Nature & Nurture

Angel Millar is a hypnotist, martial artist, and author of The Path of the Warrior-Mystic: Being a Man in an Age of Chaos.

In this episode we discuss the balance between masculine and feminine traits, discipline and creativity, mind and body, and tradition and modernity. The warrior-mystic, Angel explains, represents the ideal balance between these traits, and we discuss historical examples including Greek philosopher-athletes, Japanese samurai-artists, and English knight-poets. We discuss the virtues of discipline and delayed gratification, how they apply to modern life amidst our panoplies of temptation, their relation to evolution and sexual selection, and the archetypal symbols in each of these motifs and in mythology. Lastly, we discuss Angel’s career as a hypnotist, and our formative experiences leading to our shared interests in psychology, mysticism, and traditional masculinity.
00:24 Exploring Masculinity and Spirituality
02:14 The Warrior Mystic: Balancing Masculine and Feminine
03:07 Historical Shifts in Masculinity and Femininity
03:45 Impact of World Wars on Gender Roles
06:22 The Role of Archetypal Patterns in Culture
09:30 The Power of Anticipation and Delayed Gratification
12:15 Exploring the Benefits of Meditation
15:00 The Journey into the Unknown: Sir Gawain's Story
16:32 The Role of Boredom in Creativity
18:54 The Impact of Social Media on Honesty
23:13 The Intersection of Video Games and Personal Growth
25:17 The Importance of Balance in Personal Development
28:00 The Role of Risk-Taking in Personal Growth
30:24 The Power of Diverse Interests in Innovation
33:12 The Role of Creativity in Leadership
37:52 The Role of Masculinity in Modern Culture
38:32 The Dichotomy of Gender Roles
41:03 The Symbolism of Beheading in Art
43:43 The Phoenix Motif and Its Connection to Christ
45:50 The Influence of Past on Self-Improvement
52:27 The Role of Hypnotism in Self-Improvement
57:53 The Influence of Attractiveness on Self-Improvement