A Year of Living Bald Jesusism by Vagobond
Days 1-30 – Updated periodically
December 28, 2021
A few days ago, on Christmas of 2021, I launched the Holy Bjble – that is the Bald Jesus Bible Living Edition, as an NFT project. More than an NFT project, this has been the culmination of virtually everything my life has led up to at this point. A bit of background – I’ve always been a seeker. As a child, I was acutely aware that death is coming for all of us and it drove me to look at religious, esoteric, scientific, and philosophic sources to find the answers that would make that make sense. I’m not scared that I’m going to die, but I’m aware of it. If anything, it makes me a little sad. I don’t know what came before life or what will come after life – despite all my searching.
I was introduced to some strange ideas that most kids don’t get exposed to. My great aunt was a renowned Hollywood psychic – we didn’t have much contact with her but a few encounters were enough to introduce me to tarot cards and spirit guides. My parents were fairly non-conventional Southern California parents of the 1970s and 80s. As such I was exposed to everything from nudists to back-to-the-earthers, Timothy Leary devotees, Hells Angels, Raj Nishies, Hippie Christians, and full on fundamentalist home-school Christians. My aunt and uncle were spiritual seekers who settled on Yogananda and new age hinduism and my other aunt became a devout Jehovah’s Witness.
From that bizarre base, it is no surprise that I had questions. They all seemed to think they had the one true answer – which meant that all the rest of them didn’t. And of course, that meant the rest of the vastness of humanity was wrong. I coudn’t buy that. In my twenties I first found Taoism and then Sufism and was astounded by the similarities in both – as well as the open worldview and non-‘Right’ positioning of both belief systems. I took deep dives into several forms of Buddhism and primitivist religions. In my thirties – my belief system was narrowed down to what I called ‘Secular Buddhism’ but with a deep appreciation for the esoteric systems of several other mystical orders. In my thirties and forties, I found a lot of joy in the nonsensical ‘religions’ of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Bob Dobbs, and The Dude (Dudeism). In my late thirties, I ‘converted’ to Islam so that I could marry my wife, who was a traditional Muslim from a traditional Muslim family. My understanding of religion and faith at that point meant that I could convert to anything and not really have it change anything – though I admit, I find many Muslim practices to be extremely worthy of respect, honor, and going along with. Things like acknowledging ‘God’ and existance several times a day, fasting, and giving to those who have less.
In 2021, my 49th year (7×7) I was led into the world of NFTs. I’d become involved in crypto in 2017. Cyrpto and bitcoin were a path I recognized as capable of leading away from corrosive capitalism, the system that is devouring the world and destroying the future. Yes, they are focused on money – but by decentralizing money and taking control away from bankers and bureaucrats – these financial technologies were disrupting the walls and moats of the established control systems. The fact that Satoshi Nakamoto was and is a complete unknown who unleased this on the world is worth noting – I think it’s important. So, crypto led me to NFTs. NFTs and the fast money being made there, led me to create a project. I had bought BaldJesus.com some time before. I don’t remember when or how – but despite clearly recognizing that the NFT and crypto space were very anti-religion and that using a religious figure as polarizing as Jesus would severely limit my ability to make money – I created the Bald Jesus project anyway. Much to my surprise, it attracted an amazing group of people. Together we formed the Bald Jesus Collective.
I decided to build everything on my foundational belief systems which can really be broken down into “Don’t be a dick” and “You don’t really know anything”. Using my writing and thoughts from decades of exploration, I put together the Bald Jesus Bible Living Edition aka the #HolyBjble. I can’t claim ownership of the ideas. They are old and gathered from a huge variety of sources and belief systems. All of these ideas existed before me, I was simply the vessel that compiled them together. As to Bald Jesus, I’m certainly not Bald Jesus. I’m just some guy that recognized Bald Jesus should exist – and helped other people recognize it too. Bald Jesus is real. And here’s the best part – Bald Jesus (just like Satoshi Nakamoto) could be anyone or everyone.
