This column discusses the plot, and ethical dilemmas, of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, which zipped into theaters last weekend, is almost everything a summer blockbuster should be: Its very funny without using humor as an excuse to be less than emotionally accessible; its super-sized throw-downs are anchored in real, human-scale conflicts; its world is richly populated with characters who arent solely defined by their powers or lack thereof; and it resists the urge to revisit the most famous story beats associated with its title characters origin story. All of these elements made Spider-Man only the second blockbuster this year Im eager to rewatch as soon as possible. And another element has left me thinking of it with more than mere amusement: Spider-Man: Homecoming is at its most poignant when its concerned with how to be a good person often, specifically, a good man.

Superhero movies by their nature tend to be at least lightly ethically engaged: If nothing else, when you figure out you have powers or the means to build them, you have to choose whether youre going to be a hero or a villain. Both the DC and Marvel universes have tended to situate the moral development of their characters in the context of larger conflicts.

The DC universe is concerned with what happens when humans receive definitive proof that God, or at least godlike figures, are real. For Superman (Henry Cavill), emerging as a demigod requires him to discern the right path: Can he kill? Is it more appropriate to sacrifice? Batman (Ben Affleck) attempts to reassert human influence and the primacy of human morality in the universe by ensuring that supremely powerful beings cant run roughshod over ordinary people without consequences. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is driven mad by his sense of what is coming.

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe also includes actual gods from Norse mythology, most prominently Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), its ethical conflicts have tended to play out on the more quotidian level of regulation. For Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the question has often been to what extent he can regulate himself, his companies and the world at large, and at what point government regulation becomes necessary. (Spider-Man: Homecoming sharpens, but does not resolve, the long-lingering question of how much Tonys efforts are driven by genuine decency versus the profits he gains from new lines of technology and disaster clean-up.) Captain America (Chris Evans), by contrast, is driven by a strong internal moral compass from an earlier age and a suspicion that government can regulate morality with nuance and discernment.

WhatDCs excellent Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming have in common is that they zoom in more closelyon the moral development of individuals during important inflection points in their lives. Outside forces matter, of course, though the scenarios are a little different: Wonder Woman is set during Dianas (Gal Gadot) first foray into the outside world, decades before the events that will introduce her to Bruce Wayne. And Spider-Man: Homecoming focuses on a teenage hero (Tom Holland) who is auditioning to become an Avenger, and sees new super-suits and brawls at the Berlin airport as opportunities for unboxing videos and life-casting.

Neither movieadvocates a withdrawal from worldly concerns in pursuit of private moral purity; in fact, Wonder Woman suggests that Wonder Womans seclusion is a heartbroken response to horror that is itself a kind of tragedy. But both suggest that its worth taking a pause to examine what great events do to our small, solitary selves. World-scale problems deserve considered responses. We shouldnt lose track ofour own quests for goodness in the process.

What makes Adrian Toomes, who becomes Spider-Mansmost significant antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Vulture, such a compelling villain isnt simply a crackling performance by Michael Keaton. Rather, its that the Vultures clear-sighted analysis of the world Tony Stark and the other Avengers have created leads him to a morally destructive conclusion with devastating consequences for the people he wants to protect and for the world at large.

The Vultures anxieties, to use the parlance of contemporary politics, are both cultural and economic.

Things are never going to be the same now, he muses after the events of The Avengers, which end with Lokis rampage through New York. When I was a kid, I used to draw cowboys and Indians.Though a member of his demolition crew points out that the preferred term is Native Americans, the Vulture-to-be is referring more to the scale of the conflict than to its racial dynamics, and in that, he is entirely correct. His resentment sharpens when he learns that the disaster cleanup has been federalized, and that Tony, the man who helped make this mess possible, is going to get the contracts to do the work that others were counting on for their livelihoods. For all the parallels Marvel movies have drawn to other conflicts, the Vultures acid breakdown of the situation is one of the sharper critiques the franchise has ever offered of Tonys brand of newly benevolent capitalism.

If the Vulture is the character in Spider-Man who sees the larger picture most clearly, his response to it is the petty and sad self-justification of any mobster who has vowed that he is simply buying his family a better life. He stays in the salvage business, turning alien technology into weaponry for sale to criminals who want to pull off increasingly daring heists. Its a business that makes him wealthy: The Vulture and his family retreat to quasi-suburban splendor, even as the weapons the Vulture puts on the streets tend to escalate crime dramatically. Suddenly, an ATM robbery can blow up an entire bodega.I just need something to stick up somebody, not send them back in time, small-time crook Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) observes, unnerved. The Vulture diagnosed Tony and then became him on a smaller scale. He holds off his familys financial ruin but ends up exposing them to greater ruination and shame when his criminal enterprises are exposed and he is apprehended.

