I'm here to be myself as much as possible—and the absolute truth can only be...nothing.
A conversation about meaning, identity, physicality, and purpose with Bowen Dwelle and Andy Johns
This conversation is part of a series of interviews with various brothers and teachers, including many fellow writers, all of which are part of the body of work surrounding my book-length memoir An Ordinary Disaster—one man's proof that we can all learn to listen to ourselves, and to act upon the inner voice of our self, our sanity and our soul.
Andy Johns is the writer behind Clues Dot Lifehere on Substack and creator of the Clues.life platform. He brings his personal experience with perfectionism, anxiety, and depression to his work on mental health, personal transformation, and the pursuit of meaning and purpose.
Andy and I got together recently for a deep and wide-ranging conversation on the infinity of consciousness, the connection between identity and purpose, and how to build a sense of identity, finding flow in the outdoors, the shapes and patterns of the natural world, and how physical activity can be a key to identity, the Grail myth and how it reveals that how “the absolute truth can only be nothing,” and how the search for purpose may never end, but we can still find a way to a satisfactory answer.
Especially if you’re someone with questions about purpose, identity, and the meaning of life, or if you’ve dealt with depression, anxiety, or a sense of not knowing yourself or where you’re headed, we think you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.
Following the interview are links to some of our writing, some further reading, and some questions for you — we’d love to hear from you! Use the ♡ and comments below 👇🏻
Andy and Bowen on Meaning and Purpose
Listen to the audio right here on Substack or watch us on YouTube above.
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Bowen writes memoir and personal essay on topics including alcohol, addiction and depression… adventure, fitness, sports, and nature… identity, masculinity, fatherhood and being child-free, advertising, entrepreneurship, and conferences… creativity, intuition, archetypes, consciousness, symbols, and youth… San Francisco, California, travel… love, relationships and sex, among other things. If you’re not already a subscriber to Bowen’s substack, please do take this opportunity to subscribe now.
Andy writes about perfectionism, anxiety, and depression to his work on mental health, personal transformation, and the pursuit of meaning and purpose. If you’re not already a reader and subscriber of Andy’s work, please take this opportunity to subscribe now.
Further Reading
Here are a couple of pieces related to our conversation:
The False Grail
One day in my junior year of high school, just as I was getting started on my earliest years of serious drinking, an older family friend asked me what I was intending to do in life. We were in the back office of the upper flat where I lived with my mom on Church Street, a classic two-up San Francisco Edwardian right along the streetcar line and around t…
What is Intuition? A Whole and Open Mind
What is intuition? There are so many ways of describing what’s often called intuition—and still it can remain hard to define, hard to reach, hard to hear, and hard to understand. Words wear out, and this old word that once meant something like “tutor, guardian, or ‘private teacher within
Writing on Purpose, Identity and Meaning
“Defining Purpose” ManTalks podcast
“Fuck Finding Your Purpose” Ari In The Air podcast
Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone — John Daniel
He: Understanding Masculine Psychology — Robert A. Johnson
Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home — Toko-pa Turner
We’ve got some questions for you
Have you struggled with finding or feeling purpose? What has helped?
What is your own relationship with intuition?
How do you feel your own identity relates to your ability to find or feel purpose?
What’s a favorite story from your own life—especially one that you’re a little bit afraid to tell?
Was this worth your time?
Use the heart ♡ below to let us know
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