Melbourne, Australia
More sincere than serious.
Alon Lior writes about inner sovereignty, suffering, compassion, creativity and the difficult work of becoming more fully human.
Philosophy
Lived, not ornamental
Music
Piano & composition
Teaching
Person first
You vs You
The current book
About Alon
Alon Lior is a Melbourne-based composer, philosopher, writer, educator and pianist. His work moves between psychology, philosophy, mysticism, ethics, social criticism and lived experience, asking not only what human beings believe, but what our deepest convictions become when they are inhabited as ways of life.
Although his work confronts suffering, shame, power and the urgency of transformation, it does not regard self-hatred as a path to wisdom. Alon writes toward a form of inner sovereignty grounded in safety, truth, love, creativity and service to a world of which none of us stands apart.
His work is marked by an unusual conjunction of sensitivity and analysis - an intense form of observation, pattern recognition and foresight: a persistent attempt to sense what present conditions are becoming. Although his writing addresses serious questions, Alon describes himself as far more sincere than he will ever be serious. Humour and music are not escapes from philosophy; they are among the ways he understands and participates in life.
BA in psychology & philosophy (High Distinction average); diplomas in coaching, counselling and music.
Composer and improvising pianist shaped by Bach, Monk, Mingus, Hendrix, Avishai Cohen.
Drawn to Socrates, Spinoza, Kierkegaard, Buber, Frankl, Fromm - and the mystical insight of Rumi.
Concerned with service and contribution more than fame, status or recognition.
Draws upon Western philosophy, psychodynamic thought, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism.
Played soccer at a high level as a midfielder; devoted to the intelligence, improvisation and collective movement of games.
Completed a yoga teacher training course and is a certified yoga teacher.
Alon writes for people who are struggling, striving and attempting to find an honest way through the immense procession of human life.
"Transformation does not begin when we declare war upon ourselves. It begins when we become safe enough to see ourselves clearly and loving enough to act upon what we find."
Alon Lior - You vs You
"If you treat another individual - any individual - humanely, they will eventually become human or human-like since we reflect to the world what we receive from it."
Alon's Mother
My Objection To Renee Descartes:
That he assumed too much with: I think therefofe I am.
That the only fitting thing an individual can reflect to themselves and others to begin with prior to discourse is this and not what Descartes meditated:
Senses and thoughts present (or detetected).
"This is the beginning of recognising our most fundamental capacity rather than assuming there is an "I" in the first place. This leads to the capacity to true self-reflection and later only down the track, as the child develops into youth and adthood, pure, unadulterated discourse of the philosophical kind,is made possible."
Alon Lior - On Descartes
The Current Book
A philosophical and psychological inquiry into the forces within us that resist our own flourishing - and an invitation to meet those forces with honesty, understanding and sufficient compassion to change.
The book does not ask readers to defeat, optimise or mercilessly discipline themselves. Its movement is more humane: from safety into truth, from truth into love, and from love into creation and transcendence.
Podcast Interview
Alon is available for thoughtful conversations, interviews and talks concerning inner sovereignty, philosophy as lived practice, compassion, creativity, music and the human condition.
Featured episode
A conversation on safety, truth, love - and why transformation is not a war.
Topics include inner sovereignty, compassion, psychological survival, improvisation and music, and philosophy that can be inhabited.
Press Release
Announcement | Melbourne
A philosophical and psychological inquiry into the forces within us that resist our own flourishing - moving from safety into truth, from truth into love, and from love into creation.
Full release on requestShort biography
Alon Lior is a Melbourne-based composer, philosopher, writer, educator and pianist. Drawing upon psychology, Western philosophy, psychodynamic thought and Eastern contemplative traditions, he writes about inner sovereignty, compassion, suffering, creativity and the difficult work of becoming more fully human. He is the author of You vs You: The Battle for True Sovereignty and describes himself as far more sincere than he will ever be serious.
Approved for listingsCompact biography
"Alon Lior is a Melbourne composer, philosopher, writer and educator exploring inner sovereignty, human suffering, compassion, creativity and the possibility of a more humane world."
Tagline - Composer. Philosopher. Writer.
More sincere than serious.
Audiobook
For Alon, the voice - like the piano - is another way of investigating relation, tension, timing and coherence. The audiobook edition of You vs You is in preparation, bringing the book's movement from safety into truth, love and creation to listeners.