The Vultures ultimate demise doesnt necessarily prove his analysis wrong: Tonys vastly greater wealth and the way he has made himself integral to global security infrastructure protect him from being held personally accountable for the far larger damage he has been a part of. But the Vultures morally degraded response to an ethically complex situation does prevent him from securing long-term happiness for his family or a fairer system for him and for everyone else.

If the Vulture rages against the corruption of big men, Peter Parker spends much of Spider-Man: Homecoming longing to become one. His response is a natural one: After being called up to the big leagues for the airport throw-down in Captain America: Civil War,taken on his first private jet ride and treated like a probationary adult, hes sent back to Queens*to await further instructions. If Peter isnt contentto be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, giving directions and foiling petty crimes, its because his supposed mentors dont exactly teach him to value being a hometown superhero. These lesser gigs are what keep Peter busy and out of their hair, rather than being part of a larger idea about the protection that civilians deserve all the time.

The older men in Peters life, who ought to recognize what theyve gotten themselves into, blow off Peters calls and then get angry when he winds up in over his head. When Peter explains, I just wanted to be like you! and Tonysnaps back at him, And I wanted you to be better, its doubly unfair. Not only is Tonyolder, richer and more experienced, he also has placed the freight of those expectations on Peter without taking the time or initiative to lay out a different vision of superheroics or to talk to Peter about the lessons the younger man might learn from Tonysmyriad mistakes. In a world where Captain America stars in educational videos and teenage girls debate which superhero theyd rather marry, there arent exactly other role models for the kind of superheroism Tony would like Peter to occupy.

The most striking thing about the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming is the way it shows that Peter has discovered a better way all on his own. When Tony offers Peter a spot on the Avengers, hes giving Peter what Peter wanted, rather than what was good for him. Peters decision to opt out, stay in high school and make his own way is the realization that Tony wanted him to have all along, reached with little help or guidance from the adults in his life. Better, it turns out, doesnt always mean bigger or flashier or more violent. Sometimes it means recognizing that whats right for you what matches your physical capacity and ethical ideals might also be best for your family, your neighborhood and your city.

*I always mix up Spider-Mans boroughs. Apologies to Queens.

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'Spider-Man: Homecoming' is a superheroic meditation on how to be a good person - Washington Post

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN

Last updated05:00, July 12 2017

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Power Living Wellington has seen an increase in 'corporate yoga and meditation'. From left: dedicated meditator Neil Meekin with Power Living's Justine Hamill and Jase Te Patu.

Business meetings are taking on a whole new meaning in Wellington, with a rise in 'corporate' meditation packing out classes in the CBD.

Neil Meekin, a long-time meditator,says taking the time to "quieten the mind" is beneficial to his workas an innovation manager.

"If you can imagine your day, there's so much stimulation. I know for me there's just so much going on," he says.

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Meekin, left, says meditation helps him with relaxation and brain clarity and increases his work productivity.

"There's a metaphor: It's like getting a big bowl of water and putting loads of dirt into it, so it's all really cloudy and you can't see through. But when you come into meditation for half an hour in the day time, it allows the dirt to settle so you're getting real clarity."

READ MORE: *'Mindfulness' takes over the corporate world *How good is your yoga teacher, really? *Converting blokes to yoga

The clarity helps him be more creative and switched on in the office.

"Even though you're becoming really relaxed, it doesn't sacrifice productivity ... it's actually the opposite: you're relaxed, but you're actually so much more productive."

Yoga studio Power Living Wellington began half-hour lunchtime meditation classes three months ago.

Co-owner Justine Hamill says class numbers have doubled in the last couple of weeks.

"The beauty about it is you can come in andjustsit in your work clothes and have that half an hour to just tune in, without all the social media, without all the demands, without all the 'blah blah blah'."

Co-owner JaseTe Patu says meditation is something simple that people can do for themselves.

"We're just finding that just that idea of stopping in the middle of your day, especially if both ends of your day are hectic it's like hitting a reset button ...

"It's something for you. You're the thing that's in common with all the things you have to do, so if you're not taking care of yourself then all the things you've got to do are not going to be done with efficiency."

Te Patu says people generally take shallow breathsusing their chest, instead of deep breaths with their diaphragm.

