15 Midnight Gospel Quotes For Your Existential Crisis
What is Midnight Gospel really about?
The Midnight Gospel is an animated adult comedy streaming series on Netflix, created by Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussell. The series follows a spacecaster named Clancy, voiced by Trussell, who travels through a multiverse as he records conversations with interdimensional beings for his podcast. The series explores themes of existentialism, spirituality, and the human condition, with episodes featuring guest voice actors such as Maria Bamford, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Tenzin Choedrak. The show has been praised for its unique visual style and its creative approach to addressing difficult topics. Midnight Gospel quotes touch on the deepest aspect of human conditions and are amazing to ponder about.
There is an overarching theme of acceptance, whether it be the acceptance of the impermanence of happiness, old age, or death. Philosophical conversations on said topics are seamlessly blended among moments of surreal colorful animation and comedy. It is both an entertaining yet meaningful show that anyone interested in spiritual concepts will definitely enjoy.
15 Existential Midnight Gospel Quotes You Will Love
“There’s no way to stop the heartbreak how do you… what do you do about that?” “You cry!!! You cry.”
Episode 8, “Mouse of Silver”
In this episode, Clancy gets to reunite with his mother who was withering away with cancer, and they have a heartfelt conversation about the impermanence of life and how to embrace death. It must be the most powerful, emotionally wrecking yet beautiful episode of the season. Clancy acknowledges the fact that nothing exists forever, and us humans, especially those that we hold dear to our heart, will eventually depart from this world, either peacefully or, sometimes, under the suffering of diseases and sickness.
And we should just accept that as an inevitable experience of the human experience- a force that is beyond our control. It acknowledges the futility of trying to resist or suppress the pain of heartbreak, and instead encourages us to embrace our emotions and let ourselves feel fully. The struggle to cope with the overwhelming pain and grief that it brings is tremendous, and the best thing you can do at that time is crying.
Yeah. We could just cry. Celebrate the beauty of vulnerability. By allowing ourselves to cry and release our emotions, we are not only honoring our own humanity but also connecting with the shared experience of grief that unites us all in the brief journey on Earth. We know that it must happen, but cognitively knowing that as a fact does not take away the feelings we experience. Do not fight it. Do not resist what you feel. Rather, be aware of what you feel and come to terms with it all. That’s how you be authentic with yourself and your loved ones.
“The moment you accept things as they are, you don’t need to hope anymore, because you realize where you are is kind of okay.”
Episode 5, “Annihilation of Joy”
Clancy, freshly emerged from his last session in the reality simulator, was met with a peculiar sight; the rose he had acquired was covered in his puke. He was inspired to attempt bringing the rose back to life through the power of music. Thus began his fantastic voyage to the mythical planet Moon R3T8, rumored to be a prison world filled with broken sims. Once there, he encountered Bob, a prisoner whose damned spirit was accompanied by an enchanting soul bird named Jason.
Bob has severe anger issues. Bob can’t control his actions when something goes wrong, and he lashes out onto people. Every time he does that, he suffers, and he is punished by the cycle of Rebirth to relive the same experience again. Every time he is reborn, he is slightly calmer, more “aware” of the consequences of his actions, so he tries to redeem for his sins, yet as soon as he made a mistake, he goes back to Square 1, relearning his lessons from the very beginning. He repeats his lives over and over and over and over until he “graduates” and fully learn his “lessons” that the pain he caused for other people will just reflect onto himself. The journey Bob went through was existentially terrifying, but Bob eventually escaped the sim prison and moved on to be a more complete person.
Jason the Bird said that about the soul prison, and that is kind of a stoic encouragement. You simply are content with where you are. Hope is essentially just a longing for something that never exists. It is a product of your internal wishes that things will somehow turn out in your favor. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. And quite frequently the times that things went wrong will stir up within you a great sense of dissatisfaction that ruin your day. We are all learning our personal lessons. Instead of hoping for the future to turn out in your favor, try seeing what the current situation can teach you about your journey.
