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Tag Archives: meditation
Three Things I Think Are True
At this point in my life, I think there are three things that are true–the first one being rather obvious: I am a limited being, embedded in the system I’m trying to explain. This means I cannot be wholly confident that … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, Buddhism, God, life, meditation, now, philosophy, psychology, truth
2 Comments
Practicing Angry
Hmm.
Your Genes Made You Do (Half) Of It
Relax a bit. Much less than we probably imagine is really under our control. Note this quote, for instance, from two psychologists recently summarizing at Slate some findings on genes vs. environment: “Genes influence not only our abilities, but the environments we … Continue reading
Are Fussy Egg Handlers Rational?
Are you a fussy egg handler, quickly washing your hands after touching raw eggs and never, never licking batter from a spoon or bowl if a raw egg has been mixed with it (for fear of salmonella)? In terms of … Continue reading
Love Your Hippocampus, Don’t Eat It
This should motivate you to manage your stress better. In The New York Times this past weekend was the following on hippocampus research: Peter Gianaros, a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh, […] found that, among a group of 48 … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddhism, exercise, fitness, health, hippocampus, meditation, psychology, stress
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A Good Reason For Meditators To Exercise A Lot (And Not Just Sit On Their Asses)
Want to be a calm Buddha with a highly attentive and awake “diamond mind?” New research suggests that maybe you should get out from under that Bodhi tree you’re sitting under and put on some running shoes instead, for exercise, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anxiety, Buddha, Buddhism, depression, exercise, health, meditation, therapy, yoga
1 Comment
Alan Watts Sings
Sort of.
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Tagged alan watts, Buddhism, meditation, no self, philosophy, the self
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What’s the Point of Having a Buddhist Meditation Practice?
Is the goal of the Buddhist meditator the same as the scientist (the breaking of spells and the dispelling of ignorance)? Ron Liefer, psychiatrist and Buddhist meditator, in his book The Happiness Project (Snow Lion 1997), writes the following (14): … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged acceptance, atheism, Buddha, Buddhism, meditation, psychology, science, therapy
2 Comments
An Atheist Speaks From The Heart About Aging
Try not to cry. __________ One of Maurice Sendak’s books is here.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aging, atheism, atheist, death, fitness, friends, life, love, meditation, yoga
2 Comments
Coffin Therapy?
I’m down with this. __________ More on coffin therapy here. Carpe diem.
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Tagged carpe diem, coffin therapy, death, life, love, meditation, poetry, yoga
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A Good Shakespeare Quote for Meditating on Death
Hamlet speaking in Act V, scene ii of Hamlet: If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all.
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Tagged critical thinking, death, life, meditation, Shakespeare, yoga
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If You’re Angry, And Words Fail
Don’t shoot! Try gesture: . Or, how about this? (Buddhist equanimity.) . The above painting is from a Laotian monastery. It’s an image of the Buddha leading monks through a treacherous path. He is silent and calm, walking through … Continue reading
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Tagged anger, Buddha, Buddhism, grace, Hinduism, life, light, love, meditation, revenge, truth, yoga
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Two Paths to Self-Control: The Buddha and Jesus vs. Ulysses and Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor
Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology at Duke University, has an interesting recent blog post on self-control, which he frames as a dual dilemma: should we intensively train ourselves to be serene Buddhas, indifferent in the presence of immediate pleasures that might undermine our larger … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddha, crucifixion, Jesus, life, meditation, psychology, sailing, self control, sin, sirens, temptation, Ulysses
1 Comment
Are You Sitting Down?
Maybe you shouldn’t be. The below chart was at Andrew Sullivan’s blog this morning, but I don’t know how accurate it is. It claims that long hours of sitting is deadly. Intuitively, this seems plausible. The information—if it is information and not, … Continue reading
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Tagged death, disease, exercise, fitness, health, life, meditation, running, sitting, spring, walking, yoga
4 Comments
Neurons That Fire Together Wire Together: The New York Times Says 8 Weeks of Meditation, 30 Minutes a Day, May Change the Brain
More study is needed (obviously), but the New York Times, in its Health section, has a startling article on meditation’s apparent ability to literally change how the brain wires itself up, and that after only 8 weeks of very modest (30 minutes a day) meditation … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddhism, fitness, Hinduism, meditation, neurons, neuroscience, psychology, quantum physics, the brain, vipassana, yoga
16 Comments
Change Your Mind, Change Your Brain?
This was in the Los Angeles Times this past month: For the Trappist monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux, life follows a pattern centuries old. They spend their days in the field and their nights in silence. They gather in prayer … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddha, Buddhism, Christianity, discipline, habits, hypnosis, Jesus, meditation, prayer, religion, Sartre, zig ziglar
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Talking about Love Some More
It seems to me that George Harrison’s song, “Within You, Without You,” says a lot of true things in a short space. Here are the lyrics: We were talking about the space between us all, and the people who hide … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddhism, dialogue, george harrison, Hinduism, Jesus, life, love, meditation, muhammad, talking, yoga
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A Swami for a Sunday
Swami Satchidananda is my all-time favorite Hindu guru. His name consists of a combination of three terms that, taken together, sum up rather nicely the Hindu spiritual quest: that which is (sat); that which is consciousness (chid); that which is bliss (ananda). … Continue reading
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Tagged Bhagavad Gita, death, flow, gurus, Hinduism, life, meditation, philosophy, Swami Satchidananda, yoga
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The Tortoise Shell, the Umbrella, and Hindu Meditation
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna (Barbara Miller’s translation, pt. 2 stanzas 55-58): When he [the yogi] gives up desires in his mind, is content with the self within himself, then he is said to be a man whose insight … Continue reading
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Tagged Arjuna, aversion, Bhagavad Gita, Buddhism, desire, freedom, happiness, Hinduism, krishna, meditation, vipassana, yoga
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Prometheus Unbound 