Navigating The Rabbit Hole: A Reader's Guide

Welcome to The Rabbit Hole! So, what the f*$& is this? Where does one begin? What does this blog / vlog have to offer, and what value does it offer?! All fair questions! ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿคจ๐Ÿ™Œ

Well, in 2011 after I felt sufficiently humiliated and battered by life, I took a crack at justifying why I felt I had something significant to share with the World. I was raised as a, um, let's say lower-class American, with all the life informing experiences that come from a childhood riddled with alcoholism, various forms of addiction, and morbid obesity. My first blog Analytical Ramblings of a Scientific Mind centred around how I began sorting through the resulting colourful mental illnesses that plagued me through my late teens and 20's. Back then I only dabbled in the weird and wonderful (i.e. my unique form of Spirituality), but since then I've shifted. Now becoming aware of the deeper psychological, if not subconscious, aspects that drove those previous anxious and/or unhealthy thoughts, emotions and behaviours is what really lights me up! I've practised observing myself as objectively as possible, pulling myself up on my own BULLSHIT (while remembering to remain kind to myself... one of lifes' greatest ironies), attempting to build authentic self-worth (while avoiding selfish conceit), and accepting myself flaws and all (while walking the fine line between letting myself off the hook too easily and unnecessary self punishment).

Ah, it's a tangled web we Humans weave for ourselves! Indeed some of us are particularly good at wrapping ourselves up in the invisible chains... holding limiting beliefs we didn't even realise are actually tall-tales we tell ourselves for various conditioned and self-sabotaging reasons.


If nothing else, The Rabbit Hole offers an entirely different perspective; I've never been accused of being anything near normal and seem to be getting weirder as I age and realise just how little I know about myself, despite living in my Body for 38 years and counting ๐Ÿ˜…. As I evolve, develop, expand my awareness, I find myself asking deeper spiritually-based questions along my endless pursuit of continuous self-improvement, and thus The Rabbit Holes are Created! ๐Ÿ‡๐Ÿ‡๐Ÿ‡

The stories I share are raw, hilarious, tragic, and unrelentingly honest. I publish this written and audio content in hopes others will reflect on the parallels in their own lives; after all, we are all Humans sharing this wonderful shit-show called Life. There are a finite number of emotions, which is why we can all relate on at least some level. I dare say Life is easy for anyone, no matter how their circumstances may appear to others from the outside... ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ’ฉ


The Most Important Element = Links! ๐Ÿ”—๐Ÿ’ฏ๐Ÿ”‘

Links represent the true essence of the Rabbit Hole! Links present themselves as *Blue Bolded Text*, and each link intentionally inter-relates as I attempt to keep messages consistent while drilling down into distinct themes. By elaborating on common philosophies from different vantage points, I hope that people can grasp these concepts in a way that is meaningful for them and help build their own awareness. These links create a veritable 'Choose Your Own Adventure' of Rabbit Holes ๐Ÿ‡. Click on any link to go deeper into a different (yet related) adventure and see where it leads!

Here are some other exciting features that will help facilitate effective navigation of The Rabbit Hole:

Right-Side Panel

Navigating The Rabbit Hole: A Reader's Guide
I keep this reader's guide pinned to this location for everyone's convenience ๐Ÿ˜‰.

Search This Blog
To the right-hand side, above 'Labels', is a search bar. Use it when looking for content containing specific words. For example, one may want to delve into articles that touch on 'IRONY'; debatably my favourite topic!

