The ancient path of virtue isn't abstract. It is lived in the daily battles and choices of life. My philosophical counselling provides you with the tools and guidance to apply the wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics to the specific challenges you face.
We will work together to build strength and wisdom in these key areas of your life:
1. The Self: Mastering Your Inner World
This is the foundation: the inner man. We will focus on building self-mastery by confronting:
Digital habits: regaining control over screen time, social media, and video games. Closing the door to slop and poison. Replacing passive consumption with presence and purposeful action.
Pornography: it is abundantly clear that today's pornography damages your brain, your motivation, your vision of women and relationships, and your confidence and self-respect. It also harms society and abuses of women, and real men protect and nurture both of those. I will help you to quite porn, and develop the discipline to channel your sexual energy towards true sexual love, and/or creative and admirable ends.
Lack of purpose & direction: Moving from nihilism and "option paralysis" to a clear, actionable life mission based on your deepest values. This is what I described on the previous page: classical philosophy discerns what matters most, and makes that into a program of life.
Emotional strength, well-being, and virtue: the Stoic and Aristotelian art of managing anger, anxiety, and fear—yes, sometimes by suppressing them, by flexing that inward muscle, but more often by understanding and directing them with reason. I central part of this tradition is the discipline of desire. To cultivate virtue is to inject your emotions and desires with intelligence, with reason, with the clear view of what is true and good.
If this sounds strange, consider how pornography reshapes your desires, so that you are eventually wanking to things that rightly disgust you, are which are even abusive, in order to get your "hit". Consider what damage it might have been done to you in the bedroom, too.
What we stare at and desire shapes us, inwardly. The inward life is the heart of a man, from which everything flows. In place of distorted ways of seeing and desiring, we learn to look wisely, with the eyes of the mature king and lover, and to love what is truly good, with the heart of the noble warrior and the mage. We bring this vision and heart, or reason and virtue, to everything in our lives, from what we look at online, to how we treat strangers, to how we love those around us, to how we treat ourselves and what our secret, inner life is like.
2. The Body and Nature: the vessel of virtue
Your mind and spirit embodied. As above, so below, as the saying goes, or as within, so without, and vice versa.
Building discipline--embodied virtue: establishing non-negotiable routines for sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Using the Warrior's energy to commit to your physical goals. Overcoming the sedentary life.
Nature: the city is a projection of the human mind in concrete and glass. This can be wonderful, but it is also a projction of our narrowness, and even our lack.
To be in nature is to be in a life that transcends us. It is in part to live the animal life, and to share that with other men. It is also to become more contemplative, alone in nature, and to learn from that rich silence.
Men need physicality, including the physicality of nature. They need also to retreat into nature alone, to become centred and re-energised. It is good to have a plan of life that involves all these things.
3. Relationships: The Art of Connection
Your character is tested and expressed in how you relate to others.
Relationships with Women: Moving beyond game, manipulation, objectification, oppression, or narcissistic dependence on and use of women. Moving also beyond fear of women, or shame and desperation, or false self-sacrifice, or attachment to unworthy women, or subservience to women. Instead, cultivating the integrated energies of the Lover (passion, connection), Warrior (assertiveness, boundaries), and King (respect, generosity) to build authentic, respectful, and fulfilling relationships.
Friendship & Brotherhood (Philía): As Aristotle taught, true friendship is a cornerstone of the good life. We'll work on building a supportive circle of men who challenge and elevate you, moving beyond superficial connections.
Family Dynamics: Navigating complex relationships with parents and siblings from a place of mature, principled adulthood, not childhood reactivity.
4. Action & Purpose: Your Mission in the World
Virtue requires a field of action. We will translate your inner growth into outer impact.
Career & Vocation (Your Telos): Reframing your work not just as a job, but as a calling where you can express your skills (Magician), serve others (King), and exercise excellence (Virtue).
Courage & Assertiveness: Finding the Aristotelian mean between passivity and aggression. Learning to assert your needs, set boundaries, and take calculated risks in your career and personal life.
Financial Discipline: Applying the virtue of temperance to your finances. Building a relationship with money based on prudence and generosity, not fear or greed.
5. The Big Questions: Building a Meaningful Life
We address the fundamental philosophical questions that underlie these daily struggles.
Confronting Nihilism: Actively building a personal philosophy that provides meaning and defends against the emptiness of modern culture.
Defining Your Own Good: Instead of accepting pre-packaged answers, we use the Socratic method to help you discover what you truly value and what "the Good Life" means for you.
Legacy & Generativity: Looking beyond yourself. Using the energy of the mature King to ask: "How will I use my strengths to bless my community and leave the world better than I found it?"
How We Approach These Issues Together
This is not behavior modification. It is character transformation. We won't just treat the symptom (e.g., "reduce screen time"); we will address the root cause: a disintegrated soul lacking a clear mission.
Examination (Socratic): We identify the conflicting beliefs and bad habits holding you back.
Ordering (Platonic): We create a clear plan to re-establish reason as the ruler of your inner kingdom.
Practicing (Aristotelian/Stoic): We implement daily practices and habits to build virtue and resilience.
