Mind Meld 120 | The Shadow System with Filmmaker Sean Dunne

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Filmmaker and host of the Very Ape podcast, Sean Dunne enters the mind meld to discuss why love is the most countercultural thing there is and why we need to build a shadow system.

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Most of us equate freedom with breaking free, rolling the twenty-sided die of destiny and taking a leap of faith. At which point, of course, the universe will catch, caress and immediately whisk us away on a magic carpet toward our true destinations— Success, self-realization and fulfillment (as if those are things).

I’m not saying that can’t happen. Perhaps there is some aspect of reality that conspires to nudge you down the most favorable trail of your existence if you’re brave enough to forego the well-traveled path. But if you’re thinking that way, are you really free? I’d contend that true freedom denotes a total absence of considering the outcome at all. In other words, freedom is most purely expressed through revelry in the moment.

Maybe it’s simpler to just say this— You’re clearly not free if you’re trapped by fear, but you’re also not free if you’re shackled to faith. Too much of either and you’re taking a piss squarely on your own free will.

So on that note, I don’t think anyone lives in total freedom, not for more than a moment anyway. Existence is an orchestra of far too many influences, feelings and obligations for that to be possible.

What you can do though is strike a favorable balance. You can alter the alchemy of your existence in such a way that there’s the right ratio of freedom to all of the aforementioned.

But anyway, why all of this talk about freedom? Well, from the very jump in this cast with Sean Dunne, it was clear that Sean is a free spirit that seems to have an admirable alchemy going on. The man lives how he wants to, but he also grinds, gets shit done and calls his own shots. That’s about as simply as I can put it.

Sean is the mind behind films like Cam Girlz, American Juggalo and two fascinating short docs about the psychedelic experience. You can find them all at veryape.tv along with his podcast and plenty of other goodies!