When you stop hoping for things to be different and come to terms with the present moment, you can find peace with your circumstances. If you cling to hope, you will soon experience “hopeless”. Let go of your “hope” and you shall not be hopeless. Accept things as they are, and you can let go of that desire for change and find happiness and satisfaction with what you already have. In essence, the quote is encouraging a shift in perspective from one of constant striving and hoping to one of acceptance and appreciation for the present moment.
“When people smoke too much weed and say, ‘Oh no, I’m too high, I’m paranoid,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘The weed is showing me parts of myself I really don’t feel like dealing with right now.’”
Episode 1, “Taste of The King”
The very first episode of the series, throwing watchers into an action-packed psychedelic zombie apocalypse. During the fight, Clancy and the President of this world ran across a pack of marijuana protestors, and they had a brief discussion on weed. It’s interesting that they mentioned how weed can show you parts of yourself that you don’t want to face and force you to become a better person.
Personally, I find this quote quite funny. Marijuana itself doesn’t usually give us the “introspective” effect as psychedelic substances, yet if consumed in the form of edibles, in which the major chemical THC is properly decarboxylated, we can experience a slight hint of introspection commonly found in psychedelic. That is when the darker parts of your soul come out.
It’s not necessarily that the weed is showing you the darker parts, but it was you getting into a more detached state of mind from which you can observe your past actions and behaviors more objectively. Even if you don’t get to see your dark parts and only become paranoid, maybe it is a gentle reminder that you need to be more present and learn to deal with your anxiety. Whenever you feel paranoid by marijuana consumption, remind yourself that you are present in the moment, and there is no reason to worry about a non-existent future.
“I Do Think That We Suffer More If We Resist The Flow Of The River.”
Episode 8, “Mouse of Silver”
In the same conversation between Clancy and his mother, she mentioned the fact that we suffer more if we resist the flow of the river. Metaphorically the River is the never-ending flow of time carrying us to the inevitable ending. We are all on the same boat, on the same river, flowing in the same direction. And it is not just us humans. All beings on this world, whether sentient or non-sentient, no matter how ancient they were, will one day join us on the journey back “home”.
There is an interesting post-rock song called “A wild river to take you home” by Black Hill & Silent Island that perfectly captures what Clancy’s mother was trying to convey here.
Let go of Death and go with the ride. Face the void. You never know when that final day will come, so might as well just enjoy the ride. Enjoy the river. Revel in the ups and downs it introduces to you. Once you’re arrived at the place, you’ll know, and at least, you’ve enjoyed the River.
“We think that there’s something essentially true about reality. You only have the illusion that you’re a separate self because it’s a point at which a network converges…it’s not nihilism- nothing is real, it’s that everything is empty of inherent quality, meaning non-essentialism.”
Episode 5, “Annihilation of Joy”
Another quote from the discussion about Buddhism and Hinduism between Clancy and Jason the Bird. It may sound trippy, but at the core, it essentially says that we do not really exist. Everything is empty of inherent quality.
When you observe more deeply, you’ll realize that we are just a bunch of atoms and particles magically combined together through the wonders of physics and biology. The universe literally grabbed a bunch of materials from itself and connect those materials together in such an ingenious way to create you – a being that is aware of itself and think that it is separate from the universe, from everything else, while in fact you are just a part of the universe. You are created from the materials of the universe and then experience the universe through your 5 senses. The universe is seeing itself through you.
But, if you’re the universe, then you don’t have inherent quality. The universe is uncaring. It doesn’t have any “quality”. It is simply the universe, existing, right there, in the grand scheme of thing. It is us humans that are trying to assign a “property” to the universe and interpret it in a way that is the most understandable to our feeble minds.
This realization is liberating. We are the universe and we are in control. We have the power to influence the world.
“Stop fighting it. Face the void. Just be here now.”
