# Robert Simoes


## Posts

- [You Technically Need a Permit for That: Spirit of the Law, Letter of the Law](https://robertxworld.com/you-technically-need-a-permit-for-that/): A grey, monochrome palette of clouds, interrupted by spurts of sunlight, painted the San Francisco sky. Overlooking John F. Kennedy Drive, I plant my carrying case and knapsack on the stone ledge. At the touch of a button, my small JBL speaker ignites, preparing the atmosphere. Opening the black case I had brought from the Uber, I gently unzipped the tabs to a worn-out DJ console. Within minutes, a few cords connected and setting my laptop straight, my signature park DJ session was about to be in store. I started playing tracks as passersby smiled or rollerbladed through with definite 80s-style. […]
- [Press ENTER to Feel: In Silico-Qualia](https://robertxworld.com/press-enter-to-feel/): Address 0x40 settles in the program counter. Opcode ADD latches into the instruction register, brief and exact. Three targets awaken: registers R1, R2, and R3. Data 0x0F drains out of R1, followed by 0x01 draining to R2. The execution unit consumes both streams. Output 0x10 overwrites R3. The program counter steps to 0x44. Loading… blinks across the CDJ screen as the media player buffers the next track. Lifting their gaze from the console, the DJ sees a numinous transformation occur.  An earth-shattering drum rumbles through the floor again and again as its thundering roars off the geodesic dome internals and out […]
- [RXW12 - Kathryn Bakos: Climate Adaptation, Financial Losses, Canada Climate, Optimism](https://robertxworld.com/rxw12-kathryn-bakos/): CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction & What is Climate Adaptation? 00:03:15 The Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation 00:07:15 Insurance Trends as a Climate Risk Proxy 00:15:30 How Flooding Impacts the Housing Market 00:21:07 Home-Level Flood Protection for $0, $250, $250+; Municipalities offering $3K+ in subsidies to prevent flood 00:26:52 Extreme Weather Risks Across Canada 00:34:08 Corporate Risk & Financial Exposure 00:40:20 The real ROI for Adaptation: $2-10B / yr? 00:46:02 Dawn River and Central Waterfront Project 00:54:29 Global vs. Local Action 00:58:28 Community-Level Actions & Listener Resources Extreme weather is driving catastrophic insurable losses in Canada, evidenced by record multi-billion-dollar damage and significant […]
- [I Lost My Heart in Ericeira: the heart centre, cacao & connection](https://robertxworld.com/i-lost-my-heart-in-ericeira/): I tell people I lost my heart in Ericeira. The ocean swept up my recklessness one June morning as I leapt forward into the freezing water—missing the icebaths back home. Exiting the freezing Atlantic to the crisp breeze of Portugal’s coastal surf town, I lost something without realizing it.  Grief struck later, searching the mirror with a phantom touch to a beloved Malachite necklace, missing; the accommodation quiet with guests already out surfing the coastline. It was only my first month into travel, and here I stood, alone in a hostel built like the 70s. My touchstone had travelled with me […]
- [The Shadow Artist, The Software Engineer: Getters, Setters, and Other Things I Loved Without Knowing Why](https://robertxworld.com/shadow-artist-software-engineer/): In Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, she defines a “shadow artist” as someone who works near an artistic outlet without ever fully owning it. For example, the music producer who promotes concerts, the novelist who goes into journalism, the filmmaker who becomes a critic. Each profession scratches an itch of artistic motivation, but never satisfies it.  What drew me to software was not the job listing prose. Not solving difficult technical problems using AI, i.e., tokenmaxxing to feed the IPO roadshow; nor taking technical debt as an exciting challenge, i.e., unmaintained code can never be a systemic failure, rather, a fun […]
- [The Wi-Fi Password is 'heartcenter'](https://robertxworld.com/the-wi-fi-password-is-heartcenter/): I’m sitting on a worn-out, low, crimson couch cushion. Around me are multi-dimensional prisms, astrology books, tarot cards, and metaphysical conjectures by philosophers and lunatics alike. Ahead, the corner holds a crew of three: a young man and two women volunteering to serve tea. Pure volunteerism runs this teahouse, an unassuming backyard basement. I do not know who owns it or pulls a profit (or loss) from it.  Sitting up straight, the genteel volunteer, dressed in a loose makeshift skirt, delivered an elderberry hibiscus tea to my post. Grateful, I thank her as she smiles with a look I can only […]
- [Dress Rehearsal for Life; ambition, self-mythology & a cheque that carried the weight of the world](https://robertxworld.com/dress-rehearsal-for-life/): “You know that you are a motivational speaker, right?” She said. Her affectionate tone carried a tenderness, half-joking, that I tried to rationalize as merely polite. Sitting in the cafe holding a short cup of cacao, unknowingly, she had struck the vein of a very old source rock in the story of my life, one that she probably did not realize how far into the past it ran. I’m standing alone in a University Community Center basement classroom. Beige, brown and black tiled, dull, and lifeless walls enclose the space with a cast of around 18 empty chairs and tables. Overhead, […]
