Week in Review (2025: Week 3)
A 6-Syllable Noun, the False Self, Lust for Originality, Theological BS Meter, High School Musical Meets John Wick, and Staving Off a Social Media Meltdown
Hello from Thetis Island, British Columbia (pictured below)! Amy and I have been here for 10 weeks and returning to the US in April. We are currently living an expat life and we are currently planning our next adventure. I’ll keep you posted.
Rather than using actual dates for my 2025 weekly “Week in Review”, I decided to do Week One, Week Two, Week Three, etc. This is Week Three. 49 weeks to go in 2025!
This Week in Writing
I began this week with the article, Why Spirituality Fails: How to Create a Liberating Approach to Life in a Fake Spiritual World. Over the years in my work with people who left religion, I have seen them stumble and even crash and burn in disillusionment as a result of finding that their next thing on the rebound doesn’t quite measure up. The truth is that not only does traditional and fundamentalist religion fail to meet our spiritual desires and needs but so will every other religious, spiritual, philosophical or self-help path, depending on how we approach it.
Some of the big ideas in the article include:
how a 12-letter and 6-syllable noun becomes an unconscious bucket list for perfect peace, happiness and liberation
for 13 billion years there was no religion, spirituality or philosophy, and then we arrived and did it, but not perfectly and sometimes disastrously
how wish fulfillment, magical thinking and the need to be right, can turn spirituality into a dumpster fire
why pop-spirituality isn’t deep enough, honest enough, human enough or durable enough
what you learn from a Jesus and Godzilla playset
a personal spirituality assessment, and tools for cultivating an honest, healthy, meaningful and resilient post-religion spirituality
Speaking of post-religion fails, many religion-leavers will often turn their sights to Eastern spirituality and struggle to find their bearings. Western minds often struggle to grasp the spirituality and philosophy of the East. Any particular Eastern teaching or practice arises out of an entirely different understanding of the nature of reality that is unfamiliar to most Westerners.
In the second article of the week I decided to address one of those core tenets of Eastern thought. It’s titled, The No-Self for Dummies... like me: Making Sense of The World's Most Perplexing Truth. Depending on where you were born in the world (West or East) the Buddhist teaching of the “no-self” is either crazy talk or the secret of liberation. So I decided to do a deep-dive on the topic.
Some of the big ideas include:
the fact that we exist is a no-brainer but what that actually means might be the difference between liberation and suffering
you don’t have to go to Bora Bora, Tibet or Stanford to understand and live the idea of no-self but you may have to work at it because the cards are stacked against you
the Western view reifies the human mind and consciousness, but in the East there is not fundamental difference between a bird, human and table
calling the “self” an illusion is not saying that you are not real, it’s pointing out that you are not exactly what you imagine and were taught you are
you can live the no-self with a real job, real bills, and you can even drink real coffee
This Week in Photos
I decided to do something a little different this week for “This Week in Photos”. I am an amateur photographer and have pulled out my camera here and there abroad and snapped a photo. Burk Uzzle wrote, “Photography is a love affair with life.” Below is a couple galleries of photographs I have taken during my travels.
Okay I lied. I have a few photos for this week.
I include this cartoon by David Hayward because lately I’ve been pointing out the ways that religious, spiritual, therapeutic and self-help culture sometimes responds to the realities of the human condition by either whitewashing, bypassing or diagnosing it. My article about “negative psychoanalyst” Julie Reshe in my psychology of religion discusses this, as well as my piece, Why religion can be bad for your mental health.
People pose during the “No Trousers Tube Ride” in London, Britain. Participants board trains in only their underwear, spreading humor and breaking social norms. Initiated in New York by comedian Charlie Todd in 2002 and adopted by London in 2009, this event promotes body positivity and relieves the monotony, bringing joy and unexpected experiences to commuters.
Driver Henk Lategan and his co-driver, Brett Cummings, compete during the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally, a 5,000-mile extreme off-road race, which includes the “Empty Quarter” of the Arabian Desert.
What Subscribers are Saying
Hi, Michael! Thanks for your encouraging words. Michael mentioned RTS, which is Religious Trauma Syndrome. It’s a term used to describe the negative mental health effects of harmful religious experiences. It can occur when someone leaves a controlling religious group or belief system. Whenever I speak to a group on the subject of religious deconstruction or religious trauma, I tell my audience that there is a 100% impact rate. In other words, whatever your current beliefs, even if you are an atheist, if you were raised in the Western world, you have been impacted by detrimental religious mindsets or beliefs. Religion, particularly the Judeo-Christian ethos, is baked into society and culture.
