Atheism makes many good points

New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign | Facebook

(Cynic Machine) The most simple atheist speeches in 17 minutes

• Atheist Bus Campaign (Atheism)

Ancient Indian atheism: materialism

(Stephan's History of the World) The atheists of ancient India ("Nothing exists after death")

The Vedas are wrong? Karma has no effects?

Charvaka (Sanskrit चार्वाक, Cārvāka), also known as Lokāyata ("world only"), is an ancient Indian school of materialism [1].

It is an example of the atheistic schools in the ancient Indian philosophies [a][3][b][5][c].

Charvaka holds that only direct perception (seeing with my own eyes, experiencing with my own senses), empiricism (provable, objective scientific method), and conditional inference (logical deduction and argument) are proper sources of knowledge; it embraces philosophical skepticism and rejects all ritualism [4][6][7][8][9].

In other words, the Charvaka epistemology (the study of how we know or decide that things are true) states that whenever one infers a truth from a set of observations or truths, one must acknowledge doubt; inferred knowledge is conditional [10]. It was a well-attested belief system in ancient India [d].

Brihaspati, a [heretical] philosopher, is traditionally referred to as the founder of the Charvaka or Lokāyata philosophy, although some scholars dispute this [11, 12].

• The Buddha taught a way to be rid of (wrong) views
• Heterodox schools of Indian philosophy | PPTX

On Lokayata | Indic Civilizational Portal

.

Charvaka developed during the Hindu reformation period in the first millennium BCE [13] and is considered a philosophical predecessor to subsequent or contemporaneous heterodox philosophies such as Ajñāna, Ājīvika, Jainism, and Buddhism [14].

Its teachings have been compiled from historic secondary literature such as those found in the shastras, sutras, and Indian epic poetry [15].

Charvaka is categorized as one of the nāstika or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy [16, 17]. More

• Heresy in Buddhism: Six Heretical Teachers at the time of the historical Buddha
• Akriyavada: denying the efficacy of karma (deeds) to produce results in the future

Sex, loneliness epidemic, Buddhist Japan

Lost in Translation (with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray

Science 'films' HAPPINESS in brain

Better living through (natural) chemistry

There's a chemical in dark chocolate (real Theobroma cacao) related to happiness and good sensations. It's also present in mary-jah-wanna, which probably explains why consumers get so clingy and attached to using the herbal substance. This naturally occurring chemical is called anandamide. Ananda, of course, is the name of the Buddha's closest friend and monastic attendant (likely his son with Mriga from before the birth of Rahula with his wife Yasodhara (aka Bimba Devi, according to some Buddhist schools). In Sanskrit and Pali anand means "bliss, joy, rapture." The suffix amide is added: In the usual nomenclature, one adds the term "amide" to the stem of the parent acid's name. For instance, the amide derived from acetic acid is named acetamide (CH3CONH2).

• The Bliss Molecule: Why the Anandamine in Chocolate Makes Us Feel So Good

Now, one might be wondering, “What on earth is anandamide, and why should I care?” Well, pull up a chair and grab a square of dark chocolate, because we’re about to embark on a flavor-filled journey into the world of neuroscience and cocoa chemistry. Anandamide, derived from the Sanskrit word ananda, meaning “bliss or joy,” is a naturally occurring compound in our brains. It’s part of the endocannabinoid system, a complex network that helps regulate various bodily functions, including mood, appetite, and pain sensation. In essence, anandamide is the brain’s very own mood-enhancing, stress-busting superhero. But how does this marvelous molecule work its magic? When anandamide binds to specific receptors in our brains, it triggers a cascade of feel-good effects. More

Buddha's Brain: Neuroscience of Happiness

Happiness is literally an inside job, according to scientific materialism, which believes that we are nothing more than material constructs and that the miracle of consciousness is but an epiphenomenon following on the interaction of material objects like cells, chemicals, molecules, and ever smaller atom, electrons, and quarks.

Organized religion errs on the side of spiritualism, believing us to be a "soul," "spirit," or "magical subtlety." These three things are real, but they are not the self any more than consciousness is.

There is nama rupa, "name" (the instructions) and "form" (the carrying out of those instructions in the material sphere). But self (atta) is not that. How else could it be? If it not one, it has to be the other, unless it is both? It is both both and neither.