Labels
To group common themes & show respect for my OCD ๐Ÿ˜…, I create each work under a specific label. While most articles will have multiple themes, I stick to one or two for consistency. The 'Labels' heading can be found on the right hand side (under the Search function), and are as follows. Clicking on any label will navigate to all articles/vlogs in that category, and show the number of published creations in parentheses.
  • Analogical: Any creation that focuses on using an analogy to make a weighty-concept more digestible. For example, using the game of Tetris to analyse how I feel about dating and romantic relationships, how uncovering our Blind Spots keeps us safe in our cars as well as sane in our heads, or the intriguing similarity between Pricks, both human and hedgehog! ๐Ÿคฏ๐Ÿ˜‡
  • Body Lessons: I exercise for my mental and physical health, but also to get my creative juices flowing! Most of my ideas manifest whilst running, rowing, tramping or yoga-ing. These articles are either specific analogies or general rabbit holes I stumble upon during my physical pursuits... For example, how can the sweet-ache of an uphill jog teach me about growth as a person ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿค”?
  • Emotional Adventure: When someone would like to take a deeper look into emotional awareness, intelligence and also conflicting emotions, this is the label for them! This shit is both heavy and extremely enlightening, offering a means of understanding ourselves on a deeper emotional level... Which is important unless we're OK with punching a McDonald's employee in the face because the store ran out of Quarter Pounders ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜.
  • Existential Explorations (Vlog): A delightful dabble into all things existential and introspective! This is easily my favourite topic to delve into, exploring SSASS and Spices... and by-so-doing inviting others to do the same. These are tracked and measured by 'Fathoms' to make references easier, and include bulleted talking points to provide relevant/related links.๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’ž

  • From The Journal: Written in italics, these meanderings come directly from my own journal. Yes, this is actually the crazy shit I write to myself day-in and day-out, and are typically less dense than full articles (though no less insightful ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”ฎ).
  • Poetry: No, I'm no Robert Frost or Edgar Allen Poe, but I have a go ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ“–.
  • Rabbit Hole Podcast: From February 2019 to August 2021, take an animated and amusing adventure with me as I record myself analysing particular topics or sharing silly experiences. This was the first iteration of what later became the Existential Explorations (Vlog) already described. ๐ŸŽค
  • Self Worth & Esteem: Ah, a formidable topic indeed! The fine line between a healthy sense of worth versus arrogance and/or selfishness is among one of my favourite subjects to contemplate. These works stem from the premise that our worth is inherent, granted to us simply by being in existence instead of being something we must earn... I must continually remind myself of this ๐Ÿ‘Œ.
  • Shanghai Shuffle (Vlog): Starting in August 2024, including 29 Episodes, accompany me to China where I was based in Shanghai for one hair-raising, eye-watering, year. ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ’ฉ My reasons and intentions for going are detailed in the first episode, but my entire ethos slowly changed as I experienced cultural conundrums, delayed onset grief, and more than one hospitalisation. ๐ŸŽŠ๐Ÿœ
  • Spirit Science: Mind-bending concepts, and my personal 'go-to' label for complex analyses... such as asking ourselves "Who gets the blame?" This label exemplifies a scientific Mind at work within a Soul's spiritual realm, using the laws of Physics, Biology and/or Chemistry along the way to aid in understanding. Definitely come prepared to think outside of the box as well as receiving a lesson in Science ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿค“.
  • Subtle Differences: The oh-so small nuances that frame what we say and do, giving essential hints towards our Mindsets. So many things can appear one way under a certain circumstance but completely different from another perspective, yet at face-value the concept seems the same ๐Ÿ‘†๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ‘ˆ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ‘‡
  • Summer's Summary (Vlog): A Vlog update on my previous written works, intended to convey: 1) A revisit of the article, 2) The take home message(s), and 3) A reflection on how the message(s) manifests in my current life as I continuously evolve. ๐Ÿค“꩜
  • Travel: I whack this label onto any work inspired by my gypsy spirit as I explore this wonderful and weird world of ours. ๐Ÿ›ซ๐ŸŒ
My Other Works
Links to my previous blog, Analytical Ramblings of a Scientific Mind, as well as my YouTube channel which holds the Rabbit Hole Podcasts and the Audio Versions of articles (if there is one ๐Ÿ˜…). 

