Practical Philosophy

I’m a practical philosopher: “in” the world but not “of” it.

I ask and seek to answer the most basic questions of human existence with others around the world. In 2009, I finished a Ph.D., left the academic life, and moved to New York City because I thought the most basic question of how to live needed to be brought back into our everyday lives.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve been helping executives, technologists, and creatives inquire into matters of fundamental importance. In fact, those I regularly speak with tend to be high-performing, open-minded, intellectually keen individuals who are looking for deeper understanding. During this time, I’ve worked with individuals at tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter and at financial firms like Balyasny (BAM) and ARK Invest.

​Philosophy urges us to wake up to what we’ve for so long taken for granted.

My wife Alexandra, a writer, and I are living in the American Southwest.

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Rigorous Spirituality

I’m a teacher focused on “philosophical yoga.”

I expound the teachings of traditional Advaita Vedanta and Raja yoga. I help students on a one-on-one and small group basis, those who come with an earnest resolve to be at peace.

Though I’ve ultimately found a home in Advaita Vedanta, over the past decade I’ve studied and explored a number of religious traditions and spiritual practices, including Zen Buddhism (mainly Rinzai), Theravada Buddhism (Goenka-style vipassana), Christian contemplative practices like centering prayer, and energetic practices drawn from kundalini tantra. To deepen experiential understanding, I meditate 4 hours each day and regularly engage in home meditation retreats.

In recent years, I’ve sought to harmonize traditional Advaita Vedanta with Raja yoga. The former tradition, following Shankara, enjoins one to listen, study, and meditate seriously. The latter (that is, Raja yoga) offers ethical practices, inner purification, concentration, and more.

Since 2020, I’ve been teaching seekers—particularly those in the tech space and in finance—how to meditate as well as how to inquire into the nature of their direct experience in order to be truly free. My approach joins intellectual rigor with experiential verification and compassionate openness. It thus emphasizes knowledge as much as heart.