You vs You
Audiobook | In preparation
Blogs | The Journal
Writing on sovereignty, grief, creativity and the human condition - offered slowly rather than all at once.
Inner Sovereignty
Why honest self-confrontation begins not with war upon ourselves, but with becoming safe enough to see clearly.
Read essayGrief & Movement
How unacknowledged loss becomes inertia, repetition and social hardness - and how grief may restore movement.
Read essayMusic & Improvisation
What jazz, groove and improvisation reveal about freedom, timing and the possibility of coherence.
Read essayUpcoming Books
Beyond You vs You, Alon is developing work that differs in form but shares one concern: how might intelligence, creativity and compassion be placed in the service of life?
In development
A contemporary, accessible engagement with the Tao Te Ching, centred on cultivating one's path through suppleness and surrender amid life's inevitable challenges - Taoism as a practical invitation into receptivity, humility and responsive living.
In development
An argument that philosophy belongs to everyone because consideration is already part of being human - the capacity to examine what moves us, resist being thought for and participate more consciously in the shaping of a life.
In development
An inquiry into the personal and collective consequences of refusing to grieve - how unacknowledged loss becomes inertia, repetition and social hardness - and how grief may restore movement.
In development
A philosophical and psychological challenge to the fantasy that human beings are self-contained. Drawing on attachment, interdependence and relational thought, it argues that we are formed through the world and therefore bear responsibility within it.
Ideas & Projects
Beyond the current book, Alon is developing work across philosophy, music, speculative ontology, digital wellbeing and civic imagination. These projects differ in form but share one central concern.
Speculative ontology | Evolving inquiry
An evolving speculative framework exploring vibration, relation, coherence, form, time, consciousness and compassion. It proposes that existence may be understood not as a collection of isolated objects, but as dynamically interacting states whose capacities to affect and be affected give rise to atmosphere, form and continuity.
AVFT remains a developing philosophical ontology rather than an established scientific theory - presented openly as an inquiry.
Digital wellbeing | In development
A digital platform concept in development with two connected aims: to create a social environment in which people are encouraged to appear more authentically, without the demand for constant self-curation; and to help individuals find forms of care suited to their needs - psychological, physical, relational and spiritual.
The guiding concern is simple: people should feel less condemned for being human, and more able to find trustworthy assistance when they need it.
Civic imagination | Longer-range vision
A longer-range civic ambition: to explore how Australia might use its extraordinary natural resources not merely for national prosperity, but to become a powerful force for ecological responsibility, distributed energy security and regional good.
Presently a civic vision rather than an operating initiative.
Music
Music is not secondary to Alon's philosophical work. It is another way of investigating relation, tension, freedom, timing and the possibility of coherence. As a pianist and composer, he is drawn especially to jazz, improvisation, groove and forms that allow disciplined structure to remain alive to surprise.
His major influences include Bach, Pink Floyd, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Jimi Hendrix, Avishai Cohen and Charlie Hunter - together reflecting the qualities he values most in music: architecture and rupture, intensity and restraint, originality, touch, movement and play.
Selected recordings & performances - coming to this page
Bach
Architecture
Pink Floyd
Atmosphere
Thelonious Monk
Rupture
Charles Mingus
Intensity
Jimi Hendrix
Freedom
Avishai Cohen
Movement
Teaching & Speaking
Alon teaches philosophy, piano and soccer through close observation and a strong respect for the learner's present capacities. He does not begin from a generic program imposed upon everyone - he begins by understanding the person, how they learn, where they are restricted and what form of practice may help them move.
Philosophy is not merely a subject one studies. It is something we speak, think and embody. His teaching makes difficult ideas accessible while inviting students to test them against lived experience.
Attentive listening, touch, technique, jazz and improvisation - noticing how a student hears, moves, hesitates and expresses, then offering precise guidance that enlarges rather than replaces their musical personality.
Having played at a high level as a midfielder, Alon teaches technique, form, decision-making and the intelligence of the game - organised around an individual mid- to long-term plan suited to the player's abilities and ambitions.
Alon is available for thoughtful conversations, interviews and talks concerning inner sovereignty, philosophy as lived practice, compassion, psychological survival, creativity, music and the human condition. His strength lies in listening closely, identifying the underlying question and speaking to it in plain language without reducing its complexity.
Enquire about a talkContact
For publishing, media, speaking, teaching, music and considered collaboration enquiries. Include the nature of the enquiry, relevant dates and the best way to respond.
