Episode 135

Awakening Practices from PRACTICAL WORK ON SELF, "Red-Faced Donkey", Part One

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses a chapter titled "Red-faced Donkey" from EJ Gold's book, Practical Work on Self.

They explore the concept of intentional humiliation, a spiritual exercise designed to disrupt the "automatic sympathy" and vanity of the human machine. They suggest various methods for this practice, ranging from simple tasks like reading everything twice or washing dishes immediately, to more eccentric acts such as carrying a raw egg in one's pocket. The conversation highlights the struggle of maintaining self-awareness while risking one's reputation as a reasonable person in the eyes of others.

Ultimately, the source emphasizes that these untenable positions serve as a "right angle interruption" to help an individual wake up from the triviality of ordinary life. Their goal is to detach from the opinions of others and foster a deeper level of self-observation through deliberate social discomfort.

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The Three-Headed Man
Talking To Ourselves For Over 25 Years

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About your host

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Fred M Schill

I like to do. I like to make things. And, I like telling stories. I tell stories to myself and to others.

First, a short biography, which is, of course, is a story. I was born in Cleveland, played sports, and attended university. Later, after a few years in the radio business, I returned to university to study education and literature.

With a teaching certificate in my file folder, I began working in high schools, first as a strike-breaking scab substitute teacher in Cleveland's far suburbs, and then in Chicago, mostly in private high schools.

Cleveland and Chicago. My two main towns, and I escaped them both. Presently, I live in a tiny, isolated, mountain village in Spain. I am reluctant to write the name of the town because I don't like tourists. When the tourists arrive, they look at me as if I am an animal in a zoo.