The Enduring Metaphor of Angels and Devils

The metaphorical representation of a devil and an angel on a person’s shoulders dates back to the 16th century1. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, this concept was prominently featured in plays and allegorical art. By the early 1900s, it had found its way into cartoons as a visual shorthand to depict the internal struggle between virtues and vices. The angel serves to keep one on the “straight and narrow,” while the devil tempts one toward vices and earthly pleasures.

A New Metaphor: The Monster and the Unicorn

Did you hear what the devil is trying to get you to do? He was pulling you towards pleasures. Which does he sound like? The unicorn.

Confusing, no?

Well, no, not at all when you realize that the angel and devil metaphors are not the same as the “monster” and “unicorn.” This distinction can be a source of confusion for some who mistakenly believe them to be interchangeable.

In literature, the roles are clearly defined: the angel encourages you to do what is right and good, which is often the more challenging path. Conversely, the devil tempts you to take the easy, lazy, vindictive, or even mean-spirited route. The angel represents good, while the devil embodies bad.

However, neither the monster nor the unicorn is inherently good or bad; they are neutral. They function as psychological building blocks, each with a singular purpose driven by a cause. The unicorn pulls you toward pleasure and actively seeks it with you. Its goal is for you to experience pleasure, and it tugs at you when it finds it. The monster, on the other hand, wants to protect you from any and all pain.

As we know, “no pain, no gain.” Some necessary life experiences involve pain, and not all pleasurable things should be pursued.

The Overlap Between Angels, Devils, Monsters, and Unicorns

In some instances, the devil’s work aligns with the unicorn’s, as he encourages the pursuit of earthly pleasures and vices. The angel’s role can mirror the monster’s by trying to keep you on a path that minimizes future sadness and regret, preventing actions you might later look back on with remorse.

However, the devil can also perform the monster’s function by convincing you to avoid something simply because it is difficult. The angel, at times, does the work of the unicorn by pushing you toward a higher, happier, and kinder purpose, which naturally feels good.

Under the Hood: The Building Blocks of Morality

In literature and even in your own imagination, if you have perceived morality as a struggle between a devil and an angel, you will find that both are composed of multiple monsters and unicorns.

Your morality is constructed by these monsters and unicorns working in concert with a purpose. The way you pair and combine them creates powerful forces within your psyche. If you build your angel with a host of strong monsters and unicorns, your devil will be comparatively weak, and the reverse is also true.

While we often vi

When the Devil Sounds Like a Unicorn

A primer on the book BeCAUSE! [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733662286/]

For those that have yet to read my new book because. Here’s a quick primer.

One day, I asked myself a question. If you could have anything you wanted, wouldn’t you? We already know how to do most things and if we don’t, we can Google them or talk to others about it. We want to lose weight, be a better person, learn a new skill, get a new job, pursue a meaningful career, be a better parent, become more resilient, and the list goes on.

But we don’t do that. Sometimes we struggle and sometimes we don’t.

There are things that in spite of us doing everything right we can’t seem to do. On the flipside there are things that we accomplish easily and our friends get very frustrated with us and simply say that “we just have a knack for it.”

Research

My research led to two very important things:

Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle.

Intense research on what all top performers have in common

But this wasn’t enough. Neither one of those things answered the real question they just stopped.

So I took it further and that is what created the book because.

Survival mode tell-tale signs

In this short episode, we give a recap of the book and talk about what it means to wake up to a monster.

The post Waking up to a Monster. Are you in Survival Mode? [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/06/28/waking-up-to-a-monster-are-you-in-survival-mode/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Waking up to a Monster.  Are you in Survival Mode?

I’ve done two podcast episodes on large language models. I recently spun up and installed a large language model locally on my computer and built a project around it. I’m an avid user of echoes from Amazon. I have had Grammarly kick in to spellcheck for me. I tell my phone to add an appointment to my schedule all the time.

And I have a dire warning for you.

MIT study

A recent MIT study proved something that I have been thinking for quite some time. Using.EEG (brain scans.) to provide data, the study showed that those who relied on ChatGPT for ideas and help with papers tended to not even to remember most of what they wrote. A lot of them didn’t even properly remember the titles. The bottom line was that they’re deeper learning wasn’t being engaged and when it wasn’t being engaged, it meant they weren’t using it. And it was getting weaker.

AI, the firming paradox and the end of the world

What science fiction and many people tell us is that AI will become sentient, judge mankind, find them wanting and wipe them out. And that will be it for us. But I believe it will happen in a very different way and is already happening.

But we can stop it.

Consider what I am suggesting, reflect on your own use, and read the MIT study for yourself.

Just don’t use an LLM to summarize it for you.

The post A Dire Warning: the MIT study and ChatGPT [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/06/19/a-dire-warning-the-mit-study-and-chatgpt/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

A Dire Warning: the MIT study and ChatGPT

Helpful episodes

Every year I create a list of the top, most useful and helpful episodes of the previous year. This year because there has been a lot of interaction on current episodes. I’ve decided to do a midyear pause and reflect if you will.

Here are the top episodes in 2025 so far

Manuel Rendon of Timeplast and 4d programmable matter [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/01/12/manuel-rendon-of-timeplast-and-4d-programmable-matter/]Meet Manuel Rendon, certified polymer science inventor and CEO of Timeplast, Inc. My first interview episode of 2025. Manuel joins the ranks of Scott Adams, the late John McAfee and others. 4d matter In the world of plastics, everything pretty much repels water. But what if you could create a plastic that truly dissolves in water …

Teacher, Teach Thyself [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/02/02/teacher-teach-thyself/] Q&A and the answer (That’s so meta) Have you ever helped a friend who has a question or a conundrum, and the answer was so obvious to you that you easily spelled it out for them? You felt pretty smart. You noticed at some point that when you’ve had issues you turn to others for …

What I learned writing a screenplay [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/02/09/what-i-learned-writing-a-screenplay/] (and how it might help you tell your own story) Telling a story in an unfamiliar medium with constraints you’re not accustomed to is a common theme in business. You may be the best story teller in your circle/medium/genre but if you need to tell your story outside of that it can be a challenge, …

The Anatomy of Ghosting [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/04/06/the-anatomy-of-ghosting/] We all know what it is. We have all done it. We’ve all had it done to us. Let’s talk about when it’s appropriate when it’s not, and why it can be so frustrating.