Episode 7, “Turtles of the Eclipse”
In this episode, the simulator finds Clancy a blank planet that is literally what it sounds like. It has no life nor means to support it. As soon as he makes contact with the surface, he sets up a waterpark. All that’s missing is the water. He remembers he keeps a hose in his bag but when he tries to reach for it, he slips into it.
He rummages through all of the items he’s collected through his life, only to discover an empty void. Hiding within it was death. Clancy and death engage in their own dialogue, discussing the western industrialization of death. Eventually obtaining his cherished water hose from the thief, he returns to Blankball planet and enjoys the best waterslide ride of his life.
It is a powerful reminder to surrender to the present moment and embrace the unknown. Let go of your resistance and fears, and instead, embrace the vastness of the universe. It is the unbounded, boundless space that exists within and around us. It is the source of all creation, where the mysteries of life and consciousness reside. By facing the void, we confront the unknown and embrace the mystery of life. We let go of our attachment to the past and the future and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the present moment. We surrender to the flow of life and trust in the universe to guide us.
“I may leave this plane of existence sooner rather than later, but the love isn’t going anywhere. I’m as certain of that as I am of anything.”
After all, only love remains. You may join the River of Life and flow until the very end of it all, but the love you left on this world will never go anywhere. Love transcends the physical realm. It is a force that extends beyond the physical body and into the realm of the spirit. Even though his Mother may no longer be present in the physical world with him, she knows that the love they have shared will continue to exist, and will be felt and experienced by those Clancy until the very last day he joined her at the end of the River.
Humans only live a finite life, but love will forever be continued on this Earth. The entire Midnight Gospel show revolves around this theme, and this quote could be seen as the culmination of every experience that Clancy has gone through. At the very end, it’s all about the love we gave.
“When We Set An Intention, Somehow The World Seems To Magically Come To Meet Us.”
This beautiful quote reminds us of the incredible power of intention and how it can shape our reality. When we set an intention, we are making a conscious choice to focus our energy and attention on a specific outcome or desire. This intention acts as a magnet, drawing in the resources, opportunities, and people that will help us bring our intention into reality.
In spiritual terms, intention is a powerful force that aligns our thoughts, emotions, and actions with the universe. By setting an intention, we are tapping into the infinite potential of the universe and inviting it to work in harmony with us. It is a reminder that we are not separate from the world around us, but rather, we are part of a greater whole, interconnected and supported by the universe.
When we set an intention, we are co-creating our reality with the universe, and the universe responds by bringing us what we need to manifest our intention. This is often experienced as synchronicities, chance meetings, and unexpected opportunities that seem to magically align with our intention.
In essence, this quote is a beautiful reminder that we are powerful co-creators of our reality, and that our intentions have the ability to shape the world around us. It invites us to focus our energy and attention on our desires and trust that the universe will respond in kind. By setting our intentions and aligning ourselves with the universe, we open ourselves up to infinite possibilities and invite the magic of the universe into our lives.
We want to go to this complete observer state until you get to the thing…awareness of awareness. That’s it. And then you become pure awareness, and the concept is that is what we really are, and that this entire material universe, including our body is a kind of phenomenological field of phenomena. And so the idea that I am alone, or the idea that I am an individual, is actually, interestingly enough, you’re already not.
We are more than just a body. We also have a mind. But we are more than just the body and the mind…because we can zoom out and observe our thoughts. We are aware that we are thinking. And then we are aware that we are aware that we are thinking. When meditating, we can reach a state of pure consciousness where one is completely aware of their own thoughts, emotions, and sensations, without being attached to them or identifying with them. That’s awareness of awareness that Clancy mentioned here.
This quote is fascinating in the sense that it reminds us that we are not an individual. We are pure awareness. Deep down we are just a bunch of atoms somehow came together in the form of a human. We are not different from a cat or a tree, which are also just a bunch tied together by physics.
