Posts by Mark Knickelbine
Secular Meditation: A Review
When I reviewed Sam Harris’ book, Waking Up, in these pages, I lamented that the book failed to live up to its subtitle, “A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion.” Indeed, there are a growing number of volumes, from writers like Harris, Stephen Batchelor and others, that discuss the philosophical underpinnings of living a spiritual life…
Read MoreKeeping Your Meditation Resolution
Is starting a regular meditation practice on your list of New Year’s resolutions? Congratulations! Making time for daily meditation is powerful act of self-compassion. As the Dhammapada tells us, not even one’s mother or father can be of greater help than one’s own well-cultivated mind. However, if starting a daily practice were easy, we wouldn’t…
Read MoreBatchelor's Ten Theses of Secular Dharma
All of the discussion on this website can be said to revolve around a single question: What is Secular Buddhism? How is it secular, and how is it Buddhist? What can we take from the traditional texts and practices, and what ought we leave behind? How does the dharma fit in with our knowledge from…
Read MorePractice Circle: Relax
I think every contemplative technique I’m aware of involves at least some degree of relaxation. The practices I was taught in MBSR all begin with bringing awareness to areas of tightness and holding in the body and inviting them to relax; the Body Scan, which is the first technique one learns in MBSR, consists of…
Read MorePractice Circle: Autumn and Impermanence
We’ve crossed the Equinox, and here in the northern USA where I live, the arrival of autumn is unmistakable. Green leaves dry and are touched with orange, red and gold. The evening turns cool and dark. Soon the lush profusion of life will give way to the barren cold of winter. It’s a very good…
Read MoreCompassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation: A Review
Having experienced for myself the difficulty of understanding Gotama’s teachings on both compassion and emptiness based on a reading of the Nikaya texts, I was excited to see Anālayo’s new book, Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation. The book comes out in print in October 2015, but is available now in a Kindle edition.…
Read MorePractice Circle: Trust Emergence
At Practice Circle, we’re working with an interactive mindfulness practice developed by Gregory Kramer called Insight Dialogue. In this practice, we work with a partner, and take turns speaking and listening to one another on a theme chosen to help us share on a deep level. Although we are conversing, Insight Dialogue isn’t chatting; it’s…
Read MorePractice Circle: Energy and Information
In his book Mindsight, Dr. Dan Siegel tells the story of when he began trying to understand the mind in a serious way. As he approached experts in various disciplines, he soon encountered a fundamental problem: there was no agreed-upon definition of what the mind is. As Siegel convened an interdepartmental working group at UCLA,…
Read MorePractice Circle: Jason Siff and Recollective Awareness Meditation
Happy New Year! We’re excited to be starting 2015 with our first guest-led Practice Circle featuring Jason Siff, the author of “Unlearning Meditation” and “Thoughts are Not the Enemy.” Over the next two Practice Circle sessions, Jason will be teaching us the technique he calls Recollective Awareness Meditation, which involves open awareness practice, journaling, and…
Read MorePractice Circle: Resolution and Intention
The Western calendar is preparing to turn over to another year, and as a glance at any advertising medium will confirm, it’s time for New Years Resolutions. Time to promise one’s self to lose weight, quit smoking, perhaps even start a meditation practice. And we know the punch line, too; the health club that’s full…
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