Category: meditation

• March 11, 2011

  On the saying, ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat’

  So far in New York, I haven’t found that any direct route takes me to my desired goal. Many are the paths that terminate in dead ends; many are those that, after a time, start resembling circles; many seem to lead nowhere and then, after I’ve begun trying something else, present themselves differently; a few–the…
• March 9, 2011

  Then Bon Jovi again

  Excerpts from my diary dated March 9, 2011 3 a.m. Hungering for the day, for coffee, for dawn. 10:30 a.m. Queueing at the DMV. Listening to Bon Jovi, “Livin’ on a Prayer” in the background. Thinking of childhood, then of disappointment. Hearing that license is too long expired to be renewed. Today is colder than…
• March 9, 2011

  Philosophy as confession

  In his review of Stanley Cavell’s autobiography, “Philosophy as Confession,” John Cottingham seeks to show that Cavell’s way of doing philosophy is more humane than the desiccated way of doing philosophy in the academy. For a number of years, Cottingham has been trying to effect a rapprochement between philosophy, religion, and psychoanalysis. He finds a…
• March 8, 2011

  On cognitive-bias modification

  In “Therapist-Free Therapy,” the anonymous author describes a new form of self-induced therapy called cognitive-bias modification. The main premise is that some people have a built-in bias toward, say, being anxious. Through 15 min. self-administered CBM sessions, participants learn how to re-value things in more neutral terms. Fascinating approach, albeit quite limited in scope.
• March 3, 2011

  Is modern friendship an antidote to crankiness?

  In a recent email, my friend Dougald Hine wrote, “[T]he internet has the power to save us [i.e., us life of the minders living outside the academy] from turning into cranks! What I mean by this is that, until very recently, it was hard to pursue an unconventional career* [see footnote below] as a thinker…