what is the deathless manifesto?
This was last edited 1 week, 1 day ago. This was originally first published on Substack here.
You’re probably one of those people who don’t want to die full.
You don’t want to see yourself on your deathbed full of ideas never acted on, of words never said, and of regrets for a life never fully lived.
You heard the mantras like Y.O.L.O. (you only live once) and “seize the moment” but they were never enough for a life you really wanted.
There are lots of hindrances. Life will always be a mess, you say. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be. Just go with life’s flow, you’ll be fine. But it turned out to be a futile pursuit as well.
The Deathless Manifesto will help you become a person leaving nothing undone, nothing withheld, and nothing wasted before you die.
As I pursue this, my hope is to become a blessing and a positive influence on you through the first book I will publish as an author.
what “deathless” actually means
Becoming and being deathless means dying ready, dying empty, and not dying. This is a life with holistic excellence, selflessness, and legacy. But what does it entail?
Dying ready is the balance between the major areas of your life: health, wealth, and relationships. Health is the balance between your physical and mental health. Wealth is the balance between your financial and intellectual wealth. Relationship is the balance between your relationship with a higher being or with yourself, and your relationship with others.
Dying empty is the balance between your life inputs and outputs. This encourages the balance between your creation and consumption. This is giving yourself fully in service to a higher being or to others. This is the exploration of your skills for the greater good. This is a call for true stewardship.
Not dying is the balance between how you live your life, the mortal life, and how you prepare for the life after it, the eternal life. This encourages the pursuit of both long lifespan and long healthspan. This also explores the spirituality behind an eternal life whether you believe in it or not.
Becoming and being deathless is a manifesto I will pursue starting in my 29th year. I will deep dive into this manifesto for 100 weeks and share everything I know as I go on this journey.
why am i writing this
For the past twenty-eight years of my life, I feel unfulfilled.
The first sixteen years, I was trying to prove to anyone that I am useful, that I am not a burden especially for my parents.
You see, I was born with an illness, meningitis with hydrocephalus to be exact. My head had a buildup of fluid that resembles a ball. When it disappeared, my almost hourly convulsions started. I needed to be injected with a pricey medicine whenever I had convulsions. We’re not rich so imagine the hardship my parents went through right after I was born.
The first illness was not the last. I had lots of complications on other parts of my body as well, not just in the nervous system. I suffered from lung, kidney, ear, and mild heart complications.
These early life turmoils led me to the resolve of not becoming a disappointment for my parents and to the people around me. They sacrificed so much already. All I can do is not become a burden.
In a way, sacrificing for someone, especially your child, as a parent, is a given thing. But with my situation, the sacrifice leveled up so much I was burdened with it until I graduated high school.
For most of my life from elementary to high school, the only thing I can do is to study so well I devour every lesson my teachers teach. The only thing I can be proud of, in my mind at that time, is how I do well in my studies. Because for me, other parts of my life were weak. I was useless. My studies became my refuge.
If physical struggles weren’t enough, I was burdened with school politics and financial difficulties. I encountered teachers with favoritism that I wasn’t able to top the class even when I was topping exams. I wasn’t able to participate in lots of extra-curricular activities because of a lack of financial resources to explore skills and compete with others.
My only refuge when I was young, my studies, turned out to be a failed pursuit as well. I grew up with so many regrets, unrealized opportunities, and anger toward everyone around me. I ended up wanting to leave as far away as I can from our province, the place I grew up in, just to start a new life without anyone knowing me. I had an unhealthy resolve to only come back when I became successful to tell everyone in my hometown like a “totga” moment. That they regretted not favoring me over others.
These are unhealthy thoughts and feelings; very destructive ones, even depressing, even some laughable ones, and immature. Fortunately, my life story had a shift.
what readers can expect
The Deathless Manifesto is my first paradigm shift. As I grew up, books helped me see things differently. I want to contribute to becoming one for someone too, one chapter at a time.
I was also gifted with people who influenced me dearly in every part of my life. This is my second paradigm shift. I will share how they became part of the paradigm shifts in my life as I write the first book that will become one for someone.
Expect a weekly issue of book chapter drafts containing my learning from the books and people that gave me paradigm shifts. These book chapter drafts will be the puzzle pieces for my first book as an author.
Join me on the journey of becoming and being deathless and publishing The Deathless Manifesto in the next 100 weeks.
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