🧠 Brains Are No Place for Serious Thinking

Hey friends,

The illusion is thick right now. I don’t have to tell you that. Here in the U.S., many characters are feeling overwhelmed, confused, and frankly, sickened by what’s happening in this dream. And rightly so.

What we’re witnessing—the gutting of arts funding, attacks on education, threats to even the most meager forms of health care, while $200 million gets funneled into a ballroom for the oligarchical kleptocracy in the White House—feels eerily familiar. Historically familiar. The kind of contrast that shows up right before big shifts in consciousness—or collapse. (France, anyone?)

I’m not here to tell you what to do in the face of it. But I am here to remind you: in the dream, contrast is crucial. Without contrast, you can’t move toward clarity. That’s the real teaching behind the Law of Attraction, and that’s how I live. I see what’s going on—and I also see that something else is always available. That’s the power of the dream: everything is happening all at once. And the character (your character) has options.

🌿

This week, I had two beautiful reminders of that.

First: I finally made it to Sweet Linda’s, a cocktail bar and restaurant owned by Drew, the project manager who’s been overseeing the Midtown renovations and has genuinely looked out for me throughout this whole relocation adventure. I went alone after a friend bailed (twice!), and it turned out to be one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. The vibe was elegant and chill, the jazz music was just right, the staff were truly kind, and the food—especially a new salmon sushi dish—was next level. Drew made sure I was taken care of, and let’s just say… the bill was supposed to be nearly $100, and I walked out paying $21.

But of course—I left a huge tip. Because in this dream, when people are kind and attentive and show up fully, I believe in acknowledging that. It matters. It’s a powerful thing to value kindness and hard work—not just in theory, but in action. That’s the energy I try to walk with every day.

If you ever find yourself in NYC, I highly recommend you check it out. You can read my full review just below.

🎬 And second—this weekend, I’m beyond excited to see one of my all-time favorite films, The Women (1939), starring the goddess Norma Shearer, in an actual movie theater! I’ve never seen it on the big screen before, and if you know the film, you know it’s hilarious, biting, beautifully styled, and wildly ahead of its time. Sometimes the best gift you can give your brain—especially in times like these—is a break. A good old-fashioned, witty, all-female-cast kind of break.

So wherever you are in the dream this week—raging at the illusion, resting in clarity, or somewhere in between—I hope you remember: there’s always another channel playing.

And now, let’s get into today’s article about why your brain might not be the place to figure it all out. 🧠👇

~Max 💫💖

---

What Jed McKenna taught us about chasing mystical highs—and why it’s all just the character trying to steer the boat.

Let’s just cut to it:

“Words are lousy means of communication and brains are no place for serious thinking, and indescribable experiences are silly things to try to describe.”
— Jed McKenna

Now that is a line. And in classic Jed fashion, it lands like a brick through a stained-glass window. Everything the seeker holds sacred—poof—gone. Try to hold onto the divine, the mystical, the light-filled unity experience? He just blew a hole through it.

In this week’s Insight Timer stream, we got deep into the illusion of “getting back” to something. Specifically, the character’s obsessive need to return to that one perfect moment—the unity hit, the cosmic download, the Snow White dancing-in-the-forest experience when all the birds were chirping and God Himself seemed to be signing your name in the clouds.

You know the one.
It happened when you were 8.
And now you're 45 and wondering if meditating harder might get you back there.

I said it during the stream, and I’ll say it again: that mystical experience? It’s not spiritual awakening. It’s not enlightenment. It’s just that—a mystical experience. And there’s nothing wrong with it. But the character makes it into a thing. A destination. A goddamn prize to chase.

Let’s be clear:
That experience?
It’s gone.

Not because it wasn’t beautiful—but because the memory of it bears “little or no resemblance” to the experience itself. Jed says so. And if you’re honest, you know it too.

What’s worse?
The character’s trying to drag that long-gone moment into the future.
It’s trying to recreate the “grade eight great” in year 45.
Trying to do past in the future.
And that… is nuts.

The Character’s Game

We broke it down live: the character (your ego, your role, your name tag, your preferences, your dyed hair and all) is busy doing what characters do. It’s chasing. Money. Peace. Success. Romance. Enlightenment. Doesn’t matter. That’s what it does. It manipulates the dream.

But none of it is real.
And that’s not bad or good. It’s just... dream stuff.

From a Course in Miracles lens, you’re projecting a world that isn’t really there. Roseanne’s world ain’t Matt’s world, and Matt’s world ain’t Jesus’s. All dream bubbles. All different. Which means: nothing is actually there.

But oh, the drama. So. Much. Drama.
And the character lives for it.

Still, here’s the kicker: the character can’t experience unity. Not really. That’s the punchline. That "at-one-ment" or what Jed simply calls Unity? It’s not an event. It’s not a peak. It’s already happening. You just don’t see it because the character’s got 17 layers of glasses on—fogged up, scratched, and covered in glitter.

Let Go of the Tiller

At one point, someone in the chat asked, “So are we just saying to let go of the reins?”

YES.
Kind of.

But here’s the problem: there’s no one to let go.
It’s not Max letting go. It’s not AJ. It’s not you. There is no “you” to loosen the grip. That’s the joke.

Still, metaphorically? Take your hand off the tiller. The tiller steers the boat. It directs. It controls. And the character loves control. The more you believe you're steering, the deeper you are in the loop of the dream.

And when I say, “there is no free will,” people lose their minds.
But look: there’s will, sure. But free? No. The character is trapped in its programming. The ants in the ant farm rearranging grains of sand thinking they’re building Rome.

There Is No There There

This is the part that always stings a little:

There is no spiritual journey.
Because journeys imply you’re going somewhere.
And if you’re going somewhere, that means you’re not already here.

Sorry to ruin the plot twist, but: There is no there there.

Gertrude Stein said it. Jed confirms it. ACIM says, “I need do nothing.”

What you think is thinking, isn’t thinking.
What you think is doing, isn’t doing.
It’s just the character playing dress-up, moving rocks and making meaning where none exists.

So What Now?

If you’re feeling disoriented, confused, or like you want to shout into the void—good. That’s the beginning of waking up within the dream. Not from the dream. But within it.

Don’t worry about surrendering.
Don’t worry about aligning your mind with Truth.
Don’t chase mystical highs or try to recreate your great Grade Eight epiphany.
Just… take your hand off the tiller.

The brain isn’t the place for serious thinking.
And the “you” trying to do all this?
Not even real.

So here's your invitation for this week:

Where is your character still trying to steer the ship?
Where are you secretly hoping that “there” will finally arrive?
And… what would it mean if this, right here, is all there is?

🌀
Breathe.
Drop it.
Let the next song play.

---

✨ PS — Come hang out with me live!
If you haven’t joined us yet, I’d love to see you at one of our live sessions.

📅 Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10 AM ET — I’m live on Insight Timer, where we go deep into themes like nonduality, ACIM, projection, and spiritual troublemaking in real time.

📅 Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 10 AM ET — We gather right here on Substack for even more raw, unscripted, and often hilarious explorations.

If you’re already coming—thank you. If not, this is your invitation. 💫

Oh—and one last thing… I’m working on a brand new project that I’m incredibly excited about. My paid subscribers already know the working title: The StarWind Chronicles.

It’s mysterious, magical, and like nothing I’ve ever done before. If you want a front-row seat as it unfolds (and to support the work I share), I’d love to have you join the paid subscriber circle.

There’s so much more to come.

💫💖
Max