If you want to explore this for yourself, here are three suggestions:
Complete the Spiritual Abuse and Harm Inventory
Consider reading one of the following books:
Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion by Marlene Winell
When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion by Laura Anderson
Read one of my deconstruction articles:
Thoughts on Being a Substack Newbie
I was asked by a subscriber this week if I had any advice or tips for starting their new Substack newsletter.
I began Substack almost a year ago. As of this article, there are 13,800 people who subscribe to my publication, “Deconstructionology”. I’ve published 180 articles to date. It’s quite an underwhelming set of events that led me to Substack, mostly my exasperation with social media and traditional publishing. I didn’t give it a great deal of forethought. I clicked through the steps to set up my Substack newsletter and started writing. It took a while before I figured out the difference between “posts” and “notes”.
My undergrad degree was in Journalism, and I have written quite a bit over the course of my life as a published author, newspaper columnist, and contributor to various magazines, journals and publications. I’ve published six books with good results and have about 150,000 people who consistently follow my work and engage my content through social media like Facebook. I would consider this mild success with my writing endeavors if you measure it on these terms, which I don’t.
During a season of my life I coached writers and wrote endorsements and forewords for published books that became bestsellers. Since my first book deal, the publishing industry has changed dramatically and self-publishing has exploded, but the craft of writing marches on, sometimes limping.
I’m certainly not a Substack expert and asking my advice might be akin to the blind leading the blind. But if you’re okay with all that, I’ll give you my two cents in the form of five questions (each with a mini-assignment) for newsletter creators on Substack:
1. Why are you on Substack?
There are countless reasons and motivations for someone to create, maintain and manage a Substack newsletter. Some of those reasons could include one or more of the following:
Being on Substack is a protest against other social media platforms you detest.
Substack seems like an established and popular platform for sharing content as opposed to a personal website or blog.
Substack is an avenue for writing, collaborating and building a community about an area of interest, expertise or personal passion.
Substack is a means through which you can advance your professional or vocational interests such as a writer, influencer, thought leader or public intellectual.
You are interested in monetizing your personal, professional or writing interests through a Substack newsletter.
Substack is a way for you to explore topics of continuing interest and express your own thoughts and views.
I joined Substack because I felt an obligation to do more substantial work around topics of religious deconstruction and existential health, and I was not up for doing this through publishing another book (at the time). The Substack subscriber-model allowed me to write in a community of engagement, collaboration and support, and supplied the structure, tools and motivation to consistently write.
The main point is knowing why you are here as someone who started a Substack newsletter? What do you hope to gain from being on Substack? Is there something you want to achieve? What is the motivation for booting up your laptop and coming here? What need or desire is this satisfying for you? What does Substack offer you of value? The answers to these questions can shift and evolve, but it’s useful to reflect upon them.
Mini-Assignment #1: Craft a one-sentence answer to the question: Why am I on Substack?
2. How will you do your Substack?
Substack isn’t all that complicated. It basically comes down to “posts”, “notes” and “threads”. Here’s how I think about my newsletter - there is a creative, collaborative and communal dimension.
“Posts” are weekly published articles of substance that relate to the core interests and areas of my newsletter. I feel the most creative when I am working on these weekly articles. These are the most demanding aspect of what I do on Substack. For me, being “creative” involves weaving together high-level thinking, skilled writing, and real-life applicability. I sometimes tell people that I want my writing to be enlightening and entertaining. My hope is that each subscriber comes away from my articles feeling like they gained something invaluable, and enjoyed the process of getting there.
“Notes” are my daily activity where I offer briefer thoughts, responses and commentary around my newsletter themes, as well as sharing or restacking the related work of others. My Substack Notes is where I feel the most collaborative. I typically poke around to see what others are up to, discover new people and newsletters, and share the work of others with my Substack community. I have gained so much from this, and the people I have encountered have had a significant impact on my own growth and development.
“Threads” are opportunity to dialogue and connect with subscribers around the themes of my newsletter, and for building more meaningful and rewarding interaction and friendships. It’s this aspect of Substack where I feel the most communal. In my view, the value of Substack is not slingshotting missiles of content into cyberspace, but conversing with others who share our interests. My personal conviction is that every person knows something crucial that I need to learn. Rather than clacking away content in isolation and solely from your own head, why not check-in and connect with the actual human beings who are reading it?
There’s no “right” way to do your Substack. Everything above is just how I happen to currently think about it. This could change. My point is that it could be useful to consider the different features of Substack and the best way to use them for you. How many Posts, Notes or Threads do you plan on doing in a day, week, or month? There’s nothing wrong with doing Substack willy-nilly as you wish. It’s YOUR Substack. You may not need an eight-page business plan, professional marketing strategy, and an editorial calendar to do it. I don’t have any of those. You do you.
