I think this universe is a very cool place.

First, let me explain what coolness is. Coolness has nothing to do with what a person has; it’s a class thing. The President of the United States has everything, but you don’t aspire to be that person. There is nothing cool about him.

No—coolness, in this universe, will forever be rewarded.

Let me elaborate by explaining what will forever be not cool:

• Wearing sunglasses in public (the other person can’t see your eyes, which is considered impolite)
• Wearing big Bluetooth headsets on your head—you can’t hear the rest, which is very confusing for others, and for your own brain. Your brain wants to listen to things around you.
• New Balance shoes
• Being an adult looking at YouTube Shorts on public transport. You have to be kidding me. Look around. Listen to other conversations. Grow up.

What will forever be cool:

• Being yourself
• Curiosity
• Creating something
• Working out
• Cooking, eating healthy

The problem is that, coolness-wise, we have probably hit an all-time low. It’s like walking around in The Matrix, where everybody has developed a very childish phone addiction.

It’s time to channel your own inner coolness. Why? Because otherwise, whether you like it or not, you will end up in depression, a psychosis, or an anxiety disorder in a few years. Those things take time to develop. I have been there, and it takes 10 years until you hit your lowest low—and then it’s hard to climb back out, which takes years as well. I lived for a few years with guardian angels flying through my windows every night until I climbed out of my psychosis. Which, I have to be honest, was a very cool experience.

Coolness also means finding your own path and not listening to everybody else. If I had to stack all the nonsense I’ve read about consciousness (especially Buddhism), I could go to the moon and back. There is nothing cool about doing breathing exercises because you are scared to think or daydream, and pretending that you know everything (yes, I am looking at you—silly).

On the other hand, if I had to put into words what is possible in terms of experiences in this universe—and you were to really look at it—you wouldn’t believe it in a billion years. You wouldn’t believe how many ways there are to look at reality and how spectacular this universe is. If it were boring, I would immediately admit it. I’m afraid I have to needle Buddhism one more time, since sitting and doing breathing exercises is completely a waste of time—you are missing all the good stuff. Looking at reality like that shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.

I knew what consciousness was from the get-go after I read the story about Adam’s apple (the hint is in the name). The journey itself is nothing but spectacular.