- [Sidemen Is a Good Place To Do Nothing](https://robertxworld.com/sidemen-is-a-good-place-to-do-nothing/): I’m sitting on the patio of Buntera Homestay in Sidemen, Indonesia. Staring at the intertwined plant forest in front as the open hills over the stone wall roll in the distance, the sounds of barking stray dogs have alerted the village that it is, in fact, the morning and time to get up. On the Eastern edge of Bali, a few hours from the bustling draw of Ubud is the small rural area of Sidemen. A population of 39,000 split across 10 villages, some people say that Sidemen reflects Bali from 20 years ago. A place before the influx of investment […]
- [Ain't No Economy Like the Attention Economy: on leaving (but never actually leaving)](https://robertxworld.com/aint-no-economy-like-the-attention-economy/): How the hell am I back on here?, the thought arrived, as an accordian menu folded open to reveal a handful of Instagram profiles hungry for my attention. Before I had time to wonder, my curious thumbs darted into the first account to check what I missed. I don’t even remember why I opened the app. But to explain that, I have to go back. Years back, actually, to a YouTube video most people should have watched. I watched it and still didn’t get the message for another decade The first time I tried to delete my Facebook account, something wild […]
- [RXW9 - Wes Myers: Modern Dating, Keeper Matchmaking, Dating Apps, Incentive Design, Soulmates](https://robertxworld.com/rxw9-wes-myers/): Wes Myers is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Keeper.ai, an experienced matchmaker, and relationship expert. He is working at Keeper to end human loneliness. How? According to Keeper, by giving everyone the opportunity to start a happy, healthy family. Approaching modern dating challenges through a lens of long term relationship formation rather than casual dating. Keeper uses Technology based matchmaking with human expertise to create meaningful, long-term relationships, boasting a 10% success rate for first dates turning into committed relationships Keeper focuses on long term, marriage, and family formation rather than casual based dating Positioned as a matchmaking service […]
- [RXW8 - Dr. Wolfgang Palaver: Mimetic Theory, Rene Girard, Violence & The Sacred](https://robertxworld.com/rxw8-dr-wolfgang-palaver/): Dr. Wolfgang Palaver is a distinguished scholar in the field of political theology, christian social thought and the philosophy of René Girard. From 2002 to 2023 Dr. Palaver was professor of Christian Social Thought in the Institute of Systematic Theology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. His research focuses on the intersection of religion, politics, and violence, drawing extensively from Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory. He has authored a number of books and articles, exploring themes such as sacrifice, modernity, and mimetic desire. In specific, Dr. Palaver is the author of the comprehensive synthesis of Girardian Mimetic Theory entitled “Rene Girard’s Mimetic […]
- [RXW7 - Danielle Strachman: Backing Young Makers, 1517 Fund, Thiel Fellowship, Challenging Education](https://robertxworld.com/rxw7-danielle-strachman/): Danielle Strachman is the co-founder and GP of 1517 Fund, a premiere pre-seed venture capital firm backing ambitious young high-school, college and makers working on big ideas. With a tag line of “Backing dropouts working on hard problems & sci-fi scientists at the earliest stages of their companies”, Danielle has been working on 1517 for 10+ years backing bright young minds to pursue great work. Prior to 1517, she worked as the early program director for the Thiel Fellowship, a grant based program offering $100K to high potential students to “stop-out” of college for a year and pursue an idea on […]
- [RXW6 - MJDorian: Creative Codex, Creative History, Jungian Archtypes, Being An Artist](https://robertxworld.com/rxw6-mjdorian/): MJ Dorian is an artist, educator, podcast creator, and award winning composer. He is the host of the podcast production Creative Codex, a compendium and compass to the arcane world of creativity exploring the questions of what is creative genius and where does it come from? Through his original research, composure and production, MJ explores artists such as Alexander McQueen, William Blake, Da Vinci, and more through the lens of Jungian Analytical psychology to unearth the source of creative vision and how it can be nurtured. MJ’s talent in straddling the often nebulous world of creativity in a rational way without […]