So here we are. I turned 50 yesterday {(5+5) x 5}and for my 50th year, I’ve decided to live Bald Jesusism. I’ll start with ‘The Practice’ (The BJ 10-Commandments) but live it as best I am able as I go along – and I’ll share it here. I’ll celebrate the holidays, live the ideas, examine the concepts and more.
1. Bald Jesus is Your Bro. Nothing more, nothing less. Bald Jesus is the Bro of everyone! Share this message!
2. Stop doing things you know are bad.
3. Start doing things you know are good.
4. Help others to stop doing bad things and start doing good things.
5. Make Art! Everyday. A smiley face with a halo = Bald Jesus! Build networks, write code, transact on-chain. Create!
6. Walk every day. Look for natural patterns. Meditate. Fast. Stretch.
7. Visit Hawai’i – at least once, if you can.
8. Learn about decentralized networks and immutable blockchains. Share knowledge about decentralization and blockchain. Learn, create, and educate about the power of non-fungible tokens
9. Cooperate, collab, and connect with believers. Be present. IRL-OL-MV.
10. Most importantly – Don’t Be A Dick!
December 29, 2021
I know all this seems strange (it is!) but the whole point of Bald Jesusism is to give you (everyone) the chance to have a better life, a happier life, a more profound and meaningful existence. Let’s take the idea of money. Money isn’t the root of all evil, it’s just a tool that has been used to do a lot of terrible stuff. Essentially money is just a way to translate your work into someone else’s work – the fact that it has been abused, mistreated, and misused is a human issue, not a money issue. So, what’s the solution? Make it harder for people to use it for bad stuff. Blockchain and crypto do this – they eliminate the need for a trusted middle-man, they create an immutable ledger that shows the actions and history of a wallet or token. Yes, crypto can be used for bad things. Yes, there are scams. This is why we need to not only educate ourselves but also help educate others about crypto, decentralization, blockchain, NFTs, defi, and basic security. All of this is a part of the practice in Bald Jesusism. This is why. Numbers 4, 5, 8, and 9 in the 10 practices all have to do with this.
#4 asks us to help others stop doing bad things and start doing good things – as an example – understand the power of your seed phrase and let people know to never give it out and to keep it secure and safe i.e. written down and stored away safely
#5 tells us to transact on chain. Why? How about free money and unexpected income? If you bought an ENS domain, used Metamask, or paid gas fees (all transacting on chain) you were given tens of thousands of dollars in free money through $SOS, $GAS, $ENS airdrops. If you don’t transact on chain, you don’t get these drops. Other drops were Sushi, Uniswap, etc…the list goes on and there are new ones all the time.
#8 is all about learning and sharing the power and capabilities of decentralization and blockchain. Knowledge is power and power can easily translate into a better life.
#9 is about connecting and collaborating – just in the past few days, the #alpha-chat channel on the Vagobond discord has informed people about a dozen or more opportunities to get free money, to invest in profitable NFTs, to join new communities, or to take part in new projects. There are tons of great collaborative sites and groups out there – in real life, online, and in the metaverse.
I don’t want to give the impression that it is all about money. It’s not. It’s all about life satisfaction. Money can be really helpful in giving you more time to walk, more mental freedom, and the ability to help others. It’s not necessary, but it is helpful. That’s the reason why Bald Jesus wants you to have it and has laid out these steps that will 100% lead to unexpected income. If you’re the beneficiary of some of this – why not use it to buy a BJDC token at https://www.baldjesusdrinkingclub.com ?
December 30, 2021
Let’s start at the beginning. Genesis Block 1: 1-3
1In the beginning, there was nothing. 2 No light, no matter, no hair. 3 The universe was bald.
Whether you are considering the universe or on a more zoomed in scale, your own life, the truth is that there was a time before there was anything and it’s impossible to contemplate. While it seems intellectually possible to contemplate a time before you existed – it’s simply not. Mainly because, like an observed electron – the observer is part of the observation and in this case, the observer looking at a universe without you in it – IS YOU – therefore you are inherently a part of the observation i.e. you aren’t really considering a universe without you in it, let alone a universe without anything in it.
