I have been away from writing for quite some time due to various reasons. But the main reason is that I have been building. And not in the sense that many Internet dwellers are used to: websites, marketing campaigns, flowcharts, etc. But putting actual bricks on top of each other, cutting wood, planting.

OK, maybe it was not really me, I have hired help to do those things. The initiative, however, is all mine.

What I have come to understand is that I get a great deal of satisfaction watching something grow in the real world. Whether it is a building or a muscovy duck. You do not only see the result, you can touch it, feel it. It is real.

Not that all those "computer things" are not real. They are. But after twenty years of being glued to a computer screen for almost any activity—studying, working, relaxing—getting out in the wild and doing things that engage more than just a couple of your senses feels liberating.

In economic terms, it is called the real sector of the economy: tangible goods and services. Unlike trading, brokering, flipping or reselling, you create a real product or service. Create is the key word here because that is what I feel.

I now try to spend less time in front of the screen and more time doing things with my hands, meeting people, organizing construction and farming processes. The next step is to learn a trade. I have no idea what exactly, still on the lookout. But as I have no hobbies, it could become one. Fulfilling and useful.

According to my new dichotomy, there exist, simply speaking, good and bad individuals. The former empathize with the population of their country or even the whole world while the latter tend to divide people (as is natural) into specific classes and aim to solidify this division, make it more "official", centrally plan and control every aspect of life of the representatives of each class. If the good people believe in the right of each individual to use the God-given willpower to break free from the shackles of Matter, realize his potential in the physical world, the baddies do not like competition. They want the world to themselves, with everyone else belonging to a specific caste to serve their interests. In short, freedom versus bondage.

The word Evil, however, may be applied to both groups of people. Not as a label (although, in the case of the baddies it may be so) but rather a descriptor of the types of actions that these individuals undertake to achieve goals. In this sense, Evil is a tool that can be used to bring about either the good times or a terrible dystopian existence.

In many spiritual teachings, Evil is associated with everything material. Even the Christian Ten Commandments prohibit material indulgences: do not kill, do not overeat, do not cheat, do not steal. Yet, the Pope-sanctioned Crusaders murdered people left and right if they diverged in their beliefs from the one true religion. Why? Because they believed that they must commit evil deeds to bring the Light of God to this world. Similarly, a military man would kill an invader to defend his homeland—an act of evil for the sake of the wellbeing of his people.

Today's baddies also clearly understand that what they do to the world's population is evil. But in their twisted mind, it is a necessary act to bring about the wellbeing of their own class, the "chosen elite". Some have even codified this type of behaviour into a religious cult. Google "redemption through sin". Below is an excerpt from a well-known document considered a hoax by many, but that is not the point of today's post:

"Out of the temporary evil we are now compelled to commit will emerge the good of an unshakable rule, which will restore the regular course of the machinery of the national life, brought to naught by liberalism. The result justifies the means. Let us, however, in our plans, direct our attention not so much to what is good and moral as to what is necessary and useful."

In some cases, there is no way to achieve something but through Evil. And because Evil is an innate part of Nature, the Yang to Good's Ying, you cannot escape it either. Therefore, having an allergic reaction to everything Evil is, in my opinion, an incorrect stance that severely limits your options in this world. You do not become evil by using Evil—it is a useful tool in your toolbox that, at times, is the only one that can fix a problem. Of course, mind the label:

"Dangerous. Handle with care."

In Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash, the world is described as partly anarcho-capitalist: some places still had nation-states, others collapsed completely due to hyperinflation and became owned by corporations and mafiosos. One character stood out: Raven. He was a sovereign individual. What made him sovereign among other people who depended on their government or private franchises to survive? Nuclear weapons that he always carried with him in his motorcycle buggy, programmed to detonate if he died. So, anywhere he went, people were not just afraid of him, but they did all they could to protect him. Who would want a nuke to detonate in their neighbourhood?