Slow, deep breaths slow down a person's autonomic nervous system which leaves them feeling more relaxed.

He says during meditationthe studio is made up almost entirely of CBD workers many coming in groups with colleagues.

"They all come together, it's like theirlittle midday meeting together."

-Stuff

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Take your next business meeting to a meditation studio - Stuff.co.nz

How many of us crave for something more?

As I grow older, I am increasingly confronted with an underlying feeling of emptiness within myself.

Its often in the stillness of the night under the shadow of darkness, in the moments before going to sleep, that we become most aware of this deep emptiness. We are confronted with this feeling that there is something we are missing, a craving for something beyond our mundane lives.

In todays society, we try to fill this inner emptiness through external means. We are enamored with narratives of friends, fortune, and fame. As a result, we structure our lives to make the most money, to have the best body, to get the most attention. We even post our successes on social media in hopes of receiving external validation for that which is internally unfulfilling.

This starts when we are young. As toddlers, whenever we are cranky, fussy or sad, we are almost immediately shown TV screens and iPads, reinforcing a mentality of seeking external stimulation whenever we feel the slightest internal discomfort. Again, as we enter into adulthood, we emulate similar behaviors seeking newer jobs, cars, relationships whenever we encounter that internal dismay.

Hence, despite being in an era of all the newest advances in technologies and being part of the most connected generation, we have more than 300 million people around the world who are affected by depression. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, it is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Today we have access to all kinds of knowledge, entertainment, and external stimulation that people in the past could have only dreamed of, and yet still we remain empty and unfulfilled.

So what is it that we are missing?

Engaging purely externally, we have forgotten about the world that is within ourselves, we have forgotten the home that is within our hearts. When I first started meditating, that is the one truth that I began to realize. The emptiness that I was feeling was a craving to feel whole again, a craving to find a home within.

We may spend our entire lives trying to fulfill that craving externally, but it is one that can only be fulfilled by what we already have within ourselves.

To me, in its very essence, that is what yoga is about. In Sanskrit, the word yoga translates to union.

Union with what? With that which is within.

While so much of our lives have become externally focused, yoga is a practice and a philosophy to bring us inwards, to reunite with the original source of fulfillment within ourselves.

So, take a step with me, and try meditation as an opportunity to re-connect with yourself. Take that craving for something more and use yoga and meditation as an opportunity to step back, close your eyes, and feel whole once more.

About the Why Meditate? Series

I began to meditate over three years ago in June of 2013 and have been teaching heartfulness meditation ever since July of 2015.For over three years, Ive had people ask me about how I meditate, why I meditate, and above all, how meditation has helped me. So I am starting theWhy Meditate? Series,aseries of blogs hoping to give an introspective and versatile taste of the many answers to that very question.

To follow this series and to get future posts directly in your inbox,subscribe now!

This post was originally published on the Heartfulness Blog.

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Meditate For: Feeling Whole (Why Meditate? Series) - HuffPost

Meditation by Motorcycle, the new book by John P. Metzger, owes a debt to Robert Pirsigs Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.Where the subtitle of the 1974 treatise was An Inquiry into Values, Meditationmight be subtitled A Throttle to Enlightenment.

While Pirsig framed his thesis on the meditative aspect in the classical relationship between man and machine, Metzgers premise designates the motorcycle as the primary tool in the Motivation by Movement Movement. Aimed clearly at middle-agers and older, but not without guidelines for novices, the basic lesson of the book is that youll feel much better if you get off your ass and go ride a motorcycle. Even better if you do it well.

The meditation component of motivation in motion is more finely defined in the book, and not to be confused with any meditative form designed to empty the mind completely. For, as most us have surely witnessed, an empty mind on a motorcycle is a frightening thing to behold. The goal of the mindful rider is to reach the level where the precise action at the right time becomes second nature, the right move without thinking about it.

Metzgers moto mantra derives from what he terms the union of Repetition and Rhythm, with corollaries in sports like golf, in which the exact repetition of a rhythmic motion can produce that wonderfully satisfactory result.The author shifts from golfs poetry of physics to a rant on extreme sports and their devoted media spectators, then to the evolution of his own educational perspective on Zen and the art of motorcycle motion.

After a lifetime of skateboarding, skiing, bicycling, driving fast cars, and riding motorcycles, I finally figured it out. My Nirvana Moments emerge from making turns. We not only owe a debt of gratitude to the Frisbee-playing hippies for mainstreaming Meditation by Movement, we must also thank the cavemen for inventing the wheel. The supreme carving tool, the wheel is key to the Holy Grail we seek in meditative movement: the corner. And as it turns out, two-wheels win first place for the most rewarding turning experience (four-wheels, skis, hulls, boards and blades are fun but remain runners-up). The Corner Gods thus deem the finest, inner peace-producing turns are carved by motorcycles.

