Latest Posts

  • Reflection and Analysis of a Vipassana Retreat

    I. Introduction On June 5, I began my first 10-day Vipassana (“insight”) meditation course. It was a remarkable experience. Everyone says that, however, making it an almost unworthy reflection. But it was. I tend to engage with these sorts of pseudo-scientific… Continue reading

    Reflection and Analysis of a Vipassana Retreat

  • The Dogs Have Balls

    This post is a (lengthy) excerpt from a letter I wrote to a good friend summarizing some of my impressions of the poverty of India and reflecting on the work I did with the kids at the school. I’ve chosen… Continue reading

    The Dogs Have Balls

  • माया

    I’ll preface this by saying that that this post took me about two months to finally finish, and was a struggle almost every step of the way.  I’m always cautious of intending one meaning and inadvertently causing people to hear… Continue reading

    माया

  • Society Without Public Education?

    I’ve been reading Noam Chomsky‘s Understanding Power, and it’s really been taking me back to my radical leftist mode. Having shifted to the right in many respects over the last year (or, to put it more precisely, towards the center), I… Continue reading

    Society Without Public Education?

  • Poverty and Values

    I was involved in an… altercation a few nights ago. Well… altercation might be overly dramatic a word. But words were crossed in public, and I found myself struggling with an internal dilemma. The setup: Some friends and I had… Continue reading

  • Two Indias

    I’m sitting on a bunk in the 2AC class (one of the higher classes on standard trains–not fancy, but not the cheapest) on the train to Aurangbad. Sharing the berth with me is a family that, to my mind, perfectly… Continue reading

  • In a Child’s Library

    Today I spent a few hours sorting through the eclectic collection of donated textbooks that make up the library at the school that I volunteer at. It’s strange, being back in a children’s textbook room. So many colorful, glossy pages… Continue reading

  • Metaphor: Balance and Motion

    Note: this post was first drafted back in October in light of a friends impending exam. It needed work and ended up consigned to “drafts” until I mustered the courage to grapple with it again. Odds are good you know… Continue reading

  • A Technique for Thinking Clearly

    In Robert Pirsig‘s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the protagonist describes a mental technique he often used when working on scientific and philosophical projects, to keep himself objective and neutralize his biases as much as possible. I’ve been trying it… Continue reading

  • A Little About Love

    I just saw Flight, and the entire time I was thinking about my relationship with Ilana. I can’t believe I still tread that ground. It’s shocking to me, really. It shouldn’t be like this. I really wish it wasn’t like this.… Continue reading