what is science?

i was rooting around in my computer the other day trying to find something i had written about the german philosopher max scheler (see my comment about knowledge in my last post about ann mortifee’s new book).  in this sojourn i stumbled across a philosophy journal i was writing on and off and which contained… Continue reading what is science?

am i my body? my feelings? musings on identity and focusing

lately, my three-year-old grandson is quite interested in the whole concept of identity and relationships. “what’s your mom’s name?” “mommy!” “who’s that?” “that’s callan. he’s my sister. jaden is my friend.” “grandma, who’s that in the picture?” “the father.” “what’s his name?” “i don’t know. jack, maybe?” “no, that’s not jack.” “michael?” “no, not michael.”… Continue reading am i my body? my feelings? musings on identity and focusing

god is community

i like to think about god when i wake up in the middle of the night. i had just finished deepak chopra’s new book on mohammed (review coming up soon). the many stories about the tribes, the complicated family relationships, the exchange with jews and christians, the interdependency with slaves – maybe that’s what made… Continue reading god is community

questions, koans

sometimes asking the right questions is what turns a problem around. and often making the questions as precise as possible is a good thing. i’m going to take the liberty of using one of raul’s posts. he asked, “why can’t i sometimes help the people i love the most?”  (by the way – read it.… Continue reading questions, koans

august 2010 buddhist carnival: right action

every month i delve into the buddhasphere to come up with interesting tidbits in buddhist writing. this time around i was interested in the concept of right action. the poem we start out with today is the famous shin jin mei poem the perfect way knows no difficulties except that it refuses to make preferences;… Continue reading august 2010 buddhist carnival: right action

focusing: body and mind at the murky edge

please enjoy this guest post by my good friend jael, who is currently studying a fascinating therapeutic technique called focusing. when i was in my early 20’s i decided to switch from social science to computer science and math at university and live at home with my parents. when the offer of admission arrived, my… Continue reading focusing: body and mind at the murky edge

goals, learning and contracts

after my post about small and SMART goals on garfield’s blog, i got inspired to write another one at brainblogger about the pitfalls and benefits of goal setting, this time taking a bit more of an academic slant. larry ferlazzo took up that post and talked about goal setting in the classroom. it made me… Continue reading goals, learning and contracts

understanding mental health

may is mental health month. it might be useful to think about what we’re talking about here. what is mental health? there are many definitions out there. years ago i wrote a paper about my definition but i can’t find that paper anymore. so why not try again. let’s see … mental. health. mental mental… Continue reading understanding mental health

understanding meaning

recently, i have had numerous little conversation bits on twitter about meaning and meaning making. rather than expound on my ideas here, i’d like to invite you to reflect on the questions below and/or the words of others who have thought about the topic. maybe you’ll come up with your own questions. maybe we can… Continue reading understanding meaning