Left-Side Panel

Contact Me
I send out an article each week via a Bcc'ed email list (for anonymity). This will either be for a newly created peice or revisions to previous works. This is a means to let me know if this email is of interest, or, if there's any feedback to give. I'd love to hear from the readers either way! ๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ™

What Others Enjoyed
Top 5 clicked-on published articles, which typically coincides with the article I've sent out via the weekly email list ๐Ÿ˜†๐Ÿ‘‹. 

Blog Archive
What I've written and when... fairly self explanatory ๐Ÿ˜‰. Rather than troll through the list, however, I've tried to make this easier by inserting Original Publication and Revision Dates at the end of each article. If nothing else, this proves that I continually un-learn and re-learn golden nuggets of wisdom continuously, and am perpetually humbled when I read an 'old' article only to discover that I 'had it all figured out' three years ago... ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™ˆ

Report Abuse
I can only assume this is a default function, I certainly didn't put it there intentionally. But hey, if you think I'm being a dick, push it and see what happens ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ’ฃ

Bottom Panel: Resources to Promote Evolvement
A list of just a few of the resources that significantly informed my own weird and wonderful awareness evolution ๐Ÿ“š꩜.

Other Miscellaneous Points

Memes, Memes Everywhere!
Yes, I am obsessed with memes. I find they offer the perfect mental break within my meandering written creations. Some are homemade, otherwise I troll Google while writing to find one that fits the works' central thesis. 

Language
Firstly, the only truly off-limit words are those of 'You' and 'Should,' everything else is fair f*$!ing game! I abhor the word 'You' in self-development writing as I feel it comes across as accusatory and/or overtly instructional; and for me to be perceived as qualified to instruct others on how to conduct their own damn business is laughable if not entirely hypocritical ๐Ÿคฎ. Instead I choose to use 'We,' because we're in this together dammit! I may be the author, but I'm still very much feeling and often fumbling my way through life; at times blindly, banging into all sorts of drama imaginable! I, in NO WAY, want people to think I have it all figured out, or that I have all the answers... that would be supremely embarrassing, especially since I fully expect to be arrested for exercise- (not alcohol-) related public urination some day ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‡๐Ÿ˜–.

'Should' is also a no-go. Saying we 'should' do this or that subconsciously implies that what we're currently doing is 'wrong' in some way, which is not ideal for growth or healing. I can only speak for myself, but when I started paying attention to how much I heard myself thinking 'I shouldn't say that....' or 'I shouldn't have done that...,' it always inspired a sense of shame and/or guilt. Instead, let's put on our big-boy/big-girl pants and ask the bigger questions: "Why do we feel bad for being ourselves?", or "Why do we do shit that makes us feel like ๐Ÿ’ฉ and/or we know doesn't serve us well?!"

We are who we are, we're at where we're at, and that's OK. If we don't like it, find that it isn't serving us well or helping us be the people we want to be, then we can shift it by becoming more aware. We're all here to learn. ๐Ÿ“š


Secondly, F^*# yes I swear! It's colourful, adds flavour and helps keep shit light. Of course it's not intended to offend, so if people feel offended they would do well to explore why... and build their awareness! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ‡

Lastly, my articles are meant to be rather complex with a high degree of syntactical sophistication (i.e. impeccable grammar and vocabulary ๐Ÿค“). This is intentional to create an environment wherein whole Worlds are created by reading between the lines. Reading an article once will provide one layer, while reading them two or three times over time will provide even deeper meanings, especially after certain life experiences give us different lenses to look through. As our awareness and consciousness expands, so too will our interpretation of these works.


Original Publication Date 16 August 2020, Revised 04 January 2026.

Kitchen Conversations

"I love that some of our most deep and meaningful conversations can occur in the simplest of places. Chance circumstances lead to connections that we can't even fully appreciate the significance of until we reflect on them, or find ourselves recalling random conversations with people years after the fact, marvelling at how relevant they seem to who we are now... who we've become. Yesterday, I had one such conversation.

