jaymichaelson.net

Jay Michaelson is an award-winning journalist, meditation teacher, podcast host, and author of ten books.

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  • Books
    • The Secret that is not a Secret:Ten Heretical Tales
      The Heresy of Jacob Frank:From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth
      Enlightenment by Trial and ErrorTen years on the Slippery Slopes of Jewish Spirtuality, Postmodern Buddhism, and Other Mystical Heresies
      The Gate of TearsSadness and the Spiritual Path
      Evolving DharmaMeditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment
      Redefining Religious LibertyThe Covert Campaign Against Civil Rights
      God vs Gay?The Religious Case for Equality
      Everything is GodThe Radical Path of Nondual Judaism
      Another Word for SkyPoems
      God in your BodyKabbalah, Mindfulness, and Embodied Spiritual Practice
      isHeretical Jewish Blessings and Poems
      AnthologiesAnthologies featuring Jay Michaelson
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10% Happier: This Sucks

Four reasons it's helpful to admit the obvious. This talk is from Ten Percent Happier's Coronavirus Sanity Talks.

Friday, May 15th, 2020 | Multimedia, Spirituality/Meditation

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5642060be4b0b6ef97ba6c9a/t/5ebef3d11d040a01f1ccfbbb/1589572595028/Talk.JayC1.ThisSucks.mp3/original/Talk.JayC1.ThisSucks.mp3

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Recent Articles

  • When it comes to Israel/Palestine, everyone is sure that everyone else is a bigot

    May 13th, 2026 in Forward

  • Claude and I Talk About Waterslides and Ego Death

    May 5th, 2026 in Both/And

  • Making Sense of Psychedelics After April 18

    Apr 29th, 2026 in Both/And

  • How Candace Owens Learned Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories from an Orthodox Rabbi

    Apr 21st, 2026 in ARC

  • F—k the Jews: The Recipe of Antisemitism, from Roald Dahl to the Manosphere

    Apr 17th, 2026 in Both/And

  • more...

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Academic @ emory @harvard
Journalist jaymichaelson.substack.com & @jdforward
Writer Speaker Rabbi Dad
jaymichaelson.net

In ordinary elections, people support candidates a In ordinary elections, people support candidates and parties they agree with. Conservatives may disapprove of Trump but approve of one’s local representative and the policies they stand for. That is how politics works — and arguably, conservatives understand this better than progressives, who often reject imperfect candidates rather than choose the so-called “lesser of two evils.” Numerically speaking, had progressives not done this in 2000, 2016, and 2024, the results of those years’ presidential elections would have been different.

The question, then, is whether the 2026 election is an ordinary election or not. If it is, then splitting the ticket — disapproving of Trump but voting for Republicans in congressional and state elections — makes as much sense as ever. But is it?

jaymichaelson.substack.com
Benjamin Todd (@benbentodd ) was years ahead of th Benjamin Todd (@benbentodd ) was years ahead of the curve in predicting the risks and opportunities of AI. And today, his new book based on the work of @80000hoursofficial is out! In this conversation, Ben explained how most popular discourse about AI is missing both the upside and downside of this "new industrial revolution."

Listen in at jaymichaelson.substack.com .
Thanks for the memories, @colbertlateshow . In bei Thanks for the memories, @colbertlateshow . In being silenced to appease a dictator, you are in good company. Our grandchildren will be the judges.
On the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, I wro On the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, I wrote a remembrance of the last time I saw my teacher Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi -- on Shavuot twelve years ago -- and a reflection on the new edition of his first book.

#shavuot
@ayinpress
In Both/And this week, a quarterly video update fe In Both/And this week, a quarterly video update featuring talks on David Bowie, Candace Owens, Jeffrey Epstein, psychedelics, conspiracy theories, and two or three other things.

jaymichaelson.substack.com
I would say both/and. Or maybe tomato/tomato. #m I would say both/and. Or maybe tomato/tomato. 

#matthiessen #dharma
The Hard Left is sure that all Zionists are genoci The Hard Left is sure that all Zionists are genociders. The Hard Center is sure that all Anti-Zionists are antisemites. 