- [RXW5 - Dr. Shannon Lodoen: Rhetoric of Smartphones, Convergence, Culture & Technology](https://robertxworld.com/rxw5-dr-shannon-lodoen/): Dr. Shannon Lodoen is an academic in the field of rhetoric studying the relationship between modern society and the smartphone. Obtaining her doctorate from the University of Waterloo, she has continued to explore the dilemmas present at the intersection of society, technology (in the form factor of the smartphone), and the individual. Using her lens of rhetoric as a framework, Shannon seeks to understand why the world is the way it is by analyzing the role of persuasion in technology. In this episode Robert & Shannon explore Shannon’s ideas around the smartphone, the characteristics that make it unlike any tool or […]
- [RXW1 - Udara Jayawardena: Founder Story, UNMS, Design Thinking, Technological Optimism](https://robertxworld.com/rxw1-udara-jayawardena/): Udara Jayawardena is a serial entrepreneur and founder of UNMS Technologies a multi-disciplinary practice producing software, media and art. Previously selling his companies Tidl/Alchemy & Clew, he is now working to improve research and individual experience with his ventures at UNMS. In this conversation we cover: Why Udara moved from Sri Lanka when he was 18 The importance of physical assembly and entrepreneurial places Technological optimism with AI and UNMS Design thinking and the role of opinions in design Existential dilemmas in human connection and lonliness. Subscribe on your favourite podcast provider, this is going to be a ride. Subscribe to […]
- [RXW2 - Ian Timotheos-Pilon: Cultivating Clarity, Design Thinking, AI Agents, Agentic Payments](https://robertxworld.com/rxw2-ian-timotheos-pilon/): Ian Timotheos-Pilon is a 10+ year product & experience designer, and author of Cultivating Clarity: The art of discerning what matters using contextual intelligence. In this episode, Robert & Ian catch up to discuss AI, AI Agents, Intelligence, the future and more. 0:00 – Intro 11:59 – Concerns of AI & Atrophy 16:13 – Physical Assembly 25:01 – What does AI mean to the human experience? 30:00 – Seeking for Other Forms of Intelligence 33:22 – What is Intelligence? 40:19 – Problems of Security 48:00 – Origins of the Book 55:01 – Jobs to Be Done Theory 1:02:01 – People Fight […]
- [RXW4 - Freddy Gervasi: Soul Expansion, Wellness, Inner Mindset & Entrepreneurial Journey](https://robertxworld.com/rxw4-freddy-gervasi/): Freddy Gervasi is a former athlete turned entrepreneur, musician and now founder of the wellness & personal growth concert experience Soul Expansion. Through an 8 piece band offering original music, in a multi-sensory environment using breathwork and meditation, participants experience a community of mutual interest in expanding their sense of self. Freddy was inspired to bring his offering to light after a turbulent entrepreneurial journey steeped in the difficulties of fitting in and finding his way. Soul Expansion aims to recalibrate participant nervous systems and regulate emotional states using ancient practices in a non-judgement communal setting focused on self-development. In this […]
- [RXW3 - Adam Lewis: Intuition, Othership, Exploring Masculinity, Wellbeing](https://robertxworld.com/rxw3-adam-lewis/): Adam Lewis is a growth strategist, entrepreneur and community builder passionate about empowering people, brands, and movements. Previously leading growth & partnerships at Othership (@othership), Adam took his fixation on wellness, integration and community to co-found MANCAMP (@mancamp.ca), a men’s community and festival to explore his own sense and growth of masculinity. In this episode, Adam and I converse on a variety of topics including: – Adam’s story as an entrepreneur and how it lead him to the “dark night of the soul” – Holistic wellness & building intuition through your personal myth – Community, mental health, and existentialism in modernity […]
- [Side Quest 3: Sartre's Lack of Being (RXW)](https://robertxworld.com/side-quest-3-sartres-lack-of-being-rxw/): Content Warning: This episode briefly enters into some heavy topics related to self-harm as presented in literary works such as Dostesvky’s Demons. If these are sensitive topics for you, viewer and listener discretion is advised.
- [RXW11 - Joyce Meng: MBTI, Cognitive Functions, Jung, Identity, Using Type](https://robertxworld.com/rxw11-joyce-meng/): Joyce Meng is a certified MBTI® Master practitioner and host of the Type Talks podcast entered the world of typology and coaching to fulfill her love for helping others and my passion for psychology. She is also the host of type talks diving into the various aspects of Depth Psychology as it relates to cognitive functions and type indicators. OUTLINE 0:00 – Introduction 3:23 – Foundations of Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Jung’s Cognitive Functions 1:00 – Joyce’s Intro to Type 2:45 – Foundations of MBTI and Cognitive Functions 5:31 – Robert’s Type 8:39 – Introversion vs. Extraversion – It’s not […]
- [Side Quest 4: The Reward of a Path is in What it Avoids (RXW)](https://robertxworld.com/sq4/): Is the reward of a path really found in what it avoids?
- [Side Quest 5: Vas Hermeticum (RXW)](https://robertxworld.com/sq5/): Does the psyche possess a natural trial by fire that pulls the spirit to elevated levels of conscious individuation?