What we regard as "self" (soul, ego) is mind-and-body, but though mental and physical processes exist and are active, they do not amount to a concrete "self."

The "self" that exists is dependent, temporary, ephemeral subject to Three Characteristics of All Conditioned Things: they are impermanent, incapable of satiating/fulfilling, and are impersonal.

This last characteristic is the one that is impossible to believe, but it is the key to awakening/enlightenment in the Buddha's teaching.

We can see that all things are impermanent, in flux, constantly changing, undependable. We can see that we have never been fulfilled for long; we experience great pleasure but remain hungry, in many cases becoming more hungry for newer and better pleasures.

IF THERE IS NO SELF, WHAT IS THERE THEN? The Buddha answered this question in terms of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppāda). And it is on account of not seeing this, not grasping, not penetrating this that we have wandered so long in this painful samsara.

Will we fall under the spell of scient-ism, run to religion for shelter, or begin to see what the Buddha was getting at when he encouraged us to strive for calm and liberating-insight?

"Science can prove what it says." Can it? It redefines "happiness" as an endorphin then shows a peptide "walking," and viola, nonmaterialistic Buddhism is wrong? That's how it might seem, but it is not the case. We must look more deeply. Science fails us. And coming and seeing and investigating what the Buddha taught liberates us. Try it.

Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

Preface by Jack Kornfield

(Paperback) Authors Dr. Rick Hanson Ph.D. and Dr. Richard Mendius, MD (with preface by Jack Kornfield and foreword by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, MD) have 4.7 out of 5 stars (with 2,019 reviews).

Change your brain, change your life with this essential classic from New York Times bestselling author Dr. Rick Hanson—now celebrating 15 years in print with more than 500,000 copies sold.

Great teachers like the historical Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, and Gandhi were all born with brains built essentially like everyone else’s—and then they changed their brains in ways that changed the world.

Neuroscience now reveals how the flow of thoughts actually sculpts the brain. More and more, we are learning that it’s possible to strengthen positive brain states.

By combining breakthroughs in science with insights from thousands of years of mindfulness practice, we too can shape our own “Buddha’s Brain” for greater happiness, love, and wisdom. 

Buddha’s Brain draws on evidence-based neuroscience to show readers how to stimulate their brains for

• more fulfilling relationships,
• a deeper spiritual life, and
• a greater sense of inner confidence and self-worth.

Using guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, learn how to activate the brain states of calm, joy, and compassion instead of worry, sorrow, and anger.

Most importantly, anyone who implements these practices will foster positive psychological growth that will literally change the way life is lived day-to-day.

This book provides an essential intersection of psychology, neurology, and contemplative practice. It’s filled with practical tools and skills useful every day to tap into the unused potential of the brain and rewire it over time for greater well-being. More

Science discovers the meaning of life

All life comes down to matter, says Materialism

A Mystery as Old as Humanity: For centuries, we’ve asked the same impossible question: What is life—and what gives it meaning? Now, scientists think they’re closer than ever to answering it. But their explanation isn’t philosophical or spiritual—it’s something far more concrete, hidden deep within the structure of matter itself.