Non-Local Consciousness [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/05/11/non-local-consciousness/] Let’s talk about non-local consciousness, who you’re really talking to when you’re on the phone, what happens to me and possibly you when something is put on the back burner.

Hypnosis and speaking to your manager. [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/06/01/hypnosis-and-speaking-to-your-manager/] Speaking to the manager I want to speak to the manager. Rather, I want to speak to your manager. What do you think of when I say that? Do you think of the structure of your current employer? Do you make a joke that it’s your cat? Is there a spouse joke in there for you?

Good or Evil? [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/05/22/good-or-evil/] A philosophical question for you. Don’t forget you can pause the episode to consider the question(s) as you move forward. How would you answer? Alchemy for Life™ podcast explores themes of experimental psychology, relationships, cognitive science, human behavior, mental models, consciousness, and psychological insights. We uncover hidden truths and ways to improve your life and get .

Which one is your favorite and why? Was it one I missed?

What episodes are notable in 2025 so far?

Speaking to the manager

I want to speak to the manager. Rather, I want to speak to your manager.

What do you think of when I say that? Do you think of the structure of your current employer? Do you make a joke that it’s your cat? Is there a spouse joke in there for you? Or are you immediately defensive?

There’s a reason you may be defensive, and rightly so.

Hypnosis, logging in as administrator, and reaching the manager

Have you ever been hypnotized? Have you ever had administrative access to a computer? Have you ever asked to speak to someone’s manager or been witness to someone else doing that?

Let’s talk about how all of these things are related, why it’s normal to be defensive, talking to someone else’s manager, and talking to your own manager.

Alchemy for Life™ podcast explores themes of experimental psychology, relationships, cognitive science, human behavior, mental models, consciousness, and psychological insights. We uncover hidden truths and ways to improve your life and get things done, or reduce stress and relax.

The latest book is BeCAUSE! [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733662286/] The fundamental psychological building blocks that enable you to, or prevent you from, accomplishing anything, everything, and nothing.

The post Hypnosis and speaking to your manager. [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/06/01/hypnosis-and-speaking-to-your-manager/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Hypnosis and speaking to your manager.

A philosophical question for you.

Don’t forget you can pause the episode to consider the question(s) as you move forward.

How would you answer?

Alchemy for Life™ podcast explores themes of experimental psychology, relationships, cognitive science, human behavior, mental models, consciousness, and psychological insights. We uncover hidden truths and ways to improve your life and get things done, or reduce stress and relax.

The latest book is BeAUSE! [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733662286/] The fundamental psychological building blocks that enable you to, or prevent you from, accomplishing anything, everything, and nothing.

The post Good or Evil? [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/05/22/good-or-evil/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Good or Evil?

Let’s talk about non-local consciousness, who you’re really talking to when you’re on the phone, what happens to me and possibly you when something is put on the back burner, and wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the United States, Brazil, Germany, India, China and Japan.

The post Non-Local Consciousness [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/05/11/non-local-consciousness/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Non-Local Consciousness

Getting energy and giving energy

One of the things I’ve said from the very beginning is that a thing can give one person energy and take energy from another. in other words, one person’s activity that energizes them could also really be draining for another.

But that giving of energy is also taking energy. Nobody engages in meaningful receiving of energy without also giving energy.

Simultaneous

And this energy going both ways at the same time can be confusing, especially if you think that your energy is like a glass of water you spill out. It’s not.

What gives you purpose? What gives you meaning?

You will find that the things in your life that give you meaning are the things that can potentially exhaust you, because of the energy transfer. For some people, it’s misleading because we are not taught that exhaustion is a good thing. For others it can be addicting to the point that someone is drained beyond healthy levels in this pursuit (common for some people in healthcare—nurses, therapists, even some coaches).

Episodes referenced:

 * Job Career or Calling [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2017/11/19/job-career-calling-afl-podcast/]
 * Is Positivity Just Oblivious Contentment? [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2024/11/10/is-positivity-just-oblivious-contentment/]

Books:

 * Three Voices [https://www.amazon.com/Three-Voices-languages-communicate-yourself/dp/173366226X/]
 * BeCAUSE! (out soon!)

The post Meaningful Exhaustion and the energy transfer [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/04/27/meaningful-exhaustion-and-the-energy-transfer/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Meaningful Exhaustion and the energy transfer

The normal format for this show is to introduce you to something and raise your perception. Then we discuss it and you typically leave with homework.

This time you are giving me homework. Let’s talk about the importance of feedback and how each and every one of us has a struggle. What’s yours?

The post Question Mark – Oh how the tables have turned [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/04/15/question-mark-oh-how-the-tables-have-turned/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

Question Mark – Oh how the tables have turned

We all know what it is.

We have all done it.

We’ve all had it done to us.

Let’s talk about when it’s appropriate when it’s not, and why it can be so frustrating.

The post The Anatomy of Ghosting [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching/2025/04/06/the-anatomy-of-ghosting/] first appeared on Alchemy For Life [https://www.alchemyfor.life/balancecoaching].

The Anatomy of Ghosting

Recover time energy and resources in your life. Have fun. Understand.

aflpodcast

Shows