Archive for May, 2009
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
O-Bansho at Green Gulch
O-Bansho at Green Gulch Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Awakened Exemplar
Awakened Exemplar Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Cookie Monster as Interrogator
Josh Harkinson, over at Mother Jones, offers some analysis on how to break the toughest terrorists: From Time comes this account of FBI interrogator Ali Soufan’s successful attempt to win over Al-Qaeda operative Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured: He had no intention of cooperating [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Practical Buddhist Tips for Kate Moss and Other Newbies
Over at One City, Julia May Jonas offers Buddhism’s newest celebrity convert (as well as other newbies) some great advice. Kate Moss, I think this could be a good fit. And to welcome you into the fold, I thought I’d share some tips that might help with your first six months of study. Now I [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Redux: Authentic Communication
From Chapter 5 of AiTL: …words are the way we articulate mind, and the most profound spiritual experiences transcend the mind’s boundaries. This gap leaves the mind groping for signs and signifiers with which to communicate meaning. Words are what our minds create in order to participate in the arena of circumstance; in contrast, profound [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
An Appropriate Response to North Korea
Harvard’s Stephen M. Walt suggests an “unattached” approach to Pyongyang’s recent nuclear tests. … the best response is to remain calm, and stop talking as if this event is a test of Obama’s resolve or a fundamental challenge to U.S. policy. In fact, the tests are just “business as usual” for North Korea, and it [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics,Writing by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile218 – Accepting the Invitation
At a recent sitting, Michael offered up a poem from Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s book, The Invitation. This is the podcast of that evening. Several subjects were broached including how practice can get heavy the further along the Path we get, as well as how we might best deal spiritually with faltering economic situations. Rather than [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Got God on/in the Brain?
I’ve been out of town for a while so I’m late on this one. Still, it merits mentioning: …scientists from universities like Harvard, Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins are using new technologies to analyze the brains of people who claim they have touched the spiritual — from Christians who speak in tongues to Buddhist monks to [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, May 25th, 2009
Exploring
Exploring Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Walking Bliss
Walking Bliss Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Off to Carmel
I’ve always loved Carmel-by-the-Sea. Something obnoxiously quaint about it, like a real life version of some Thomas Kincaid painting. But underneath all the glitz is a cool little town with great people. The small, local bars have stories to tell. The sand on the beach is like powder. The town’s friendliness towards dogs speaks to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Got Boredom?
Tricycle suggests that boredom is a lack of attention. While this makes sense, I would submit that the root of a lack of attention is a mind that is avoiding what is present. Looking at boredom this way adds texture and greater accuracy to the “lack of attention” definition of boredom, since at any given [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Leaving to Find Home
I have always been taken with the final line of the Heart Sutra, where it says: Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha. Loosely translated these words tell us to “go, go, go beyond, go way beyond, awakening … YES!” Or “awakening … Yeah, Baby!” depending upon your preference. Put another way, “go deeper, go further [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile218 – Accepting the Invitation
At a recent sitting, Michael offered up a poem from Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s book, The Invitation. This is the podcast of that evening. Several subjects were broached including how practice can get heavy the further along the Path we get, as well as how we might best deal spiritually with faltering economic situations. Rather than [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Cushion Commanderring
Cushion Commanderring Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Attachment Alert: Pope Hates Hatred
Okay, given the context today’s New York Times article, this post’s title may be a bit off base. Still, clinging to the belief that we are somehow separate from God, or that God is outside and the “me” is inside, speaks to the most potent of all attachments. Clinging to our sense of separation gives [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Zen’s Cave of Satan
Yes, from the enlightened perspective, everything is recognized full, complete, and perfect, and yet there is infinite room for improvement. My teacher used to tell me that for any of us to fall into becoming a spiritual couch potato, or “Zen sickness,” as he called it, diminishes our realization. Clinging to non-clinging is still clinging. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Meditators have bigger brains, need bigger hats.
I’m seeing a market potential here: meditators may need to totally resupply their hat collections as their noggins increase in size. New research using MRI scans from UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging shows evidence that meditators have larger brains than a control group of non-meditators. The lead author of the journal article, Eileen Luders summarizes,“We [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Spiritual Practice Is Not About Happiness
In my experience it is a mistake to equate one’s spiritual path with the pursuit of happiness, as it were. Climbing the mountain of spirit is about becoming increasingly conscious rather than resting in eternal bliss. Mark Vernon writes about this topic in today’s Guardian. Equating Buddhism with happiness, to stay with that particular association, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Theory & Practice,Writing by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Andrew Cohen’s Rainbow
Despite our many differences, I rather like Andrew Cohen. I think his teachings are engaging critical part of the process of awakening. I also think that his most recent work on exploring awakening from a collective context is an critical move that traditions have either confused or missed entirely. As a result, I find that [...]