"Liberty"-minded folk are often fascinated with the idea of sovereign individualism, an approach to life that commands complete independence from the status quo or anything that may replace it. You can see James Davidson and William Reese-Mogg's book The Sovereign Individual proudly displayed on the bookshelf behind your average libertarian during a Zoom call. I have one, too. The book has many good ancap ideas and it had even somewhat predicted Bitcoin ten years before Satoshi gave his gift to the world. But its conclusion—the claim that people will become sovereign in the information age—is bogus.

Sovereignty, per Merriam-Webster, is defined as a) supreme power especially over a body politic; b) freedom from external control; c) controlling influence. In all three cases, the sovereign individual is, essentially, a monarch. A king who owns a plot of land, with constituents (his body politic) and a paid army to protect it. He is somewhat free from external control (in the real world, complete freedom from everything and everybody is not possible) and has a controlling influence on his land. Everybody else who lives in the kingdom is not sovereign by definition.

Changing definitions and expanding them to your liking does no good. If you think that just by using bitcoin, having encrypted hardware and software and being able to travel the world without limitations makes you sovereign, think again. As soon as you step on someone else's property (a citadel, a kingdom or a modern nation-state), your sovereignty goes out the window. Sorry, you cannot do this or that here, no matter what kingly thoughts and ambitions you have in your head.

Speaking of the head. You may claim that sovereignty may refer to the sovereignty of thought, freedom from external influence on your mind. "I can be free even in prison!" Sure, nothing wrong with that. But you need to remember that the rest of the world are not like that. Even in the idealist Hoppean ancap world full of citadels, most people will find comfort in following others. Because sovereignty is too much responsibility, too much work, too much sacrifice.

So, unless you are willing to drive around with a nuke in your motorcycle buggy, no, you cannot be a sovereign individual.

Before, I talked about the framework that I used to differentiate between the two general classes of individuals in the world: those who want to take your stuff and those who do not. These two categories, in economic terms, normally translate to "communists vs capitalists". While this notion still, generally, holds true, it has more to do with the economics of the world—a rational field. And why not? After all, what differs a human from any other animal is his God-given reason.

The problem with this approach, however, is the assumption that just because man possesses inherent reason, he also uses it. The events of the past couple of years have solidified my suspicion that this is, in fact, far from true. Yes, each of us has the gift of reason, but few people in the world actually use its potential. The vast majority still live an animal-like lifestyle satisfying only their basic beastly needs: they eat, they poop, they sleep. The shepherds of people, whether good or evil, understand it and take on the task of tending to this stock of sheep and directing it one way or another.

This makes the notion of markets being "rational" somewhat untrue (at least, in the short- to mid-term). Markets consist of people, and many people are quite irrational. How many times have we seen someone who does something stupid and completely unreasonable? Now imagine a crowd of these. If they were, indeed, reasonable, bitcoin would already be worth $1m+ because there are far more people who know about it vs those who actually own some sats. But I am not an economist, and this post is not really about markets.

For my new framework, I bring in the spiritual dimension. At this point, I have no doubt that there exist truly good people and truly evil ones. Some know themselves, their true nature, and operate with full consciousness, without guilt. Others, the majority, do not—they live on auto-pilot. Both the good and the evil have a set of skills and knowledge that they use for their enterprise. But they do not and cannot know everything (no need to be very smart either). As a result, we may have a warrior of light who is a fan of a socialist system and a warrior of darkness who is a full-blown anarcho-capitalist. In this case, dismissing the former as a "naive well-meaning idiot" while praising the other as the "defender of individual sovereignty", as is done by many in ancap circles, does not sit with me well.

This is not to justify leftism or demonize capitalism. But rather point out that an evil person will have no problem calling himself (and actually being) a capitalist, a communist and whatever other label he may choose that better helps him further his twisted goals.

If the army of darkness wanted to destroy all nation-states for the sake of individual liberty, and the army of light formed an ideological nation-state to fight them, who would you side with?

The idea that everybody must strive to be good, aim towards creating a worldwide utopia with rainbows and unicorns is ludicrous. That the world can fully consist of soft, well-meaning, smiling and cooperating humans is laughable and, quite frankly, childish. No such thing can exist in Nature, because in Nature there is balance in everything. For every action, there is a counter-action. For any builder, there is a destroyer lurking somewhere waiting for his moment.