- [Side Quest 12 - Emotional Polyphony (RXW)](https://robertxworld.com/sq12/): When we feel our emotions like a piece of music, rather than a still photograph, we allow them to move and layer, rather than being pinned down and lodged for inspection; in doing so we’re practicing a form of emotional polyphony. Emotional polyphony is the capacity of both the human mind and masterful artwork to sustain multiple conflicting emotional registers in parallel without forcing resolution. The literary term “polyphony” originates from Mikhail Bakhtin’s borrowing of “musical polyphony” in application to narrative analysis. It means “a decentered authorial stance that grants validity to all voices” (Carolyn Emerson); in other words, a narrative […]
- [Side Quest 6: The Validation Hole](https://robertxworld.com/sq6/): Drawing on Sherry Turkle’s observation that smartphone-raised kids “know how to be lonely, but not how to be alone,” this episode explores what Jungian psychology calls the vas hermeticum, and it’s antithesis the validation hole. The validation hole represents the impulse to reach for our devices the moment internal tension rises, bleeding pressure through likes, comments, and digital echo chambers before it can do its alchemical work. To illustrate the alternative, the episode turns to Jung himself, who built the Bollingen Tower on Lake Zurich without electricity, running water, or a telephon, a literal stone container where he sat with half-formed […]
- [The Ministry of Self Improvement: discipline, the body, and the tyrant underneath](https://robertxworld.com/the-ministry-of-self-improvement/): There’s definitely a self-destructive part of myself. That’s a guarantee. I feel like a lot of other people have it too, but I could be wrong about that. Jung seemed to think so though. He personified that place, the Shadow, which Robert Johnson playfully describes as: “[the] unconscious dumping ground for undesirable characteristics of a personality” R. Johnson, Owning Your Own Shadow As a collective, we’ve developed different sanctioned places for those parts of ourselves, and for me, that’s always been fitness and performance training. The gym has always been the place to find comfort in breaking myself down and vocalizing […]
- [Martial Arts without Spirituality is Just Violence](https://robertxworld.com/martial-arts-without-spirituality-is-just-violence/): The blunt force of padded knuckles and shins sounded again and again landing on the pads, as the pad holder called out: FOUR!Bang bang bang bang ELBOW!bang CROSS. LOW KICK!bang whack DOUBLE KICK!Whack whack Finally, with a resounding sense of completion in final sequence called out: TEN KICKS! Whack whack whack whack whack whack… With the assault complete, my heart felt just about ready to explode out of my chest. But, before I could catch my breath, Kru Top ran to the push sled, standing on top of it and yelled out to me: TAXI TAXI! I pushed the 75kg fighter […]
- [The Beauty of Ugly Movement: grief, the body, and dancing with what won't leave us](https://robertxworld.com/the-beauty-of-ugly-movement/): I laid on the floor in a heavy state as a dark wave of depressive fatigue and heaviness washed over me. A massive pressure weighed on my head, and that characteristic optimism telling me there is always a way out, reframe or way to step back to see the bigger picture, seemed to be failing me. I didn’t see a way out of what was happening to me: the seeming hell of a mind viciously swirling in an anxious and disturbed spiral; the same hell that Vipassana meditations had so kindly reacquainted me to several months prior in Koh Phangan. Yet, […]
- [Fear, Cold & Connection @ Othership](https://robertxworld.com/fear-cold-connection-othership/): We stood facing the water basins as faux candles let out a soft glimmer in the dark room. Like a 1500s secret Gregorian chanting chamber (or potential incognito cult initiation), four rows of partnered pairs stood above individual plunging pools as sweat dripped off our bodies from the prior sauna session. Inhaling and exhaling deeply into the diaphragm we stared directly into our apparent fate: ice water. Contrast is a fascinating phenomenon, in the absence of adrenaline it’s avoided, but with adrenaline some yearn and hunger for it – so what is there to fear about it? Contrast is despised because […]
- [The Selfish, The Selfless and An Old Man Laughing At the Two](https://robertxworld.com/the-selfish-the-selfless-and-an-old-man-laughing-at-the-two/): I saw the creature scurry across the floor in partial surprise. Cornering the beast, I felt resolute to end the game of hide-and-seek that we had been playing. As it sat helpless, frozen in the corner, I prepared to pounce and end this match once and for all. Yet a quiet memory surfaced from my time studying Zen Buddhism in my early 20s. Supposedly, because Buddhist monks felt compassion so deeply for all conscious beings, they would mindfully walk to avoid harming even the ants on the ground. The principle of non-violence in action. Moreover, they would even supposedly weep and […]
- [Schedule Time To Do Nothing](https://robertxworld.com/schedule-time-to-do-nothing/): Schedule time to do nothing, and I mean nothing. Not reading, Not playing with the phone, Not watching television, Not engaging with some sort of sport, Not thinking obsessively in the mind. Just do nothing. According to Zen Buddhism, there are “three dignities of man”, better “three types of Za Zen”: So if you have to “do something”, choose one of these. In the modality of the Enneagram, living as a Type 3: Achiever in North America, is akin to being an alcoholic trapped in a liquor store. Superficially, as humans we emigrate from our native locality in search of more […]
