Today, I had to take the train, but the frakking train didn't come. I waited on the platform, feigning casualness as minutes passed, each one drawing me closer to missing my appointment. I … [Read more...]
How to attack anxiety with a chainsaw
I was laying down on the couch, brooding on my precarious financial situation, worrying about paying the taxes, worrying about the job market screwing me over again. The phone rang, I didn't pick … [Read more...]
3 meditation keys that work in daily life
The more I spend time meditating, the more it impacts my "regular" life: whether I'm squished in the subway on peak hour or on the phone trying to cancel a phone plan with a virtual assistant I see … [Read more...]
Emotional self-reliance
"If OK, then OK. If not OK, then OK anyway!" - An Indian man I met in the bus. That was a while ago. I had been working full time with a respected Buddhist teacher for two years and didn't notice any … [Read more...]
If it doesn’t hurt, watch out.
There's a very rare disease that fascinates me, it's called Congenital insensitivity to pain. CIP prevents you from feeling physical pain. You don't want to be born with that genetic … [Read more...]
The Inconvenient Feeling of Empathy
I saw an execution video a few months ago. Rebels from somewhere in the Middle-East had caught a dude from the enemy's side. They laid him on the floor, bound his hands and feet, then they machine … [Read more...]
How to be miserable all your life
Success can mean very different things, depending on your upbringing. In the US, success seems to be gauged on how much difference you make, whether by building schools in Bangladesh or … [Read more...]
The Buddha and the bath water
Every religion is a mash-up of wisdom and utter nonsense, and Buddhism is no exception. While the Buddha's core message is timeless and forever up to date, it often comes wrapped in a variety of … [Read more...]
The meditation scam
Most of us started meditating for the wrong reasons, and fortunately, we missed our goals. We wanted to levitate and read into people's mind like an indian yogi, so we spent hours on a cushion, … [Read more...]
Interview with an Alien
I didn't expect that. The Alien messenger didn't look like a reptile or a heap of slime with a red bulging eye, as a matter of fact, he was disguised as a black UPS delivery guy. Not a bad choice … [Read more...]