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Another great one. I’m supposed to be a Traditional Catholic (slash Jewish) novelist, so I feel an obligation to use my platform here to evangelize and tell people to consider the Rosary. Even if you’re Jewish or basically Jewish (atheist who lives in New York City and reads books and smokes cigs and goes to the movie theater and eats lox) it could be nice for you to sit somewhere and close your eyes for 15 to 30 minutes, clear your head, put the phone down, take the AirPods out. Even if you don’t think repeatedly saying the Hail Mary does anything—because you’re not Catholic or whatever—you might as well try it, since people have been doing it for like 1000 years and they all say it’s very powerful.
If you’re interested in “meditating” or some kind of secular practice for the depression or anxiety you probably have, why not do the one that might also be good for your eternal soul? What do you have to lose? Seems like a pretty simple calculation: that if you’re going to do some kind of mindfulness practice, you should do the one that might have the added benefit of supernatural assistance from the Mother of God.
Here’s a quote from Sister Lucia dos Santos who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima:
“Prayer and sacrifice are the two means to save the world. As for the Holy Rosary, Father, in these last times in which we are living, the Blessed Virgin has given a new efficacy to the praying of the Holy Rosary. This in such a way that there is no problem that cannot be resolved by praying the Rosary, no matter how difficult it is – be it temporal or above all spiritual – in the spiritual life of each of us or the lives of our families, be they our families in the world or Religious Communities, or even in the lives of peoples and nations.
But even if you’re a Jewish atheist and don’t believe that this nun talked to Mary, mother of Jesus a bunch of times, you should still try saying the Rosary. Pretend Andrew Huberman, or Sam Harris, or Doctor Fauci told you about it.
Oct 7, 2024
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I’ve been doing a lot of research and it seems like every major religion practiced meditation at some point; many have since pushed it aside as non-essential, but history says at some point it was integral to all faiths.
Having grown up in a very fundamental Christian home, the M word was a bad word. We didn’t mediate! We thought it was secular & evil! Both myself and my family have since come to the realization that even the extreme fundamentalist Christian worldview has historically acknowledged the need to meditate at some point. It’s been freeing to dig back into the biblical texts and go “Ahhhhh okay, so everyone agrees we should meditate, cool.”
I believe it says a lot that all faiths consider this practice to be important. The journey for me has shifted the question from “Should I meditate?” to “What should I meditate on?” — Being intentional about the what has helped me on this journey. On good days, meditation brings me clarity on major life decisions. On most days, it (at minimum) brings me a sense of peace.
Unsure if you’d consider that to fit under woo woo shit, but I think it’s worth looking into for every person regardless of what they believe / don’t believe.
Apr 10, 2024
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Jesus fuck. growing up a neurodivergent kid w wavering mental health, a wavering home life, in and out of therapy, etc, you always hear “have you tried meditating”
No Susan I never fucking thought of that thank you for the recommendation
Well finally at my big age, I took the leap to start practicing and Jesus fuck. Why was I avoiding this my whole life. I have been so resistant to it because it’s intimidating, it’s not instant gratification every time, and it’s … well scary! What if I mess up. What you mean sitting still for ten or so mins and not thinking.
I have always been big into dreams. I’ve wrote down my dreams for as long as I can remember, have books upon books filled, and practice lucid dreaming. It’s kind of like that but without being asleep and without any anxiety inducing scenarios
It’s improved a lot of areas in my life in the two short months I have been practicing
I’m having fun
Mar 5, 2025
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MEDITATION IS MEGA NAMASTE AND WORKS WONDERS. WHAT STARTED AS A BIT OF A CHEEKY OBSESSION WITH ALL THINGS SPIRITUAL HAS REALLY HELPED MY MIND. PLUS I READ COURTNEY LOVE CHANTS FOR HOURS LIKE EVERY EFFING DAY FOR SOBRIETY. I WISH I COULD HAVE A SHAMAN OR A GURU IN MY PERSONAL ENTOURAGE BUT FOR NOW I STICK WITH GUIDED MEDITATION WITH A THERAPIST OR ONE OF THOSE LAME APPS. OR DMT. MEDITATING REALLY EFFING SOOTHES LE RACING THOUGHTS FOR REAL. PRAYER BEADS ADD A STYLISH MINDFULNESS. I ALWAYS GOT MINE AT THAT TIBET STORE ON 2ND AVE WITH THE HOT CRUST PUNKS/ OOGLES OUTSIDE OF IT….BUT SADLY IT HAS CLOSED.
Feb 8, 2023
Top Recs from @matthewdavis
I’ve been blown away by rewatching Family Guy Season 4. It’s really impressive, but falls off hard about 10 episodes into Season 5. There’s a subversive and unpredictable quality to these episodes that’s unlike any other show I’ve seen. I had these all recorded on my TiVo as a child and would watch them over and over, so it’s part of a dangerous regressive pattern (see my earlier recommendation of “chilling”), but I think these are some of the most creative episodes of comedy television ever made. They’re bursting with energy and the pacing is mind boggling, joke after joke after joke. I had forgotten how smart the show used to be. In my head it was kind of a dumb show for middle schoolers and adults with tattoos who work at vape shops, but I was wrong, I’ll admit it.
Oct 7, 2024
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was about 2 in the morning, patrick and I were talking about how we hadn't had it in years. I told him I would get it sometimes as a kid, not too often, it always felt like a treat. so I opened up doordash and we just went for it. biscuits were the best part. chicken kinda got cold.
Jan 12, 2025
I never knew about chilling until I was 26 years old. Well, I’d dabbled in chilling, but this year, after I decided to become a bohemian novelist whose primary goal in life isn’t to produce anything of value, but rather to trick people into reading a thing I wrote several years ago, chilling has become an essential part of my life. I particularly enjoy doing 1000 things in one day on Instagram, like this Druski video. I’ve had a lot of days where I’ve done 1000 things in one day. A couple weeks ago I went to all five boroughs of New York City in one day, and did activities in each—but that’s a story for a different time.
Oct 7, 2024