"The power of positive thinking" is a phrase that probably makes you cringe when you hear it. It sounds Pollyannaish and naïve -- like those well-meaning clichés one sees printed on motivational posters hanging in the waiting...
Yesterday morning, President Obama released his long-form birth certificate to the public, in order to prove that he was indeed born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. It was a response to demands that he release the document by the...
Today's launch of Book Country, a site by Penguin, one of the older and more distinguished publishers around, generated a bit of talk, in Publishers Weekly and general media as well.
"Before fighting the Mafia you must first examine your own conscience, and then, after you have defeated the Mafia inside yourself, you can fight the Mafia that's in your circle of friends. We ourselves and our mistaken way of...
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After the Earth Day Party this weekend, IDP co-hosted the great Vajrayana teacher Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche at the Tibet House in New York City.
It was recently reported that the members of the Committee on Bible Translation have produced a revised version of the King James Bible that refers to Mary as a “young woman” rather than a “virgin”.
From an MSNBC...
Happy Pastel Eggs & Bunnies Day! Although I’ve never considered myself a Christian, growing up in the Bible Belt kind of means you’re Christian by default. Jesus is all around you, especially on days like today. To some extent,...
Photo of me and my mother in 1997.
My mother died in 2002, at the beginning of summer after my first year of graduate school. One of the most formative experiences of my life occurred at the Catholic church where part of the funeral...
Last week my response to "The Color of the Sky", a guest post to the IDP BLOG by Andy Karr (posted in his name by Patrick Groneman) was strong and emotional, so much so that I decided not to post it in the comments section. My...
The New York Times recently ran an article about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visiting Manhattan. There was Mr. Shankar in flowing robe, with orange shawl, strolling in Times Square looking like, well, a Buddhist, but in that often lampooned way. And I...
I just read this article in Science Fair about how meditation can make one a more rational decision maker. Since my practice has been a bit shaky this week, reading this makes me want to sit RIGHT NOW. Yes I agree, I do feel calmer and more...
I feel incredibly grateful.There's a lojong slogan, “be grateful to everyone,” which Pema Chödrön taught us, “means all situations teach you, and it's often the tough ones that teach you the best.” All the...
This weekend I visited Portland and had a blast with some new friends. We saw some bands, drank a lot of coffee, ate burritos and munched on greens that were growing in people’s front yards. We also looked at a lot of very affordably priced...
This week, HBO's documentary "Gun Fight" looks at both sides of the gun control issue: Gun control reduces shootings. Gun control gives guns to criminals. It's quite a controversy, just like the argument that vaccines cause...
One of the most profound insights my Buddhist practice has given me is space between my emotions and their meaning. For years I had approached my feelings as a gateway into the truth of reality. When I was up, the world was a magical, profound...
My default position is feeling overextended and like I just don’t have enough time. It’s a state that I easily gravitate to despite many years of practicing and supposedly “knowing better.”
Many people operate...
It's perhaps the simplest and most obvious of all the Buddhist teachings: everything is impermanent; everything will change. Try as we might, its impossible to ignore it. Today’s heartbreaking reminder is the devastation in North...
A number of articles have appeared here on IDP, in recent months, on the topic of Mindfulness of Body. Last month, Kate Johnson published a thoughtful piece called "Mindfulness of Bodies." A little further back, in November, I published...
I recently took a yoga class with an instructor who spoke during class about how, once on a spiritual path, one will eventually not desire to listen to pop music or go to bars or hang out with people who aren't on a similar path. Though I...
