9 December 2024
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Oct 15, 2019 — This Podcast Is Self Care (Aryeh Cohen-Wade, Drew Spears, & Cait Raft)
Cait and Drew’s podcast, This Podcast Is Self Care
Emotional labor vs. self care
Unpacking the idea that self care is just for women
Crystals, sage, and “fake magic is real”
Why are Millennials so attracted to self care and the supernatural?
Astrology as anti-capitalism
The hot new trend of “self-grandparenting”
Why Aryeh loves the podcast
TAGS
compassion
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gender
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happiness
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meditation
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mental health
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mysticism
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religion
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self
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spirituality
Sep 18, 2019 — Nikita Petrov & David Poleski
Nikita’s Soviet experience
The individual in Russian and English languages
Toska
, the noble Russian sadness
Nikita’s American friend, the murderer
David’s Negative Mystical Experience and brush with Sai Baba
What Nikita learned from DMT trips
Creativity and depression
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ancient philosophy
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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consciousness
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Mar 4, 2019 — Nikita Petrov & John Horgan
Nikita launches a YouTube channel and a Patreon page
Could depression be rational?
The nihilistic/psychedelic/Buddhist Russian writer Victor Pelevin
Louis CK and the problem of evil
Gnosticism and the blunder of creation
The mystery of communication
Russia is a book, America is a computer game
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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human nature
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literature
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technology
Nov 13, 2018 — Nikita Petrov & Tanya Luhrmann
Tanya’s “local theory of mind”
Harry Potter, prayer, and other “cultural invitations”
Psychotherapy in the US and witchcraft in Ghana
American individualism and Asian interdependence
The differences between hearing God in Ghana and the US
The Internet as externalized imagination: Pepe and Kek
A “hyper-real God”: having coffee with Jesus
Thoughts, perceptions, the world, and the self
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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consciousness
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human nature
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meditation
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psychology
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religion
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science
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Nov 10, 2018 — Colin Pugh & Daniel Pinchbeck
Daniel’s book,
How Soon Is Now?
An example of a modern myth: the GDP
Can society be reborn into new myths?
Daniel: We need to devote most of our efforts to sustaining the health of the planet
Why Daniel calls his beliefs “post-New Age”
What is “neo-Shamanism”?
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climate change
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consciousness
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drugs
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history
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human nature
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meditation
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psychology
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science
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spirituality
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the future
Sep 20, 2018 — Nikita Petrov & John Horgan
John’s new book,
Mind-Body Problems
, is free online
“What are we really, what can we be, and what should we be?”
Robert Trivers, an evolutionary biologist with an affinity for violence
Douglas Hofstadter, a playful writer, but a melancholic person
Why ex-materialist Christof Koch embraced panpsychism
How losing a daughter made Stuart Kaufman study the paranormal
Story time! Nikita and John exchange psychedelic tales
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biology
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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enlightenment
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evolution
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human nature
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meditation
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mind-body problem
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philosophy
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psychology
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science
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Mar 8, 2018 — Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Pater Edmund Waldstein
Why the Mortara case is still provoking argument 150 years later
Pater Edmund offers a defense of Pope Pius IX
Integralism and different conceptions of liberty
What would an integralist Catholic state look like?
How Pater Edmund became a monk (with a blog)
The day-to-day life of a modern meditating monk
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Christianity
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history
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Judaism
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meditation
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philosophy
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religion
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spirituality
Feb 15, 2018 — Josh Summers & Tami Simon
From Swarthmore sophomore to meditating in India
How Tami started Sounds True publishing company at age 22
Tami’s spiritual teacher, Jasmine the cocker spaniel
Why it’s okay to mourn a deceased pet
Confronting the unethical behavior of spiritual teachers
TAGS
compassion
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human nature
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meditation
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spirituality
Dec 18, 2017 — Philip Menchaca & Joseph Baker
American paranormal culture, from dabblers to devotees
Speaking in tongues vs. alien visitations
The search for Bigfoot turns professional
Can you be both “normal” and “paranormal”?
Why ghost stories seem to “latch onto our brains”
The data behind the reissue of Joseph’s book,
Paranormal America
TAGS
religion
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social science
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spirituality
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
TAGS
Buddhism
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meditation
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mindfulness
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spirituality
Sep 24, 2017 — Nikita Petrov & Tony Ortega
Former Scientology executive Marty Rathbun’s private conflict with the Church
New breakthroughs in media coverage of Scientology
How the Church swiftly conquered US law and the IRS
What makes Scientology different from other religions?
