‘a healthy person is one who lives in cheerful self-doubt’
Luke Rhinehart
Several years ago I read a book called The Dice Man about a bored psychiatrist who decides to give his life over to the power of the die. It really changed me and set the wheels of reasoning turning in my head. Isn’t this what looking for answers in prayer really is? Turning one’s life over to the power of chance events that get interpreted as God’s answer (or the Devil’s temptation)?
This is a book that one remembers for life. Luke Rhinehart’s book quickly entered the cult arena. The reviews have come in fast and furious:
“Luke Rhinehart and THE DICE MAN have launched a psychiatric revolution.” London Sunday Telegraph
“Hilarious and well-written . . . The first 30 pages alone are a brilliant summary of modern nihilism. Dice living will be popular, no doubt of that.” Time Out (London)
“A hell of a lot of fun . . . As a writer, Rhinehart gives a virtuoso performance.” New York Herald
Luke (George -is his real name) has a rare take on life that I think is precious in today’s world where we all need to think more for ourselves.
Luke (George) thanked me for asking him these, what he called provocative questions, and apologized for the dely in replying. (It had only been 10 days)
Here’s the interview:
TSP: If you could go back in time to when you were 20 years old and give yourself some advice – what would it be?LR: Relax.
TSP: What do you feel is the greatest lack in the world?LR: The greatest lack is self-doubt, the ability to realize and accept that most of our beliefs are illusions and most of our attitudes and ethics peculiar to ourselves and not necessarily any better than the next person’s. Once we are thoroughly immersed in healthy self-doubt we will stop taking ourselves seriously and be free to relax and enjoy life. We may still try to save the world, but we won’t be tempted to kill people to do it.
TSP: What is your definition of a spiritual person?
LR: A spiritual person is one who avoids using the word “spiritual” and realizes that the “earthly” and the “spiritual” can be separated only at the expense of one’s mental health. So I would avoid the word and say that my definition of a healthy person is one who lives in cheerful self-doubt, knows he’s a fool and accepts it, and forgives others because he knows they too are trapped in the world of illusion.
TSP: Do you have a life philosophy that you follow?LR: Since I happily believe that all philosophies of life are personal and not universal, and that all my beliefs are illusions, including any I express in these answers, I follow no philosophy.
TSP: What in your opinion, is the most important thing that parents can give their children to prepare them for life?LR: I don’t have the faintest idea. I and my wife have raised three sons who somehow, against all our efforts and all our failures, have turned out quite well. We can think of hundreds of things we might have done differently but can never know whether they would have made our sons happier or more miserable. If I were forced to use one phrase as an answer it would be: “Let them be.”
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