The August Collection
The Daodejing, a millennial saint, Silicon Valley meditation & more
Howdy, I’m keeping things very simple this week as I enjoy a long (U.S.) holiday weekend in one of my favorite places with some of my favorite people… Sit with the quote below and check out a few articles that recently have caught my attention.
“The work of learning is daily addition.”
But the work of the course is daily subtraction,
subtracting and further subtracting until undoing is reached―
a nondoing that leaves nothing undone.It is the constancy of having no task to do
That allows one to gain the world.
Where there is anything to do,
no amount of doing is ever sufficient
to gain the world.―Daodejing by Laozi
1. I’m reading this mystical gem―Sun House by David James Duncan.
2. Fascinating: A teen tech whiz nicknamed 'God's influencer' will become the first millennial saint. (NPR)
Acutis was a devout Catholic who taught himself programming from an early age and created websites with a spiritual focus, including his widely praised database of miracles. He is credited with helping homeless people and defending victims of bullying during his lifetime, and having a hand in two healing miracles after his death — the requisite number for all Catholic saints.
3. So much to sift through here: My Week at the Buzzy Meditation Retreat That Promises Bliss on Demand (TIME)
Many in Silicon Valley see the jhanas as offering a tantalizing promise: a way to reprogram one’s internal software to access bliss on demand. It’s an idea in keeping with the Bay Area’s history as a playground for those chasing both peak performance and peak experience. If done responsibly, the upside could be enormous.
4. Go figure: Americans’ Struggle with Mental Health: We explore why rates of anxiety and depression are higher than they were before the pandemic. (NYT)
While older people show declines in attention and memory, they seem to gain more control over their emotions. Some research suggests that older people learn to focus more on positive memories — or what one team of psychologists called “emotionally gratifying memory distortion” regarding the past.
5. Announcing!!! A weeklong workshop with Chip Conley and the Modern Elder Academy: Discovering The Hero’s Journey in Midlife.
I’m thrilled about the opportunity to offer this workshop as guest faculty with Chip Conley at the end of January 2025 at the stunning Rising Circle Ranch in Sante Fe, New Mexico, recently named one of TIME’s World’s Greatest Places. If you’re looking for a transformational retreat experience, I hope you’ll consider joining us!