For this early 20th century French poet-philosopher, life, in its most
dynamic sense, can only be experienced after the facade of self-identity
has been systematically negated through a kind of metaphysical suicide.
In Le Contre-Ciel, Daumal invites us, his readers, to go through this
process of regeneration-through-negation with him in order to revive in
ourselves a knowledge and understanding of our primordial sources.