In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Cardin, an accomplished writer, editor, and higher education professional known for his profound exploration of creativity, spirituality, and the mysterious intersections of religion and horror.
Matt’s work delves deeply into non-duality, the paranormal, and dystopian cultural trends, offering unique perspectives on the connections between creativity, spirituality, and life purpose.
I first encountered his writing and teaching, particularly through his books A Course in Demonic Creativity: A Writer’s Guide to the Inner Genius and the upcoming Writing at the Wellspring: Creativity, Life Purpose, Nonduality, and the Daemon Muse. I had the privilege of participating in his Writing at the Wellspring course, which provided transformative perspectives on creative practice.
Matt Cardin is an author known for delving into the realms of horror and the metaphysical. His widely acclaimed fiction books, including To Rouse Leviathan and What the Daemon Said, focus on the convergence of horror with religion and creativity.
With a Ph.D. in leadership and an M.A. in religious studies, Matt brings a richly layered understanding to these topics. A native of the Missouri Ozarks, he has lived in Texas and now resides in North Arkansas with his wife, where he continues his work of thoughtful cultural and creative exploration.
Connect with Matt Cardin @
Time Stamps:
01:48 Introduction and Opening Remarks 01:52 Journals and Life Mission 02:48 Exploring Life Purpose and Creativity 03:34 Writing and Creativity 07:52 Rebecca West and Patterns 09:11 Understanding Non-Duality 13:21 Non-Duality and Creativity 15:42 Discovering Non-Duality 21:32 Meditative Practices and Teachers 25:26 The Monastic Option and Cultural Preservation 34:20 Tuning into the Muse 36:37 Effortless Action and Creative Quietude 37:35 Exploring Western and Eastern Perspectives on Consciousness 38:04 The Concept of God and Mental Projections 40:04 Houston Smith and the Perennial Philosophy 43:00 Horror in Religion and Spirituality 43:46 Lovecraft vs. Ligotti: External vs. Internal Horror 46:08 The Intersection of Horror and Spirituality 46:28 Religion as a Cosmic Order and Its Horrific Potential 55:50 The Wellspring Book and Future Plans 57:48 Final Thoughts
Excerpts from Interview:
On Non Dual
“ Where is the actual boundary between what I'm calling myself and what I'm calling everything else? When you really start to investigate that in a first person sense, that's when the magic eye picture suddenly gains that added depth. And your mind is blown.”
On Religion, Horror
You can see the horror in religion and you can see the religion in horror…
You're playing with fire when you're playing with religion because it creates a world. And then there's this infinitude that it also lets in that is going to blow up that world. You might receive that as horror. You might receive that as joy…
Religion is a perturbing or disturbing of the universe, including the universe that is oneself and the entire conception that goes with it that is provided by the religion to possibility to tip over from horror or to bliss or whatever is right there.”
On Life Mission, Creativity
Make a monastery out of your life, a monastic preservation and cultural transmission activity, the mission of your life here in the world. What seeds are you going to plant that a future civilization might find of use? What could you contribute to some future phoenix rising from the ashes of the present order?
