Brian Hines's Profile

We are both the mind and the observer of the mind

Recently I read an essay in either the New York Times or Washington Post by someone who spoke about how Thich Nhat Hanh's classic little book, "The Miracle of Mindfulness," had changed his life. That spurred me to head to... Continue reading

Posted yesterday at Church of the Churchless

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Why I'm going to look upon Trump's second term as a political experiment

Progressives like me have a choice to make now that Trump has been inaugurated for a second term as president. How do we preserve our sanity during the next four years? I have Democratic friends who say that they're unable to pay attention to the news anymore, given all the... Continue reading

Posted 2 days ago at Salem Political Snark

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Germany surviving Hitler doesn't reassure me about Trump

I don't believe that evil exists. At least, not in the way that word typically is used, as someone or something with wholly negative qualities that border, if not actually inhabit, a dualistic metaphysical realm where Good is inherently opposed... Continue reading

Posted 3 days ago at Church of the Churchless

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TikTok is dead. Will Trump resurrect it?

I'm an occasional user of TikTok. When I give it a look, I enjoy what I see. The short videos are mildly addictive. I like how easy it is to simply swipe up on my iPhone's screen and get a new entertaining video. Sometimes it's hard to stop scrolling through... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at Salem Political Snark

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The goal is our chosen direction, says Zen master Henry Shukman

I think it'd be cool to be a Zen master. However, to do that I would have had to actually practice Zen under the guidance of a Zen master, rather than admire Zen from the outside and practice it in... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at Church of the Churchless

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I loved Emilia Pérez, a highly creative genre-bending film

Last night my wife and I finished watching Emilia Pérez on Netflix. We loved the movie, which won four Golden Globe awards this year and likely will be nominated for many Oscars. We tried to imagine what the pitch would... Continue reading

Posted 6 days ago at HinesSight

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I like how Henry Shukman views love

Well, I'm on Day 2 of an approximately year-long journey on what meditation teacher Henry Shukman calls The Way. Pleasingly, I don't have to journey to India or Tibet, nor go on lengthy meditation retreats. All I needed to do... Continue reading

Posted 7 days ago at Church of the Churchless

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Hegseth is wrong. Diversity, equity, and inclusion make our military stronger.

Today I watched part of Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing after Donald Trump nominated him to be Secretary of Defense in his administration. It didn't take long for me to conclude that what I'd been hearing about Hegseth was absolutely true. He's spectacularly unqualified to lead our nation's military. Leaving... Continue reading

Posted Jan 14, 2025 at Salem Political Snark

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Why general relativity leads me to prefer Zen'ish meditation

Ever eager to cram together two seemingly highly separate subjects into a profound (or pseudo-profound) blog post, here's my take on relativity theory and Zen. I got to pondering the connection after two events in my life today tilted me... Continue reading

Posted Jan 13, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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In Providence strike, I'm on the side of nurses and doctors

Last Friday Oregon's largest health care strike in history kicked off as about 5,000 nurses, doctors, and midwives walked off their Providence Hospitals jobs. Dissatisfaction with working conditions was a major reason for the strike, according to the Oregon Nurses... Continue reading

Posted Jan 12, 2025 at HinesSight

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Great Vox article: How meditation deconstructs your mind

Recently I came across two articles on the same subject -- how mindfulness is just the tip of the meditation iceberg, and how advanced meditation approaches can be described scientifically. Here's the introductory passages from "Beyond Mindfulness" by Matthew Sacchet... Continue reading

Posted Jan 11, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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Democratic and Republican leaders preview 2025 legislature at Salem City Club

In the not-so-old days, the Oregon legislature only met every two years. Now it convenes for a short session in even-numbered years, like 2024, and for a long session in odd-numbered years, like 2025. Today the Salem City Club had a program that featured the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Kayse... Continue reading

Posted Jan 10, 2025 at Salem Political Snark

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I'm not impressed with NotebookLM or weird notions of oneness

I do my best to accept the diversity of opinions expressed by people who leave comments on this blog. Diversity is good. If we all believed in the same things, life would be super boring. However, I'm also big on... Continue reading

