Archive for March, 2009
Friday, March 13th, 2009
Nietzsche as Bodhisattva
“Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.” -from the Nietzsche Family Circus Or, as other bodhisattvas might just as easily say: certitude leads to war. Bows, The Daily Dish
1 Comment » - Posted in Fundamentalism,Photos by Michael McAlister
Friday, March 13th, 2009
Mindful Drinking?
NPR contributor, Ted Rose, offers up a very interesting piece on mindfulness and the consumption of alcohol. It’s well worth the read. Money quote: …once a meditator has developed basic Buddhist discipline (known as Hinayana training) and adopted the intention to dedicate his or her life to benefit others (the Mahayana view) the practitioner is [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in People,Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, March 13th, 2009
Buddhist Monk Says Twitter Can Lead to Happiness
According to Lama Marut, an ex-Venice Beach surfer and professor of Religious Studies at UC Riverside, Dharma tweets are sweet… With his account on Twitter, Lama Sumati Marut helps his followers stay mindful of how to be happy with his free daily “Dharma Twitters.” While the title of this piece overstates it, I’ve found Twitter [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
The Guardian of the Future
I’ve been wondering a lot recently how print media will survive in the years ahead. How, for instance, might newspapers integrate relevance, utility, and innovation as various circumstances pressure them into finding greater sales through lowest common denominator content. Of course the same applies for the Dharma. Anyway, it looks as if my smart and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics,Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
America’s Loss of Faith in Faith … And Everything Else
Nate Silver posts this interesting, and comprehensive, collection of data. I found his comments on religion particularly fascinating: Confidence in organized religion … fell significantly under Bush’s watch, although most of the decline came between 2000 and 2002, when the rating dropped from 29 percent to 19 percent. I’m not sure whether that was the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics,Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Growing Up Chopra
Last month, Gotham Chopra gave this fascinating account of growing up with Deepak as his father. Not a day goes by that someone I encounter doesn’t stop and ask me – “wait, your dad is DEEPAK CHOPRA?! Oh my God, what was it like to grow up with him as a father?!” Bows, Iggy Thoughts.
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
The Bridge Between the Idea of Enlightenment and Its Embodiment
Joan Sutherland writes about this bridge in this month’s Shambhala Sun: Many of us take for granted that we’re moving from one world into another as we leave the retreat center and head for home. Some of us believe that the truer practice, the one that will lead to enlightenment, is held in the monastery [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Redux: Nothing Personal
As we come off the Mountain of Spirit, we recognize how little about us needs to be defended. This is because we have begun to build lives out of our realization of Emptiness. This Emptiness is the Source of everything. This Source, once again, is totally still and gives birth to all that moves. It [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Go Beyond Faith, Then Go Beyond Thought
In yesterday’s guardian, writer Chris French offers up an interesting piece on the new rock ‘n roll: skepticism… In Britain we are in the early stages of one of these tipping points right now. It relates to something that until about 18 months ago was seen as an uncool minority interest, but suddenly seems to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, March 9th, 2009
A Rush of Anti-Morality
In a very thoughtful piece, Deepak Chopra offers some perspective on Rush Limbaugh’s style of communication and its impact on our perceptions of morality: Before the Eighties there were a handful of right-wing outlets on the air; now there are well over a thousand. They exist purely as steam vents. The common citizen gets to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism,People,Writing by Michael McAlister
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Mindfulness, Schmindfulness
Judith Warner has some interesting critique of mindfulness in today’s New York Times. As I was reading her words, it became apparent that she had made some significant missteps in her practice, leaving it largely ego-driven, escapist and out-of-balance. This is a common mistake that I see students make all the time, especially as they [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in People,Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, March 6th, 2009
Attachment Alert: Cooperation is Gay!
Jon Stewart’s ribbing of all the clinging that went on at CPAC: Bows, elephant journal.
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism,People,Politics,Video by Michael McAlister
Friday, March 6th, 2009
Attachment Alert: What to do if our money is also our food supply…
Clinging begets fear which begets more clinging; a nightmarish feedback-loop for so much of humanity. Here’s a hilarious example of Stephen Colbert “gently” pointing out Glenn Beck’s attachments surrounding potential future outcomes. All Hail the Doom Bunker! Bows, No Fact Zone.
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism,People,Video by Michael McAlister
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
The Fundamentalist Brain
So there may be a neurological link to fundamentalism afterall: Compared to non-believers, the religious participants showed significantly less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that helps modify behavior by signaling when attention and control are needed, usually as a result of some anxiety-producing event like making a mistake. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism,Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
There is nothing I shall want
Amy Wellborn writes of her grief in a beliefnet article: The Lord is my Shepherd. There is nothing I shall want. As I sat there listening and attempting to join my weak, unenthusiastic voice to the others, a question came to me. There is nothing I shall want. Really? I thought. Do I really believe [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Harvey Milk Day in California?
KRON 4: Sean Penn and Sen. Mark Leno (D-CA) Reintroduce Bill to Establish Harvey Milk Day in California. Bows, Rev. Danny Fisher
No Comments » - Posted in People by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Arun Gandhi on Individualism
Arun Gandhi asks the question: are we a nation of individuals… … in the United States, individualism is highly rated and independence is cherished with such zeal that one could conclude that the United States is a nation of individuals, each striving to reach his or her own goals by any means possible. I believe [...]