- [To Balance Yourself Lean Back](https://robertxworld.com/to-balance-yourself-lean-back/): As I biked from the city center toward Manzanillo Forest, a thought bubbled to the top of my mind. “I miss bicycling.” “I haven’t done this in a long time.” Robert’s Thought Nowhere to go but straight. No tasks to accomplish or places to be. If I ended up in Manzanillo, about 10 kilometers away, that’d be great. However, if I stopped short and just biked through this straight road on the coast of Puerto Viejo, that was enough too. Every few minutes, I would try to balance myself on the bike with no hands. It’s something I always admired watching others do […]
- [Beachheads, Wedges and Spikes](https://robertxworld.com/beachheads-wedges-and-spikes/): Early stage products are a collision between imagination and finite reality. Founders with large ambitions usually start with a grand, opinionated vision like this: “Podcast hosting sucks. If I built a host with Spotify-level analytics and Podbean-style tiers, it would be the ultimate solution.”  Founder inner monologue But because ambition leads the way, there is a natural tendency to abstract further: “Wait, what if instead of building the greatest podcast host, I build the white-label software that runs EVERY other podcast host?” Founder inner monologue Eventually, the founder realizes the most abstract tier of software (the platform or network level) is […]
- [A Subtle Web of Meaning](https://robertxworld.com/a-subtle-web-of-meaning/): Sitting inside the Sheraton Hotel Lobby in Toronto, waiting to attend my flight , a man entered the lobby in a frantic state. With his hands shaking, he held his laptop to his waist in a way that said (in earnest): the morning was not going according to plan. “Is there WiFi here?”, he asked. “I’m not sure, maybe try to connect to the lobby WiFi,” I responded. Frantically, he rummaged through his computer looking for the documents needed to take his new job in a different country. The man seemed late and in a pinch. “Do you have a hot […]
- [What Would You Be Secretly Relieved Not to Do?](https://robertxworld.com/what-would-you-be-secretly-relieved-not-to-do/): Several months ago I became a bit obsessed with understanding Human Design (HD), a neo-typology that has emerged in the last 40 years combining Jewish Kabbalah with the Chinese I Ching and Vedic Astrology. While I do wonder if it was an immaculate conception born of counter culture in the bohemian refuge of 1970s Ibiza (the founder “Ra Uru Hu” lived there during his “revelation”), it has stimulated me into trying to live in a more embodied way. That is, to make decisions with an additional body level awareness rather than exclusively from the mind. Through my explorations, I discovered Jenna […]
- [The Banana Trap](https://robertxworld.com/the-banana-trap/): I learned a difficult lesson recently about the idea of commodity versus value this year. I spent the last year failing to sell a commodity as if it were just a premium product at the grocery store: it killed my self esteem and confidence. So let’s get into it. Value is a perception. Value being a perception it is tweakable, positionable and massagable to a potential buyer. Watch this… (Example) Click this button below I will send you my Value Masterclass Bundle: TOTAL COST: $1089 NOW ONLY: $199 HURRY this link expires in 3 days, if you don’t get it now it will go into the […]
- [The Culture That Could Only Count](https://robertxworld.com/the-culture-that-could-only-count/)
- [Who Are You When You Stop Becoming?](https://robertxworld.com/who-are-you-when-you-stop-becoming/): Who are you when you stop becoming? It is common in social groups to give a role to a given person. A role is a box. A safe, bounded, predictable box. The mind is a sophisticated categorizing, perimeter and box constructing machine. It draws divisions on the continuous to create order, logic and reason. Once a box is drawn around something or someone, the mind is set at ease. It no longer says: “What is this?” Instead it says: “I know”. But the drawing of a box creates an image: a static picture of a dynamic object. You look at a […]
- [The Day You Wake Up](https://robertxworld.com/the-day-you-wake-up/): You are sitting in a coffee shop; staring out the window wondering about what the fate of yourself and humanity will be. You suddenly are struck with a chilling thought. You really consider, if only for a moment, that life is in fact a dream; And like any dream it is of your own creation. But you are trapped in it: you cannot escape and you cannot forcefully wake up. This terrifies you. But you look around and think if this is a dream,All the figures you see are just projections of your inner world,And the internal dynamics of your psychology. […]
- [My $10K MBA: What A Failed DJ Course Venture Taught Me](https://robertxworld.com/my-10k-mba-what-a-failed-dj-course-venture-taught-me/): Over the last 2 years, I attempted to build up a standalone education series spinning out of my 13 odd years of experience as a DJ. Overall, I spent around $10K in total (in addition to countless hours). The series was targeted at building a formal DJ education in the world of electronic music, but, failed to reach positive ROI in the end. Despite this, it did give me some actionable data regarding product-market fit and my own suitability as a founder in the creator economy. I started this project in unknowing pursuit of Dan Pink’s “Motivation 3.0″ (autonomy, mastery, and […]
- [Social Truths or Forgotten Lies?](https://robertxworld.com/social-truths-or-forgotten-lies/): If memory serves, I came across the following statement reading @naval’s tweets: Society is a collection of individuals who have decided to forget something in common. At first glance, the statement is an incendiary comment about the nature of the collective, though not necessarily anti-social; there is no moralization attached unless one considers the highest principle of morality to align themselves with Truth (one could do worse than this). Yet, there is a penetrating quality even at the outset. To the admonishment of that pesky German’s voice (1), I’d like to expand upon this idea of “false truths,” “forgotten truths,” or “social lies” […]