Mini-Assignment #2: What is one organizational step you could take with your Substack that would help you create the Substack YOU want?
3. Do you want to become a better writer?
If I had a nickel for every person who wants to publish a book, I’d be drinking Baileys coffee at a Irish pub in Knightstown. There are a lot of people who have a story to tell or a message to convey, but aren’t necessarily interested in mastering the craft of writing. I’m not saying your Substack newsletter needs to be nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature, but since you are writing, why not make an investment in being the best writer you can be?
Don’t try to be a “great writer.” Instead, work to improve your writing. Become a better writer. Not a “great writer,” a better writer.
It’s odd that when it comes to writing most people seem to think that their ability to write is just whatever it is when they show up to tackle their first major writing project. You know like “it is what it is.”
Good writing is not a download from heaven or something the muse bestows upon you or even something that you’re necessarily born with. Here’s the dirty little secret about good writing. Ready? You have to work at it. Sure, Grammarly and AI can cover a multitude of writing sins, but it’s not a substitute for developing the craft.
The so-called “great writers” became so by working at it and becoming better writers over time. Contrary to what people might think, Hemingway, Faulkner, Austen, Woolf, Melville, Steinbeck, and Plath were not born that way. Are some people more talented than others in any given area? Of course, but they still had to work at it.
Writing is a craft you grow, develop, evolve, refine, and improve in. How? By the mere passage of time? No. By osmosis or magic? No. It happens by working at it. In On Writing, Stephen King wrote,
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
Ernest Hemingway is quoted as saying, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Where the magic happens in writing is not the first thing you type out, but the rewrite. It’s looking at the last paragraph you just wrote, that last sentence you just wrote, the words you chose in that sentence, and pondering how could you write it better.
In The Elements of Style, E. B. White wrote:
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is a critical resource to help you become a better writer as well as On Writing by King (both are linked above). Another good resource to consider is, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Another to consider is: Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.
Even if you are the most brilliant person alive, you have to keep your readers and the reader experience in mind. For example, readers feel defeated by large paragraph-blocks of content. Any big, long, clunky paragraph is better off divided in two or maybe even three paragraphs. I don’t care if the subject is the same in all two or three paragraphs - shorter is better for the reader.
Mini-Assignment #3: For your next significant Substack post, when you get to that point when you feel ready to hit “Continue”, stop and ask yourself: “Are there any sentences, word choices, or fuzzy thoughts that can be improved?”
4. How will you safeguard your mental health?
Any social media can be stressful. Assuming you weren’t held at gunpoint and forced to start a Substack newsletter, I’m guessing you are willfully choosing to do this for meaningful reasons, perhaps one of those I mentioned in my first point about your “why”. Most people start a Substack newsletter with joy and inspiration and then before you know it you’re in the fetal position in your closet with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and having a existential meltdown because your subscriber count went down by three.
A few things to keep in mind:
Your worth and value as a human being is not determined by your numerical Substack success or perceived influencer clout.
Consider focusing on being true to your “why” and not how to get more subscribers.
I’m not saying that growing your Substack subscribers is wrong or unimportant, and it might even be central to your reason for being here. But I sometimes see people doing desperate things to attract more subscribers. Sure, have a plan to grow your Substack community if that’s important to you, but don’t let it consume all your energy and become a constant burden and stressor. It’s not a competition. Focus on creating and curating a high-quality Substack newsletter that lines up with your interests and objectives.
Be confident and have faith in yourself. No one sees and experiences the world like you do. No one is capable of doing the Substack newsletter YOU are creating. One of my favorite shows from the past was My So-Called Life. In one episode there’s a scene when Claire Danes says:
“People are always saying you should be yourself, like yourself is this definite thing, like a toaster. Like you know what it is even. But every so often I'll have, like, a moment, where just being myself in my life right where I am is, like, enough.”
No one has themself all figured out. We are all a continual process of evolution. Audre Lorde wrote, “I am my best work - a series of road maps, reports, recipes, doodles, and prayers from the front lines.” Being “original” means being yourself, whatever that means when you sit down to write or record a post or note. Becoming famous is fool’s gold and largely involves factors outside your control. Emerson wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Mini-Assignment #4: Complete the following sentence: “Something I can do to protect my mental health and well-being as I put effort into my Substack newsletter is …?