• What if Buddhism's fundamental unit of materiality in this universe, the rupa kalapa, or "form particle," explains the "meaning of life"? What if all we are is just material, arising in the cosmos, turning, and passing away into nothingness, having emerged from there in the first place?
• Preposterous. The Buddha rejected this wrong view (miccha-ditthi) in very strong terms. It leads to a very pernicious view that denies a great deal about our lives. There are two extreme views the Buddha rejected and avoided; they are the annihilationist view on the one hand and the eternalist view on the other. Instead, he taught Dependent Origination as an explanation for all things.
• The idea that we (the self, soul, ego, personality, living being) are only material in nature is flawed and leads to the annihilationist wrong view that says that when we die, everything stops. There is no further becoming. Karma has no force to produce further becoming, rebirth, rearising in another state, manifesting the results of previous deeds.
• There is a similar extreme on the other end, that of the eternalists who proclaim that the self/soul (atta or atman) continues in essence unchanged forever, individuated, fated to receive the result of all previous deeds (karma). This, too, is a wrong view.
• How could they both be wrong? Wouldn't one being wrong necessitate the other being right? No. Both views are at odds with reality, and enlightenment (bodhi) is knowing-and-seeing things as they truly are thereby being liberated from the endless Round of Rebirth (samsara).
• What does the Middle Way say is the case? One must first understand that "middle" does not mean a compromise between both views, a mean or average of the two. Indeed, what we are or at least what we identify with, has a material component, but there is also a psychological component. This is nama-rupa, "name and form." This can be said of all things, not just us.
• More importantly, what is "us"? What are "we"? What is the self or soul or the being? The Buddha said when people speak of self, they are referring to the Five Aggregates clung to as self. These are form; feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness(es).
• What, ultimately speaking, is "form" (rupa)? Science does not know, but well-instructed mystics (noble ones, knowers, seers, those endowed with the divine eye or dibba cakkhu) know. They do not know it by rote. Anyone can come to know that. They know it by direct perception. They are well instructed not to memorize a list but rather to engage in a practice (Satipatthana) to directly see, penetrate, and understand what is there in material form. Unfortunately, what is there is described in ancient and archaic terms. When modern people hear these words, they -- thinking they know what they mean -- dismiss them out of hand.
• Those who listen, who give ear and attention to comprehend what the Buddha meant by these ancient terms is then instruction on the PRACTICE to be able to see them directly. See what? The Four Elements. We "know" there aren't four elements. There are many more. This is not what "elements" (dhatu) means in Buddhism. The elements are not, roughly speaking, material. They are qualities, characteristics, descriptions of matter. Those many descriptions are put into four categories, and these categories are the "elements."
• The PRACTICE of Four Elements Meditation is the way to know-and-see them. This is not science to SHOW others. This is Buddhist psychology (Abhidhamma) to see for oneself. For it is only by knowing-and-seeing for ourselves that we can become free. No one has ever gained freedom, enlightenment, spiritual liberation simply by reading -- just as no one has ever learned physics by flipping to the back pages of a text for the answers to equations. The answers are back there so that, after doing the PRACTICE of calculating, we can see if our results comport and accord with what others have confirmed are the answers. It is essential to come see for oneself. That is the Path of Freedom (Vimuttimagga), the Path of Purification (Vissudhimagga).

Source: Scientists think they’ve finally found the meaning of life (MSN)

Money, sex scandal at Shaolin Temple

China's head of Shaolin Temple arrested

(China Insider with David Zhang) July 28, 2025: Capitalism is good, just like America taught us. If it's good enough for Protestant Christian televangelists and  One product from China Insider with David Zhang tagged products below in the commodification of sea creatures. Learn more (pre-sale, shipping at the end of September) and get a bonus pack of Taiwan Yushan High-Mountain Oolong Tea (150g).

The Spiritual or Material? (Alan Watts)

Turn on, tune in, drop out: The Hippie Trail

The Hippie Trail: The Story of the Original Travel Influencers

Our quest will take us high up to the very top

(Alive & Curious) Who were the original travel influencers? This is the story of the Hippie Trail, the ultimate road trip of the 1960s and 70s, a countercultural odyssey that saw free-spirited travelers journeying overland from the U.S. and Europe to Asia in search of enlightenment and adventure.

The journey usually began in Western cities like London, Amsterdam, and West Berlin (with plenty others coming from New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Jersey) before weaving through Istanbul and venturing into Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and finally Freak Street in Nepal.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:52 What started the Hippie Trail?
• 04:01 The Hippie Trail routes
• 09:49 Modes of Transport
• 11:01 The Loney Planet story
• 12:53 Drug use and psychedelic rock music
• 13:22 Charles Sobhraj
• 14:21 Why did the Hippie Trail end

Natural class of drugs

Like new the Silk Road for Western Seekers

Entheogens are mind-expanding drugs that are capable of bringing out the divine that resides within. More than mere drugs and far from pharmaceuticals, these natural substances (like DMT, bufo, magic mushrooms, a fungus synthesized as LSD, harmaline, and even cannabis in some uses) may have been the lure -- along with the promise of "free love" -- of the Hippie Trail:

The Hippie Trail: West to East

Bamiyan was a destination the CIA/ISI blew up

The Hippie Trail (or Overland) was a land journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s, all through the 1960s, to the late 1970s [2], travelling from Europe and West Asia through South Asia via countries such as

• Formerly Buddhist Afghanistan (ancient Gandhara, particularly the fabled hometown of the Buddha, Bamiyan),
• Pakistan [3],
• India,
• Nepal,
• Sri Lanka,
• Bangladesh to
• Thailand.

