:59 -- "What are poets for in a destitute time?"
16:04 -- Politics: A strategy that doesn't work
18:59 -- Activism: Another strategy that doesn't work
20:40 – Becoming a secret agent
24:10 – The task of re-sanctifying all of life
25:47 – Gratitude... and remembering what we really are

Success in Love-relationships

Eric Dodson 2019-10-28 | Table of Contents:
0:47 - Disclaimer
1:32 - Trust & trustworthiness
2:38 - Earning trust: Words are cheap
4:00 - Understanding
7:50 - Acceptance
9:54 - Honesty
11:08 - Kindness
12:58 - Compromise & communication
14:29 - Sharing experience
15:45 - Expressing appreciation & gratitude
17:03 - Bringing out the best in each other
18:17 - Summary
19:17 - Cultivating the personal qualities that breed success

Here's a link to my video on why love-relationships fail:
youtube.com/watch?v=4Mfql9rtbnk&t=300s

Why Love-relationships Fail

Eric Dodson 2019-10-13 | Table of Contents:
0:45 - Why the question is important
2:34 - Discovering our partner's faults and foibles
4:42 - The changing nature of our real selves
5:27 - Our desires: Carnality, companionship and spiritual transcendence
7:10 - When our desires change over time
8:44 - Boredom and our unfulfilled “what if's”
11:30 - Boredom and our fundamental discomfort with ourselves
12:52 – Impermanence and the illusion of failure
15:00 – Gratitude for what we've gained along the way
17:15 – Our attraction to darkness
19:43 – Loving each other requires the best and bravest parts of us

Six reasons why our love-relationships fail:
1. We start to discover who our partners really are, and we don't like it
2. Our partners change, and we don't like who they've become
3. Our desires shift over time, and become incompatible with our partner's
4. We become bored because we're wondering what else is out there that we haven't experienced yet
5. We become bored because we're fundamentally uncomfortable with our lives and ourselves
6. We're secretly attracted to the kind of darkness that will undo our relationships

On Becoming a Teacher

Eric Dodson 2019-09-14 | Table of Contents:

0:35 - The mechanics of teaching
1:28 - Passion and commitment
3:23 - Cultivating humility
4:49 - We teach best what we most need to learn
6:09 - Remembering what it's like to be young
6:59 - Beckoning our students toward the beyond
7:41 - Participating in the raging magnificence of life
8:43 - Teaching as a spiritual, sacred calling
10:41 - The evanescence of information
11:44 - What endures???.... the lessons that burn