Spirituality

We are genetically designed for selfish altruism. Our minds, at times, distort this genetic principle, and we begin not only to behave as "one for one" but also to expect "all for one" (in other words, me). Such tampering destroys the matrix of mutuality, the very ground of existence. Read More

George Gurdjieff, the inscrutable Armenian mystic of early last century, insisted that we humans are constantly bearing false witness against ourselves, by glibly using the pronoun "I" to refer to who we are. Rather, he pointed out that careful scrutiny would reveal that this presumably singular person we call "I" is in fact a constantly changing persona simply sharing the same name.   Read More

In the Buddhist wisdom traditions there is a teaching about the three poisons --- craving, aggression and ignorance. These three poisons are associated with three objects -- people, places and circumstances. These poisons and objects then lead us to the three virtues --- non-attachment, tolerance and acceptance. All of this provides a context within which we might develop true compassion, for both ourselves and others.

  Read More

The serenity prayer is more than how they close AA meetings. That thing is deep and speaks to the fundamentals of the human condition, including everything that drives psychology and the behavioral sciences in general--the pursuit of wisdom whereby we can make better decisions, trekking the winding mountain ridge of life in the dark about the future without sliding down the slippery slopes on either side of the ridge top. Here are some new variations on that greatest of prayers. Read More

I’ve been reading Kevin Roose’s The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University, which makes for both irritating and fascinating reading. It’s the story of a semester the author spent at ultra-conservative Liberty University as a (temporary) transfer student from ultra-liberal Brown, with the aim of getting the insider’s view of what fundamentalist Christianity is all about. Read More

This chapter is both far from new while also one that's new everyday. Every morning I have the privilege of beginning another day in recovery.

My name is Adia and I am recovering from bulimia, bulimarexia, overeating, overexercising - in essence, a dysfunctional relationship with food and my weight. Here are the cliff notes and a few questions I've been asked before: Read More

 How do you deal with the big questions "Who am I?", "What's it all about?", "What am I doing and why?". In my book Ten Zen Questions I describe my own attempts - here we begin the journey with how I set about asking the questions. Read More

Some people would take offense at the idea that religion is play. Religion, they would say, is sacred, and play is trivial. How can the one be lumped with the other? But regular readers of this blog know that I regard play as the highest form of human activity, so I am not demeaning religion when I describe it as play. ...  I have two main points to make in this essay. The first is that all of religion has its roots in play. ...  The second point is that religion functions best when it does not stray too far from its playful origins. Religion that has lost its playfulness can be dangerous. Read More