American hippies ruined by Pres. Dick Nixon

The Hippie Trail was a form of alternative (sometimes spiritual) tourism. One of the key elements was travelling as cheaply as possible (on a shoestring, with a knapsack, rucksack, or backpack and a big thumb), mainly to extend the length of time away from home.

Pres. Dick Nixon killed Freak St.

This is part of the trail that started in the U.S.

The term "hippie" became current in the mid-to-late 1960s; "beatnik" (BG) was the previous term from the later 1950s, when everyone was reading Jack Kerouac's Buddhism-infused The Dharma Bums.

• American Buddhist Beat Poet Jack Kerouac

At every major stop of the Hippie Trail, there were cheap hotels, cozy restaurants, and far out cafés for Westerners, who networked with each other as they travelled West and East.

These hippies tended to interact more with the local population than traditional sightseers did [1], really wanting to experience each location fully.

Pink Floyd starring in Dune (Jodorowsky)

Old Freak Street, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Hippie Trail largely ended in the late 1970s primarily due to both the Iranian Revolution resulting in an anti-Western government, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, closing the route to Western travelers [4, 5, 1, 6].

Nowadays, a handful of overlanders, van-dwellers, and adventure travelers follow roughly the route of the old Hippie Trail [7, 8] -- destination Freak Street (Jhochhen Tole). More

The Beatles destinations Pink Floyd Jimmi Hendrix The Pudding Shop Istanbul the Lale Restaurant Magic Bus Company Goa Volkswagen Kombi VW Combi Van Travel in 1960s Travel in 1970s Role of Psychedelic Music The Bikini Killer Serpent Bangkok Drug Tourism Rishikesh Ashram The Who

• Lunar.latitude (IG), Aliveandcurious, YouTube, Dec. 15, 2024; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Chant for stuff: Soka Gakkai Buddhist CULT

Namu myōhō renge kyō (南無妙法蓮華経): Devotion to Mystic Dharma of Lotus Flower Sutra

Pseudo-spirituality books like The Secret, Passion for Profits (Family Guy's Brian writes a bestseller 

Dharma Vlog: Cults and weird Buddhism

(Doug's Dharma) Dougie discusses some experiences with a teacher who was in a couple of cults, plus an example of "weird Buddhism" that provides a bit of a life lesson.

• Why Buddhism isn't a religion (Doug's Dharma)

Beneficial? Lend a hand in exchange for fun benefits. Check out Doug Smith's Patreon: dougsseculardharma. Donate: paypal.me/dougsdharma. Visit the Secular Buddhist Association webpage: secularbuddhism.org. Doug's material: secularbuddhism.org/author/doug.

How to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo | English

(Soka Gakkai Official) Is "wishcraft" real? What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean? [Don't worry about it. That's not important. Just chant it, and don't stop!] How can I start chanting? This short film introduces the daily practice of "Soka Gakkai Buddhists" and demonstrates how to chant [their magic mantra].

• Other power over self-power (tariki over jiriki)
• Who made up the magic Lotus Sutra?

The Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist[-ish] organization that promotes peace, culture, and education centered on [faith, not asking questions, and suspending critical thinking, but you get stuff] respect for the dignity of life.

The CULT of Soka Gakkai

(Prophet of Nonsense) The Many Cults of Japan: Soka Gakkai

The Many Cults of Japan: Soka Gakkai

(Prophet of Nonsense) Formerly Shinto Japan is full of religious crazies. Here are the Buddhist ones.

Its members in 192 countries and territories study and put into practice the humanistic philosophy of [blind faith-based] Nichiren Buddhism. Soka Gakkai members strive to [make money and material riches by magic and] actualize their inherent potential while contributing [tithing it to the cult and] to their local communities and responding to the shared issues facing humankind.

No wonder Japan hates religions

(Let's Ask Shogo) How Japanese people came to hate religions

The conviction that individual happiness and the realization of peace are inextricably linked is central to the Soka Gakkai, as is a commitment to dialogue and nonviolence.