This is not a conversation about moral relativism and, surely, not a prescription pill with a doctor's note "Go ahead, be evil, it's totally fine". The difference between good and evil has been fairly known since ancient times, and so has the fact that they are the two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other, just like light cannot be understood without experiencing darkness first.

However, even the best (good-est) man engages in evil acts on a regular basis. If we take into account the notion of Evil as being anything connected with physical matter (as was popular with many ancient spiritual teachings), then you can understand that fully escaping it is impossible: after all, your own body is made of matter so that you can interact with the surrounding reality in a meaningful way. Most people are in ignorance of this knowledge—they sleepwalk through their lives, indulging in material "happiness", committing sin after sin.

These are mundane examples. What about a warrior who has to cut heads and disembowel his enemies to protect the motherland? Surely, he is on a righteous path: his country needs him! But he has to commit evil acts to do his job well, lest they are committed on him. Few people (from the same country) would paint him "bad" or "evil".

Nietzsche wrote about something like that. The opposite of a good man was not a bad man, but a "thin" one, someone who does not know himself. A good man can be bad and do bad things—and there is nothing irreconcilable about this. Nietzsche's radical aristocracy consists of good men, those who go out of their way to gain power, notoriety and impose their will on the grey sleepwalking masses. What is truly evil is feeling guilty about your actions. Guilt is a feeling of someone who does not know why he does what he does and, as a result, suffers from his actions.

Here, we are closing in on the (already) familiar idea: if you know your inner nature, your calling, the reason why you are here, dedicate your life to it without any guilt or remorse. I have more respect for a parasitic member of today's so-called elite who knows what he is all about than a mediocre Joe squeezing "good" acts out of himself so that society can accept his worthless self and please his blind ego.

As we have discussed before, to build a citadel, you first need to start with yourself. The proverbial "clean your room". There is nothing worse than a dirty bum-looking wannabe king with greasy hair who aspires to lead his people in a newly built sovereign community. Unless that is an image that he chose to project, but even that is questionable. After all, if the bum image does not match the man's inner world, he is just LARPing. But if it does—well, I am personally not ready to follow a bum.

Many men today are at a loss when it comes to finding themselves, their true nature. That is why a whole industry of "personal development gurus", "manosphere" and the like has emerged. Marketers, professional and newbie basement dwellers, realize that they can capitalize on men's insecurities that have become so prevalent today. So they come up with—or rather plagiarize—an endless stream of courses, webinars and other "lessons" that they shove up the asses of the unsuspecting masses of needy self-improvers. If you inspect these so-called guides to success closely, you will see that they rarely differ from each other.

I have tried them, too. Many of them: in the form of books, lectures and courses. What unites them all is the call for adding something to yourself. You see, the reason why you are unsuccessful at something is because you are incomplete. Just add this or that to your life, and boom—you are a gazillionare playboy with your own "here in my garage", a Rolex watch and a couple of hot babes by your side in the morning.

The better way is to do the reverse: remove the fake, ugly, inconvenient, unnatural things from your life that do not make you who you are. That is, apply the via negativa—the negatve way. Yes, a term popularized by another grifter who was immensely successful at repackaging age-old ideas in his own books of the Incerto series. (Which, I guess, also proves that plagiarism is not always that bad if it finds a bigger audience to a good idea)

Over the years, you have been attacked from all sides by used-car-salesmen that you only need to do this routine for a life-changing breakthrough. And, for some, it may have been true, but not many. And those others, the losers, keep going in circles, looking for the next guru to tell them how to win. When, in reality, the divine spark that each of us has, can only be found by peeling off the multiple layers of garbage that we have collected over the years. Under those layers hides the kernel that is truly you.

Understand the difference between what is you and what is an imposed idea of "excellence" that you heard from someone who has an absolutely different lifestyle, belief system and aspirations.

Know yourself.

