As I’ve written and talked about many times over the years, I see my contemplative practice and my political/journalistic life as dependent upon one another. Without meditation, I have no idea how I’d remain even slightly stable in the storm; and without engaged writing and activism, I’d feel like I’m missing a big part of the point of being alive.
I’m hardly alone at this juncture of contemplative practice and politics; one of the most widely-covered Buddhist peace walks in recent memory concluded this week in Washington, DC. Coincidentally, I’ve just had the good fortune to be the teacher of the month at 10% with Dan Harris, which has given me the opportunity to reflect on what meditation practices and teachings can be helpful in February of 2026, for the sort of people who read Substacks like this — people engaged with the world.
I wanted to share some of those here as well.
First, in the conversation above, I talk with Dan’s producer, DJ Cashmere, about what meditation might look like, under the threat of authoritarianism and with the radical uncertainties of the present moment. Not surprisingly, as DJ and I discuss, it generally goes in one of two ways: toward blocking out the world or toward embracing it. The way I’ve framed it, the former looks irresponsible, and to be sure, I’ve seen a whole lot of irresponsible, “apolitical” good-vibes-only spirituality online in the last year. But it can also be just what we need to recharge, reset, and make ourselves more available to the people and planet that need our help. It’s all about balance and contrast. In general, though, if you’re being a responsible human right now, you’re going to be, at times, unhappy, or afraid, or angry. It’s appropriate to feel these things, and we can grow wiser and more compassionate by embracing the truths of our experience.
DJ and I also talk for awhile about how I got into meditation in the first place, and how I continue, after all these decades, to live in two intersecting-but-different professional worlds.
I’ve also been doing stuff over on Dan’s newly-launched app, which has a free trial period so you can ‘try before you buy.’ We’ve just recorded and released a wordless lovingkindness meditation, which replaces the phrases customary in secular and Buddhist mindfulness practice with a guided visualization. I admit, I partly did this since I wanted to see what would happen if Dan imagined a warm golden light in his heart center. But I also find this practice to work really, really well at reconnecting with what’s good about humanity (and yourself) while we see a lot of what’s not so good around us.
I also guided a version of what Dzogchen Buddhist practitioners call “non-distracted non-meditation.” This is similar to the ‘resting in awareness’ practice that I’ve led here in the newsletter. It’s also what I actually do, many times a day.
On February 3, Dan and I did a 45-minute live meditation and chitchat session. We practiced with the phrase “right now, it’s like this” and answered some really useful and smart questions folks had on their minds. In a similar vein, this coming Tuesday, February 17, I’ll be hosting a live meditation and Q&A — registration is here.
Finally, next week is the first of a five-session series I’ll be co-teaching (online and in-person) at New York Insight Meditation Center called “Queer Eye(s) on the Precepts.” Together with Jacoby Ballard and Leslie Booker, we’ll be taking a deep dive into each of the five ethical precepts of Theravadan Buddhism, exploring how they do and don’t resonate with queer lives today. If the word ‘queer’ speaks to your experience of sexuality or gender, we’d love to have you join us. More information is here and the flyer is below.
I’m still doing my psychedelics research — more videos from last year’s Harvard symposium are now online here, and I’ll be presenting at psychedelics conferences that are open to the public on March 11, March 25, and April 11. And of course, I’m still doing a lot of Jewish practice and writing as well. But it’s been really restorative to be re-immersing in the engaged dharma world, and I’m happy to be able to share some of this work with you. Thank you for your support.
