That Time I Moved Shit with My Brain, And Other Stories from Hereticon

PART ONE:

QUICK NOTES: They’re experimenting on me at Hereticon! Check out these two images that, apparently, my thoughts made. The instructions were to pick a high or low line and then try to steer your line on the graph. I picked HIGH first, obviously (or rather, obvious to me, as it’s easier to think aspirationally/rising frequency for me). See pictures below.

After that result, I was intrigued enough to do the low too (blue line above). For both, I closed my eyes and steered my mind. Interestingly, where the lines blipped over the control line in the middle-ish is where I thought of a rocket ship launching (high) and a submarine diving (low). I have no idea what this means, but I do believe I can now categorically prove I HAVE A BRAIN!

PART TWO:

I’m not really sure what I am allowed to say about this conference. Can I brag, and say I sat eight feet away from Peter Thiel in a roped VIP bar inside a bar while listening to a talk on ESP, and wondered why Peter wasn’t picking up on the vibes I was laying down right then and there to become besties?

Can I say I was surprised at the level of “woo”–alien summonings (they didn’t show up, boo!), Tarot card readings (I’d never done one before, was totally unprepared, and ended up bawling like a teenager over childhood crap), brainwave stuff (see above), ESP, black holes, spy-craft, mRNA tech, neural links, etc.–all of which, on some level, struck me as nerds trying to measure or prove the existence of God.

Funny story: After the talk by the brilliant Tim Urban on neural links, I was crossing the 4-lane street back to the hotel, walking with a gentleman who had also attended the talk. We were walking side-by-side, making small talk.
Me: “You know, it’s probably super-weird, but I’m not vaccinated, but I might get a neural link one day, who knows?!?”
Man: “YOU ARE NOT VACCINATED???” Jumps away from me in the middle of the road and, I kid you not, SCURRIES, as in at an alarmed and quick pace, away from me like I am dangerous, dirty vermin. I was so shocked, because here in the Free State of New Hampshire, we understand that, surely, if you chose to get vaccinated, you should not fear the unvaxxed, because… you’re vaccinated… no? 😛

Very booze-y, which was harder for me than I thought it would be. After all, it’s been more than 4 years since I quit alcohol, but it was just prevalent–open bars across the exclusive hotel, great selection of top-shelf full bottles in my room–and I was out of pot and didn’t fly with any, and didn’t feel like the hassle of organizing a hotel delivery, but, luckily, I had packed some micro-doses of ‘shrooms, and that helped take the edge off. Good reminder to make sure I am adequately stocked with the medicines I need when I travel.

Highlights: Meeting Michael Shellenberger, author of San Fransicko: How Progressives Ruin Cities. Longevity stuff. Young Boss Women ruling the roost. A thoughtful interview with Peter Thiel. The Grimes set–BPHAB! Watching people get hypnotized, like smart, accomplished Silicon Valley types just dropping into deep, deep orgasmic hypnosis… I couldn’t believe my eyes! Stand-up. Show girls! Burlesque Variety Show. Really, an amazing experience. Thank you!

See what others were saying…

Daily Beast says “Peter Thiel’s VC Firm to Host a Meetup Where Tech Outcasts Can Do ‘Thoughtcrimes’”
Ivy Astrix says, “A Bunch of Heretics Walk Into Miami”
Hereticon creator, Michael Solana, in his own words… “The future we want to build is impossible if important ideas are deemed too heretical”