Our state of existence is limited by our identification with our physical bodies and our perception of ourselves as separate individuals, while the ultimate reality is that we are all interconnected and part of a larger, unified consciousness. Michael A. Singer wrote a really interesting book on this topic: “The Untethered Soul”, which explores the question of who you truly are, and you should check it out if interested.
When the tornado comes whipping through your neighborhood and your house gets blown down and somehow you didn’t have insurance and you lose everything, you can’t control that. But you can certainly control how you’re gonna react to that situation.
When faced with such a catastrophic event, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. After all, a tornado is a force of nature that is completely beyond our control. From the perspective of Stoicism, we understand that the only thing we can truly control is our own response to the situation.
In the face of such adversity, it’s important to remember the virtues of courage, wisdom, and self-control. We must have the courage to face the situation head-on and accept the reality of what has happened. We must have the wisdom to see beyond the immediate crisis and focus on the long-term process of rebuilding and recovery. And we must exercise self-control over our emotions, recognizing that while it’s natural to feel grief, anger, or despair, we must not allow these emotions to control us.
By practicing these virtues, we can turn a devastating event like a tornado into an opportunity for growth and transformation. We can learn to appreciate the little things that truly matter in life, such as our health, our relationships, and our community, then develop resilience and fortitude in the face of adversity, knowing that we have the inner strength to face any challenge that comes our way.
If you can become aware of your reactivity, then you can respond to it more easily, rather than just repeat the reactions.
This is actually a profound quote that doesn’t get talked about much in Midnight Gospel communities. We are built from our habits, and our habits come primarily from our mindset and worldview.
Your reactivity tells so much about your inner world. If you receive so wildly to a negative stimuli, such as a criticism from your loved ones, and your inner world is not ready to accept it, you may manifest your unacceptance in the outside world in the form of anger.
Similarly, if you receive a positive stimuli, and your inner world loves that thing, you may react in a highly positive way. It’s a simple fact that we usually manifest our inner world in the external world. If you are calm and collected, you can manifest it by lower levels of reactivity. Usually we are so drawn into our reactions that we forgot to look inside and understand what is really causing our reactions. We attribute the cause to the source of stimuli, while in fact it’s all inside us.
Our reactivity can be a double-edged sword. Constantly interacting and reacting to external stimuli is draining, and if too many situations are thrown at you and you have to react to them, you’ll definitely feel exhausted. By becoming aware of our habitual reactions to certain stimuli, we can gain greater control over our behavior and respond to situations in a more intentional and thoughtful manner.
we can start to break free from these automatic patterns of behavior. This requires a certain level of mindfulness, or the ability to observe our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without judgment. By practicing mindfulness, we can become more attuned to our habitual reactions and start to see them more objectively.
Once we become aware of our reactivity, we can start to respond to situations in a more intentional and deliberate way. This might involve taking a moment to pause and reflect before reacting, or choosing a different course of action that aligns with our values and goals. Over time, these intentional responses can become new habits, replacing our old patterns of reactivity.
‘Cause all of that is just…stuff that you’ve learned throughout your life…because of the family you were born in and the situations you had, the circumstances you were in and your natural proclivities.
We are influenced by the family we were born into, the situations we encounter, and our innate predispositions. These experiences shape our beliefs, values, and behaviors, often without us even realizing it.
Our personal interpretation of the world is not necessarily an absolute truth but rather a product of our conditioning. Examine your conditioning and programming and question the beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve us. We all have the power to change and evolve, even in the face of our conditioning, and that we are not defined by our past experiences.
“Wake up. It’s just a game. You’re fucking grinding in World of Warcraft. You’re trying all these spiritual practices, you’re trying to add experience points to a character that doesn’t fucking exist. You forgot that you’re playing a game. You’re dehydrated. Drink some water.”
This quote is referring to the danger of becoming too caught up in spiritual practices for the sake of achieving a certain goal or accumulating “points” rather than truly embodying the principles and values that these practices are meant to cultivate.