Still, it’s inarguable that at some point prior to you there was a universe without you in it. Along the same lines – there was a universe without anything in it. You can’t say that the universe was ‘dark’ because the implication of dark is light, one can’t exist without the other. You can’t say that it was matterless because it implies ‘matterful’. The universe is defined by dualities. So in a sense, the only way to define a universe with nothing in it, would be to define a universe where there is no duality. Everything was one. Everything was. However, here’s the tricky part – everything IS. Eliminating duality is impossible for our brains. The is flips to become the isn’t and it is only when we grasp at the concept of both being the same that we start to understand – albeit without having an actual formulatable explanation.
The universe was bald. The idea of a hairy universe is silly enough to bring giggles. Yet, it is hairy and it must be for it to make sense. The bald moon from a distance, featureless and void. The bald head, shiny and smooth – but when the micro is zoomed in upon – follicles, craters, and debris. And here is the secret – to ‘see’ what you (and the universe) are were will be – you must not zoom in. You must zoom out – further, further, further until you imagine yourself outside of the microcosms of the self, the nation, the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, and the dimensional universe itself. You have to get silly- you have to pull back far enough that Chewbaca looks smooth skinned and time itself starts to appear self contained in every moment. The universe can only be bald when observed from such distance.
4 From nothing came something and from something came something else until there were all kinds of things.
This is the birth of duality. Pick a thing and give it a name. Chair brings not chair – so sofa, table, bed, floor, and everything else that is not chair. Then you break down the types – arm chair, recliner, office chair, swivel chair, dinner chair, seat – is a seat a chair? Does it matter? Then the parts of the chair – the cushion, legs, foot, back, edge, side — and on and on. We could define the universe from this word – chair. Instead, we define the universe from something else. You define the universe from you and I from me. From this simple one – comes the many. It’s inconceivable to us – but a chicken probably doesn’t have a sense of ‘I’ and therefore, the universe is bald.
5 In the same way there was no blockchain, then there was Bitcoin, then there were shitcoins, and then there were all kinds of other coins and tokens and NFTs. 6 From nothing, came something, then came something else. 7 The past is a chain that binds the reality of the present and leads to the uncertain future.
Bitcoin and crypto give us a further lens to view this phenomenon. Most of us can remember when there was no bitcoin, no crypto. There was no need to ask if something was crytocurrency because there was no cryptocurrency. Mojo was an attempt at it, but it was not cryptocurrency. Then, the Bitcoin White Paper – defined exactly what a peer-to-peer currency looked like and Bitcoin was born. From that moment – Bitcoin and ‘not Bitcoin’ but still peer-to-peer built on blockchain was born. From the one came the many, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Dentacoin, and many more. Eventually, Ethereum. There was nothing. Then there was definition. Then there was a cutting out and delineation – the positive and the negative. We can’t imagine a world without Bitcoin now, it has been baked into our reality. 1972 couldn’t concieve of a world with Bitcoin – it had not been defined. You cannot imagine a world without you, the observer in it. The world could not imagine a world with you in it prior to your awareness of the world. You are the sum total of every event that has ever taken place brought together in a single point of definition. You are the key to everything. You are the passphrase and the private key to seeing and understanding an uncertain future. Try not to let it go to your head. Your head that is both bald and not bald at the same time.
December 31, 2021
8 No one knows who Satoshi Nakomoto is. 9 No one knows who God is. 10 We know that Satoshi Nakamoto existed, in some form, because there is Bitcoin and a universe of blockchain. 11 We know that God exists in some form because there is the Universe and everything in it.
The proof is in the pudding. You don’t need faith, you just need to look at what is in front of your face.
12 God is. Blockchain is.13 The Universe is a blockchain. God is a cryptographer. 14 Each transaction is hashed into the next transaction. That which came before is a part of that which is, neverending, eternal. The eternal proof is baked into the infinite present. 15 The Proof-of-Work is all around us. POW – Reality!
Reality is a chain made of cause and effect with each effect becoming a new cause. Just as blockchain is immutable and undeniable, so too is reality and the universe itself. There are too many pieces being hashed together for our brains to be able to predict or know how things will shape – let alone why.