Original: https://t.me/citadelium/420

Some people have described Bitcoin as the shining light at the end of the tunnel, an instrument of God, and its appearance in 2009 as divine intervention. This thinking appeals to me. Below is my attempt at a Gnostic interpretation of the same idea.

Gnostic Mythology

According to the Gnostic mythos, there are many worlds populated by numerous beings. These worlds are either closer to (higher) or farther from (lower) the ultimate source of All, the causeless cause, the infinite and incomprehensible Father—God. Our material realm is, unfortunately, a low world; that is to say, quite far from the fullness of Pleroma. All the worlds and beings that populate them are ultimately emanations of the one true God including the creator of the physical space—the demiurge Ialdabaoth—and his team of Archons. Ialdabaoth, also known as Saklas (fool), was blind of his true origin and claimed to be the one and only God almighty. Only divine Sophia, the feminine representation of the wisdom of God, was able to tell him the truth.

"I am God and there is no other God beside me."
"Do not lie, Ialdabaoth; for the father of all, the primal Anthropos, is above you."

As the Chief Archon is a deficient god, for not knowing all including one's origin is a deficiency, Ialdabaoth's world can only be deficient, too. Any creation is a reflection of its creator. The physical world we live in is imperfect by design. Unlike infinite and timeless Spirit, Matter has inherent limitations, and its state is ever-changing. There is a beginning and an end to anything material.

Man is a spiritual being originating from higher worlds closer to God. But many souls fall from grace into the lower worlds where divine light is dimmer, and so they suffer. There is nothing worse than leaving the fullness of Pleroma and becoming bound by Matter, stuck in a body of flesh and bones and being amnesiac about one's origins. This is the fall of man.

Like any tyrannical regime, the Archons are interested in capturing as many souls in the lower world as possible and keeping them in a subservient state. They do this by deifying Matter itself and convincing the captives that the illusory world of the senses is the true reality. When a human baby is born, the soul entrapped in his body is still in the state of divine ecstasy: it remembers. As time passes, the sensual world takes hold of the baby's life, and the memories of the majestic world of Spirit fade away. What remains is eyesight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Anything that can be perceived with the bodily senses is thought of as reality itself.

"Unless you turn around and become like little children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."—Jesus Christ

The Parasites who rule our world serve the Archons. Through religion, politics, economics, mass media and technology they have been perfecting the prison-like Matrix that we inhabit. The somatic masses are programmed to pursue material pleasures because one whose life is all about satisfying the body is far from the saving grace of Spirit. It is impossible to escape the chains of Matter if one believes that there is nothing higher than that. As a result, high time preference becomes the default modus operandi.

Even among the Remnant, few will ever achieve the salvific state of Gnosis. However, simply lowering one's time preference and turning to higher aspirations significantly changes the way the surrounding environment is perceived.

Enter Bitcoin

As Bitcoin is hard money, it lowers time preference. The immediate satisfaction of short-term wants is slowly but surely replaced with long-term thinking. Engaging in dopamine-seeking activities becomes a lot more costly. At first, one thinks that by waiting for bitcoin's value to rise, he can acquire more pleasures in the future. But, as time goes, the wants themselves start dissolving. Just like sugar craving fades away after a couple of weeks of abstaining, many other material addictions lose their power with time. The archonic grip on one's body is loosened—this is where the magic happens.

The same principle applies not only to particular individuals but to society as a whole. The more the economy switches to the bitcoin standard, the lower the time preference of its participants. As a result, something that resembles a mass awakening happens. Deviancy, debauchery, perversions and other demonic possessions designed to keep humans in their bodily prisons subside. Culture, ethics, spirituality emerge. Prison-break anthems are sung worldwide.