Integrating (Archetypal): We call upon the specific masculine energies needed to win each battle.
We will work together to build strength and wisdom in these key areas of your life:
1. The Self: Mastering Your Inner World
This is the foundation: the inner man. We will focus on building self-mastery by confronting:
Digital habits: regaining control over screen time, social media, and video games. Closing the door to slop and poison. Replacing passive consumption with presence and purposeful action.
Pornography: it is abundantly clear that today's pornography damages your brain, your motivation, your vision of women and relationships, and your confidence and self-respect. It also harms society and abuses of women, and real men protect and nurture both of those. I will help you to quite porn, and develop the discipline to channel your sexual energy towards true sexual love, and/or creative and admirable ends.
Lack of purpose & direction: Moving from nihilism and "option paralysis" to a clear, actionable life mission based on your deepest values. This is what I described on the previous page: classical philosophy discerns what matters most, and makes that into a program of life.
Emotional strength, well-being, and virtue: the Stoic and Aristotelian art of managing anger, anxiety, and fear—yes, sometimes by suppressing them, by flexing that inward muscle, but more often by understanding and directing them with reason. I central part of this tradition is the discipline of desire. To cultivate virtue is to inject your emotions and desires with intelligence, with reason, with the clear view of what is true and good.
If this sounds strange, consider how pornography reshapes your desires, so that you are eventually wanking to things that rightly disgust you, are which are even abusive, in order to get your "hit". Consider what damage it might have been done to you in the bedroom, too.
What we stare at and desire shapes us, inwardly. The inward life is the heart of a man, from which everything flows. In place of distorted ways of seeing and desiring, we learn to look wisely, with the eyes of the mature king and lover, and to love what is truly good, with the heart of the noble warrior and the mage. We bring this vision and heart, or reason and virtue, to everything in our lives, from what we look at online, to how we treat strangers, to how we love those around us, to how we treat ourselves and what our secret, inner life is like.
2. The Body and Nature: the vessel of virtue
Your mind and spirit embodied. As above, so below, as the saying goes, or as within, so without, and vice versa.
Building discipline--embodied virtue: establishing non-negotiable routines for sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Using the Warrior's energy to commit to your physical goals. Overcoming the sedentary life.
Nature: the city is a projection of the human mind in concrete and glass. This can be wonderful, but it is also a projction of our narrowness, and even our lack.
To be in nature is to be in a life that transcends us. It is in part to live the animal life, and to share that with other men. It is also to become more contemplative, alone in nature, and to learn from that rich silence.
Men need physicality, including the physicality of nature. They need also to retreat into nature alone, to become centred and re-energised. It is good to have a plan of life that involves all these things.
3. Relationships: The Art of Connection
Your character is tested and expressed in how you relate to others.
Relationships with Women: Moving beyond game, manipulation, objectification, oppression, or narcissistic dependence on and use of women. Moving also beyond fear of women, or shame and desperation, or false self-sacrifice, or attachment to unworthy women, or subservience to women. Instead, cultivating the integrated energies of the Lover (passion, connection), Warrior (assertiveness, boundaries), and King (respect, generosity) to build authentic, respectful, and fulfilling relationships.
Friendship & Brotherhood (Philía): As Aristotle taught, true friendship is a cornerstone of the good life. We'll work on building a supportive circle of men who challenge and elevate you, moving beyond superficial connections.
Family Dynamics: Navigating complex relationships with parents and siblings from a place of mature, principled adulthood, not childhood reactivity.
4. Action & Purpose: Your Mission in the World
Virtue requires a field of action. We will translate your inner growth into outer impact.
Career & Vocation (Your Telos): Reframing your work not just as a job, but as a calling where you can express your skills (Magician), serve others (King), and exercise excellence (Virtue).
Courage & Assertiveness: Finding the Aristotelian mean between passivity and aggression. Learning to assert your needs, set boundaries, and take calculated risks in your career and personal life.
Financial Discipline: Applying the virtue of temperance to your finances. Building a relationship with money based on prudence and generosity, not fear or greed.
5. The Big Questions: Building a Meaningful Life
We address the fundamental philosophical questions that underlie these daily struggles.
Confronting Nihilism: Actively building a personal philosophy that provides meaning and defends against the emptiness of modern culture.
Defining Your Own Good: Instead of accepting pre-packaged answers, we use the Socratic method to help you discover what you truly value and what "the Good Life" means for you.
Legacy & Generativity: Looking beyond yourself. Using the energy of the mature King to ask: "How will I use my strengths to bless my community and leave the world better than I found it?"
How We Approach These Issues Together
This is not behavior modification. It is character transformation. We won't just treat the symptom (e.g., "reduce screen time"); we will address the root cause: a disintegrated soul lacking a clear mission.
Examination (Socratic): We identify the conflicting beliefs and bad habits holding you back.
Ordering (Platonic): We create a clear plan to re-establish reason as the ruler of your inner kingdom.
Practicing (Aristotelian/Stoic): We implement daily practices and habits to build virtue and resilience.
Integrating (Archetypal): We call upon the specific masculine energies needed to win each battle.