5. How can you support others?
Remember High School Musical? I have a daughter and when she was a pre-teen we watched e v e r y High School Musical movie (there were three) about ten times. We also saw the Justin Bieber and One Direction movies several times. Oh yeah, and the whole Twilight series a few times. But I digress.
The point is that on Substack “we’re all in this together” (yes, cheesy I know) - but we all have our reasons for being here. Rather than making this a competition, why not support and help one another succeed? You know how it feels when your subscriber count goes up, someone recommends your newsletter, shares your content or gives you a good review. Why not generously spread this kind of positivity to others on Substack?
What if our approach on Substack wasn’t just how can I make MY individual newsletter successful, but how can I build a stronger Substack network with others. When we help others achieve their goals, we build strong networks and communities of support. By offering our expertise, resources, or connections, we create a culture of reciprocity where everyone benefits. These networks become invaluable assets in achieving our own objectives since we gain access to diverse perspectives and opportunities. Recognizing that success is rarely a solo endeavor opens up opportunities for mutual growth, as well as meaningful and productive collaboration.
I feel so happy whenever I can be helpful to another Substacker. I particularly enjoy supporting those who are just getting started, or the person with something important, useful and worthwhile to share, but might not have some grandiose influencer platform or mega following.
Here are a few ideas for building a stronger Substack network:
Spend a few minutes each time you’re on Substack and check out what others are sharing and posting. Review the “Suggestions” for people to follow. Read a post or note, comment, mention, share or restack, participate in chats, explore someone’s Substack newsletter in detail, subscribe.
Once a quarter, upgrade your free subscription to a paid subscription with someone you regularly follow and gain something valuable from their newsletter. Recommend their Substack and write a supportive review.
Reach out monthly to connect with someone on Substack that you might collaborate with in some meaningful way. Look for opportunities to cross-promote, ask them to contribute a guest post to your newsletter, invite them on your podcast, host a live video with them. If they are up for connecting, pick their brain. There may be other worthwhile collaborative projects worth exploring together. If someone contributes to my journey and endeavors in some way, I will often comp them a free 1-year paid subscription.
Mini-Assignment #5: Choose one of the three suggestions above and do it today.
As I said, I’m not by any stretch of the imagination a Substack expert. In fact, I’m sure I’ve violated about every Substack best practice there is. On the one hand, it’s useful to understand and apply the basics that are well-known to work and be useful in creating and managing your Substack newsletter. On the other hand, there are no Substacks gods you must obey. Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity.” Don’t worry about being “original”, “novel” and “cutting edge” for originality, novelty and edgy’s sake. Be you… courageously, resolutely, defiantly… and let the chips fall where they may.
Interesting Substack People
Here is a short list of interesting people I met on Substack that you might find interesting to follow:
has a useful substack relates to religious deconstruction.
is a pioneering figure in metamodern spirituality.
has intriguing and uncommon reflections on the project of human existence.
It’s hard to top and his work spanning the fields of philosophy and psychoanalysis.
helps keep me grounded in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Amy Pringle is an Episcopal priest who is keeping the faith and writing in the interest of .
and her “Changing the Channel” newsletter is a great place to be if you’re serious about doing life differently.
I recommend reading for significant political developments, what they mean, and becoming a more knowledgeable citizen.
by Sarah Stibitz is a great newsletter for cultivating a more liberating creative life and profound human existence.
and his “Experimental Living” newsletter also opens up new ways of thinking about my lived human experience.
’s Substack is a great avenue for doing critical thinking deep dives into topics related to physics, philosophy, consciousness, AI and God.
Who couldn’t benefit from a little more in their life.
Thank you for reading this Substack publication! I am grateful for your encouragement, kindness or support. I don’t do Patreon or Venmo. My Substack newsletter is 100% subscriber-supported. If you find what I share meaningful, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 monthly or $50 for a year. There are several great goodies and perks for free subscribers. Thank you :)
In Summary
Wish fulfillment, magical thinking and the need to be right, can turn spirituality into a dumpster fire.
The fact that we exist is a no-brainer but what that actually means might be the difference between liberation and suffering.
If you were raised in the Western world, you have been impacted by detrimental religious mindsets or beliefs.
Here’s the dirty little secret about good writing. Ready? You have to work at it.
I saw the High School Musical, Twilight, Justin Bieber and One Direction movies, but I made my daughter go see John Wick for payback.
When all else fails, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.
“Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.”
- Sylvia Plath
Jim, thank you so much for the great endorsement. "Finding the ordinary in the extraordinary": that is perfect, I love it!
By pure coincidence, I'm writing my next post about emptiness, trying to make it less conceptual and more ordinary and understandable. I will go read your last post on this subject now! 🙏
Thank you for supporting me