Who’s the patron saint of lost causes? And who prayed to him on my behalf? Not that I believe in all of that, but I did just thumb through my teaching evaluations for this spring. And things are good. Surprisingly good. My other thought is that, as terrible as it is that I’m becoming my father, I’m also becoming my mother. My father groans audibly to express his moods, unwittingly tells lousy jokes, and sings/hums songs poorly. I groan more... Read more

Henry David Thoreau famously wrote, “in Wildness is the preservation of the World.”[1] Thoreau, a lifelong New Englander, pointed West when he spoke of the Wildness in which our preservation could be found. Yet now, scarcely 100 years hence, America’s great destiny is manifest and Wildness must be rediscovered. But where? No longer, it would seem, is there a land ‘out there’ to which we may point to as a reminder of who we are, as natural beings living in... Read more

Note to self: get/read Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire, or whatever)… Any of you know this guy? Want to recommend anything from him? Part of my thesis will explore people’s extraordinary experiences in nature, how they break down people’s notions of ‘self’ and replace them with a deeper, holistic understanding of themselves in the world. Other recommendations are VERY welcome (especially if they come in the form of author, book name, page number, and – if you feel so generous –... Read more

Flipping around Lakoff and Johnson’s Philosophy in the Flesh today (while foolishly simultaneously composing two emails) I came across this passage in the section on Aristotle: We have been suggesting that Being, like every other basic philosophical concept, is a human category, the very articulation of which depends on a cluster of common folk theories and conceptual metaphors. Being, regarded as the fundamental ontological category, emerged historically…. (p.388) They go on to describe pre-Socratic ‘folk theories and metaphors’ that gave... Read more

A local order member from Friends of the Western Buddhist Order often teaches a class here called, “Moving from dukkha to shraddha” (or from suffering to confidence). I haven’t taken the class, but I know it highlights a pivotal point in the Buddhist path; a revolution of sorts from aimless pathlessness to spiritual progress. Sangharakshita describes shraddha (confidence-trust or faith) thus: …faith consists in deep conviction of what is real, lucidity as to what has value, and longing for what... Read more

My good friend Raven alerted me to a recent Newsweek article on depression today. The article deals specifically with men, who until now were thought to be at much less risk of depression because doctors had concluded that “that having a uterus was the main risk factor for mental illness.” It turns out that men just hide depression more (big surprise) and tend to act out depression not in as much by crying or lying around the house all day... Read more

Six days since my initial thesis meeting… After a palpable rise in stress and anxiety and a shortening temper at work, I’ve decided to push back my thesis deadline. I’ll aim to have a solid proposal by August/September and then come back to defend a final version next summer. Sounds crazy, I know (finish one degree while being thrown into my Ph.D. work…), but it’s the only way I can realistically see myself finishing it and remaining sane over the... Read more

WE WOULD NEED 3.8 PLANETS!!! Wow… Where are we gonna get those other ones? Hmm.. maybe it’s good that NASA doesn’t think Global Warming is a problem, so they can focus their efforts on finding more earths to support my lifestyle. Click the image to take the quiz (and let me know how you do in the ‘comments’ section), or see my answers (and pathetic rationalizations) below. Food Footprint 1.How often do you eat animal based products? (beef, pork, chicken,... Read more

Click on the poster for a larger view. This summer, in addition to the 9 million other things I have to do (oh, I can already see myself getting grumpy and burnt out), I’ll be facilitating a reading group based on Mattieu Ricard’s latest book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill. We’ll have an informal discussion starting June 5th and hope to get into the first chapters on the 12th. Should be fun 🙂 Everyone who can... Read more

Yes, I know, I know… I had just decided to relax for the summer, but I had a pre-scheduled meeting with a would-be advisor and today we discussed a thesis idea and the red tape to be overcome. Now it looks like I’ll be attempting a thesis / completed MA after all. Below is the proposal I made up between 10 and 10:45 (ready for our meeting at 11am). The stricken parts are those he suggested I basically leave out,... Read more