My Top 5 Articles
Michael Ebbinghaus • December 31, 2025
My Favorite Writings from the Last Seven Years
I have written publicly now for almost seven years.
I started my first blog, Mystical Revival (RIP), in March or April of 2019, with the article “Why You Should Form a Relationship to Nature.”
There have been so many experiences since then, and I have learned so much. Taking this pause to review my work has me aglow with a healthy sense of self-admiration. It is a really wonderful feeling to see yourself producing quality work over the years, seeing yourself fall, and seeing yourself improve. They stand as the record.
Something that I notice about my older articles is that they relied much more on original photographs. I took more adventures back then (way easier when you’re in California). I know that having more prolonged periods in Nature is something I wish to return to. I’m not sure how much time I will find in 2026, but I’m sure an opportunity will present itself.
Below are my five favorite articles
from across the years and why I have selected them. May there be something in these texts which speaks to something in your heart which needs speaking to.
5) Healing & Wholing through Somatic Dreamwork
I wouldn’t say that this is the greatest example of my writing, but it is the most in-depth source
of information I have on dreamwork outside of my mini-course.
I don’t really use the term “somatic dreamwork” anymore. It doesn’t quite fit my style, but I thought it would perk up some folks’ ears.
The things you do to try and get eyes on your work!
In any event, this article has my basic philosophy regarding dreams, how the Buddhists use dreams, and a practical technique for exploring dream energies in the body.
Read the full article here.
4) The Fall of Jordan B. Peterson
This one gripped me in a flurry, and it would be the last article I would write for a year and a half.
In April 2024, good ol’ JP came through Austin. I had fallen in love with his earlier works such as Maps of Meaning
and his Biblical Lecture Series
(Jordan was much more critical about these things then), and was excited to hear him speak about our current times.
To my unpleasant surprise, his conclusion was that the righteous were under a culture war
with the left, which wanted to wallow in arbitrariness and victimhood (how ironic) and destroy all the good that capitalism was trying to work.
This was met with great applause
by most audience members, though I suspect less so up in the nosebleeds where I was (more on “the nosebleeds” later).
I listened with quiet contemplation, as well as frustration and envy, as I heard people remarking on the genius of Jordan Peterson as we made our ways back to our cars.
I left the lecture that evening and, arriving home late, set almost immediately to writing the first draft. I believe I posted it the next day, marking my entry into cultural criticism while proudly, humbly, respectfully critiquing someone I had once greatly admired.
And really I was speaking the difficult truth
that he had spokenin his earlier years, before fame and power had inflated him. If we earn criticism from those who admire us, we very much ought to listen. In that way I view this article completely as an act of admiration and hope for redemption on his behalf.
Bonus: a masculine embodiment coach got triggered
by my article and dissed me on his social media with the words “I don’t want to hear from you if you’re in the nosebleeds, I want to hear from you if you’re in the arena!”
No direct words were ever said.
That’s right, folks. A MASCULINE EMBODIMENT COACH went and tweeted to his followers about what I had to say, rather than engage with me directly.
Stands to reason that you probably shouldn’t go to him.
'
I think it also indicates that I really struck a nerve.
I realize I’m doing the same thing now, but goddamn it I’ve carried that humbly for awhile now (and now I will speak no more of it). Feels good.
Get the full scoop here.
3) Death of the Adolescent
This was a deeply personal piece
concerning a young man who was pulled out of the water at Common’s Ford not long before its posting.
I was deeply impacted by the event, and saw many things unfolding – the unbearable tragedy of a family, an event etched into the very air around us, fractaling out through the lives of all it touched.
Of all he touched.
Read the full story here.
2) Healing in Nature – Sojourn to Sedona
Remember those adventures I said I used to take? This was one of my favorite, and it was my first vision quest experience. While I didn’t know that’s what I was on at the time, events would soon affably convince me.
No sooner had the country gone on lockdown from COVID-19 did I find myself driving towards St. George, Utah to hike through Zion National Park, which eventually took me into Flagstaff and Sedona.
This cemented my relationship with soul
and the identification of my path as semi-shamanistic. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, one that I hold very dear to my heart.
God it feels good to know you are not alone.
Read the full article here.
1) My Spiritual Experience with a Medicine Ball
There’s a couple reasons why this one tops the list.
As the title suggests, this article is very silly
but also consequently, I feel it has more wisdom to share
than any other. Using just a little dash of mêtis I’m able to portray the enormous practicality of being impractical
while poking a bit of fun at all those spiritual people
that take their experiences just a little too seriously. Who can see the divine in ayahuasca ceremonies and divine visitations but fails to see it plainly in their dirty dishwater or behaviorally challenging child.
I also offer a new nomenclature: "Playout" as opposed to "workout." Semantics are important, and rather than a "playout" being less effective than a "workout," I argue that the former are ultimately more effective in terms of volume of exercise, minimization of energy, and the establishment of positive self-conditioning (e.g. I return to this because it's fun).
Here's an excerpt:
“The language of ‘working out’ and other fitness related self-improvement activities is saturated with the language of conflict and duality. Often there is the reification of an actual battle or war, sometimes against an articulated feeble self. Joe Rogan sums this up nicely in his statement ‘Conquer the inner bitch.’ It stands to reason that if it is indeed such a bitch, why are we involved in such extraordinary conflict to conquer it?”
I feel this article concisely and quietly conveys entirely my philosophy of healing. We don't have to deny any
part of our being. When we embrace things openly, joyfully, when we go beyond the boundary of our sense of self, true magic happens.
Read the full silly article here, with a statement from the medicine ball.
Thanks for reading!
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