- [The 5 Layers of Corpse Pose (Savasana)](https://robertxworld.com/the-5-layers-of-corpse-pose-savasana/): As the teacher signaled the end of class with a brief “Namaste” – I find myself amazed to hear the focused and measured atmosphere of the room break out into a chaotic stir of shuffling feet and anxious minds rushing off to conquer the morning. I lay on my back catching my racing heart in Savasana, sweat dripping from my limbs, panting heavily. I can’t help but feel confused and filled with sadness as nervous minds rush away from the most precious moment: the peace of the emptiness of Savasana, the non-doing, and essential being (“thusness”) feels like the entire reward […]
- [Whatever You Do Don't Lie To Yourself](https://robertxworld.com/whatever-you-do-dont-lie-to-yourself/): Self-confession can bring steadiness through self-intimacy. There is a saying, Sunlight is the best disinfectant At bottom, it means that truth, in revelation, clears malady. I think it applies to both the inner and outer world. With regards to the “inner world”, I am referring to the idea of mind or what I call the “me”. Metaphorically, the “me” is a constellation or planet in the void of space, or and better, a lone island (ego) in the wide ocean (unconscious). The “me” is composed of years of residue held onto, as put by Michael Singer in The Untethered Soul, and […]
- [Are You The Hero Of Your Own Story?](https://robertxworld.com/are-you-the-hero-of-your-own-story/): When we’re not living in the archetypal cycle of mythology as shown by Joseph Campbell, we find ourselves quite far from what might be understood as one of the main patterns of life. The hero’s journey is an archetypal pattern deeply rooted in our psyche. Our affinity towards stories—and the gravity storytelling holds in our lives and reasoning—is an indication of how fundamentally driven by narratives we are. From a Neuroscience angle, Dr. Curt Thompson describes in his book Anatomy of the Soul that our right brain (“creative side”) often creates stories to rationalize what our left brain can’t necessarily reason about. A […]
- [Help, I’m 20.](https://robertxworld.com/help-im-20/): I watched the teenager pull a copy of Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus from the shelf and glance it over with passive interest. Front to back, back to front, then opening a section in the middle to inspect if it sparked any curiosity. I always enjoyed this part of visiting a bookstore, people watching as a cursory delight; It was the complimentary champagne offered at the entry hall reception before a great banquet. The joy comes from observing what ignites imagination and intrigue in others. Watching someone discover a book from the shelf that I’ve read, and wondering to myself: […]
- [At The Feet Of The Master I](https://robertxworld.com/at-the-feet-of-the-master-i/): What is truth? I fear you do not see it before your very eyes. It has always been there, you just pretend not to see it: Like an uninvited guest who visits your home, you avoid him. You prefer to walk right past him. The basis of the question is where do you want to go? And you keep writing it as if that will somehow speak to you the answer. Or you ask me. But you know the truth, there is no method. Why do you keep trying to latch onto something? How many times will I need to take […]
- [Surrender in the icy vise](https://robertxworld.com/surrender-in-the-icy-vise/): As I sat at edge of Toronto’s Harbourfront looking onto Lake Ontario, the grandfatherly words of Alan Watts entered my thoughts: The point of life… is to be alive.. that’s it. I had heard this and numerous bits of wisdom like it before: koans, proverbs, dictum; all of which I yearned to live authentically by, automatically even, but never quite feel them at times. There is a superficial level of understanding, an intellectual grasp of a concept, but its another to really know and understand something deep down. If the point of being alive, is to be alive. I thought to […]
- [Did You Know, You Can Smile With Your Inner Child, Whenever You Want?](https://robertxworld.com/did-you-know-you-can-smile-with-your-inner-child-whenever-you-want/): To do a plank..Correctly..Is a hard thing to do.The instructor announced as we listened on the veranda of a steamy Costa Rican morning in San Jose.Often, it looks easy to do from the outside…Because we do not see the effort required,From the inside. Immediately, a Tibetan singing bowl was struck in the background: an elongated ringing followed by a trailing silence circling off into eternity – we held planking on our big toes. Naturally, it wasn’t just Tibetan bowls that filled our awareness; there was pain, muscle weakness, fatigue and a burning question of, “how much longer will I hold this […]
- [Collectors & Producers](https://robertxworld.com/collectors-producers/): The cool air bit my fingertips as we stood on the outdoor patio, indie guitar melodies flowing through the air from the nearby PA system. Ian, a local techno producer, was performing that day and telling me about some of his gig experiences: “I was invited to play in Montreal at this loft party. There were tons of these huge artists on the lineup, and then just my name. I could tell everyone was looking around at each other thinking, ‘I know all these names but who the hell is this Ian guy?’ I laughed and told them that I was […]
- [Four Wings of a Software Engineer](https://robertxworld.com/four-wings-of-a-software-engineer/): Amateur field notes in the psychology of software engineers Having been asked a sufficient number of times, “what my ideal role is” or “what type of engineer I want to be” – it suddenly dawned on me, in boredom, that there are approximately four behavioural axis with which one view a given software engineer. I use the term “wings”, stolen from the personality typing methodology in the Enneagram, to imply that all four functions are possessed by a given engineer; but, in similar manner to the Enneagram, an individual tends to “lean” more heavily on a set of wings compared to others. […]