16 Just as there should be no middle-man (or woman) in a peer-to-peer transaction, so there should be no middle-man (or woman) in an individual’s relationship with God. 17 Though this message is revealed to one who can give it, not even this one should be seen as an intermediary between the reader and the divine.
Middle mannery is the cause of untold human suffering and misunderstanding. The relationship between human and God is 1:1 – and doesn’t need an intermediary. In fact, an intermediary is the main cause of most misunderstanding. Find information in the world, but find answers in yourself. The cause and effect of the reality chain will lead you to the truth.
January 1st, 2022
I’ve fulfilled my religious duty of walking every day for the past month. Rain or shine. Walks have been between 1-7 miles each. I also fasted for seven days in December, and being a crypto/NFT degen – it has been no problem to transact on chain and learn – the crypto/NFT space is a constant excercise in learning. I’ve been creating some kind of art every day – sometimes writing, sometimes graphic art, sometimes other creative explorations. It’s been super productive. I’ve also been endeavoring to stop doing ‘bad’ things – which has largely involved defusing anger and frustration (just from life) with yoga, stretching, meditation and walking. So in not doing bad things, I’ve been doing good things – also in fulfilling my ‘religious’ duties – I’ve been doing good things. The upside of all of this is I feel mentally and emotionally, about the best I’ve ever felt. Feeling good – I can’t help but share that by telling others my secret – I’m living Bald Jesusism and Bald Jesus is my bro.
From Genesis Block I
18 How can one communicate directly with the Divine? How can one transact with the universe with no need for a trusted third party?
19 First one must be. Ignore the rehashing of the past. It is immutable. Do not speculate on the future. It is encrypted. Focus on the staking of the present. 20An honest node will always find the next block but only if that node, that person, is not focused on previous blocks or unwritten future blocks. 21 There can be no hashing of the present without the past and the chain which leads to the past is the word.
This doesn’t really need any commentary. It’s a perfect passage for the first day of a New Year.
January 4, 2021
Well, this post may get pretty unwieldy pretty quickly, but I’ll stick to the 30 day ramble on it so as not to overwhelm Vagobond with new daily posts on Bald Jesus – I made another video today. This is challenging for me – a big part of the reason I’ve never made videos is because of self-image issues but part of my process in Bald Jesusism is doing hard things and making myself grow through them – so making these videos is a part of that.
January 7, 2021
1/ This passage concerns eliminating middle men from our relationship with the divine #BaldJesus #BaldJesusism#HolyBjble Genesis Block 2:18-22
Confirmation will come from within and only from within. Consensus is between the universal and the agent of change. pic.twitter.com/1ijFxcPtQt
— Baoism_Org (@baoism_org) January 7, 2022
January 11, 2021
I’ve been suffering a bit of anxiety these past few days. I missed one day of meditation which I actually felt pretty acutely. I’ve been taking walks and trying to live up to the simple creed of stop doing bad things and start doing good things (so that I can help others with the same). Still, the anxiety is undeniable. I had some car issues and decided to sell my car – since I’m trying to live as a better person and listen to my inner compass – I detailed all the issues with the car and listed it at a very reasonable price because of that – which is what I would want someone to do. The result is that I’m getting hit by low-ballers and people who actually would benefit from buying my car (it’s the best car I’ve ever owned, it just has a couple of issues like power window trouble – that I don’t want to deal with) are probably passing it by because, in the words of one inquirer ‘it sounds like some stuff we don’t want to deal with’. I totally understand that and feel the same. The truth is that every used car you buy is going to have issues, I’ve just been very honest about mine. Ah, hell. No one said this would be easy. The world and capitalism encourage us to prey on one another but I’m just not going to do it. The anxiety is also a result of money – crypto and equity markets are a mess and the NFT markets are frothy – there is free money to be made, but only if you ride on the edge of your seat. There is literally no time to relax. These markets go hardest when you think you can relax. Add to that the stress of running a startup, family things, and more and it’s no wonder I’m having anxiety nightmares. The daily walks have been a huge blessing, however. I find these walks to be the time when I am feeling at my best. One of the great things about a walk is that you are cut off from doing anything else as long as you are gone. When I’m walking, I feel a mixture of anxiousness to get back home and a desire to never stop walking.
