The Zen Psychedelic

The Paperclip Maximizer

A short story inspired by Niklas Boström's thought experiment.

Feb 19 • The Zen Psychedelic

21

5

7

Until Death Do Us Part

What we promised each other that day mattered, but it also wasn’t the point.

Feb 12 • The Zen Psychedelic

32

11

6

Waking Up Is Messy

Insight interrupts.

Feb 2 • The Zen Psychedelic

50

17

11

January 2026

Mandrake

A Zen Koan.

Jan 22 • The Zen Psychedelic

22

2

Start Where You Are

As long as you're seeking, you're not practicing. A Zen reflection on goal-setting.

Jan 8 • The Zen Psychedelic

57

9

6

December 2025

Unfortify Your Mind

The Stoics taught us to construct an inner fortress to withstand life’s blows. Zen teaches the opposite... to drop the walls entirely.

Dec 15, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

45

5

2

November 2025

Black Swan

Every civilization thinks it can outsmart chaos. Then a Black Swan lands.

Nov 24, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

75

6

13

What Can’t Be Said

A meditation on the vast distance between words & truth.

Nov 17, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

37

3

10

A Beautiful Sunrise

A Zen Koan.

Nov 13, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

19

2

2

September 2025

On Being Lost

Advice from the wise for when you’re feeling lost in life and direction.

Sep 29, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

112

8

17

Uncertainty

Losing my home showed me I never truly had one.

Sep 15, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

39

11

1

Almost Everything Is Fake

The shadow on the wall is a distortion of the truth that cast it. Turn and face the light.

Sep 8, 2025 • The Zen Psychedelic

65

9

10