How L. Ron Hubbard invented a reality for his followers
Why Scientology isn’t concerned with the apocalypse
The Church’s beef with professional psychology
TAGS
religion
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social science
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spirituality
Jul 26, 2017 — Robert Wright & Daniel Ingram
Daniel: Aim for enlightenment (even if you’ll never reach it)
Levels of Buddhist awakening
Daniel assesses Bob’s level of spiritual attainment
Trump as an affront to Buddhism
The awakened sociopath
Daniel’s enlightened view of Trumpism
How to leverage anger wisely
TAGS
anger
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Buddhism
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Donald Trump
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enlightenment
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ethics
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human nature
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meditation
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mindfulness
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spirituality
Jun 19, 2017 — Robert Wright & Sharon Salzberg
Sharon’s new book,
Real Love
How lovingkindness meditation works
What Buddhists mean when they advise against attachment
The stories that shape our self-perception
What real love looks like in relationships
How to cultivate love for strangers
Loving people you hate
TAGS
Buddhism
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empathy
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human nature
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meditation
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mindfulness
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spirituality
Mar 13, 2017 — Nikita Petrov & Tony Ortega
How the Church of Scientology managed to run a “prison”
L. Ron Hubbard’s theory of the mind
“Auditing” and the “superpowers” it leads to
Did Hubbard believe his own mythology?
The cruel humor of LRH’s space opera
The SeaOrg: A billion years of snitching and interrogations
Scientology after Hubbard and outside the U.S.
TAGS
mind
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power
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psychology
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religion
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spirituality
Feb 20, 2017 — Robert Wright & Mark Van Steenwyk
Meet Mark Van Steenwyk, Christian Anarchist
Mark’s mystical experience at a Bible camp
The time Mark was diagnosed with demonic possession
Forms of Christian activism
Trump makes anarchism more appealing
Mystical dimensions of political activism
Getting the attention of Christians via civil disobedience
TAGS
Christianity
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Donald Trump
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mysticism
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religion
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spirituality
Feb 14, 2017 — Josh Summers & Jason Siff
Jason’s “recollective awareness” meditation
A head-on approach to grasping what’s going on in your head
The trouble with traditional meditation techniques
Dodging meditation paradoxes
Jason: Don’t be afraid of your thoughts
The tough process of learning lovingkindness
TAGS
Buddhism
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compassion
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empathy
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enlightenment
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human nature
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meditation
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mind
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mindfulness
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perception
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self
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spirituality
Feb 13, 2017 — Robert Wright & Marc Katz
Marc’s book,
The Heart of Loneliness
Are we getting lonelier?
The different kinds of loneliness
More connected yet more alone
How to combat loneliness
Is God lonely?
How Marc, as a rabbi, comforts the lonely
TAGS
empathy
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Judaism
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psychology
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religion
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spirituality
Feb 2, 2017 — Robert Wright, Deepak Chopra, & Michael Shermer
Is consciousness everything…
…and is it the only thing?
Can you find truth by looking inward?
Debating whether physics supports Deepak’s views
The weirdness of quantum entanglement
Why skeptics are skeptical of Deepak’s work
TAGS
Buddhism
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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enlightenment
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Hinduism
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human nature
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meditation
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mysticism
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perception
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philosophy
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physics
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psychology
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science
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self
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spirituality
Jan 30, 2017 — Josh Summers & Alex Howard
Alex’s documentary series
How I Created a Cult
…and its hero, spiritual leader Andrew Cohen
How do smart people end up in cults?
The power dynamics and psychological abuse
Cohen’s downfall and re-emergence
The “shadow” side of spiritual communities
TAGS
Buddhism
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ethics
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meditation
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mysticism
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religion
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spirituality
Jan 19, 2017 — Robert Wright & Dale Wright
Dale’s book
What Is Buddhist Enlightenment
?
Why is Vipassana getting more press than Zen?
What is distinctive about Zen?
