Towards Vital Existence (ebook) by Peter David Barret

The first full length offering from Northen Dawn Publications. At 170 pages, Towards Vital Existence presents 23 short introductory essays for young men (and women) on Traditionalism in practice. With an unflinching northward compass, Barret outlines a direct pathway to self discipline, personal work, and community action.
 
From the forward:
"The book you hold in your hands is a work that you will remember as the starting point of your journey to transcendence. Towards Vital Existence is a practical manual that is more necessary today than at any point in human history. With the Earth struggling to hold its ever growing population and ruled by the worst of us, Peter David Barret lights a beacon of hope for those dissatisfied with the pseudo-morality, and myths of comfort and security at the expense of vitality that are offered by our so-called "elites."
 
This series of essays comes not from a hasty reactionary perspective, but from the deep well of experience: from seeing the world from different angles over a lifetime. It does not bog one down with jargon and posturing, but gives clear insight into the malady of modernity while offering a practical and actionable remedy from Tradition. It offers an uncorrupted path of ascent, alternative to that which is presented by dark modern masculinity influencers.
 
Tradition is a phrase that is thrown around a lot in social media memes with very little genuine understanding of the term. It is often equated with the North American conservatism of the mid-20th century that followed the two World Wars. This is an entirely false concept. The materialism, consumerism, and industrialism of that era, with its nuclear families and suburban living is the very embodiment of Counter-Tradition.
 
Often Tradition is linked only to a very narrow view of the much broader reality. The Trad Catholic movement, for example, has given rise to a generation of young men who only see the Crusaders of the 11th to 13th centuries as the "true" Tradition. This is a misunderstanding of the premise of Traditionalism which posits the eternal Tradition that is not exclusive to one specific group.
 
Towards Vital Existence offers a reality check to both those who confuse Counter-Tradition with Tradition, and those who cannot see beyond their own narrow perspective of Tradition. The Eternal Truth will always reassert itself over time. We are currently in a state of decline: one that has been happening for an extremely long time. This is just another smaller cycle of decadence within a much larger cycle.
 
We can exit this cycle and arrest the decline. It takes a new group of young people to take the helm and change the destiny of the world. Mass movements have never achieved this. It has always been the job of the vanguard, the tip of the spear. When Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world of his time, it was an act of pure will. He and a group of his schoolmates decided they would do it and they did. Genghis Khan, a shunned bastard son, gathered a small force and created a vast empire. Even in the modern era, the Bolshevik "revolution" in Russia was in actuality a coup started by a tiny group of dissidents who met secretly in London pubs in the late 19th century.
 
The smallest spark can start a blazing inferno that cannot be extinguished. The essays in this book will ignite that fire within you and feed the flame. Take to heart what you read here. But more importantly, take action. Heed the call to live a more vital existence."
 
-Tom Billinge, author of “War Yoga”,
and “Undying Glory: The Solar Path of Greek Heroes”.