19 June 2025
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Jul 15, 2019 —
Robert Wright & Josh Summers
- Common misconceptions about meditation retreats
- Hitting the bliss button
- Scheduled vs. unscheduled retreats
- How austere does it have to be to be effective?
- Process vs. outcomes
- Bob’s mini-epiphany about his dripping sink
- Is meditation “for” something?
- Pitfalls after leaving a retreat
- Tips for first-timers
Mar 13, 2018 —
Josh Summers & David Lesondak
- What is fascia and why does it matter?
- When fascia malfunctions
- What David does as a “body worker”
- How body posture could influence mental health
- Unanswered questions in fascia research
- Can mindfulness meditation reduce the perception of pain?
- The concept of “tensegrity,” or tensional integrity, in the human body
TAGS mindfulness
Mar 9, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Josh Summers
- Bob and Josh recount their first meeting after a silent meditation retreat
- Does yoga always have a spiritual component?
- How Josh’s yoga practice prepares the body for meditation
- How yoga’s focus on breath can lead to the body
- Solutions to modern distraction
- Bob: Mindfulness practice can erode essentialist thinking
- What’s the point of Bob’s Mindful Resistance Project?
- The present and future of the Mindful Resistance Newsletter
Feb 9, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Jeff Warren
- How Jeff went from science journalist to meditation teacher
- Jeff’s new book, co-authored with Dan Harris: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
- How ADD and bipolar tendencies shaped Jeff’s practice
- The life-changing experience of falling out of a tree while on mushrooms
- The interaction between mindfulness, not-self, and suffering
- Jeff takes a stab at defining enlightenment
- The varieties of consciousness
- How meditation can shift your priorities
Jan 13, 2018 —
Josh Summers & Thomas Joiner
- Thomas describes a modern narcissism epidemic
- Does a lack of self-esteem fuel narcissism?
- Why is a focus on the “self” ubiquitous in mindfulness?
- Challenging the health claims of mindfulness meditation
- Why “self-compassion meditation” makes both Josh and Thomas uncomfortable
- The common ground between mindfulness and stoicism
Dec 29, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Dan Harris
- Dan’s new book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
- The liberation of realizing you’re crazy (and so is everyone else)
- Why Dan gave names to his inner voices
- Dan’s 10% Happier meditation app
- Dan: One minute of mindfulness meditation a day can be enough
- Applying the Buddhist metaphor of the “second arrow” to everyday life
- Meditating without losing your edge
Dec 5, 2017 —
Noah Rasheta & Ellen Leanse
- Ellen’s new book The Happiness Hack as an owner’s guide to the human brain
- Distraction as a “dopamine hijack”
- Conditioning the mind for happiness
- The neurology behind self-inflicted emotional wounds
- How to change happiness from “destination” to “journey”
- Ellen’s tips for “hacking into” contentment and purpose
Oct 12, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Ethan Nichtern
- Ethan’s unusual upbringing as a “Dharma brat” in the Shambala Buddhist tradition
- How a cult classic took on spiritual significance for its fans
- What the film’s iconic line “as you wish” says about idealized love
- How Buddhist teachings are reflected in the film’s treatment of family, friendship and romance
- Ethan’s take on his parent’s spiritual teacher, Chögyam Trungpa, the controversial founder of Shambala Buddhism
Jul 26, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Daniel Ingram
TAGS anger | Buddhism | Donald Trump | enlightenment | ethics | human nature | meditation | mindfulness | spirituality
Jun 23, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Massimo Pigliucci
- Massimo’s new book, How to Be a Stoic, and Bob’s forthcoming book, Why Buddhism Is True
- Similarities between Buddhism and Stoicism
- The metaphysics of Stoicism
- Is there a Stoic version of the Buddhist “not-self” doctrine?
- Massimo’s Stoic advice column
- Seneca’s tips for anger management
- Achieving an objective awareness of your emotions
- Using meditation to cope with feelings of failure
TAGS ancient philosophy | Buddhism | human nature | meditation | mental health | mindfulness | philosophy | psychology | self
Jun 22, 2017 —
Josh Summers & Linda Blanchard
TAGS Buddhism | enlightenment | Hinduism | human nature | meditation | mindfulness | philosophy | religion
Feb 24, 2017 —
Josh Summers & Ellen Langer
TAGS Buddhism | cognitive science | empathy | human nature | meditation | mindfulness | perception | psychology | science
Feb 14, 2017 —
Josh Summers & Jason Siff
TAGS Buddhism | compassion | empathy | enlightenment | human nature | meditation | mind | mindfulness | perception | self | spirituality
Jan 19, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Dale Wright
TAGS Buddhism | Christianity | compassion | consciousness | enlightenment | meditation | mindfulness | perception | philosophy | politics | religion | spirituality | war | Zen
Dec 2, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Jay Michaelson
TAGS anger | Buddhism | Christianity | compassion | democracy | Donald Trump | empathy | ethics | happiness | human nature | identity | Islam | Judaism | love | meditation | mental health | mindfulness | moral imagination | politics | psychology | religion | sadness | spirituality | tribalism | Zen
Nov 12, 2016 —
David Bryce Yaden & Scott Barry Kaufman
TAGS Buddhism | cognitive science | consciousness | creativity | ethics | meditation | mindfulness | psychology | spirituality
Oct 20, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Daniel Ingram
TAGS Buddhism | consciousness | enlightenment | meditation | memory | mind-body problem | mindfulness | psychology | religion
Oct 19, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Sam Harris
- Sam Harris, mystic and atheist
- The mystery of consciousness
- Is mysticism more like science than like religion?
