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Someone reported my last email as spam.

I know it feels good to hurt other people when you have childhood trauma, but I don’t want my email deliverability to be affected.

If you don’t find my emails helpful, but instead find they cause you to seethe in anger, please unsubscribe now before it gets out of hand (the link is all the way at the bottom)

I know this might be confusing for some of you who don’t quite get what this email list is all about, but I’m assuming you’re here because you’re interested in the products and services I offer.

Kinda like how when you walk into Starbucks they just assume you’re there for coffee or whatever. They don’t tiptoe around it, you know? They aren’t ashamed to put that menu right in front of you and ask for your order.

Everyone takes it as a given that if you don’t like the products on offer at Starbucks, then you’re free to walk out or simply back away from the register. You don’t immediately go reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.

Don’t think this is a lecture. It’s not. And my feelings aren’t hurt, either.

This is simply business. Kinda like how at Starbucks, if they’re closed, they put up a sign saying “closed”, so you don’t try walking in. It’s not a lecture. It’s just making sure everyone understands how things work.

Got it?

—Michael

P.S. Bad posture is NOT a moral failing. It’s just a way of distributing weight so you don’t fall over.

Hey, have you checked out the No Problem meditation course?

(Read below for a story of modern-day sorcery)

If you’ve already bought it, great. I hope it’s changed your life in so many ways.

If you haven’t already bought it, what’s the deal?

• Are you not interested in meditation?

• Are you already super-advanced at meditation and don’t see a need?

• Don’t you see why meditation will help you?

• Do you think it’s a bad idea to spend money on things that are important to you?

Let’s get to the bottom of this.

Here’s the link again

—Michael

P.S. I was at the bank the other day cashing some savings bonds and the teller was new at the job and didn’t know what to do so she went and got the manager and the manager tried to explain but the manager kept speaking in short, fast sentences and the teller was getting stressed out because she kept having to ask the manager to repeat herself and I was getting stressed out too and I decided to stand there and do nothing and absorb the stress from the two of them instead of trying to block it out and that’s a powerful meditation practice not because it feels good but because it feels bad and even though it might be “unhealthy” for me it’s healthy for the system as a whole and here‘s the link again.

“Cooking is my meditation.”

“Drawing is my meditation.”

“Cleaning is my meditation.”

“Arguing with idiots online is my meditation.”

Fine. But, you should also sit. Sitting should be your meditation.

Why?

Because there are no distractions. There’s nothing but you and your own discomfort to keep you company.

“But Michael, mindful coloring is my meditation because it’s so relaxing and I get into the zone and it’s so therapeutic.”

Yeah, the same thing happens to me when I watch TV. That doesn’t make it meditation.

Meditation is about purifying your mind. It’s about coming to terms with your own previously-hidden impulses.

“Mindful coloring” (a cornerstone of the McMindfulness movement) is not meditation. It’s not “therapeutic” (whatever that means). It’s a way of zoning out so you don’t have to deal with reality.

“But Michael, are you saying that life should always be unpleasant??? Shouldn’t I be allowed to do mindful coloring if I want???”

No, I’m not saying life should always be unpleasant. I’m saying mindful coloring isn’t meditation.

(And of course you’re allowed to do it. Don’t put words in my mouth.)

“But Michael, didn’t you just post on Instagram yesterday a list of activities that you do, which you consider meditation?”

Yes, I did. Here’s the list:

• Drawing

• Piano

• Calligraphy

• Social media posts

• Emails

• Cooking

• Texting

• Yoga

• Walking

• Thinking

They are meditation when I do them. That’s because I’ve practiced enough actual meditation that I’ve changed the way I do other stuff to make it more like meditation.

They are almost certainly not meditation when you do them. That’s because you’re probably doing them the way society taught you to do them.

You should spend some time meditating. It will help you.

—Michael