Greetings Reader, I don’t remember exactly when I first read Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction novel Dune — mid 70’s or early 80’s? For a couple of weeks it was my constant companion on the New York City subway system. I clearly remember thinking that it would be impossible to make a convincing movie out of it, given the limited special effects capabilities of the time. Early attempts to do so proved me right (IMNSHO). It’s possible now, of course, but If you haven’t seen either of the...
1 day ago • 2 min read
Greetings Reader, Anger got the better of me the other day. I was angry at everyone and everything connected to the murder of Renee Nicole Good. I’m betting you’re feeling it, too. Then I saw a post about Ms Good’s murder. It was well-intentioned, but timid. I thought the person who posted it — who I know beyond the confines of social media — had a moral responsibility to make a stronger statement. I posted a comment to that effect. A reply to my comment soon followed, which prompted another...
8 days ago • 3 min read
Greetings Reader - The 2026 edition of our free monthly series, Community Conversations, kicks off next week. This month, we're going to explore the question of how to reconcile the idea of surrender to "divine will" with the moral imperative to participate in the project of making the world a better place.According to yoga philosophy, everything happens for a reason; there is a cause to every effect. However, the precise cause of any given effect can be hard to ascertain. Yoga philosophy...
12 days ago • 2 min read
Greetings Reader, According to our friends at Merriam-Webster, yesterday’s Word of the Day was “senescence.” Senescence is a word that refers to the state of being old or the process of becoming old. It’s related to words like senior and senile. It's also connected to ancient Rome and the Latin word for the council of elders, the Senatus, which acted as an advisory body on administrative, financial, military, and foreign policy matters of great importance to the Roman Republic. This may...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Greetings Reader, Last week someone told me how much they liked the way I rendered a Sanskrit phrase into English in my book, Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita. It was an especially meaningful compliment because I’d put a lot of thought into how to render this particular phrase. I felt obliged to honor the requirement of matter-of-factness in the delivery of one of the Gita’s heavier reality checks. I also felt the need to convey the message with a level of poetic sensitivity that would honor...
22 days ago • 4 min read
Greetings Reader, ‘Tis the season to light candles, decorate trees, spin dreidels, honor ancestors, exchange gifts, listen to Handel’s Messiah (or Mariah Carey), and, apparently, contemplate questions about chakras. A mysterious synchronicity in the questions I receive occurs from time to time. This time, the synchronicity revolves around the mystery of chakras, as several people have asked me the same questions (more or less) over the last few days: "Are chakras really referenced in the yoga...
29 days ago • 3 min read
Greetings Reader, Last week I told you that I’ve been spending a lot of time looking into how yoga philosophy offers us a vision for the future. That vision begins with resistance to all that is intolerable about the present: extra-judicial detentions and deportations, making the world safe for producers of “forever chemicals,” one mass shooting after another, kleptocratic authoritarianism, . . . the list goes on and on. Successful resistance movements Understand and address the conditions...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I think you need the equivalent of a degree in High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy to drive safely in India. If you can imagine something between a three-ring circus and NASCAR with stops and starts and constant horn-honking, that's what vehicular traffic in an Indian city is like. Which is why you'll never see me behind the wheel of a car (or a tuk-tuk) in Mumbai, but I'm happy to report that I've successfully crossed the street there a few times. The first time I visited Mumbai, I...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Greetings Reader, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately looking into how yoga philosophy offers us a vision for the future? By which I mean, the future after Trump. And I don’t just mean Trump the person; I mean the racist, sexist, pseudo-religious kleptocratic authoritarian extremism that Trump personifies. It will crash and burn . . . eventually. It’s just a question of when. Personally, I would prefer sooner than later. But even a blue wave next November may only amount to a quick fix...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader, It’s an overlooked fact: God shows up in the teachings of yoga more often than any other topic. Want proof: count the number of sūtras in Patañjali's Yoga-sūtra that are about Īśvara, the Sanskrit philosophical term that, in this context, refers to the “Supreme Controller.” Or you can take my word for it: Patañjali spills more ink on Īśvara than on any other topic. And the Bhagavad-gītā? The Gītā’s overarching theme is dharma, but the primary subject is Krishna, the speaker of the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read