Category Archives: Mindfulness
A Farewell, and an Invitation
This is my final post to the Engaged Mindfulness blog. Nearly a year and a half has transpired since I wrote the two most recent entries, “What now?” and “What now? (part 2)”. These essays both grappled with how those … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Current Events, Mindfulness, Politics, Society
Tagged Buddhism, liberalism, politics, society, The Liberal Buddhist
2 Comments
What Now? (part 2)
In my last post, written in the week immediately following Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, I suggested two practices that might be of value during the troubling times to come – be more continuously mindful, and become more effectively engaged. For the past … Continue reading
What now?
In my last post, I argued that candidate Donald Trump was unfit to be president of the United States for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which were his manifest shortcomings in two of the most essential Buddhist … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Mindfulness, Politics
Tagged Andrew Olendzki, Buddhism, Donald Trump, mindfulness, politics
9 Comments
An anniversary post, and a political plea
Today, the Engaged Mindfulness blog turns five years old. In preparation for this fifth-anniversary milestone, I recently scrolled back to my first post, “The Paradox of ‘Engaged Mindfulness’”, published on October 18th, 2011. As I re-read it, I was struck by two … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Mindfulness, Politics
Tagged Buddhism, Donald Trump, election 2016, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, mindfulness, politics, Thich Nhat Hahn
9 Comments
Book Review: After Buddhism, by Stephen Batchelor
With his latest book, After Buddhism, renowned scholar Stephen Batchelor continues to expand his vision for a “secular Buddhism”, a project he began nearly twenty years ago in his 1997 book Buddhism Without Beliefs. In that groundbreaking book, he sounded … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Buddhism, Mindfulness
Tagged books, Buddhism, mindfulness, Stephen Batchelor
4 Comments
2015 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it … Continue reading
Posted in Mindfulness
Leave a comment
In praise of “slow thinking”
A while ago, I wrote a post reflecting on Daniel Kahneman’s extraordinary book Thinking Fast and Slow. And just a few days ago, my friend and teacher James Flaherty, the founder of New Ventures West, published his own comments on this book in the … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Effectiveness, Mindfulness
Tagged books, Daniel Kahneman, mindfulness, psychology, self-awareness
Leave a comment
Book Review: Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, by Stephen Batchelor
This self-styled “confession” by Stephen Batchelor succeeds brilliantly in three distinct literary genres. First and foremost, it’s an articulate and passionate exposition of Buddhism from this gifted, world-renowned scholar and teacher. Second, it’s a poignant memoir of a lifetime’s journey … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Buddhism, Mindfulness
Tagged books, Buddhism, mindfulness, Stephen Batchelor
1 Comment
So Far (1) – To Take or Not to Take?
Having recently observed my 65th birthday, I’ve been rather surprised at how often of late I find myself thinking about my past. Perhaps there’s some sort of life-review process that gets activated with the passage across this iconic birthdate, upon which one officially becomes a “senior … Continue reading
Our Divided Minds – Part 2
My last post explored the eminent social psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s description of our minds as divided into two separate but cooperating functional units, to which he gave the simple names “System 1” and “System 2”. Now, in this continuation post, we’ll move on to … Continue reading
Engaged Mindfulness 