Dale’s meditation practice
Using mindfulness for good—and evil
A naturalistic conception of karma
How Buddhism adapts to Western culture
TAGS
Buddhism
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Christianity
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compassion
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consciousness
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enlightenment
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meditation
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mindfulness
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perception
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philosophy
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politics
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religion
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spirituality
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war
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Zen
Jan 16, 2017 — Robert Wright & James Currier
Why James started a new spiritual community, Blue
Coming-of-age in the Blue community
Blue’s startup spirituality
What’s a Blue service like?
The future of Blue
TAGS
atheism
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Buddhism
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empathy
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family
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Hinduism
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human nature
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identity
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meditation
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philosophy
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religion
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ritual
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science
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spirituality
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Sunday Assembly
Dec 29, 2016 — Josh Summers & David Barash
David’s book
Buddhist Biology
Where Buddhism and biology converge
The interconnected world
Karma in Buddhism and biology
David’s “existential-bio-Buddhism”
TAGS
biology
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Buddhism
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consciousness
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evolution
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free will
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perception
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philosophy
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psychology
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science
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self
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spirituality
Dec 20, 2016 — Robert Wright & Giulio Prisco
What is transhumanism?
Is immortality possible?
Using wormholes to resurrect the dead
Could you rewind the universe?
Transhumanism as a religion
Why Giulio calls himself a theist
TAGS
consciousness
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death
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physics
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religion
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spirituality
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technology
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the future
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transhumanism
Dec 18, 2016 — Nikita Petrov & George Young
Does Russian thought have anything to contribute to the world?
Nikolay Fedorov, an eccentric thinker who influenced Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky
Fedorov’s plan: Immortality for everyone
“Kinship” as a fundamental property of all matter
A mass movement for the spiritual unity of humankind
Vladimir Solovyov’s
The Meaning of Love
: Sexuality as a path to a Christian utopia
Christ as the ultimate role model
TAGS
Christianity
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consciousness
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death
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evolution
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history
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human nature
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literature
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mysticism
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occult
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philosophy
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politics
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religion
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science
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spirituality
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technology
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the future
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transhumanism
Dec 13, 2016 — David Bryce Yaden & Emily Esfahani Smith
Emily’s forthcoming book,
The Power of Meaning
Can an atheist be spiritual?
What makes for a meaningful life?
The dark side of finding meaning
Are we in the midst of a “meaning crisis?”
TAGS
altruism
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atheism
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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psychology
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science
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spirituality
Dec 9, 2016 — Philip Menchaca & Rory Dickson
Sufis, “the ones who are not”
How Sufism relates to establishment Islam
Why is ISIS destroying Sufi shrines?
How Sufism came to America
Does Islam lend itself to universalism?
Is Sufism always Islamic?
TAGS
Hinduism
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Islam
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mysticism
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religion
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spirituality
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Sufism
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terrorism
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violence
Dec 2, 2016 — Robert Wright & Jay Michaelson
Jay’s anti-Trump appeals
How the election unleashed hate
When “love your enemy” just won’t work
Is empathy a limited resource?
Jay’s spiritual toolkit for coping with a Trump presidency
Trump, the anti-Buddha
Can mindfulness help save the world?
TAGS
anger
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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compassion
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democracy
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Donald Trump
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empathy
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ethics
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happiness
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human nature
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identity
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Islam
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Judaism
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love
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meditation
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mental health
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mindfulness
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moral imagination
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politics
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psychology
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religion
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sadness
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spirituality
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tribalism
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Zen
Nov 12, 2016 — David Bryce Yaden & Scott Barry Kaufman
From positive to humanistic psychology
Must one risk madness to achieve genius?
How creativity and spirituality overlap
The light and dark triad of personality traits
Mindfulness as the link between creativity and spirituality
TAGS
Buddhism
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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creativity
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ethics
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meditation
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mindfulness
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psychology
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spirituality
Nov 4, 2016 — Robert Wright & Christof Koch
The search for non-human consciousness
Consciousness in the organic and inorganic worlds
Measuring consciousness
Lucky us: The universe breeds consciousness
How scientific and spiritual worldviews can enrich each other
Artificial intelligence is not (necessarily) artificial consciousness
The Allen Institute for Brain Science and its mission
TAGS
Buddhism
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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ethics
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evolution
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panpsychism
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physics
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science
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spirituality
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technology
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the future
Oct 25, 2016 — Philip Menchaca & Benjamin Zeller
The link between “new religious movements” and violence
The suicidal cult Heaven’s Gate
Suicide as a religious act
Why Heaven’s Gate matters
The thin line between Heaven’s Gate and mainstream religions
Donald Trump, American messiah?