The comparison to playing World of Warcraft is used to illustrate the idea that many people approach spiritual practices as a kind of game, where the goal is to accumulate experience points and advance to higher levels. This mentality can lead to a kind of spiritual materialism, where the pursuit of enlightenment or spiritual growth becomes just another form of ego-driven striving.
The Buddhist perspective, as described in the quote, is to remind us that we are playing a game, and that the ultimate goal is not to accumulate points or achieve some external goal, but rather to awaken to the reality of our true nature. This awakening can only happen when we step back from our ego-driven pursuits and recognize that the spiritual path is not a game, but a journey towards greater awareness and understanding.
By becoming too focused on the external trappings of spiritual practice, such as accumulating knowledge, performing rituals, or achieving a certain level of enlightenment, we risk losing sight of the true purpose of these practices. Instead, we must cultivate a sense of mindfulness and presence, recognizing that our true nature is already present and that the spiritual path is simply a means of uncovering it.
Ultimately, the quote is a reminder to approach spiritual practices with a sense of humility and openness, rather than as a means of achieving some external goal or proving our spiritual worth. By recognizing the true nature of the game we are playing, we can approach our spiritual path with a greater sense of authenticity and purpose, and truly embody the principles and values that we seek to cultivate.
“You can’t die in a sim prison. You can only be reborn.”
This is basically the concept of reincarnation simplified. We are trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth until we achieve spiritual liberation or enlightenment i.e. escaping the sim prison. We are just like Bob. We are human beings with flaws, and we have to learn and learn and learn until we realize that our actions are potentially damaging to others, and to ourselves.
In this sense, the physical world is seen as a kind of prison for our souls, and each lifetime is seen as a new opportunity to break free from the cycle of birth and death. The circumstances of each lifetime, including our physical bodies, our environment, and the people we encounter, are seen as opportunities for us to learn and grow spiritually.
The goal of reincarnation, then, is to achieve a state of spiritual liberation, where we are no longer bound by the physical world and can instead exist in a state of pure consciousness. This state of spiritual liberation is often described as the ultimate goal of human existence and is seen as the key to transcending the cycle of birth and death.
From this perspective, reincarnation is not seen as a punishment or a curse, but rather as a means of spiritual growth and evolution. It is a reminder that we are more than just our physical bodies, and that our souls are capable of transcending the limitations of the physical world.
Ultimately, the concept of reincarnation invites us to see ourselves as spiritual beings on a journey of growth and evolution, and encourages us to embrace the opportunities presented to us in each lifetime in order to achieve a state of spiritual liberation.
“But also, you know, if you look at the world, what you see is things appearing and disappearing, and humans are a part of the whole of that, and humans appear and they disappear. You know, our egos personalize it and we consider ourselves special cases.”
have a natural tendency to crave stability and predictability in our lives. We seek comfort in the familiar and can become attached to people, things, and experiences that bring us joy and happiness.
When we are faced with the reality of impermanence, it can be unsettling and disorienting. It can challenge our sense of security and leave us feeling uncertain about the future. We may resist accepting impermanence because it requires us to confront the reality of change and the possibility of loss.
Our ego, which is the part of us that identifies with our individual sense of self and identity, often struggles with the reality of our mortality. The idea that we will eventually die can be frightening and unsettling, and our ego may try to find ways to cope with this reality.
Our ego copes with the reality of death is by seeking to leave a legacy or lasting impact. We may strive to achieve great things, accumulate wealth or possessions, or establish ourselves as important figures in our communities. By doing so, we hope to leave a mark on the world that will outlive us and give us a sense of significance and immortality.
Little did the ego know, one day, it will never be mentioned again. One day, it will fall into complete oblivion, just like how the cavemen that used to exist millions of years ago did.
Meditation is the preparation for the ultimate departure. It gave us a chance to observe our thoughts, observe how it arises and subsides, and gradually let go of our attachments.
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