My Thoughts on ISTA

I never thought I’d have to say this — but art is not the notes in a song, it’s not the colors on a canvas and it’s not the words on a page. Art is a direct and intimate expression of the human experience. If you take the human out of the art, it’s not […] The post Rage Against the AI Machine appeared first on Boodaism.

I know what it's like, to put my heart in a box. The post Heart-Shaped Box appeared first on Boodaism.

Since publishing My Thoughts on ISTA last fall, the most common follow-up question I got is some version of “Can these types of experiences be done in a healthy way?” It’s an important question to consider, and a complicated question to answer. While ISTA (International School of Temple Arts) has many unique problems and harm […] The post Ethical Ecstasy: Can We Combine Intensity and Integrity? appeared first on Boodaism.

What’s up with ISTA? That simple question has driven me to devote an unreasonable amount of time and energy trying to come up with a good answer. Sitting here now, many years into that journey, I’m actually a little embarrassed about how much attention I’ve given this research project I didn’t realize I signed up […] The post My Thoughts on ISTA appeared first on Boodaism.

“I need you.” That’s a scary thing to say to someone, especially when it’s true. For many of us humans in modern, western civilization — realizing that we need to intimately involve other people in our imperfect, un-photoshopped lives is a frightening thing. So we avoid it. We live alone, we eat alone, we sleep […] The post We Fucking Need Each Other appeared first on Boodaism.

Gather round my digital friends, I’m going to tell you about a time ,  a beautiful and innocent time, when the internet made people happy. Long, long ago, before large corporations started buying up parts of the internet, and before sites like medium.com turned all the bloggers into employees, there was a time when individuals owned […] The post I miss blogs. appeared first on Boodaism.

I can relate to narcissists. I love attention, I often overestimate myself, and I enjoy it when I am the topic of conversation. I’m going to talk about how to deal with narcissists, but I’m going to expand that definition beyond people with NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder), and speak generally about certain kinds of people. […] The post You Can’t Be Nice to a Narcissist appeared first on Boodaism.

I took a break this year. For those of you who have been following this site, you’ll notice that sometime around the end of June I took a break from publishing every week. It wasn’t totally intentional, but it felt right. Up until that point I had been consistently posting every week since December 2014 […] The post Back in the Saddle: 2018 Annual Review appeared first on Boodaism.

Write something true. That’s my mantra. When I’m feeling blocked I pause and remind myself of this. Write the truth. Not the ultimate truth — just something that feels true, something authentic. That’s what writing is for me, a chance to admit the truth in a space where no one will judge me, hate me […] The post Tell the Truth appeared first on Boodaism.

I just wanted to shake his hand. Here was a man I learned so much from, that answered so many of my questions about “being a man”, and I just wanted to meet him and say “your book meant a lot to me” — but there were rules. It was 2011, and I was at […] The post Before You Read ‘The Way of the Superior Man’ Read This appeared first on Boodaism.