TAGS
Buddhism
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Christianity
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death
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Donald Trump
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economics
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psychology
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religion
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science
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spirituality
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
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atheism
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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cognitive science
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consciousness
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death
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empathy
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ethics
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evolution
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history
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Islam
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meditation
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mind-body problem
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mindfulness
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mysticism
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nationalism
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New Atheists
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perception
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poverty
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psychology
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religion
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science
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self
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spirituality
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tribalism
Oct 18, 2016 — Robert Wright & Margaret Wertheim
The non-Euclidean nature of coral reefs
When physics defies human comprehension
Bad blood between the sciences and the humanities
The limits of scientific knowledge
Are scientists asking the wrong questions about consciousness?
The intenseness of having an identical twin
TAGS
Christianity
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consciousness
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Daniel Dennett
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philosophy
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physics
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religion
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science
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spirituality
Oct 12, 2016 — Robert Wright & John Thatamanil
Trumpism as a spiritual problem
John extends some Christian charity to Trump
What motivates Trump supporters?
How anti-elitism fuels Trump’s campaign
John: Trump’s use of fear is spiritually toxic
Trump’s mistaken belief that invulnerability = power
TAGS
anger
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Christianity
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fear
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politics
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psychology
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religion
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spirituality
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
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evolution
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free will
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Hinduism
|
human nature
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meditation
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mindfulness
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perception
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philosophy
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psychology
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religion
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self
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spirituality
|
time
Oct 9, 2016 — Robert Wright & Wesley Wildman
Wesley explains “transreligious theology”
What’s religious about religious naturalism?
Can science help us understand ultimate reality?
Bringing religious thought and philosophy together
Be skeptical of spiritual experiences
Don’t just love your enemies, understand them
Wesley: “Purpose” isn’t a useful category
TAGS
atheism
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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consciousness
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meditation
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Paul Tillich
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philosophy
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physics
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psychology
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religion
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science
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spirituality
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tribalism
Oct 1, 2016 — Robert Wright & Stephen Batchelor
What Buddhim really is (and isn’t) about
What various Buddhist traditions have to offer
The Buddha as a practical philosopher
How the Buddha revolutionized meditation
The idea of not-self, and its connection to an ethical life
Why death is not the end even if there’s no rebirth
The ethical dimension of enlightenment
TAGS
Buddhism
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Christianity
|
death
|
enlightenment
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Hinduism
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meditation
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secularism
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spirituality
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
TAGS
dreaming
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enlightenment
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meditation
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mindfulness
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psychology
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spirituality
Sep 24, 2016 — Philip Menchaca & Anthony Silvia
The Gnostic version of enlightenment
Modern Gnosticism’s Christian roots
Aeons, Archons, and the Demiurge
What do Gnostics do?
Salvation and the Gnostic afterlife
A brief history of the Johannite Church
TAGS
cosmology
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mysticism
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mythology
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religion
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ritual
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spirituality
Sep 17, 2016 — Nikita Petrov & George Young
What is Russian cosmism?
The religious side of cosmism
Cosmism as a response to the challenges of the 20th century
Nature as a temporary enemy and eternal friend
Pavel Florensky, the Russian da Vinci
Plant life as a spiritual ideal
The father of the Soviet space program, and his weird spirituality
Cosmism and transhumanism: Compare and contrast
Cosmism as a Russian propaganda project
TAGS
Christianity
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consciousness
|
death
|
evolution
|
history
|
human nature
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mysticism
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occult
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philosophy
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politics
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religion
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science
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spirituality
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technology
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the future
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transhumanism
Sep 10, 2016 — Josh Summers & Chip Hartranft
An intro to the yogic philosopher Patañjali and the
Yoga-Sutra
The metaphysics of the
Yoga-Sutra
How does a yogi become awakened?
Comparing yogic and Buddhist teachings
Does yogic philosophy encourage isolation?
Advice for new meditators
TAGS
Buddhism
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consciousness
|
enlightenment
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Hinduism
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human nature
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meditation
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mindfulness
|
philosophy
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religion
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spirituality
|
yoga
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