Thomas Merton once wrote: “I love beer, and, by that very fact, the world.” This statement is at once whimsical and puzzling. How does a fondness for pale ale stray into a confession of love for the world? Perhaps Merton suggests a fundamental relationship between the mundane and the sublime, the miniscule and the cosmical. Ask a brewer […]
I Love Coffee, and By That Very Fact, The World Read More »
I am standing by the harbour, peering past the sailboats and skycrapers into the mountains in the distance. A bar of sunlight lifts the hillside, cold and deep. Clouds curl into flakes and break over waters glistening with the starkness of light. The nip of winter air, sharp and bristling. Black mountaintops dotted with snow. The city
Nature and Mental Health: The Call to Come Home Read More »
Every meditator experiences ebbs and flows in practice. There are times when awareness arrests us, engulfing us in crystalline stillness. Other times we brace against squalls of the anxiety. Sometimes our discipline is sharp and square; we practice without waver. Other times we are reluctant to drag ourselves to the sitting cushion, depleted by the
Can’t Sit Still? What To Do With Restlessness in Meditation Read More »
Through his analysis of personality and psychic development, honed over many years of practice, Alfred Adler proposed the notion of the fictive final goal as the organizing principle at the core of personhood. The fictive final goal is a vision of completion, the ultimate end that holds the aim of all striving; it is the
Meditation and the Fictive Final Goal Read More »
“I am human, and therefore nothing human can be foreign to me.” This quote from Terence, ancient Roman poet and playwright, crystalizes the unity of human experience. In a world of diversity and intersectionality, to ponder universality is to tread on dangerous ground. One cannot easily generalize personal experience, and there are many lived
When I Practice, I Practice for All Read More »
Aristotle once made a distinction between five forms of knowing: Phronesis (practical knowledge), episteme(knowledge), sophia (wisdom), techne (skill), and logos (reason). Phronesis is expertise forged by experience, the authority of a subject earned through practice. Episteme, on the other hand, is declarative knowledge generated through research and study. The challenge of shaping a life lies
The Hardest Part of Practice: Practicing! Read More »
The mindfulness movement has gained significant momentum in recent decades. There is now widespread interest in mindfulness techniques and practices in the promotion of mental health. Many educators and health-care professionals see mindfulness—a suite of techniques that harness attention and awareness—as a way to manage stress and anxiety. The utilization of this technique as a
Three Analogies for Mindfulness Read More »
Today, my doctoral supervisor asked me: “what is the purpose of contemplative practice in the midst of this pandemic?” I answered: “To help us remain upright amidst great disruption.” Later, I reviewed this extemporaneous reply and decided that it could use some elaboration. In this blog post, I consider what contemplative practice offers in trying times, how awareness
Contemplation. . . Tonic or Placebo? Read More »
David Chang Counselling is gratefully located on the territories of the the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. David supports and celebrates diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, and neurological composition.
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