Archive for February 2011
Episode 53 :: Tom Clark :: Encountering Naturalism
Tom Clark Tom Clark speaks with us about his book Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. How do we as secular Buddhists clarify that line between what we experience in the “real world”, and what we may tend to discount as mysticism? Secular practice does have that inclination away from the supernatural. We may…
Read MoreEpisode 52 :: Matteo Pistono :: In the Shadow of the Buddha
Matteo Pistono Our guest today Matteo Pistono speaks with us about his very new book, In the Shadow of the Buddha — Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet. Many of us have an oblique understanding of alleged human rights abuses against the Tibetan people by the Chinese government. We know the Dalai…
Read MoreEpisode 51 :: Chris McKenna :: Paradigms
Chris McKenna Author Chris McKenna speaks with us today about his post-apocalyptic Buddhist themed book, Paradigms. I think it’s fair to say that Buddhism is becoming something of a culturally iconic practice, even in the West. Just about everyone would recognize the Dalai Lama, the once utterly foreign idea of “contemplating your navel” is no…
Read MoreEpisode 50 :: Sara Lazar :: Meditation Effect on Brain Density
Sara Lazar Dr. Sara Lazar of Massachusetts General Hospital joins us to speak about a new study on the effects of meditation on brain density. Often when we tell people, particular other skeptics, about how beneficial meditation is to us, we’re met with, well, skepticism. And that’s okay. People should feel free to question with…
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