Posted Jan 9, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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Trump acting like a jerk in politicizing Los Angeles wildfires

No big surprise, but really disturbing nonetheless. Donald Trump, who recently was elected president of the entire United States, all 50 of them, is acting like the non-empathetic jerk that he is by making completely unfounded criticisms of California's governor regarding the wildfires that are devastating the Los Angeles area.... Continue reading

Posted Jan 8, 2025 at Salem Political Snark

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Some thoughts about what oneness is, and isn't

Oneness comes in for quite a bit of discussion in comment conversations on this blog. Not surprisingly, there's no consensus about whether oneness exists or what form it takes. That's to be expected, since debates over whether reality is inherently... Continue reading

Posted Jan 7, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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demobrats podcast is a must-listen if you care about Salem politics

I'm not a big fan of podcasts. Until now. Because thanks to a December 31 story by Whitney Woodworth in the Statesman Journal, "Salem politics goes brat: New 'demobrats' podcast focuses on city budget, local government," I learned about the podcast started by Virginia Stapleton and Vik Schaaf. Stapleton is... Continue reading

Posted Jan 6, 2025 at Salem Political Snark

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Wow. Here's an AI generated podcast discussion of the RSSB guru's message.

When I got an email yesterday from Osho Robbins, a regular visitor to this blog, at first I didn't know what to make of his description of a new video on his You Tube channel. (Osho Robbins is a pseudonym;... Continue reading

Posted Jan 5, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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Regence dispute with Salem Health shows craziness of U.S. health care

I'm glad I ditched my Regence Medicare Advantage plan last November, switching to a Providence Medicare Advantage plan after getting a letter from Salem Health warning that negotiations were ongoing with Regence over renewing a contract for in-network services that expired at the end of the year. For it turned... Continue reading

Posted Jan 4, 2025 at Salem Political Snark

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Free speech is as important in religion as in politics

I'm continuing to enjoy Tim Urban's book, What's Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies. He's a wonderfully creative thinker. It's rare that I can read 245 pages of a non-fiction book without coming across something that just seems wrong... Continue reading

Posted Jan 3, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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Oregon's Rose Bowl loss reminded me of Harris's presidential loss

There I was, all prepared for what I thought was going to be an enjoyable television watching time. I'd been looking forward to this moment for months. I was highly familiar with the contest that finally was going to be... Continue reading

Posted Jan 2, 2025 at HinesSight

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Breathing exercises can calm a frazzled mind

Broadly speaking, there are two approaches to breathing when it comes to meditation and relaxation. The don't interfere approach, which I generally use, advises that we simply notice inhalations and exhalations with close attention without trying to change our breath.... Continue reading

Posted Jan 1, 2025 at Church of the Churchless

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My totally made-up 2024 local and national political awards

It's the last day of 2024. Time to spend a (very) few minutes inspecting the recesses of my brain about what struck me, politically, during the past year, before I turn my attention to a Very Important Question: will CNN be up with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen consuming copious... Continue reading

Posted Dec 31, 2024 at Salem Political Snark

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"The Surprising Allure of Ignorance," an essay by Mark Lilla

My wife subscribes to the print edition of the Sunday New York Times. As I was taking the discarded December 8 edition to our recycling bin, I noticed an essay in the Opinion section, which was on top of the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 30, 2024 at Church of the Churchless

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Jimmy Carter's death reminds us that presidents should be decent and honest

When I got in my car this afternoon and heard talk about Jimmy Carter after I turned on the radio, I knew, or at least strongly suspected, that former President Carter had died. My first thought was, "He was such a decent person, the complete opposite of Trump." Listening to... Continue reading

Posted Dec 29, 2024 at Salem Political Snark

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"The Mindful Geek" is a meditation guide for secular skeptics

Do I really need another book about meditation? No, I've got lots of them at the moment and have read many more over the 55 years I've been engaged in daily meditation. But do I want another book about meditation?... Continue reading

Posted Dec 28, 2024 at Church of the Churchless

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