Everyone is prey to distractedness, to seeing solace in activity as an escape from experiencing ourselves. In fact this is one of the major obstacles to a meaningful life. Bodhipaksa argues, however, that the force underlying our distractedness is a creative one, and that properly channeled it can take us all the way to enlightenment.

I’ve always been fond of this saying from Pascal’s Pensées, which reminds me that not being at peace with ourselves is a human condition rather than a uniquely modern one. All people at all times have suffered the pains of boredom, self-doubt, loneliness, irritability, restlessness, and anxiety that come from not being at peace with ourselves. I’ve experienced …

A not-entirely-random selection of blog posts on meditation.

• A 10-Day Goenka Meditation Course
• Meditation on cleaning the house
• Running as Meditation
• Meditation: A Way of Awakening
• When Recycling’s the Least of Your Worries

Pramod Morjaria visits Delhi’s Tihar jail, where staff and inmates have taken an holistic approach to reform and rehabilitation. Read more

Thai authorities plan to expand a meditation course for prison inmates, after participants in a trial programme responded so positively. Read more