Strong Men Create Good Times

Preventing such breakthroughs is a priority for the Archons. But even they cannot fight natural laws. The cycles of Nature are ever recurring, unstoppable. After a flow, there is an ebb. After an era of darkness, there comes a time of Light. Bitcoin is a divine tool that swings the pendulum in the opposite direction, changing the hearts of millions of people who, collectively, affect the state of the world. Strong men are born who dedicate their lives to bringing about good times.

heretic /hĕr′ĭ-tĭk/
noun

• A person who holds controversial opinions, especially one who publicly dissents from the officially accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic Church.
• One who holds and persistently maintains an opinion or a doctrine at variance with the accepted standards of any school or party, and rejected or condemned by it; one who rejects a generally accepted belief.
• Specifically, in theology, a professed believer who adopts and persistently maintains religious opinions contrary to the accepted standards of his church.

When people think about you, they define you by placing labels on the image they have in their heads. Judge not and you shall not be judged one moment and "Oh yes, I remember that asshole" a few moments later. But you do the same, too. Even if you are a most illumined man who has lost his ego, there is still the need to communicate with the outside world. Your illumination must be described somehow, and off you go labeling yourself this and that. Some of these tags can be temporary, others stick for good.

You cannot prevent others from labeling you in a certain way, but self-labelling is under your control. Moreover, when you do it to yourself, there is a feeling of agency, power, self-determination. Bitcoiners have mastered this art by turning negative descriptors invented by enemies into positive ones. Toxicity, bitcoin maximalism and citadels are perfect examples: they were all supposed to be derogatory terms. Yet, there are now thousands who identify as toxic bitcoin maximalists building their dream citadels. Conversely, generally positive labels can be turned upside down if self-appropriated publicly. Take, for instance, billionaire in someone's profile. Ridiculous, and you can be sure he is the exact opposite.

In one of my previous pieces, I labelled myself a Gnostic. No, I did not literally get baptized in a newly discovered religion of old times and now engage in all kinds of rituals and sacraments. The reason is because timeless wisdom is well expressed in this particular spiritual teaching, whether of Christian or Hermetic flavour. Intuitively, it feels right. Many people, especially in the Christian world, know little about Gnosticism, although they are sure of one thing: it is heresy.

There were many groups that preached and practiced Gnostic ideas throughout the centuries. The saddest story of all is that of the Cathars. Catharism was a 12-14th century Christian movement in Southern Europe that differed in its approach to describing the essence of God, stating that there was a good God and an evil one. This dualist interpretation highly irritated the Catholic Church who considered it an assault on monotheism. As the Cathars gained popularity among the locals, they became known as the good people (or the good Christians). The Church, being a political organization first and foremost, had to crush dissent. The Albigensian Crusade started in 1209 and lasted for twenty years. Most Cathars were massacred and burned at stake for their Gnostic heresy, and those who survived went into hiding.

"What did Jesus say to you?"
Thomas said to them: "If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up."
—The Gospel of Thomas

You may think that these times are over. Indeed, you normally do not hear about someone getting burned alive. But heretics are still all around us. They are in the minority, as is natural, but they exist. Almost all areas of our life have an established Church, a dominant institution that directs thinking in a particular direction. The Church of Science insists that you delegate anything that involves brain activity to experts. Experts are its priests, and your connection to the God of Truth may only be achieved through them. An alternative opinion? Independent research? Bro-science? Heretic! The same goes for the Church of Nutrition, the Church of Medicine, the Church of History, the Church of Social Justice and so on. Be damned if you deviate from the orthodox path. The holy inquisition will make sure your ideas die with you.

And so it happens that if you are part of the somatic masses, then there is nothing you need to fear. Follow the teachings, buy your indulgences, revere authority—your menial life will pass without much trouble. But if you are a Remnant, the label of Heretic is more suitable. For there is no way around it—your ideas, way of thinking, words and deeds are heresy to the established canons of the Church of the Machine.

As is traditional with bitcoiners, this historically negative term can be appropriated, too. You must become a proud Heretic. Heresy is your way of life in the world of the indolent masses who have forsaken their will. In such a situation, it is not only not wrong to be a Heretic—it is wholly virtuous. Your mere existence becomes an act of one big heresy. Is there any other term that the followers of the Church can use to describe you when they hear the following?

• Traditional values. - Heretic!
• Have many kids. - Heretic!
• Natural immunity. - Heretic!
• Meat is good. - Heretic!
• Scientists can be wrong. - Heretic!
• Climate always changes. - Heretic!
• Bitcoin. - Heretic!

