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I’ve meditated a lot. Thousands of hours. And I’ve done a lot of different types of meditation. There are hundreds of different types, and in principle one could easily come up with thousands once one understand how meditation works.

I had no teacher and was learning from books and I made a lot of mistakes. Some of them were damaging mistakes.

Like exercise, meditation is good for you, if done right, and can hurt or injure you if done wrong.

What I’m going to write about today is the basic Buddhist meditation synthesis. It consists of three parts: concentration, loving-kindness and insight. All of these styles of meditation date back to the Buddha, and in the case of case of concentration and loving kindness, pre-date him.

CNN has a new poll out showing that almost 70% of Republicans believe that Biden is not a legitimate president. That’s 69% up from 63% for the last year. WTF is wrong with these people??? It’s good to look at the bigger picture, however and recognize that while this does represent tens of millions of our fellow Americans, it’s far from a majority: Overall, 61% of Americans say Biden did legitimately win enough votes to win the presidency, and 38% believe that he did not. Among registered voters who say they cast a ballot for Trump in 2020, 75% say they have doubts about Biden’s legitimacy. That says more about them than it does about Trump.

Astronomers are learning to decode the meanings hidden in stellar songs.

The post When Stars Twinkle, They Make Music appeared first on Nautilus.

Here on planet earth it was the opposite The transcript of the testimony earlier this week from Devon Archer has been released and Philip Bump has the details: Soon after Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer finished testifying before investigators working for the House Oversight Committee, two top House Republicans joined Sean Hannity’s Fox News program in prime time. Archer’s testimony was enormously damaging to President Biden, they suggested, with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) insisting that Archer’s testimony made the bribery allegation he’d first introduced two months ago “more credible.” That allegation centered on the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, where Hunter Biden and Archer once sat on its board. Archer “said that Hunter Biden was under immense pressure while they both served on the Burisma board to call Washington, D.C., immediately and try to get Shokin fired,” Comer told Hannity. “That’s the Ukrainian prosecutor. And not many days later, Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine” — a trip in which he called for Shokin’s ouster.

Western Sydney IT worker, Ray Walker, has defended spending his afternoon knocking back Bacardi Breezers alone at his desk by declaring that he’s celebrating end-of-week drinks. ”Look, everyone has a few drinks on Friday. The bloke from Uber Eats was... Read More ›

This lumpfish influencer wants to bring the coolest facts from under the sea to your phone.

The post Introducing Nate Spada: TikTok Correspondent for Nautilus Ocean appeared first on Nautilus.

A day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to a public discussion with Max Blumenthal on Israel-Palestine, his campaign walked back his words. RFK Jr. has pledged “unconditional support” to Israel while spouting vitriolic anti-Palestinian rhetoric. One day after Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to comedian and podcaster Jimmy Dore’s proposal that he engage with The Grayzone’s editor-in-chief, Max Blumenthal, in a public dialogue on Israel-Palestine, Kennedy’s campaign nixed the discussion. During an August 1 phone call […]

The post RFK Jr staff block Israel-Palestine dialogue after the candidate agreed first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post RFK Jr staff block Israel-Palestine dialogue after the candidate agreed appeared first on The Grayzone.

As one twitter wag quipped: “Less than a year ago reporters were gushing over how ‘savvy’ DeSantis is.” DeSantis just wrapped up a three-day trip to New Hampshire, his first since downsizing his campaign due to financial problems. On the ground, it was clear the challenges he faces here remain significant, even as his chief rival confronts major legal problems. But on paper, Desantis’s path to winning the GOP nomination is clear, said Scott Maltzie, a Republican activist and DeSantis supporter from Concord. “We’ve got to convince the soft Trump voters not to vote for Trump,” he said, after DeSantis spoke in Rochester Monday. “And we’ve got to convince the people currently supporting the others that they have no chance in hell.” […] Throughout his trip to New Hampshire, he appeared bent on demonstrating that no candidate talks tougher.

Desperate to present a united front at the forthcoming Labor conference in Brisbane, the Albanese government looks to prevent delegates voting on the merits of the AUKUS alliance and for recognition of Palestine as a state. On two crucial issues, dissent is feared. An opportunity for informed debate will be lost. Toeing a party line Continue reading »

Did colonialism ever die? Distant major powers are making life-and-death decisions that will impact Indonesia, ironically on the eve of the Republic’s 17 August national day celebrating Soekarno’s 1945 proclamation of independence from three centuries of Dutch rule. The pith helmets have gone, but the baseball caps are ever-present along with a few slouch hats. Continue reading »

There has been much research and speculation about whether the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC, or more popularly the Gulf Stream) may collapse and what the consequences might be. Now there is new 2023 research which firms up predictions as to when it might happen. The bad news – it might be earlier than previously Continue reading »

Last week the Productivity Commission released its draft Review of the National Closing the Gap Agreement. The National Agreement on Closing the Gap was launched with a lot of fanfare in July 2020, promising a new era of reform and a ‘genuine’ commitment of governments to work in partnership with First Nations peak organisations. Rather Continue reading »

The 3 August Vietnam Veterans’  Vigil (VVV) is separate from the 18 August government-sponsored Commemorative Service on Vietnam Veterans’ Day. The 18 August Service officially marks the fiftieth anniversary of Australia’s withdrawal from the Vietnam War (1962-72). The 3 August Vigil falls after the sixtieth anniversary of the Australian Army Training Team’s arrival in Vietnam Continue reading »

It’s been devastating, even if no one’s paying attention. Three months of fighting in Sudan between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Force (RSF) has left at least 3,000 people dead and wounded at least 6,000 more. Over two million people have been displaced within the country, while another 700,000 have fled to neighbouring Continue reading »

Instead of serving markets, we should have markets serving our needs for a fairer, greener world. Enter social stock exchanges – the institutionalisation of doing good. The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates again, but the mood in the stock markets suggests that, after a mild recession, it may be time again for wine Continue reading »

In recent weeks, school boards across the country have become sites of conflict as organized...

This piece in the Bulwark takes a look at the two main defenses that Trump’s lawyers are likely to employ when it comes to a trial. (If it comes to a trial.) I don'[t know if this is correct but it’s interesting.

The oil company whose vinyl chloride poisoned East Palestine gave $2 million to the Senate GOP as lawmakers watered down and stalled proposed reforms.

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No thanks. I’m a big dumb dumb. I win the award for Biggest Dumb Dumb every single year. I have so many Biggest Dumb Dumb awards that the shelf I kept them on collapsed under the weight. People got hurt.

When I go out to eat at a restaurant, I spill my drink. I do it on purpose. I also text and drive. I’m texting and driving right now. I’m texting things like “Newsletters are stupid” to all my friends. They all reply, “Who is this?” because I don’t have any friends.

I am a human toilet. When I go into Home Depot, the employees say, “Excuse me, the toilet aisle is over there,” and “I don’t think we’ll ever sell this toilet because it is the worst toilet in the world,” and “Hey, why is this toilet just walking around? Somebody do something.”

In the seventh part of its three-year special investigation, Byline Times can reveal the internet data leaks that tie the TV presenter to the online aliases he has not denied being connected to