- [On Reasons to Write](https://robertxworld.com/on-reasons-to-write/): What reason is there, really, to do all this writing you ask? Is it perhaps because on the empty pages one can, as Robert Johnson puts, in the domain of the psychological unconscious, “Clothe the invisible forces [unseen and] to make [them] visible.”​​Inner Work p. 21 That is, one can make apparent the continuous inward monologue of the skull and enliven it to reality. But surely it is not only this. You see, in the white spaces of empty lines one can be the most truthful with oneself, and in this truth the self can really be seen. The individual, to some degree, […]
- [Imitation in Writing](https://robertxworld.com/imitation-in-writing/): Rene Girard theorized that the inability of human beings to generate authentic desire caused them to imitate others. While I have not come upon a word I find suitable for the act of imitating an author’s voice or style besides mimetic or imitation, I will be the first, if not somewhere within the line of suspects, to admit that I am guilty of it. Great artists steal, as they say, and it is quite fascinating really. To observe in my own writing and its evolution the small idiosyncrasies one “picks up” along the literary road. With these “borrowings” from others, one […]
- [On Creatives and The Creative Process](https://robertxworld.com/on-creatives-and-the-creative-process/): Writing is, in a very real sense, a meditation: a messy practice mostly unseen. Although we read, rather enamored I may add, the works of titanic thinkers, poets, and novelist we only, fortunately for us, see the end products of their creative cycle. What we do not see, as any entrepreneur or athlete may nod in agreement, is the process leading up to that end. Let us be more concrete. I became rather intrigued when made aware that Dostoevsky, the Russian novelist, had a rather peculiar process in which he envisioned and produced his various works: The Brother’s Karamazov, Demons, and […]
- [Cold. Hungry. Wet](https://robertxworld.com/cold-hungry-wet/): I watched in anticipation as the mass of participants trudged their heavy boots and uniforms through the sinking sand of San Diego Mission Beach. Focused in coordinated effort, they moved heavy wooden logs from one end to the next. It must have been around 3 or 4 AM with darkness shrouding a dimly lit shore and tides lapping in the background. The camera cut to a close-up of the facilitator’s face as he quipped to the group in an authoritative, sadistic announcement: Time to go get wet again! The candidates in Phase 1 of the BUD/S Navy Seal qualification program looked […]
- [Hunger and Thirst](https://robertxworld.com/hunger-and-thirst/): I could feel my torso ache and wail in deprivation: “Is this hunger or thirst?” I thought to myself.. Accepting a (rather loose) protocol of intermittent fasting for a few years at this point, I became filled with a sense of self-flattery in my ability to disentangle the two signals from each other. After all, I had just completed an episode in the sauna after the morning gym—my last nutritional intake (if one can call Vanilla wafers nutritional) had been less than 8 hours prior—I couldn’t be hungry, could I? Fasting teaches us about the nuances of body signals: the habitual […]
- [Domain Transfer](https://robertxworld.com/domain-transfer/): The concept of “domain transfer” came to me from reading the philosopher and practitioner Nassim Taleb’s Incerto series a few years ago. In this note, I risk expansion on Taleb’s work (which I am quite fond of) even though I am confident I shall be eternally (and perhaps rightfully) reprimanded for it. I do not recall if Taleb expressly calls the phenomena in question “domain transfer”: Experts can be blind to the cross-application of their knowledge in a given domain to a different domain. If memory serves, Taleb refers to the error that certain groups of academics encounter when confronted with foreign situations […]
- [Milton's Paradise Lost & The Danger of the Intellect](https://robertxworld.com/miltons-paradise-lost-the-danger-of-the-intellect/): Milton invokes the Muse at the start of his journey to inspire him to justify the ways of God to men. Paradise Lost, therefore, has something to tell us about the will of God on behalf of Milton. The primary focal point of the story is Satan’s attempt to reach higher than God, relaying the tale of his Fall from Heaven and inspiration to curse all mankind. The God of Paradise Lost embodies a kingly prowess as seen in the Old Testament, which is reasonable given Milton’s life in 1677 during the rule of Charles II in England. After transgressing against his will, Milton’s […]
- [Notice the “I” and the “Me”](https://robertxworld.com/notice-the-i-and-the-me/): The quiet voice in my head hummed along as I walked. Notice the “I” and the “Me”. Pay attention to the “Me” In a dream-like state, the sound of my footsteps down Fillmore street filled my ears with a predicable click and clack noise providing a background note for the inward process that was taking place. A process in which I found myself catching each and every thought that the mind attempted to race after, having sprung free like a jailbroken convict. I began to say to myself in my mind: This is such a strange experience, I must rem- … The observer […]
- [The Greatest Possible State](https://robertxworld.com/the-greatest-possible-state/): The two modes of existence: activity and passivity. But is a passive man, always a poor man? Does a rich man ever fully embrace the joy of stillness? It seems I, like many, desire to be a rich man, but how do I know I am not already rich? Consider the imagination required for the most simple yet critical invention of a “screw”. How with wondrous creations like this, could I not already live in the richest of times. Perhaps I don’t desire to be rich, but rather desire a perceived fruit of riches: happiness. I may consider happiness as a […]