Of course, it is not strategically reasonable to openly call yourself a Heretic anywhere you go. Or, as they say these days, it is bad opsec. The above is more of a mental label. The dogmatic mass man knows it, you know it. But the difference is that he thinks of it negatively, you—positively.

In a world possessed by the demon of materialism, people do not lead their lives but are rather led—by their senses. This base existence is no better than that of a cattle animal. Those who choose reason over the body are few, which state of affairs is according to Nature. For a flock of sheep need but one shepherd and a couple of guard dogs. Your deviation from the commonly accepted truths simply creates competition among the shepherd class who are surely uninterested in one of their animals graduating into a higher position. That black sheep is a Heretic. And that is one more reason to respect yourself—such awakened minds are rare among the flock. You are the Remnant.

Be not afraid of the labels that others throw at you. It is your framing that matters. What can be better than disarming your opponent by calling yourself that with which he wanted to insult you? Words are powerful tools. Learn to use their power. Be a proud Heretic!

Citadels have gone from a somewhat negative bitcoin meme to a serious consideration among people who are ready to act. What was born as a joke is now widely discussed in the community, and the word citadel is part of many bitcoin-related brands. Appropriation at its finest!

Still, many newcomers are confused with the term. What does a citadel stand for? Is it an actual fortress? A city full bitcoiners? A space station? I attempted to give a definition some time back which is, to this day, quite relevant. However, as time went by, my and other enthusiasts' understanding of the concept evolved. In fact, it has become so diverse that I now feel the need to revisit the topic and describe the types of citadels that dominate the discourse.

I took the liberty of organizing citadels into seven levels. The result, from the smallest to the largest, expanding outwardly with each level, is below.

Level 1: The Inner Citadel

In my humble opinion, the first level—the inner citadel—is the most important one. The reason for this is quite simple: as the outer reality is a reflection of your inner world, it makes sense to put a lot of effort into developing the latter. Without a solid foundation, no building will stand long. Granted, self-work is a lifelong process. But there is a level at which your external work in the physical world can go with ease because you can be sure that the base will withstand the weight of the building.

What "work on yourself" involves is beyond the scope of this article. Most likely, you can guess as you have seen countless resources, good and bad, on this topic. He who seeks will find.

A mature world can be built only by mature individuals. Do not neglect what is within. All you need is right where you are. Start now and never stop.

Level 2: Individual Sovereignty

Now that your inner foundation is established, it is time to work on the physical realm around you. A citadel is a place of autonomy, independence, self-reliance. Becoming a sovereign individual is the second level of your citadel.

Look at the various areas of your life. Where do you depend the most on third parties? In what domains are your hands tied? Is there an aspect of practical daily existence in which more flexibility is desirable? You will surely find that there is a lot to improve.

Tentatively, here are some domains of personal sovereignty that you may pay attention to:

• Mind: seek knowledge, remove the noise, learn to think for yourself.
• Body: in a healthy body lives a healthy spirit.
• Security: learn to defend yourself and your loved ones.
• Production: secure your survival by producing what keeps you alive, do not be at the mercy of supply chains.
• Wealth: accumulate assets to become independent from the tribulations of the labor market, provide a better start for your children.
• Brotherhood: nourish your community, gather with like-minded individuals, grow collective power.
• Legacy: work for the future, build for the coming generations, leave a mark.

When your personal citadel has been, for the most part, established, going to the next level will not be a huge challenge.

Level 3: Family

A lone wolf may survive only for so long. A pack has a much higher chance of facing the realities of the natural world. Family, properly organized, is your most immediate group of supporters, partners in life. Commit to building a loyal family citadel, and the results will be long-lasting.

Whether you live in a small log cabin or a vast family estate makes no difference. They are where you are. And that is the true power of familial relationships.

