#presence

Books, recordings and apps that have been most important in my meditation practice and my understanding of Eastern philosophy. Read →

Meditation is about bringing your attention to the present moment. The arm. That tension in the neck. The bird singing. A thought arising. A sudden feeling of sadness. That shifts and disappears. The foot against the ground. The breath. The bird, again. Read →

I've discovered that I work like ChatGPT. And you probably do too. Meaning that my next action is essentially determined by whatever context elements I happen to have in my head at that moment. And, like ChatGPT, that context is minimal. Read →

Verbal thought is just commentary. ( We've talked about it. ) It's not what chooses the action. No: it observes and comments. A bit like a babushka sitting all day at the foot of a building: "Did you see that? They chose to raise their right arm again. Read →

Everything is so clear when I'm present. When I'm curious about the moment, when I inspect the colors, sounds, and sensations that come to me... The world is no longer mysterious. It's no longer frightening. Stories of success and failure seem far away. Read →

When I wake up in the morning, I don't know. I have things to do (" what "), like everyone else, but I have no idea how I'm going to go about it. And I think that's the secret. Read →

It happened to me for the first time the day before lockdown. I'd been meditating for two years and that morning, almost by accident, I stopped the voice in my head. No more inner chatter, no more constant judgment, no more anxious rumination. Silence. Read →

Since the future is impossible to predict, every action should be guided by instinct and excitement rather than intellectual planning. Read →

The illusion that prevents presence: the idea that the current moment doesn't really count and is merely a passage toward a destination. Read →

The ego isn't a flaw to be rid of, but a relationship between two ideas that we choose to create ourselves. Read →

We think we act for others, to be kind, to help. But secretly, we're working for ourselves and our own satisfaction. Read →

The most important thing I've learned in recent years: to stand out, you need to build a system. Here's how. Read →

You can optimize the wrong things. You can accelerate in the wrong direction. You can be overwhelmed by work that leads nowhere. Read →

I had stopped drinking. It had decreased naturally, then when I became aware of the hereditary nature of the phenomenon and the place it held in my social life—groups are built on addictions, I realized—I almost completely stopped. Read →

When you look at how the physical and mental work together, you realize the body is kind of like the mind's notebook. Read →

The strongest emotions arise when we feel ignored. So much so that much of what we do seems designed to prove we exist. Read →

I think the festival went so well, both in terms of the connections I made and my film, because I was fully present. I decided I would continue meditating every morning, regardless of my schedule. I stuck to it. Read →

I'm going to make a kino (72-hour film) on Tuesday at the Off Courts Film Festival and I have no idea what I'm going to do. This isn't bad news—quite the opposite. When I show up empty-handed, with nothing but my wits, it means I'm confident. Read →

If we worried less, it would be the great liberator. I'm not talking about suicide. I'm talking about perception of life. A large part of the anxiety we accumulate comes from our tendency to take everything seriously. Read →

People joke they would do nothing if they could. Most would be unable to face the anxiety created by this void. Read →

We picture a Buddhist monk sitting in lotus position in a quiet room with candles and running water. In reality, you can meditate while walking through a construction site. Read →

The mind seeks, finds, and solves problems. That's its nature. It's all it knows how to do. If you ever find yourself at the summit of the mountain you've always coveted; the view, light, and temperature are perfect; it's the accomplishment of a lifetime. Read →

Problems are a function of who we are. By changing inner dispositions, we transform our relationship to external circumstances. Read →

In 2022, I filmed a 10-minute improvisation video every day and posted it on YouTube. In 2025, I’m starting again! Read →

If Sting repeats it three times in his song, it must be important. Read →