This isn’t a newsletter about demons (unless you want it to be)

… the daimonic (unlike the demonic, which is merely destructive), is as much concerned with creativity as with negative reactions. A special characteristic of the daimonic model is that it considers both creativity on one side, and anger and rage on the other side, as coming from the same source. That is, constructiveness and destructiveness have the same source in human personality. The source is simply human potential.

— Rollo May

Not the usual sort of demon, anyway.

You could go ahead and subscribe now, so you can help an idiosyncratic writer reach more good people.

The daimon is an ancient Greek idea (which they probably lifted from the Egyptians or the Babylonians) that meant something like god, or muse, or as the Romans later called it, the “genius”.

Your daimon is the part of yourself that isn’t entirely yourself. The part you talk to when you talk to yourself. The source of all those weird thoughts that hit you in the shower or when you’re trying to fall asleep.

The closest modern equivalent would be the unconscious mind, often attributed to Freud, with many antecedents.

The daimon must not be confused with the mainly Christian idea of the wicked, destructive, deceptive force of the demonic.

What I write about here is about those invisible forces of power and influence working on your mind.

Do you ever get sick of sloppy, not to mention deceptive, marketing "hustle" that seems to be everywhere?

Do you find yourself staring with bewilderment at the reactions of the people around you?

Do you stare, bewildered, at the collective insanity of the world since 2020?

Does it feel like you’re the only sane person in the asylum?

I don't know if I can help you with those problems.

But you can join me as I write about the on-going psychic and spiritual warfare threatening to rip our happy comfy world to pieces.

Who's this for?

My ideal reader:

  • Creatives, artists, authors, and lovers of wisdom with an interest in Big Ideas (and ethical, honest, and authentic ways to apply proven marketing principles in your field).

  • Business-people and marketers who understand the value of Big Ideas and strategic thinking, or want to.

  • Anybody who is terrified of the path that modern civilization is taking.

You can expect posts about:

  • The creative process of artists, poets, playwrights, musicians, performers, and (my favorite) professional writers

  • The social sciences… or whatever's left of them after the corruption of bureaucratic bloat and ideological decay

  • Ethics and moral thinking, with an opinionated slant towards neo-Aristotelian ethics and a harsh criticism of Modern Moral Philosophy

  • Freedom in a world of zero privacy and omnipresent surveillance.

  • The psychology of persuasion at work in all our lives.

  • Tips and techniques that can accelerate your learning (and where mass education has gone badly wrong)

  • Health and well-being beyond the body… and where the narrow scope of today's industrialized medicine completely fails us.

  • The "Deep Inner Game" of being an anxious, anguished, angst-written creative.

  • How all of the above contribute to a good life, well-lived.

What can you expect from the newsletter?

I'm aiming at one modest post a week I’ve found a happy home writing 1-2 short posts most days of the week.

Yeah I could send you one of those weekly or monthly “YOUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM DEMONAX” with 10,000 words you’ll never read because nobody reads in their inbox.

Short and often.

That’s my method.

There is no option to lavish your hard-earned cash upon me just yet.

I know, you’re disappointed.

I don’t see the need to charge at this stage. That could change. If it does, don’t expect much advance warning.

If you don’t like getting regular emails, or if you aren’t a “reader”, you should pass.

I mail often and with sometimes challenging ideas that aren’t government accredited. If you don’t care for that sort of thing, keep on scrolling. No hate. It’s better for both of us.

Beware: You might learn something.

Why care what I think?

The “demonax” identity is a pen name (I hope this is obvious) used by an apostate of the academy (humanities division) who fell into the world of writing and direct response marketing.

Demonax was a mysterious Cynic philosopher… or a member of a mysterious cult of magical sea-peoples destroyed by Zeus’s wrath… depending on which story you want to believe.

That biography might hurt more than it helps. And so be it.

I could tell you about fancy credentials and all the stuff I know. You don’t care, I know you don’t care, and now you know that I know it.

Why play that game?

Nobody wants to read anybody else’s self-indulgent word-vomit.

You should read what I have to say because frankly I’m one of the funniest and most likeable nerds on the internet.

If that won’t sell you, what will?

What am I, a dancing Tik Tok clown over here?

If you need to email me… I have no idea why you would. It’s easy to leave comments here. If you insist, and you’re not one of those vile journalists, you can send such queries to:

substack {at} demonax {dot} org

Emails from vile journalists shall be banished to the spam folder unread.

Why not join?

Worst case scenario, you hit unsubscribe.

Hit that Subscribe button and let's get to know each other.

Honestly have no idea how you passed that many subscription buttons and still haven’t joined. Jeeze dude. You made of ice or something?

P.S. All shameless self-promoters understand that you always drop a PS at the end of your messages.

Why? Because it’s one place that a “skimmer” is likely to check out in order to get the gist of the message.

A message like…

You could also tell a friend who might appreciate sardonic comment with dry humor:

Share A View From The Edges

Subscribe to A View From The Edges

We weren't born to live as serfs to idiots with credentials. Recovering the lost arts of freedom and excellence from the cult of the manager-expert.

People

Old-time Cynic. Likes: Republicans (Aristotle, Machiavelli, Arendt) Dislikes: Democrats (Locke, Mill, Rawls)