You may not have much success transforming your parents (and there is no need to) and only moderate victories with your spouse (as long as the basics are covered, you are good). But children are a blank slate. That is where most work lies. From the very beginning, you must expose your offspring only to the best intentions, the most caring parenting, the most beautiful surroundings, a community of like-minded sovereigns and, of course, Nature herself. For what happens in their first years of life stays with them forever. Some day, they will take the reigns. Make sure you pass your legacy to someone who knows that hard work and merit are of utmost importance. There is no guarantee, but the odds are in your favor if you pay attention to your family. Competent heirs will not only keep your citadel alive but will make it stronger, more powerful and influential.

Level 4: Community

Scaling up, we find that outside Family, you have to interact with other individuals and families for various purposes—social, spiritual, economic. One family is a cell, several—an organism. It is, thus, imperative that you put effort into building a community that consists of those who are on the same page as you are. There is no way to agree on everything, but there exist some basic principles that can be adhered to by everyone.

Form your community around a common core. It can be a shared religion, a moral or ethical code, tradition, ethnicity or an important long-term goal. Whatever it is, all members have to be bound by it. Think about the physical location. Leave the mixing to places of work and street markets. To be undisturbed, to ensure continued stability and flourishing, you must segregate your community from others that have no desire to live according to your principles. Friends live separately; a tribe—together.

Level 5: A Country

If your community lives separately, then you have formed a village or even a town. There will necessarily be other villages around you as well as natural resources like land, lakes and rivers, forests and so on. Moreover, your communities may be peaceful and civilized, but others not so much. A possibility of aggression makes like-minded settlements join forces, unite into a larger structure that can defend its territories.

There may be various governance schemes for such newly-created countries, but, hopefully, ones based on merit will prevail. Your kingdom or republic can be confident that it has a better chance of survival in the unpredictable, still mostly wild, world. Over time, trade and exchange of knowledge and tradition among the country's villages, towns and cities may lead to an emergence of a new civilization for whom even the sky is not the limit.

It is also possible to start a country from scratch in the digital realm, a digital citadel, with a further plan to occupy some physical territory. Many will try. Time will show which approach shines: a voluntary association of tight communities that have already lived together someplace or a collection of random individuals who may have known each other online but never met in real life.

Level 6: The Planet

All these countries have to co-exist on the same globe. Until we are a space-faring species actively settling on other planets or in space (it will take a while), Earth is the most precious homeland we have. Its surface is limited making it the humanity's scarcest resource. Yes, there is also bitcoin but you cannot build a house, graze cattle or raise fruit upon it.

Our physical life starts on Mother Gaia and it ends here, too. We do not build this citadel: we are merely visitors, passers-by. We must take care to think long-term so that the coming generations enjoy living on our planet even more than we did.

As much as we want to live separately from those who are different, there is no true way of doing that: we are all on Earth. Sooner or later, we collide, and the cycle repeats.

Level 7: The Cosmos

The final citadel is the one whence everything comes and thither everything goes: the Unity, the Totality, the All with its physical manifestation, the Cosmos.

We spend all our lives wondering what is out there. It is impossible to ignore—humans are curious beings. Even though we know little, we are still in awe at the potential of it all. The cosmic citadel that we inhabit is home to everyone and everything we know. We are all part of it, we are it. The vastness of space makes insignificant any strife we have witnessed throughout history on our little blue dot.

Look up at the night sky and see what is. With a bit of practice, you will find that there is a lot more than meets the eye. The macrocosm you gaze is a facade for something greater—the limitless, unfathomable, unreachable Source. Contemplating upon it will inevitably bring you to its counterpart, the microcosm. As above, so below. As without, so within. The inner citadel is back in focus. You are, once again, at Level 1, ready to fill the gaps, make yourself even more complete and in tune with the broader reality.

And just like that, our discussion of citadels turned from merely building a hideaway from undesirable elements of society to a multi-faceted subject matter that covers individual sovereignty, family, community, national and international relations, spirituality. You may think that these are the options that you can choose to pursue. It is no so. All seven levels play an important role in your becoming a truly free, sovereign being. Do not neglect them. The years you are given on this rock are limited, but the citadel that you erect in the course of your life may stand forever. Get to work.