This is our conversation with Theo, an anonymous writer and teacher from India known for his thoughtful presence on Twitter and his reflective essays on Substack. Theo drew our attention with his response to a viral discourse on Twitter surrounding a young person who chose to leave modern life behind and pursue a monastic path. Theo’s response to that moment stood out, not succumbing to easy binaries or trying to impose a particular perspective on the issue, but rather using the debate as an invitation to reflect more deeply on the nature of human desire and goal-making itself.

The dialogue unfolds across a range of interwoven themes. Theo responds to questions about psychology and spirituality, drawing on his own experience with the Internal Family Systems paradigm and extensive experience coaching others. We also dive into one of Theo’s essays, 'Attunement as Ethics', which proposes that ethical life is less about adherence to fixed doctrines and more about cultivating sensitivity and responsiveness to the world around us. Theo's insight is intriguing...care is at the root of proper ethics, and care is the default state of a well-regulated nervous system.

Here is Theo's essay: https://nowtheo.substack.com/p/attune...

Here is Theo's tweet on 'steelmanning the renunciative path': https://x.com/nowtheo/status/19559528...

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2025