Writing
9 postsReflections on secular Buddhism, mindfulness, and where practice meets everyday life, technology, and politics.
I have also spent more than a decade as a freelance journalist, and you can find some of those select works here.
The flaw of attraction
I recently wrote about how my journey into the mindfulness world re-exposed me to the racist grifters using mindfulness as a cash cow, and today I want to look at another sad reality I keep finding in the mindfulness …
Why Buddhism is a call to organize
This weekend at my local Buddhist temple, the practitioner leading the meditation and intro to Buddhism told the story of the Buddha and mustard seeds, which coincidently, I had read about the night before in Mingyur …
Sam Harris is wrong about Palestine
Not to write yet another post about Sam Harris, for whom I just recently questioned his acceptance in the mindfulness community, I have to address his recently updated blog claiming that he will not debate anyone on the …
Is the dharma nonpartisan?
I highly respect Jack Kornfield and his work, his writings, his teachings, you name it. I don’t think it’s often I disagree with him, and perhaps I don’t, but after reading one of his blogs on Lion’s Roar, I wanted to …
What is rebirth to the skeptic?
As an atheist falling into Buddhist practice, I’m faced with many of the same questions and beliefs shared by most Buddhist schools of thought, and none is more persistent than the belief in rebirth. The academic …
My first half-day meditation retreat
This past weekend, I attended my first half-day silent meditation retreat. I am not really interested in weeklong retreats, which I think in too many cases are western-centric money grabs (that’s a broad stroke, I …
Buddhism gave me ground when I needed it most
I have spent the better part of my life as an atheist, and, to be honest, I remain one. When I use the term atheist, I use it in an agnostic sense: I don’t know for a fact that there is no god, but the evidence I have …
Sam Harris and the mindfulness of hate
Sam Harris is a grifter. There is no other way to put it, even if that is a tough way to start a blog. For the last decade or so, Harris has moved away from his firebrand atheism to selling his mindfulness platform and …
My journey towards mindfulness
I am reading some books right now well out of my normal genre. I think if people who knew me saw my bookshelf right now, they’d think I’d lost my mind. In the past week, I have purchased, The Joy of Living, Confessions …