The Hero's Journey: Slowmading, Mindfulness, Living in Alignment
Greetings from Bombay Beach
Slowmading Projects that Came to My Radar
I'd like to share a quick list of amazing communities that came onto my radar.
If I could split into multiple people, I would go to them all:
Small & Intimate Coliving Projects with Amazing People
Flow Phangan, Thailand
Vermont Hub, Switzerland
Sende, Spain
Emerald Village Oasis, San Diego
Larger Pop-up City Events
MetaCamp, Costa Rica
Edge Esmeralda, California
Zuitzerland, Switzerland
More and more of these pop-ups will emerge. Check out resources like Zuzalu.City and Social Layer for more detailed listing <3
Please let me know in comment if you have questions about any of these projects, need personal recommendations or just wanna say hi!
Enjoy the rest of this article :)
A Dose of Mindfulness
I did a Vipassana — a 10-day immersive silence meditation retreat — at the beginning of this year. It was one of the most challenging things I had to do, an extreme test of patience.
Vipassana means ‘to observe’, and the philosophy is that through this level of immersive silence and observation, you get deep into the art of suffering, observe when emotions come up, make no judgment -- and supposedly, life gets ‘better’ if you continue to do that.
I remember coming out of Vipassana feeling absolutely invincible, like a superhero who just completed an impossible task!
I looked at every aspect of my life and just had a deep sensation of how precious it is to LIVE these lives. It really is one thing to talk about it and another to actually experience the magic. ✨
I’ve been using the Waking Up app and becoming more committed than ever to deepening my mindfulness practice.
While meditation is known for its health benefits, what truly shifted for me was the ability to live a more aware life—to consciously observe my thoughts, emotions, and actions in real time.
It’s not about ‘solving’ problems. If anything, it amplifies them, making me more aware of emotions I had long suppressed—old wounds, conditioned responses, self-criticism, doubts, mindless habits. It has been a challenging but necessary process of allowing these feelings to surface rather than avoiding them.
Since then, I’ve made a firm commitment to improving my life. I’ve pushed myself to work out more consistently, cook nourishing meals with high-quality ingredients, and care for my body and mind in a way that feels truly intentional. I want to snap myself into alignment—to live with clarity, purpose, and integrity.
But what does it really mean to live in alignment?
Popping Out of the 'Matrix' -vs- Living in Alignment
There’s The Default—and then there’s The Alternative.
We often frame it in extremes:
• Default: Office job, city shoebox apartment, consumerism, propaganda.
• Alternative: Traveling, quitting jobs, moving places, communes, van life.
But equating “leaving the Matrix” with “living in alignment” is a common misconception. The “Matrix” is subjective—one person’s default is another’s escape.
The key is knowing what your version of freedom looks like. What makes you feel alive? What aligns with your values, rhythms, and sense of play?
Popping out isn’t just about escaping. It’s about choosing. Choosing a life that isn’t pre-scripted but one you actively shape. It’s not about mindlessly rejecting the mainstream or romanticizing an alternative lifestyle—it’s about designing a life that truly works for you.
There’s nothing inherently special about popping out—it’s a fundamental part of the human story. Every hero’s journey begins with a rite of passage—Bilbo leaves the Shire, Jesus journeys East, Siddhartha experiences different lives. The Call to Adventure is always the first step toward transformation.
If you’re into storytelling and archetypes and/or are a fan of Joseph Campbell, I highly recommend the documentary Finding Joe, which explores Campbell’s life work and philosophy — it’s brilliant!
My Reflections on Alignment
How do you find your ‘joe’ ?
When I joined Mars College, I fell in love with the community—the sheer creativity, kindness, and authenticity were unlike anything I’d experienced.
A year later, I bought land in Bombay Beach and named it Sunflower Lab, dreaming of curating a Solarpunk community. After years of traveling, I wanted to create a sense of home. Back then, creativity and authenticity were my top priorities, and I would move anywhere on this planet to meet these needs.
Enjoy this video I made documenting my last 2 months of life at Mars College and building out Sunflower Lab, tribute to Lil Dicky, one of my favorite artists:
The past two months of building Sun Lab have been challenging. Land projects take forever, and I REALLY struggled to feel good about the process. I kept wondering: was I avoiding something hard? Or just lacking knowledge?
Then I realized, I’m not the same person I was two years ago. My perspective, priorities, and worldview have shifted since then.
Two years ago, I believed the ‘default’ world had nothing to offer and that we had to exit in order to make the world better — so that we could build self-reliant, sustainable communities as an antidote to wealth inequality and environmental collapse.
I felt guilty for my financial stability in the ‘default’ capitalistic society and was convinced Solarpunk communes were the answer. I was eager to build Agartha, to help others ‘pop out’ of the Matrix.
But what I thought of as ‘pop-outs’ were only another type of ‘Matrix’, with their own set of problems — the cult-like communes, sometimes resistant to progress, innovation, and personal growth. Complacency disguised as utopia, escapism mistaken for revolution. (Excuse my harsh language :P )
My goal has always been to make the world better, but I’ve come to see that regenerative communes aren’t the only path. Protopias can be macro and micro, and any iterative improvement is worth celebrating.
Rejecting society also means being rejected by it. My ‘exit’ strained my relationships with family and loved ones, and I don’t want to live that way anymore.
I believe you can be a dancer, a teacher, an engineer, or even work in government or national security, in city centers or communes — change is possible everywhere.
If we keep tending the fire of idealism internally, we will bring light anywhere we go.
My Personal Protopia
Protopia is broad and fluid—each of us should have the agency to define it for ourselves and the world. While morality can be debated endlessly, I believe most of us have an intuitive sense of what’s right.
For me, Protopia starts with curating my own inner garden. The tension between ‘going self-reliant Solarpunk away from capitalism’ and ‘developing a career as a creative within the capitalist society’ has been really tormenting me for so long, and I finally found some clarity on the path to choose.
I’d like to ‘rebuild’ a solid career as an artist and creative technologist, staying focused, determined, and accountable, and contribute as a lawful member to the greater society.
It is not about giving up my idealism, but rather to not let my idealism burn me out and take me to an extreme that alienates me from what I want to do and where I want to be — I want to cultivate the strength to carry my dreams into the world, and I believe the best way for me to do it is through messages in my creative work.
I began this blog and the Agartha project out of a deep fascination with pop-out communities and their role in society. That passion still drives me. I want this ecosystem to thrive, but for any society to flourish, its individuals must thrive first.
☀️ What does thriving look like to me?
Keep making art
Keep coding
Keep writing
Stay healthy and hydrated
Look good
Remember to sprinkle some love every day, especially to myself 😘
Thank you for reading this blog!
Whatever it is that you do, remember to do it with style! 😎