A colleague was making a tea in the kitchen while I mindlessly stirred my oatmeal and we struck up some chat, as humans do. I've no idea how we got on the topic, I actually don't think there was a lead-in, They just launched into it, boldly and a bit frustratedly (is that a word?) claiming that the adage 'everything happens for a reason'
"is BULLSHIT". 

Seriously, I googled 'Everything happens for a Reason' in search of a meme; and now I just really want to read this book!


While my own feelings and spirituality vehemently oppose this belief, I authentically enjoy understanding other people's perspectives so I asked them to elaborate... They explained that nothing happens for a reason, shit things happen simply because they do, there is no purpose or deeper meaning; that's a lie people feed themselves to make them feel better (which I do actually agree with)... And to top it off, that way of thinking underlines why religion exists... because people need something to believe in, and it's for suckers.

Though I didn't admit this to my colleague, the mere thought that nothing has a larger meaning f*$!ing terrifies me. The only peace of mind I've found, healing for 
my anxiety and panic disorder... ok, and my OCD as well... heavily relies on the premise that someone or something is in control. I don't like that it's not me, but I'm willing to trust that the Universe knows what it's doing, is keeping some sort of balance that will ultimately prove Just... even if it's over multiple lifetimes. To believe there is no bigger picture, that it's all uncontrollable chaos, terrifies me to the point that my stomach twists and my brain folds over on itself, throwing up a smoke signal that spells 'does not compute!' F*#$, so much has happened to me in this life... I NEED to believe there's a higher purpose for it all, yet here's this strong person totally unafraid to avow that's a bullshit, if not weak, viewpoint; little more than a spoonful of sugar to help me swallow life's atrocities and injustices. Hell, I can't dispute there's truth in that... but... there must be a BUT! Don't get me wrong, I appreciate entropy as much as the next person, but for it to be the sole governing force of the Universe, without compassion or sense of karmic justice, is more than my Spirit can bare.

We shared some respectful too-ing and fro-ing... there were many 
emotions writhing in me... jealousy that they could be so brave and bold as to trust fall into nothingness and chaos, defensiveness over my own beliefs, curiousity in their argument and perspective; so much in such a small conversation while fixing ourselves a refreshment. I love this shit!

They then struck upon something that I believe informs everyone's belief around 'everything happens for a reason,' and that's culture. I'm a native-born American and they're originally from South Africa... we're both desensitised to violence and general trauma compared to most Kiwis. This belief is indeed heavily culturally relevant. Here's someone who has seen shit that's off the charts cruel and chaotic, horrific things happening to people for seemingly no reason, so their way of coping was to embrace it and disregard any type of benevolent 'master plan.' I too grew up in, uh, ahem, unfortunate circumstances and experienced various forms of abuse, so coming to believe in something greater than myself allowed me to relax and surrender a degree of control... Interestingly, this is a mindset I had to adopt to 
shift from anxiety and panic to peace; yet across from me is someone who made the same shift by believing the exact opposite. Fascinating!

We eventually reached common ground, which further intrigued me, as they struck upon my #1 guiding life principle... stating it's all about learning from experiences... and I couldn't agree more. After reading 'The Gifts of Imperfections' I've repeated my homemade mantra "I learn with a grateful heart" nearly everyday, and I can honestly say it's changed my life; definitely for the better. It helps me transition from a
victim mindset to a thriving mindset. The former leaving me afraid of what's around the next turn, leery of the next horrible situation I'd have to face; constantly on-edge. The latter enabling me to accept the sigmoidal curve of lifes' adventures, trusting myself to grow and learn and develop as I process and move through the ups and downs, safely. It's like flying above a storm, still feeling some of the turbulence without feeling we're in direct danger. Whether it's a happy occurrence or a tough challenge, I always seek to learn and remain grateful for the lesson (even if it feels like my ass is black and blue, I can take care of that!).

We parted, thanking each other for the deep conversation, and true to my core beliefs, I was happy to have the opportunity to ask myself why I believe what I believe; explore another rabbit hole ๐Ÿ‡.


Original Publication Date 08 August 2020, Revised 03 January 2023