Episode 6, part 1: What is secular Buddhism and how does it relate to spiritual naturalism? In this two part interview with Ted Meisner, the founder of the Secular Buddhist Association, we discuss secular Buddhism. We talk about its origin, it’s meaning, and how it applies to life. Listen at www.SpiritualNaturalistSociety.org Click here to get Email notices of new episodes and SNS articles Learn about Membership in the Spiritual Naturalist Society See a full episode list at our main page for... Read more

I remember how in November 2013 my wife (and fellow Intentional Insights co-founder) and I, together with a great bunch of people, organized a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at our Unitarian Universalist church in Columbus, OH. The event was a big success, with more than 120 attendees, a music program, a raffle and silent auction. We raised over $2000 for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. It might surprise you that the dinner organizers and volunteers came from Columbus secular humanist, atheist, and skeptic groups, including the UU secular... Read more

(cc) Jarvist Frost In the dystopian world of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the reading of classic, literary works has been outlawed. In the quest for unending “happiness,” the citizens of this future society have forbidden reading and any activity that might result in deep, thoughtful contemplation, for it is then, in the throes of serious thought, that melancholy can arise. Guy Montag, the main character of the novel, is a “fireman,” one tasked with destroying books and the houses that contain... Read more

In a passage from Chapter 22 of the writings of Chuang-tse, the philosopher Lao Dan is quoted as saying “…life is just a temporary congealed thing.  Although some are long lived and some die young, how much of a difference is there really?  It’s all a matter of no more than a single instant.” Objectively, if we compare the time span of a life to the time span of, say, a mountain, a life time might seem as but an... Read more

Viktor E. Frankl was a psychiatrist, who founded a school of psychotherapy based on humanity’s search for meaning. This search for meaning, he claims, “is the primary motivation in his life and not a ‘secondary rationalization’ of instinctual drives” (Frankl 2006, 99). The problem is that few of us know what motivates us, and even fewer know how to find meaning in life. This requires wisdom, a wisdom that is no longer taught or passed down from parent to child.... Read more

Episode 5: Have you ever thought about the vibe you’re putting out into the world? Demeanor practice is mindfulness of how we carry ourselves, and how we interact with others. We talk about compassion a lot, but are we projecting an impression of compassion? A large portion of our communication with others is beyond just the words, such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Demeanor Practice is based on the recognition that these behaviors and bodily actions not... Read more

How can you find purpose and meaning from a secular perspective? Mike meets regularly with friends and acquaintances from his neighborhood in a large building. There, he enjoys listening to presentations about big life questions: on the meaning of life, on the nature of morality, on ethical behavior, etc. He participates in study circles that engage with these questions in more depth. Mike sings, dances, and enjoys musical performances there. Together with others, he volunteers to help clean up the... Read more

We know that we carry inside us the history of our bodies—the chemistry and bones and nervous systems that have evolved over the millennia. But we carry with us another history as well. Our morality, our capacity to harm, help, or ignore each other, began with our earliest ancestors as well. I divide this inheritance into three stages. To take them in reverse order, the most recent stage is roughly the last several thousand years during which humans have developed... Read more

Guest article by Michelle L. LeBlanc… If you are anything like me, I enjoy a book that sees the benefit of spiritual practice without the assumption of the supernatural intertwined, not that I am completely closed to the idea, but due to my religious background, I have learned to trust those who give more “naturalistic reasons” for their perspectives – rather than those who give “personal experiences” or “faith-based” reasons. Thus, this book is great in that it takes everything from... Read more

It’s a New Year. Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Some of the more popular ones include losing weight, exercising more, quitting smoking, stop drinking, or get out of debt. But, as we quickly realize, changing ourselves is hard to do. Why is that? Most people attribute change or a lack of change to will power. But this is actually only a small part of the picture. What we don’t realize is that there are many influences that support... Read more