There are black people who hate white people, there are white people who hate black people, and both got their hatred through the same mechanisms: biology and culture—no one has free will. No one is ultimately to blame for … [Read more...]
Review of Sam Harris’s “Waking Up,” Chapter 1
To put Sam’s intentions in my terms, he wants people to learn to access experiences most people’s brains are capable of, but that aren’t widely promoted in western culture. He thinks this will be good for them, and for anyone … [Read more...]
Further Exploration: Shifting Attention Away From the Verbal
Originally posted on 05-21-07: Yesterday I talked about one of the ways that meditation can improve understanding of our brains—by giving us another perspective on their operations—but there are many other insights … [Read more...]
Changing Perspective: Meditation, Intention, and Control
Originally posted on 05-20-07: Each of these visual illusions, which I mentioned yesterday, besides being entertaining, includes a lesson on perception that can begin to broaden our ideas about "reality." We can become more … [Read more...]
Love, Love, Love: The Need and Evolution
Originally posted on 05-16-07: At some point I'll talk about the importance of daily routines, but for now I'll just note that I read something every morning to remind me of the nature of reality as I understand it. These … [Read more...]
Be Here Now; The Complexity of the Present Moment
Originally posted 05-10-07: One of the first books I ever read on meditation was Be Here Now, in the early 70's. Since then I've seen many references to staying in the present moment, paying attention, mindfulness, etc. but … [Read more...]