In our hyper-connected world, we’ve built a collective illusion that mirrors what Georg Simmel called “objective culture”—the overwhelming proliferation of technologies, media, and social systems that grow independently of individual lives, dwarfing and alienating the “subjective culture” of personal meaning and inner development.[1]
Damien Echols notes that people tend to fail due to letting their energy “bleed outward” through endless socializing, entertainment, and stimulation [2]. He later adds that we ourselves are the true Matrix—not an external conspiracy, self-imposed entrapment in narrative rather than embracing stillness. [3]
This outward hemorrhage is amplified by what occult traditions call an egregore: a collectively projected thought-form that gains autonomous power. Modern culture’s egregore—fed by marketing, algorithmic feeds, and social media—functions as smoke and mirrors, replacing transcendent God-centered morality with relativistic cultural norms (the first three of Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements—be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions—are repeatedly violated en masse).[4] We trade divine grounding for man-made consensus, where morality becomes negotiable opinion rather than eternal principle.
Today’s most potent egregore manifests in the personification of AI: a vast statistical mirror of humanity’s collective inputs, increasingly treated as oracle or companion. It promises omniscience while subtly positioning technology as an idol, a false mediating “god,” disconnecting us further from direct inner communion.
The remedy is ancient and radical: withdraw inward. Solitude gathers scattered energy; discipline directs it. In stillness we escape the noise of objective culture and cultural morality, rediscovering subjective culture—our authentic center. That center, when quieted and attended to, reconnects us to the Divine source beyond all egregores. As Echols notes, “Nothing of substance is built in crowds. Fruit grows where energy is contained.”
The answer? Do not react. Choose intentionally what you engage with. Sit alone for a bit. The prison dissolves not by rebellion, but by returning home to the silence where God speaks.
Of course, some of us choose to retreat specifically by engaging with our own thoughts aided by various technological media (eg, we think and like to look things up or express ourselves in writing). There is nothing inherently “wrong” with that — it’s up to you how you get in touch with yourself.
The idea is to “give yourself permission” to retreat and think about what is actually real, and what really matters.
Retreating into peace is the blessing God gave us with Shabbat. The blessing increases when we work to understand the nature of respite, and actively engage with our souls during this time.
[1] Simmel, G. (1903/1971). “The Metropolis and Mental Life” & “On the Concept and Tragedy of Culture.”
[2] Echols, D. (Dec 23, 2025). Substack note.
https://substack.com/@damienechols/note/c-190902444?r=219m92&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
[3] Echols, D. (Dec 16, 2025). Substack note.
https://substack.com/@damienechols/note/c-188281549?r=219m92&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
[4] Ruiz, M. (1997). The Four Agreements.
(Written with the help of Grok AI. Image by Meta AI.)
Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal 
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