Chan Buddhist.
Writer.
Martial Artist.
Existentialist Philosopher.
Neo-Jungian Psychologist.
In the Beginning…
I have complicated feelings about psychology.
I had discovered the martial arts at 15, and existential philosophy at 18. These were the foundation of my early development as a young man; together, they constituted a kind of warrior ethos, which I was fascinated by. Because of this, I first wanted to study philosophy, but being something of a pragmatic man, I noted a conspicuous lack of philosophy factories in the Pittsburgh area. After some thought, I decided on psychology as a kind of practical philosophy- much to the irritation of many of my professors who had the (admittedly reasonable) expectation that I would think and write according to the rules of the American Psychological Association rather than according to the rules of the American Philosophical Association (just kidding: No such organization exists; philosophy is the Wild, Wild West).
By the time I began my master’s degree, cracks had begun to show: My minor irritations had soon become massive disagreements. Common ground vanished. Eventually, I realized that I no longer believed (did I ever really believe?) in what had become of my soon-to-be field: To my mind, psychology had become all-too soft, fragile, reactive; it no longer even bothered to attempt to speak to me as a man or to any man I had ever known. Because of this, I began writing a criticism of the modern paradigm, and not only a criticism: I asked, "Just what would an heroic theory of psychology look like, exactly?" This question resulted in my master’s thesis, titled Sex-differentiated Psychological Paradigms, which I half-assed due to my brother’s recent death; to my knowledge, nobody has ever read that paper except myself and my professor. I was given a B+, which I found mildly annoying as it killed an A-streak that I had maintained all through graduate school. But it was a beginning, and along with that thesis came the seed of an idea, which in turn culminated in a host of projects. For example…
I had discovered the martial arts at 15, and existential philosophy at 18. These were the foundation of my early development as a young man; together, they constituted a kind of warrior ethos, which I was fascinated by. Because of this, I first wanted to study philosophy, but being something of a pragmatic man, I noted a conspicuous lack of philosophy factories in the Pittsburgh area. After some thought, I decided on psychology as a kind of practical philosophy- much to the irritation of many of my professors who had the (admittedly reasonable) expectation that I would think and write according to the rules of the American Psychological Association rather than according to the rules of the American Philosophical Association (just kidding: No such organization exists; philosophy is the Wild, Wild West).
By the time I began my master’s degree, cracks had begun to show: My minor irritations had soon become massive disagreements. Common ground vanished. Eventually, I realized that I no longer believed (did I ever really believe?) in what had become of my soon-to-be field: To my mind, psychology had become all-too soft, fragile, reactive; it no longer even bothered to attempt to speak to me as a man or to any man I had ever known. Because of this, I began writing a criticism of the modern paradigm, and not only a criticism: I asked, "Just what would an heroic theory of psychology look like, exactly?" This question resulted in my master’s thesis, titled Sex-differentiated Psychological Paradigms, which I half-assed due to my brother’s recent death; to my knowledge, nobody has ever read that paper except myself and my professor. I was given a B+, which I found mildly annoying as it killed an A-streak that I had maintained all through graduate school. But it was a beginning, and along with that thesis came the seed of an idea, which in turn culminated in a host of projects. For example…
Tribe
Tribe is my small group session for young men interested in personal mentorship and masculine self-development. Sessions are weekly, and we will form new small groups as interest increases. Tribe small groups are limited to twelve clients each and do include nominal monthly dues; please feel free to reach out for details.
Biography
|
Joshua van Asakinda was born 22 September, 1979 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds a master's degree in psychology from American Military University, and a bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. For years, he went traveling in search of himself; this led him to the Mahayana, and to the establishment of various protocols fusing religion, martial studies, and evolutionary psychology. Now he has self-published a number of books, including Slay the Maiden; Profiling the Left; Stranging the Beautiful Noise; Strategies of Guerrilla Psychology I: Valhalla; and Strategies of Guerrilla Psychology II: ZenTactics. Finally, he is Chan Buddhist, First of the Zenshida’i, creator of Pencak Silat Cimande dari Zenshida'i.
|
Publications
A small novel about seven heroes that awaken in a tomb with no idea of why they exist or what they are to do. But the visions of a young boy lead them through a world of gods, where the mystery of mortal tragedy plays out across the backdrop of divine theatre. The first draft was written in seven days; it took years for me to figure out exactly what I had written. I have considered rewriting it; I have decided to leave it as it is. It is based on the Persephone myth.
[ *Link in photo above. * ] |
Is it well-written? No. But is the idea important? Absolutely. When I wrote it, I wrote it in a fever of inspiration; ifI had written it today, I would have written it differently- very differently. But the seed if the idea remains: When we fail to integrate the self, we set the stage for a series of psychic changes that can only result in tyranny and centralization of control. Today, I call this anarchic psychology (AP) as opposed to coherent psychology (CP), which is the preferable state of affairs. And I see anarchic psychology everywhere across the political spectrum- left or right, moderate or extremist. Still, this small book of 45 pages or so was valuable, even if only to me.
[ *Link in photo above. * ] |
A poetry collection unlike any other. It was largely written in Jungian, stream-of-consciousness fashion. Yet the rhyme and meter of it all has an old school, classical aesthetic, which has been abandoned for quite some time. Some are short and trivial; some are long, mythic, and spiritual. But I love them all, for example…
Amaranthine I dream of an unborn god in me Oh, for that god to be set free! And mount upon immortal wings In the forever that died for his agony ”Haiku” Ripping claws From tiger’s paws Will never make them better Hunter & Quarry I once wrote a tragedy; now I have wandered on The skin that I shed yesterday I sought, and found upon The rocks of a despoiled place where I do not belong So now the quarry that I chase I capture in a song [ *Link in photo above. * ] |
Finally, in Case You Have Questions, Like…
[ * I love Calvin & Hobbes. * ]
|
|