Subscribe to channel: sgivideosonline. Website: sokaglobal.org, Facebook (sgi.info), Instagram (sgi.info), Twitter (sgi_info).

• Doug Smith (secularbuddhism.org), Aug. 10, 2017; Prophet of Nonsense, Oct. 31, 2020; Let's Ask Shogo, Nov. 1, 2023; CC Liu, Sheldon S., Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

To love Christian preacher Joel Osteen (lol)

Ben Palmer; Pushing the Limits Radio Show; iilluminaughtii, 8/26/22; Polite Leader; Purpose In Action, 5/29/23; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Five things to know about me: Don't F with me, don't F with me...

Televangelists are getting worse: Joel Osteen | Corporate Casket

(iilluminaughtii) Welcome to the Corporate Casket, a semi-weekly series where bad businesses go to die. We discuss any and everything from bad charities, terrible CEOs, and businesses that have a lot to hide. Joel Osteen is one of the most popular and recognizable Christian televangelists out there. Let’s talk about him, the Lakewood Church where he preaches, his odd message, and his many controversies.

• 00:00 Hook
• 04:24 Empty Words
• 10:16 Prosperity
• 15:55 AD
• 18:32 Controversy
• 25:02 Lakewood Today
• 27:40 Outro

• Sources: justpaste.it/7xuh2

Writers/researchers/helpers: Ali Z-B. This episode was edited by: Catechism: @mulliemedia and Kelpie and Michael: flowcode.com/page/michael... and Collin Robinson twitter.com/CollinR027 and The Mysterious Brian. This episode's audio was mixed by G. Thomas Craig. Artists: Sprites made by plegberb. Outro song is Cake by Retrovision.

Connect: linktr.ee/iilluminaughtii. Go to shipstation.com and sign up using promo code CASKET for a free 60-day trial. Go to http://everyplate.com and use code casket149 to get your first box for just $1.49 per meal. You made it all the way to the bottom of my description box so, hello there. #iilluminaughtii

Who is the Ahriman or Antichrist (the Satan, the Deceiver)? Is it Joel Osteen?

Who is Ahriman? J.R.R. Tolkien, Rudolf Steiner, Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson

(Purpose In Action) To find out more about me, please visit my website at purpose-in-action.co.uk. This video delves into the concept of "Ahriman," the Persian name for Satan, and explores his influence on the modern world. From the collapse into lower impulses in the scientific community to the centralization of power and authority, see how Ahriman wants us to align our thoughts, feelings, and souls with this illusory material reality. Where can we see Ahrimanic influence, from Buddhist thought [those devils and jerks!] to J.R.R Tolkien's character Gollum? Let's examine potential modern-day incarnations of Ahriman, including the richest man in the world Elon Musk and bigmouth Prof. Jordan Peterson. Let's explore what we can do to counteract this influence and maintain our connection with something beyond the material world [something divine back in the realm of devas]. [Wait, is P.I.A. a British Muslim or Sikh?]

#rudolfsteiner #tolkien #lordoftherings #ahriman #sauron #elonmusk #jordanpeterson

Joel Osteen exposed

(Polite Leader) [Hardcore Christians don't like this slickly produced, feelgood, motivational speaker and money grabber.] Televangelist Joel Osteen is the pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas and a New York Times bestselling author. His books, Your Best Life Now and Become a Better You, have sold millions of copies worldwide. But Joel Osteen teaches a false prosperity gospel or theology based on the New Age Law of Attraction philosophy that is contrary to the clear teaching of the Christian Bible. This video provides a critique of Osteen books and interviews. Instagram: politeleader

Letting go of hoarding and clutter (video)

Christopher Nyerges, School of Self-Reliance; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Christopher Nyerges (\nighr-gesh\) runs the School of Self-Reliance, Los Angeles

.

