One Project of Life

Is this it ? Is it all there is ? Just spend one day on your own. In a room. Nothing but a pen and paper. No distraction. Pure austerity. And you will notice. Your boredom. Your lust. Your cravings. Your thoughts. You may wonder: is this all there is? People are out there. Doing their important things. Working. Eating. Laughing. And I'm here. In a room. Thinking. I am fine. No hunger. No thirst. What else do I need ? I am lucky. With this free time. Many people are suffering. Dying. Somewhere. Else. Not in this room. And I am here. Life is just that. And it goes on. And you choose. Whether you want to be in this room. Or even which room you want to be in. You have no choice. You must choose. A room. A life. Cheers!

My vegan friends are gonna hate what I'm writing here. Don't get me wrong. I support veganism. All else equal, less suffering is better than more . However I am not sure whether the strategy behind veganism is the most effective. I would argue that veganism falls into the trap of the either-or fallacy .  That is, you can either be a meat eater, failed vegan (vegetarian) or vegan. This rationale totally neglects the quantity of meat and animal products in general which a person consumes. We should recognize that someone who eats meat once a week has a 14 times smaller impact than someone who eats meat for every meal. This tendency to be absolute can create a sense of moral superiority which is not beneficial to the vegan cause. Though necessary sometimes, the division of individuals between vegans and non-vegans can lead to an implicit in group/out group separation , us versus them. In other words, the belief of one's "purity" in terms of food consumption can sc

Mindfulness meditation is now the new therapeutic fix and seems to do miracle. However there is more to it than just a technique for stress control and anxiety relief. I've just started practicing meditation again and joined a guided session where the teacher blew my mind (again). Meditation is not just a plaster helping us to deal with difficult situations. It also lets us dig into the nature of consciousness. How so ? You can compare the Buddhist claims on consciousness to the experience you are having when meditating. The Buddhists think that meditation will help us realize the nature of all things and hopefully feel "genuine" happiness. I'm not sure about that. Rather my guess is that, even as an atheist, there is a spiritual path to be discovered without any religious doctrine. Indeed the path lies in the discovery of the nature of the mind and it is your choice to give it a try. Cheers!