I’ve been actively creating and making art in a variety of ways – lately most has been through photo editing – creating my genesis NFT photo collection – but also through some sketching and writing. I need to find some santosha i.e. complete contentment with my state of being. I’m working towards that but then seeking santosha is antithetical to having santosha.
January 22, 2021
I’ve continued to live Bald Jesusism and follow the ten recommendations of the practice even while Covid has ripped through my household. Thankfully we’re all vaxxed and while a pain in the ass and unpleasant, it hasn’t been deadly for us. Each day, I’ve made myself take a walk, meditate, and do some light yoga. I share Bald Jesusism daily and I try my best to make decisions that I think Bald Jesus would nod in approval of. I ended up selling my car for probably too little because I told everyone who inquired every tiny little issue with it. That’s okay though, I never have to feel like I ripped someone off and the price essentially meant that for four years all I had to do was pay bare bones maintenance and gas on it. That’s a win. I’m going to hold off on buying another car for a while – to see if I even actually need one. With Uber, bike, ride-share, etc – I’m not sure that a car is really necessary for me. We’ll see.
I fasted for seven days and have been trying to treat my body with respect.
Most importantly, I’ve been transacting on chain and trying to teach others and share information about free money, opportunities, and things to be wary of in the newsletter I’ve been putting out. If there is somewhere I’ve not been doing as well, it’s probably in making art everyday – unless you count the newsletter itself or social media engagement as a form of art – which is a very broad definition, but works. I need to go do some sketching now.
January 27, 2022
The first 30 days of my experiment in living Bald Jesusism are complete. I faced (and continue to face) some huge challenges during this time. Here are the challenges I faced and how Bald Jesusism helped me to deal with them:
- We all caught Covid in my household despite being vaccinated. Thankfully the vaccinations meant that our symptoms were mild for the most part, and no one died. Thank Bald Jesus (TBJ)
- On my 50th birthday, my wife of 12 years did nothing – not a cupcake, not a card, not encouraging my daughter to make a card – nothing. This forced me to the realization that putting further energy into this marriage was not only a waste of time, but a waste of my life and the huge amounts of love, tenderness, and caring I have to give. We don’t have a simple way to end things. I’ve given all I can give and won’t be giving any more. I encouraged marriage counseling previously which didn’t really help but sort of pointed out the problems in a better light. So, our marriage dissolving while we are still forced to live together while I search for a resolution – that’s a big challenge. I feel like the daily meditation, the daily walks, and the overall greater ability to understand the situation have all been ‘god-sends’ that have helped me greatly in this time. Bald Jesus brought all of that assistance at this critical point in my life.
- I think I’ve actually lost weight because of the daily walks, the fasting, and being more mindful of what I put in my body.
- I’ve talked to someone about Bald Jesus every day either online, in the real world, or in the metaverse . I’ve walked every day. I’ve meditated all but one day. These things have made my life better. I’ve spent time reading and coming to understand the words of the Holy Bjble better.
- The stress of markets melting down and of me stupidly putting money that was meant to pay off my student loans into $TIME and Wonderland and then watching it simply disappear has been huge. Remembering that money is transitory and doesn’t really matter has been a great blessing. Also – the free money that comes from following the Bald Jesus directive of transacting on chain has actually exceeded the amount that was lost. I admit to freaking out about coming tax reporting and how to go about it – but as it says in the Holy Bjble – taxes are a travesty.
- Overall – the mantra of Stop Doing Bad Things, Start Doing Good Things, and Help Other People Stop Doing Bad Things and Start Doing Good Things has been a lifeline of sorts. The value judgments are 100% subjective but it gives me the chance to listen to what I already know – something I haven’t always been good at.
In summary, I’ve been eating my own dog food for the last 30 days – which is a Silicon Valley way of saying I’ve been living the life that is recommended by the practice of Bald Jesusism. The result is that I am a better man and have a better life for it. I feel happier even with all the challenges that have come up and which continue to challenge me. I heartily recommend this practice to anyone.
Tomorrow I will start a new post for the second 30 day stretch.