What about the rest of us?

My latest at forward.com and link in bio.

@jdforward
Unusual experiences happen all the time in psyched Unusual experiences happen all the time in psychedelic therapy. Understanding how experiencers may interpret them is critical. Here's one example.

Recorded at Emory University's Science on Spiritual Health Conference, March 2026.
Full video at the link in bio.
I love this excerpt from #bataille 's Erotism -- I I love this excerpt from #bataille 's Erotism -- I can almost picture the judgment and scorn of the "saint" barely concealing that which is unacknowledgeable, that which is sublimated but never erased.
Do psychedelics make us better people, or not? Thi Do psychedelics make us better people, or not? This is actually a set of several questions that are worth disaggregating:

First, does psychedelic experience generally soften hard beliefs about the world or oneself, leading to both personal growth and the openness to questioning deeply-held views? Does wonder (i.e. the peak experience) make you wonder (about one’s deeply-held beliefs and identities)?

Second, does psychedelic experience sometimes/often/always cause pro-social traits like empathy, generosity, and kindness?

And finally, those personal qualities lead to a basically liberal or radical politics? Not in the details; those will always vary. But in general, do peak experiences, and the changes in character that they may bring about, lead people to adopt some version of Richard Rorty’s axiom that cruelty is the worst thing we do?

Answers at jaymichaelson.substack.com
One of the most fun conversations I've had this ye One of the most fun conversations I've had this year: unpacking the Kabbalistic and esoteric symbolism in the songs of David Bowie.

Link to full video in bio and at maggioreonbowie.com
In my young adulthood, I, like many neo-Romantics, In my young adulthood, I, like many neo-Romantics, thought that Western society was too enamored of reason -- too technocratic, too patriarchal, insufficiently infused with ecstasy. Now, as unreason sweeps the world, I have the opposite view.

#goya
I've worked in the psychedelics field for several I've worked in the psychedelics field for several years, and my personal history with these compounds goes back several decades. 

In the wake of the disorienting, remarkable executive order issued on April 18, I wrote a long-form analysis of how we got to this point, and what progressive-minded people should watch for moving forward.

Up now at jaymichaelson.substack.com .
Jacob Frank: The weird truth... and the weirder an Jacob Frank: The weird truth... and the weirder antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Watch the whole video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFLLMgODGiI

#jacobfrank #frankism #candaceowens
I've loved these sentences for almost twenty years I've loved these sentences for almost twenty years.
Candace Owens's conspiracy theories are weird, eve Candace Owens's conspiracy theories are weird, even by the standards of conspiracy theories.

How she learned them is even weirder.

This week in jaymichaelson.substack.com .
"F the Jews” is a chant gleefully shouted by sever "F the Jews” is a chant gleefully shouted by several of the subjects of Louis Theroux’s documentary, second-tier ‘manosphere’ influencers who are enormously popular with teenage boys online, and who helped put Donald Trump in the oval office.. It’s as if the masks suddenly come off.

But, having just watched the play Giant, about Roald Dahl, it was also quite familiar; their adolescent glee at shouting what they really feel instantly reminded of the smile on Dahl’s face when he did his disastrous interview. And then I noticed that the same patterns I observed in this 20th century literary giant were also present in these 21st century influences.

I wrote about it this week at jaymichaelson.substack.com
Telos or non-telos? All Consciousness or none? I d Telos or non-telos? All Consciousness or none? I don't know.
It's very weird being part of the American Jewish It's very weird being part of the American Jewish community right now. With the Epstein Files release and the Iran war, it seems like we're watching the largest spike in antisemitism in at least half a century. But the institutions who focus on these things seem completely oblivious, or silent, or both.

In @jdforward this week, I analyze this precarious moment and what might be done to respond to it.
Come join us at @newyorkinsight on Saturday April1 Come join us at @newyorkinsight on Saturday April18th, in person or online, for a half day retreat on queer sexuality in a Buddhist perspective. It's a chance to meditate, discuss, inquire, and connect with your fellow queer dharma practitioners -- register at nyimc.org or using the QR code here.
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