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Mae West on Rebirth

Single lifetime liberation, yo!

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Play Hard

My kind of meditation instruction. :)

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It’s Probably the Fifth Jhāna

Greetings, Friendlies! Please excuse the radio silence; took myself to the woods for a 25-night personal samadhi/jhāna retreat. For guidance I followed Rob Burbea’s excellent 2019 3-week jhāna retreat at Gaia House. I’ve worked with Bhante Vimalaramsi’s TWIM and Leigh Brasington’s (Ayya Kema’s) techniques; very much enjoyed the spin Burbea brought to the practice. I […]

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What About “Postmodern Dhamma”?

After I left military service in 2014, I moved to Paris and studied Philosophy for two years. The most important course I took during that time was “Modern Critical Theory” where a long-limbed, curly-cue of a Frenchman introduced me to Postmodernism and Critical Theory. In that course I read Western thinkers touching into the same concepts […]

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The Why, What, and How of the Independent PhD: Part 1.1, Why? Independent vs Institutional PhDs

In Part 1 we talked about motivation for starting an Independent PhD. But why an Independent PhD rather than a classic, Institutional PhD? I describe my Independent PhD as “Four-ish years of study, practice, and discourse that culminates in a book no-one will read.” But the beauty of an Independent PhD is that it doesn’t have to be four […]

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The Why, What, and How of the Independent PhD: Part 1, Why?

Greetings, Friendlies! The writing challenge continues; taking a quick zoom out and spending a few sessions writing about the Independent PhD as the container for this Dharma PhD gig. I don’t know if y’all are interested in this material; maybe anything that is not a sutta spreadsheet is anathema? Let me know if that’s the […]

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Perpetually Prototyping – A Writing Experiment

I’ve recently learned of the writing workshop Ship 30 for 30. The structure is writing <250 word "Atomic Essays" every day for 30 days.

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When Philosophy Strikes…

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Teach MBSR!

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If You See the Buddha…

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Make Mindfulness Great Again

MmGAaaaaa! What? To soon?

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I Taught JKZ How to Body Sweep…

I almost laughed out loud when she said this. So saucy, that Christina! :)

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Talk Dhamma to Me

Many thanks to the extraordinary Pilar Puig Cortada for this one. Can you imagine showing up to a retreat and we’re all wearing this? The teachers would be so pleased/horrified. :)

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The Best Thing That Can Happen…

The best thing that can happen to a human being is to find a problem, to fall in love with that problem, and to live trying to solve that problem, unless another problem even more lovable appears. ~ Karl Popper

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Kalyāṇa-mitta Wanted

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Two Full Time Residential Dhamma-Jobs in Washington State

Greetings, Friendlies! Please excuse the radio silence; I’ve been on the road since 03Mar. Back in the US today, though not yet home, and just beginning to touch the internet. I received an email from Cloud Mountain Retreat Center; they have two openings for full-time residential positions. If you know of the right candidate, do […]

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Dharma PhD Update, 2021 Q3

January Practice Daily 0.5-1.0 hour metta practice (TWIM-esque). As we prepare to move and upend our life, I’m finding my mind quite unsettled. For a few days I only practiced guided body scans; I found I needed the support of someone talking me through it. But eventually I was able to get back on the […]

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A Talent for Speaking Differently

In Stephen Batchelor’s Buddhism Without Beliefs, the penultimate chapter, “Imagination”, begins with a quote by Richard Rorty: “[A] talent for speaking differently, rather than for arguing well, is the chief instrument of cultural change.” This is what Dharma PhD is all about, learning how to speak differently.

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We’re Back!

Greetings, Friendlies! BooBear and I have settled(ish) on the West Coast of the US. The cross country trip was _amazing_; Five Stars. Highly Recommend. This is just a quick touch to report that we’ve landed and that the Independent PhD progresses by leaps and bounds. Thanks to all of you who reached out; I can […]

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Dharma PhD Update, 2020 Q4

Greetings, Friendlies! Welcome to 2021! The 2020 Q4 summary is: experimenting. There were lots _and lots_ of experiments, big and small. The podcasting workshop closed down and I found myself without a dedicated Akimbo workshop for the first time since February. It was a little bit lonely, but there was much more space, less tending […]

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Dharma PhD Update, 2020 Q3

In preparation for this blog post, I reviewed the 2020 Q2 update and laughed outloud. The first sentence, “What a crazy busy quarter.” 2020 Q3. What a crazy busy quarter! :D The Akimbo Podcasting workshop was (as the Story Skills workshop was) transformational. I hate using language like that, but there it is. How so, […]

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Talking about Vedanā (aka Hedonic Tone)

I’m in the midst of producing several Buddha Bites podcast episodes on Vedanā (aka Hedonic Tone). It’s been challenging; following are some deets about the process. As I wrote back in March, a 2019 retreat led by Akincano Weber and Dr. Judson Brewer hooked me on the implications of Vedanā. When I talk about Dharma […]