- How religion makes progress
- Sam’s case for intolerance
- The root causes of extremism
- Religious and secular reasons to do good
- Ways religion may be closer to the truth than atheism
- A secular approach to death
TAGS agnosticism | atheism | Buddhism | Christianity | cognitive science | consciousness | death | empathy | ethics | evolution | history | Islam | meditation | mind-body problem | mindfulness | mysticism | nationalism | New Atheists | perception | poverty | psychology | religion | science | self | spirituality | tribalism
Oct 10, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Jonathan Gold
- The seminal Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu, hero of Paving the Great Way
- Buddhist and Darwinian arguments for reality not being as it seems
- The ‘hyper-reductionism’ of Buddhism
- Meditation and the doctrine of emptiness
- Does the Buddhist view of causality leave room for agency?
- Are the past and the future real?
- Hindu and Buddhist versions of non-duality
TAGS Buddhism | evolution | free will | Hinduism | human nature | meditation | mindfulness | perception | philosophy | psychology | religion | self | spirituality | time
Sep 26, 2016 —
Josh Summers & JP Sears
- Meet JP Sears, the New Age Stephen Colbert
- Josh receives ultraspiritual guidance from JP
- Shining a light of satire on the “shadow side” of spiritual practices
- Where JP’s comedy comes from
- Stepping out of the comfort zone, and other spiritual disciplines
- Watch Josh transform into an ultra-ultra-post-spiritual guru
Sep 21, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Erik Braun
- Erik’s book The Birth of Insight and its hero, Ledi Sayadaw
- Three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering, and not-self
- Origins and characteristics of American Buddhism
- How Burmese politics shaped Western Buddhism
- Ledi’s take on how meditation leads to enlightenment
- The ethical side of Buddhist practice
- Erik’s meditation practice
TAGS Buddhism | consciousness | enlightenment | history | human nature | meditation | mind | mindfulness | philosophy | politics | psychology | religion | science | self
Sep 10, 2016 —
Josh Summers & Chip Hartranft
TAGS Buddhism | consciousness | enlightenment | Hinduism | human nature | meditation | mindfulness | philosophy | religion | spirituality | yoga
Aug 19, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Douglas Osto
- Doug’s book Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America
- Psychedelics as gateway drugs to Buddhism
- Common ground between Buddhism and psychedelic spirituality
- What is Psychedelic Buddhism?
- When are psychedelics unhealthy?
- Compare and contrast between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism
TAGS Buddhism | consciousness | drugs | enlightenment | happiness | meditation | mental health | mindfulness | religion | spirituality | Zen
Jul 27, 2016 —
Oliver Burkeman & Susan Piver
TAGS anger | Buddhism | compassion | Donald Trump | empathy | evil | fear | happiness | love | meditation | mindfulness | moral imagination | psychology | tribalism
Jul 10, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Kenneth Folk
TAGS altruism | Buddhism | consciousness | drugs | enlightenment | ethics | happiness | meditation | mindfulness | perception | psychology | religion | sadness | self | spirituality
Jun 24, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Daniel Kaufman
TAGS Christianity | ethics | Islam | meditation | mindfulness | moral imagination | philosophy | psychology | religion
Feb 7, 2016 —
Robert Wright & Paul Froese
- What do we mean by a meaningful life?
- Finding purpose in being a part of something bigger
- How social context determines our understanding of meaning
- Fantasies about uniting humanity: one cause, one God, one reality
- Are we making moral progress?
- Is it empowering or terrifying to think we create our own meaning?
TAGS atheism | happiness | human nature | mindfulness | philosophy | psychology | religion | spirituality
Nov 15, 2015 —
David Bryce Yaden & David Vago
TAGS Buddhism | cognitive science | meditation | mindfulness | psychology | religion | self | spirituality
Oct 26, 2015 —
Robert Wright & Dena Merriam
- Commonalities between Hindu and Buddhist meditation
- What a Buddhist calls “non-self,” a Hindu might call “oneness”
- Dena decries the commercialization of meditation
- The work of the Global Peace Initiative of Women
- An alliance of contemplative practitioners
- Could meditation help solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?
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