Carpe Diem

“Death and Disobedience in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Megan Baffoe writes for The Order of the Good Death on the themes of mortality and disobedience in director Guillermo del Toro’s recent movie: The spirit explains her philosophy of death – that, all in all, ‘the one thing that makes human life precious and meaningful … is how brief it is.’ I’ve of course … Read more“Death and Disobedience in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

“A New Paganism”

Ed Simon writes for Aeon on the subject of Paganism: Of course, humanity will be long extinct, our most enduring contribution to the geological record a precipitous rise in carbon dioxide and perhaps a narrow band of plastic threaded through the strata. Bertrand Russell, the great philosophical freethinker who forthrightly admitted to trembling at the thought … Read more“A New Paganism”

Omar’s Rubaiyat Contemplation Cards

My new art project, the Omar’s Rubaiyat Contemplation Cards deck, is now available. Oh, come with old Khayyám, and leave the Wise To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies; One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies. ― Attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) … Read moreOmar’s Rubaiyat Contemplation Cards

“Inside the Spiritual Jacuzzi”

I’m reading Carole Cusack’s excellent Invented Religions: Imagination, Fiction and Faith and am delighted to have discovered the Hot Tub Mystery Religion, intriguingly described in this 2003 Reason.com article by Jesse Walker: Atheists have long regarded religion as, at best, a collective work of art, but in the last century that view has grown popular … Read more“Inside the Spiritual Jacuzzi”

“The Existential Void of the Pop-Up ‘Experience'”

Art critic Amanda Hess writes for the New York Times on the phenomenon of themed pop-up “museums”, “mansions” and “laboratories” that function mostly as Instagram selfie backdrops: The central disappointment of these spaces is not that they are so narcissistic, but rather that they seem to have such a low view of the people who … Read more“The Existential Void of the Pop-Up ‘Experience’”

“Goodnight Lovelies”: a Humanist Memento Mori Meditation with D.S. Moss

Humanist chaplain D.S. Moss, who was the creator and host of the popular Adventures of Memento Mori podcast series, presents this series of bedtime memento mori meditations. Each 14-minute session begins with relaxation, breathing and visualization exercises, proceeds through a review of one’s day giving attention to a particular theme, and then ends with intention-setting … Read more“Goodnight Lovelies”: a Humanist Memento Mori Meditation with D.S. Moss