The problems of racism, sexism, and environmental degradation existed before we were born. They will persist after we die. I’ve never heard anyone say about racism that they’d like to help but individual action won’t solve it so they might as well keep doing racist things, that only governments and corporations can solve it so they shouldn’t try, or that if we don’t keep pursuing on racist paths we might[…] Keep reading →

Meditation instructors often talk about thoughts arising and passing away in consciousness, as if they just come out of nowhere and go to nowhere. I’ve found otherwise. No part of your mind is superfluous. The human brain uses up too much energy for evolution to allow unnecessary parts to persist. Each part does something that helped your ancestors survive and pass their genes on to you. For example, some part[…] Keep reading →

Regular readers know one of my sidchas is meditating, which I’ve done for over a decade and regularly for years. I’ve posted about it lately. I’ve used a few different techniques over the years. Sometimes I use koans. One is Who am I? sometimes What am I? I also often examine consciousness, which is oddly both all of what we experience and slippery to get a hold of. Asking who[…] Keep reading →

Different people define middle age differently, but having just turned 51 I think I’m in it by all definitions. Physical My first sense of my body physically declining came in my early thirties, when my potential to compete in ultimate began to decline. Before then, I always felt motivation to practice since I knew the next year my potential would be higher. After then, no matter how much I practiced,[…] Keep reading →

How about a change of tone from my usual? Do you ever think about what consciousness is? Or why there’s something, as in the whole universe, rather than nothing? I don’t mean in some trippy way, or superficial like college freshmen talking about philosophy in the dorm hallway. These two questions, in various forms, have interested people since before history, but as best I can tell, no one has made[…] Keep reading →

We tend to think we live in the most free, healthiest, longest-living, most egalitarian, most stable culture humans have ever had. In some cases, yes, but in others, it turns out otherwise. It seems we project onto other times and cultures what will make us feel better about our own. I like feeling good about myself, but an inaccurate view keeps me from improving my situation. I want to understand[…] Keep reading →

I’ve noticed a trend in addiction. I wonder if anyone out there is an expert or knows. I tried looking up the pattern, but didn’t find anything. Have you heard of the pattern? The pattern Every addiction involves a pleasure. Gambling makes some people feel like a winner. Alcohol makes some people feel social. Social media makes you feel connected. Sugar tastes sweet. Heroin makes you feel euphoria. Each pleasure[…] Keep reading →