A writer I’ve never heard of before, named Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, has a very interesting article titled “The Virtues of Enlightened Selfishness” that begins:

The human being has two wings, the wing of universality and the wing of individuality, with which to fly above the earth and to soar into the heavens. The wing of universality grows in the ( Read more... )

Check out the new Mudita Forum, if you think you might be interested.

The purpose of Mudita Forum is to provide a stimulating, thoughtful environment for discussing Eastern consciousness-raising practices - such as meditation, mindfulness, and the cultivation of presence - while using Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism as a basic philosophical ( Read more... )

Thanks to Andrew Schwartz for bringing this to my attention. Very good stuff. I like it when people can understand one another despite having very different beliefs; and Penn’s commentary here is an excellent example of that.

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Originally published at Mudita Journal. Please leave any comments there.

I received the following from a new reader, Andrea Pflaumer. She offered that I could publish it here for Mudita Journal readers, and I’m delighted to take her up on the offer.

For the next two months we can expect the airwaves and blogosphere to heat up with negative rhetoric on both sides about the candidates. That is, unfortunately, the way ( Read more... )

In response to Joe Duarte’s rant against serving in Iraq in order to promote American freedom - “The idea that Iraq was ever a threat to Americans’ freedoms is both hilarious and revolting...” - I posted the following.

I don’t recall anyone arguing that Iraq was a threat, but [see correction below] I certainly remember some extremely articulate ( Read more... )

If you struggle, as I do, with the nutty distinction between being considered “liberal” or “conservative” in modern America, you might share my enjoyment of this thoughtful post by Patrick Stephens.

In fact, Patrick’s discussion here, and his weighing of the various positions, strikes me as one that comes squarely from a second-tier perspective (in ( Read more... )

Regular readers of Mudita Journal and Mudita Forum are already familiar with Andrew Schwartz.

I’ve enjoyed his contributions here for many years now, because he’s one of those rare souls who lives and breathes the stuff of psychology, creativity, and personal growth.

To my delight and hearty encouragement, he has begun offering his services ( Read more... )