- [Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing](https://robertxworld.com/sitting-quietly-doing-nothing/): “Reality escapes all concepts. [To have is a concept. And to not have is a concept.] Your concepts will prove to be attempts to catch water in a sieve.” A. Watts With a starry night above, the vibrant cars speed quickly through the streets. The traffic lights flicker, and doors slam shut as the cool summer breeze rolls in. Excited people hustling to a night out and about. The shops are busy, and the town is lively with transactions of commerce and conversation in an atmosphere of human excitement and life. And there, sitting quietly doing nothing. Breathing in and out, […]
- [The Need to Solve Problems](https://robertxworld.com/the-need-to-solve-problems/): “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Soren Kierkegaard As the old saying goes, “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Well as human beings we’ve been given the most wonderous and powerful hammer of them all in what we collectively call our brain and consciousness. So powerful this hammer is, that it can smash away the problems of science, dominate the problems of engineering and conquest over the savage wilderness and nature. This almighty tool is so stupendous that not only can it solve any problem it finds, […]
- [The Paradise Fantasy, Alan Watts 1978](https://robertxworld.com/the-paradise-fantasy-alan-watts-1978/): [it is ridiculous] to feel so inhuman as to never feel the regrets of the passing of time and life. It’s likewise inhuman, not to have the paradise fantasy, of that mysterious place , round the corner, just over the crest of the hill just behind the island in the distance. Because that place is really a big joke. It’s you. That’s why, you will find once you get up the last step, the last Tori, you’re liable to be confronted with a mirror. Everybody is seeking, seeking, seeking, for that thing you gotta have.. well you’ve got it! And nobody’s […]
- [The Co-Creative Sandbox](https://robertxworld.com/the-co-creative-sandbox/): “… and there I stood in silence, gazing out to the millions of lights illuminating the mountain side, finding it unfathomable. unthinkable. impossible. that one mind could conceive all of this.” We have built everything that exists to date as a result of our inclination to think, create and play. Yet, more often than not, we see the world, nature and one another as an ultimate struggle for conquest. Rarely instead, do we realize that each member of humanity has, and will continue to, co-author every physical building, sculpture and landscape that surrounds us everyday. A painter does not paint without […]

## Pages

- [Terms of Service](https://robertxworld.com/terms-of-service/): Terms of Service Last Updated: 09/2026 These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of Robert meets World (the “Blog”), located at robertxworld.com, operated by Aqua Flamingo Labs Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”), a corporation incorporated under the laws of Canada. By accessing or using the Blog, or by subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Blog. 1. Use of the Blog You may use the Blog for personal, non-commercial purposes. You agree not to: 2. Intellectual Property All content on […]
- [Podcast](https://robertxworld.com/podcast/): Robert Meets World is a podcast that lives at the intersection of psychology, philosophy, technology, creativity, and the human condition, exploring ideas that span from the deeply theoretical to the urgently practical. Each episode is a long-form conversation with thinkers, builders, writers, artists, and practitioners who are asking the harder questions: Why do we desire what we desire? How do we create meaning in a hyperconnected world? What does it mean to build something — a company, a life, a self, with intention?
- [About](https://robertxworld.com/about/): About Hey there, I’m Robert. I currently host the Robert meets World Podcast, and teach DJing online at learningtodj.com. My Story I moved to San Francisco in my mid-twenties to learn how tech companies get built and to try to build my own products. I spent sixish years doing that, then burned out somewhere around the pandemic. The essays here, tend to start somewhere specific like a conversation on a patio, a BUD/S documentary at 2am, a bike ride in Costa Rica. They usually end up somewhere I don’t expect. That’s mostly the point. The podcast, Robert Meets World, is a […]
- [Writing](https://robertxworld.com/writing/)
- [Home](https://robertxworld.com/): Robert Meets World Podcast Conversations that refuse to stick in a lane A conversation with a matchmaker about why dating apps optimize for the wrong thing bleeds into Jungian alchemy, then into mimetic theory, then into what AI agents will do to human loneliness. Guests range from founders who’ve sold companies to psychoanalysts to a guy who ran a men’s festival on his family farm, and the show follows wherever the thread leads rather than sticking to a format. If you want tidy takeaways, this isn’t that. If you want to sit inside a real, winding inquiry into how people actually […]
- [Privacy Policy](https://robertxworld.com/privacy-policy/): Last Updated: 09/2026 Aqua Flamingo Labs Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) operates Robert meets World (the “Blog”), located at https://robertxworld.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit the Blog or subscribe to our newsletter 1. Information We Collect When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect: We do not collect sensitive personal information (e.g., financial, health, or government ID data) through the newsletter signup. 2. How We Use Your Information We use the information you provide to: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties […]

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