Long story short, an article I read in August, 2019, The Digital Identity Problem, led me to An Open Letter for a Vision of Humanity in the 21st Century. Two not well known Canadians were mentioned in that letter and today I want to highlight their work. My journey continued and I later discoverd three more Canadians who are also of interest to me.
John Vervaeke
Dr. John Vervaeke is a Canadian cognitive scientist, philosopher, and associate professor at the University of Toronto. He specializes in cognitive psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhist psychology, with a focus on relevance realization, insight problem-solving, mindfulness, wisdom, and the meaning crisis. In my very biased opinion, Vervaeke’s work is far more valuable than that of another very prominent Canadian from U of T, Jordan Peteron.
Vervaeke has hundreds of videos on his YouTube channel. He is perhaps best known for Awakening from the Meaning Crisis, a mammoth 50 episode series, and I have listened to only a few. His three minute overview of this playist still inspires me.
For those of us who still prefer reading over watching videos, Vervaeke published a book, AWAKENING FROM THE MEANING CRISIS PART 1: ORIGINS. So far, I have read only a few chapters. However, I have the book in my NotebookLM, an ai, which produced the following summary.
This multi-part work explores the nature and function of meaning in life, tracing its historical origins and the contemporary "Meaning Crisis." Drawing from cognitive science and the history of philosophy and religion, the author examines how our sense of purpose and connection to the world has evolved and fractured. The text investigates psychotechnologies, rituals, and belief systems from shamanism to modern mindfulness, analyzing their impact on human cognition and the cultivation of wisdom. Ultimately, it seeks to understand the interconnectedness of various crises and the fundamental elements required to navigate our current existential challenges by re-examining ancient wisdom through a modern lens.
Peter Limberg
A now classic article published in 2018, The Memetic Tribes Of Culture War 2.0, got Limberg noticed.
Until the last few years, it made sense to talk in terms of a red tribe and a blue tribe when describing political affiliation in the U.S. The red tribe was right-wing, populist, nationalist, religious, concerned by terrorism, and valued sexual purity. The blue tribe was left-wing, globalist, internationalist, secular, concerned by global warming, and valued sexual freedom. They had fundamental disagreements about what America (or the West) was, what it needed to become, and how to get there. They even had a culture war. However, the red/blue dichotomy no longer provides a sufficient map of the political territory we find ourselves in.
Enter memetic tribes.
Peter Limberg is also affectionately know as The Steward of The Stoa, a unique YouTube channel.
Currently, he writes Less Foolish on Substack, and yesterday he posted Chillin’ With Goofies: A Spiritual Practice.
This is a 4,400-word guide to help men respond—not react—to the potential for needless debate, petty status dynamics, and physical violence found in social fields where men with a certain threshold of testosterone gather. Essentially, it helps the less foolish man win at “goofy politics.”
Layman Pascal
To say the least, Layman Pascal is interesting. He is a rarity, an orator, better listened to than read. I do not follow him closely but I trust him with topics that are out on the edge.
The Integral Stage is a YouTube channel.
SHOWCASING THE EMERGING EDGE
At THE INTEGRAL STAGE, we provide a platform to explore emergent integral perspectives, host innovative thinkers, communicators, and creators from around the world, and reflect the larger integrative meta-community back to itself in all its forms.
The Integral Stage is BRUCE ALDERMAN - Creator, Producer, and Occasional Host
LAYMAN PASCAL - Interviewer, Co-Conspirator, and Digital Shaman
On Substack, Pascal writes about * Xagick *
Jasen Robillard
Jasen Robillard is a successful small businessman and his business is itself a story.
StumpCraft is a jigsaw puzzle workshop based out of Calgary, Alberta. We locally craft laser-cut, heirloom quality puzzles showcasing the best of Canadian fine art.
We view puzzles as a vehicle for:
Art appreciation
Family quality time & time well spent
Meditative downtime from a distraction heavy culture
Brain exercise
Fun!
Jasen Robillard shares his insights on his Substack, Releasing the Muse.
I refer to the artful cues I experience in writing, group facilitation and design as my Muse. As a practice of vulnerability and trust, I do my best to honour those cues by allowing my ego to step out of the way. I release as much of what inspires me as I can muster in the moment.
Jasen and I have become online friends as members of the Wisdom Exchange.
Chris Dungca
This young man has been my window to a particular vibe in Toronto. He occasionally writes on a Substack with a hopeful title, The Morning Light - Exploring scenes, creations, and practices. Too many young people seem to be struggling these days so it is nice to see a group of them thriving while exploring new ways of thinking and being.
Office Hours - Fall updates for Toronto and beyond...
Although I live in Mexico, I was accepted into this Toronto group which currently has 216 members. But I have not had the time to build my connections there.
One very well known Canadian man I began following earlier this year is Charlie Angus, but that is another story for another time.