Category Archives: Personal Development

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Meditation and the Dark Night of the Soul

The "Dukkha ñanas"

As mindfulness meditation deepens, insight does not unfold in a straight, ascending line. For many practitioners, the path includes periods of fear, grief, disorientation, or loss of meaning—experiences traditionally referred to as the Dark Night of the Soul. The experience of the “Dark Night” can feel like everything is falling apart. But in Vipassanā meditation, these experiences are not signs of failure, but natural stages of insight known as the dukkha ñāṇas. In other words, these experiences are the very arising of wisdom.

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Aikido, Process Work, & Deeper Currents of Conflict

RAW Podcast w/ Gary Reiss & Miles Kessler

What does it mean to meet conflict—not with reactivity or avoidance—but with presence, clarity, and a willingness to go deeper? In a recent episode of the RAW podcast, my colleague Dr. Gary Reiss and I sat down with host Anouk Louri to explore these questions and share our experiences in trauma healing, martial arts, and group facilitation.

Gary shared his insights from his work in Israel and the Palestinian territories, including collaborations with trauma experts on both sides. Drawing from Process-Oriented Psychology, he explores how we can access the wisdom hidden within personal and collective tension—even, and especially, in heartbreaking times.

I shared the perspective of Aikido, a martial art rooted in harmony and non-resistance, and how its philosophy can help us engage conflict with grounded strength rather than force. Recorded during Gary’s recent visit to Tel Aviv, where we co-facilitated “healing the healers” events, this conversation invites you to reflect on what it means to respond—not react—amid profoundly uncertain times.

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Healing The Polarization In The Self & The World

Process Work & Aikido - w/ Dr. Gary Reiss

What does it mean to heal our wounds? What does it mean to resolve conflict with others? How are these questions related, and if that was a process, what would it look and feel like? These are the questions I recently explored with therapist and fellow Aikido practitioner Dr. Gary Reiss.

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ISRAEL/PALESTINE AND THE DEATH OF DIALOGUE

BLOCKED BY A BUDDHA BRO

A Buddha Bro blocked me on “X” over the Israel/Palestine conflict. I had assumed we’d be able to dialogue across the polarization. We’re both Buddhist meditation teachers sharing a common lineage, friends, and mentors. We’ve both built online platforms dedicated to raising consciousness and culture. I’m half Jewish and he’s a quarter Palestinian. And we both grew up in the American South learning how to code-switch in a cultural milieu potholed with antisemitism and islamophobia.