Get on Amazon or School of Self-Reliance

School of Self-Reliance Founder Christopher Nyerges is the author of 22 books. He teaches students how to do more with less. Why? “Frugality is a fulfilling lifestyle. Some of his books are

• How to Survive Anywhere: A Guide for Urban, Suburban, Rural, and Wilderness Environments
• Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City
• The Self-Sufficient Home: Going Green and Saving Money
• Urban Survival Guide: How City Dwellers Can Live Well, and Frugally, Even in Dire Times.
• See SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com (for all titles and discounts)

There was a sweep of a homeless area in Highland Park (N.E. Los Angeles, California), where they all had to move their tents and stuff. The sanitation department’s large crew filled trucks with junk and scrubbed the sidewalk. 

There's a time for spirituality at WTI (NELA)

Before their work, one could smell piles from 200 feet away.  Fifteen police officers stood by because some of the homeless campers were angry. At least a few shouted violent accusations towards the insensitive “pigs.”

When it was nearly over, I walked through the thick of it to see what stuff homeless people collect. My eyes saw a few useful objects for daily life, but mostly junk and trinkets.  My mind was spinning.

I could not help but contemplate the vast amounts of worthless material stuff so many of us accumulate.  The difference is that housed people can hide their stuff in garages, back rooms, and rental storage units.

We all accumulate these things, thinking them valuable. We cling to these objects, believing they will impart something special or that they will appreciate in value, or even gain some spiritual or esoteric worth. But it is all material stuff.

One day my simple living space will be down to the bare essentials and I'll be free!

How to Survive Anywhere

Here are a few reasons I have become a minimalist in my approach to the collection of physical stuff.

First, when I began becoming interested in survival skills, I realized the great value of storing enough food at home to get through an emergency. It might last a few weeks, even a few months. A safe food supply is not what I call hoarding.

One of my initial purchases of grain was so large that I had an entire wall in a back room full of sealed buckets. A year later I realized I rarely ate it and slowly gave away or sold most of them.

Then I considered being prepared for blackouts and other emergencies. I realized the great value of having extra clothing, blankets, manual (non-electric) tools, knives, and such things.  Yes, I was starting to collect a cache or hoard.  From there, it just went on and on.

Self-Sufficient Home: Go Green Save Money

Should we store all the wood we find so that we can light a fireplace every night for the next year?  Should we collect all the tools and lumber we find so we can build a shed or coop in our backyard without buying it from a lumber yard? Should we collect all that wood even if we’re not actually building anything? That’s how the collection of stuff starts. Anticipation.

It’s all really good useful stuff we might use in an emergency. Before we know it, we’re scouring yard sales and thrift shops, buying things at ridiculously low prices that we might use some day. Or we tell ourselves we could sell it to make extra cash. Maybe we could barter it.

But we don’t sell it, because the retail price for these objects – despite their inherent usefulness – is little more than we originally paid or what the market will bear.

I’ve now gotten to this point. I had plenty of stuff to survive the next apocalypse, but I wasn’t really using it. I had to get shed after shed after paid storage unit after paid storage unit to store all of these really good things.

Before I knew it, I was living in a space crammed full of stuff that I never actually used but which is –I had convinced myself –  very, very valuable.

It’s a big trap. In the past 20+ years, I moved a few times and carefully looked at all the very good material things I had collected. I realized that much of it was never used by me. Never. So I decided to bite the bullet and clean house. I was unwilling to move truckloads of stuff to a new place.

My criteria became, if I had not actually used the object – despite my having determined that it was “very valuable” – in the last 10 years, then I got rid of it.

Urban Survival Guide: How City Dwellers Can Live

I gave dozens of boxes of goods to a scout leader to give outdoor gear to low-income scouts. I gave a truckload of wood and bone and rock and other natural materials to Native American friends to use in the production of art projects. I made donations to the Salvation Army and Goodwill. And I filled my blue recycling bin a dozen times, and I filled the black trash containers many times as well.

Yes, I sold some things, but selling takes time, and I rarely got back what I paid, especially not when I was under a time crunch.

Oddly, I never regretted shedding my life of material baggage. I found the world still had lots of hardware stores and grocery stores and art supply stores, and that if I was actually doing and using a product, I could just go get it as needed.

And if it were really unavailable, I realized that would not be the end of the world. I could do without. I learned to be rich in the degree to which I could do without stuff. More

[To be rich? Let go. Be like the Buddha, who as a wealthy prince renounced everything. Seeing the hidden danger, why would anyone cling?]

• SoCal Burning Man: IgNights Joshua Tree (desertsun.com)