![]() I sometimes open my talks with a quote from Neale Donald Walsch: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” This time, I jumped right in because I felt some urgency about exposing the “McMindfulness” contrivance and wanted to take a risk. ![]() But of course the messages of the Buddha-and many other spiritual teachers-were truly audacious. Who would have thought this message could be so polarizing? Imagine what people thought when the Buddha abandoned his life as a prince: when such teachings were truly audacious. In response, the Buddha exclaimed, “Don’t say that! It is the whole of the path!” I quoted the Upaddha Sutta, where a monk tells the Buddha that at least half of the holy life is about having admirable companions on the spiritual path. I emphasized that spiritual friendship-rather than stress relief or health promotion-is a traditional cornerstone of mindfulness as a deep mystical journey. In that talk I ranted a bit about what I call “McMindfulness,” a psychologized, pop spirituality approach that overemphasizes individual practice and forgets its roots in spiritual friendship. A few weeks later, however, I received written feedback that included comments like: “Horrible!,” “Made me uncomfortable,” and “Who does he think he is?” The last comment was especially painful and ironic given that my topic was “interpersonal mindfulness.” I recently gave a talk at a conference, and afterward people came up to shake my hand and say things like: “One of the best!” and “You should be a keynote!” A follow-up LinkedIn request even asked to learn more and to collaborate.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |