201208-WaterOpposites | jaymichaelson.net : jaymichaelson.net

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

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- 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
  
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201208-WaterOpposites

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Recent Articles

An Epstein Roundup for Non-Epsteiners

Feb 6th, 2026 in Both/And
Trying to influence progressives in New Jersey, AIPAC may actually help one get elected

Feb 3rd, 2026 in Forward
Politics and Spirituality | Circle and Line

Jan 28th, 2026 in Both/And
The blood of Alex Pretti is crying out from the ground

Jan 26th, 2026 in Forward
The Nakedness of the King

Jan 21st, 2026 in Both/And
more...

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Academic @ emory @harvard
Journalist jaymichaelson.substack.com & @jdforward
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I spent an inordinate amount of time sifting throu

I spent an inordinate amount of time sifting through the coverage of the latest Epstein Files release, and made this roundup so that you don't have to.

tldr: As bad as you think it is, it's worse; the cover-up is ongoing; the victims are *still* being exploited and ignored; QAnon was partly right; and many, many MAGA people are realizing that they've been lied to. It's a big deal, not a sideshow.

Up now at jaymichaelson.substack.com
Please share.

I don't usually post already-popular pithy sayings

I don't usually post already-popular pithy sayings, but I'm really glad this one is entering the culture (largely through the comedian @peteholmes ). For thirty years I've been a proponent and exponent of "small-r religion" -- that is, religious myth, community, ethics, and spirituality without the naive theism, dogma, and particularism. With the resurgence of traditional religion as a response to the meaning crisis, I think this is more vital than ever. But also more true, at least in this human's limited understanding.

Just follow these five simple steps. #meditation

Just follow these five simple steps.

#meditation
@danharris
#sorryforthetypo

Here in New Jersey, a group called the United Demo

Here in New Jersey, a group called the United Democracy Project has been attacking congressional candidate
@malinowskifornj / Tom Malinowski from the left, alleging that he supports ICE.

But in fact, the “United Democracy Project” is a Super PAC affiliated with AIPAC that has poured over $2.2 million into this primary election, according to FEC data.

This is all a shell game.

AIPAC isn’t running ICE ads because they care about immigrants; they’re attacking Malinowski for his temerity to defy AIPAC’s demand that aid to Israel be completely unconditional.

But the main beneficiary of AIPAC's covert activity may be a Sanders/Mamdani style progressive who has been harshly critical of Israel.

Read more at forward.com

@jdforward

This is a theology I can embrace. #octaviabutler

This is a theology I can embrace.

#octaviabutler

Tell me again that ICE is about deporting illegal

Tell me again that ICE is about deporting illegal immigrants?

I'm excited to be the teacher of the month startin

I'm excited to be the teacher of the month starting next week at 10% with @danharris . To kick things off, Dan and I will be co-hosting a live hangout and meditation on Tuesday, February 3, at 4pm ET. The session is free for Dan's subscribers -- check it out at danharris.com or login at app.danharris.com.

What life feels like now. #kafka

What life feels like now.

#kafka

This week, I decided to do something different in

This week, I decided to do something different in the newsletter: situate this profound political moment into a philosophical, even mystical, context.

Up now at jaymichaelson.substack.com .

The "meaning crisis" refers to the loss of structu

The "meaning crisis" refers to the loss of structures of purpose, value, and community in contemporary Western society. This is a widespread cultural phenomenon, and has fueled the rise in mental health issues on the one hand, and the rise in ultra-right-wing nationalism, religion, and morality on the other. In this conversation, dharma teacher Dave Smith and I will talk about the main features of this crisis and how contemplative practice can be one of the many tools we have to address it. The conversation is free -- register at seculardharmafoundation.org/programs.

#meaningcrisis #dharma #jaymichaelson

Just for reference. #umbertoeco

Just for reference.

#umbertoeco

Instagram post 18106354207739550

Instagram post 18106354207739550

God asks Cain where Abel is — though of course, Go

God asks Cain where Abel is — though of course, God already knows. Cain replies “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

But God responds, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”

Read closely and see. Cain is lying, of course; he knows exactly what he has done. He also denies responsibility; it’s not his job, he says, to take care of Abel. Ha-shomer achi anochi, he asks. Literally, am I my brother’s guard? His protector? Am I supposed to keep him safe?

Cain’s lies are like those of Miller, Bovino, Noem, and the rest. They are transparently preposterous. We are not God, but we can all watch the videotape; we can all inspect the freeze-frames of Pretti lying on the ground being beaten and then being shot.

And we can all easily learn that Pretti, like Abel, was innocent. He was not violently resisting, he posed no threat to these officers. He was no more a “terrorist” than I am.

Pretti’s blood cries out from the ground. And it is louder than the lies of the murderers.

My latest in @jdforward - link in bio.

Even in Biblical myths, the cruel murdered the alt

Even in Biblical myths, the cruel murdered the altruistic.

#alexpretti

#amandagorman is still my poet laureate #alexpret

#amandagorman is still my poet laureate

#alexpretti

The Good shooting and the Greenland operation are

The Good shooting and the Greenland operation are mirror images of one another. Both invite us to disregard what is obviously true — the president is mad, the mom was innocent — and somehow believe the preposterous instead.

What Orwell could not have anticipated was the omnipresent overwhelm of our age of semiotic infinity: his world had a single telescreen, ours has infinite ones. But it turns out totalitarian propaganda thrives just as much in abundance as in privation.

Read more at jaymichaelson.substack.com

#davos #trump

I know this one's a little less subtle than other

I know this one's a little less subtle than other things I like to post, but this is basically all that I can think about right now, so.

Polling shows most Americans oppose what ICE is do

Polling shows most Americans oppose what ICE is doing. But it's up to us to keep this story alive. Here are four things you can do to help do so.

Videos and more information at jaymichaelson.substack.com .

There have been plenty of "takes" on the shooting

There have been plenty of "takes" on the shooting of Renee Good. Instead of yet another of those, I wanted to focus on what must happen now and how you can play a role.

Online now at jaymichaelson.substack.com

I've been saving this meme for the right moment, a

I've been saving this meme for the right moment, and now is obviously the right moment.

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