Not that the book becomes a long litany of philosophical ruminations or distressed metaphors on the relationship between eastern religions and road smarts. In fact it soon becomes more of an instruction manual, with explicit dos and donts on the road to nirvana. The lessons include apexes early and late, looking through rather than into the turn, how to deal with traffic, scanning, situational awareness, and passing etiquette.

Metzger manages to combine the techniques of a coach, den mother, safety instructor, and psychologist. While most of his curriculum will be familiar to veteran riders, it could prove useful for those who havent ridden for some time, and serve as a primer for novices and those moving up the adventure bike scale. The author is also founder of Colorados Motomarathon Association, whose annual event is set for Sept. 811, 2017, and features several 300-400-mile routes in the Rocky Mountains.

Meditation by Motorcycle is available as an eBook on Amazon at $4.99, and illustrated paperbacks are scheduled for mid-July. For more information visit motomarathon.com

The latest book from Tod Rafferty, The Pismo Calamity, includes a contemplative clam, a nod to beveldrive Ducatis, and an enlightening ride on the Big Sur coast road. Available on Amazon.

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Meditation by Motorcycle - Finding Nirvana in a Curve - RideApart

SF State Campus Headlines

SF State study goes deep on types of people who use meditation SF State Campus Headlines To find out, San Francisco State University Professor of Health Education Adam Burke and three other researchers did a deep dive into the 2012 National Health Interview Survey to compare meditation use with variables like health behavior, access to ...

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SF State study goes deep on types of people who use meditation - SF State Campus Headlines

Back in London,as a younger man, I frequented a couple of pubs with long traditions that a group of us had hitched ourselves to during art school: the Coach and Horses and the French House, both in Soho. The former, a journalists and writers pub, was a second home to Jeffrey Bernard, a magazine columnist so notorious that a play was written about him titled Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (a reference to the standard notice that The Spectator was forced to run when Bernard failed to turn in his column). Has Jeff been in? It was a common refrain, even from people who didnt know him. At the French House, an artists and writers pub that had been a safe house for La Rsistance during World War II, I once saw the famous painter Francis Bacon at a small table drinking with a friend.

Going to one of these pubs on Friday night was a way of being and feeling connected to other people. You didnt need to know who was going because chances were, people you knew would be there, along with interesting people you didnt yet know. They werent just places to be seen at, to drink at. They were important cultural hubs, a point of contact or attachment. Progressthe modern world, city lifewas hatched, mulled over, disemboweled, and rewritten down at the pub. Art shows, dance, theaterit always got discussed, before and after, down at the pub. You generally arrived and left on foot. You got the train or bus home. You were always with people, known and unknown, until you fell into bed.

Having a drink at the airport isnt really having a drink; its waiting for a plane. So, too, at Whole Foods.

Ive never quite matched this in Dallas. Maybe social media has dulled a certain need, even though I only do emails and I only started texting last year. And if there is such a place, I have to drive to it, and I feel weirdly sat-nav suburban and un-vital and too nice before Ive even gotten out of the car. Generally nothing surprising happens on the way there or back. I dont seem a good fit in the Dallas barroom, truth be told. I prefer wine now. Im older. I need fine wine, and I need it with food. I like to cook. So I like being at home, cooking, sipping, cooking, glugging, boozing, cooking, writing.

One day about six or seven years agoI forget whenWhole Foods had the simple idea of placing a bar at the back of their store in Lakewood. I discovered you could drink while you shopped while you drank. Shopping for food and having a glass segued directly into my going home and sipping wine while I cooked. Genius. I remember the day I saw a glamorous possible divorce, kind of a Dallas blond Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, pushing a cart around the store in a summer dress and large sunglasses, drinking one of those Texas-size wineglasses full of white wine. It wasnt my mother-in-law. But it could have been. How civilized, I thought.

Soon everyone was doing itthe newlyweds, the young courting couple, the stressed midlife crisis people, bankers, Realtors, deep-in-thought artist-philosopher types, karate coaches, artisanal welder types from the parts of East Dallas that are still affordable. Theres a certain Park Cities contingent, people who have to settle for Lakewood Country Club, next door, while they wait for admission to Dallas Country Club. Which shouldnt be confused with the other, diametrically opposed Park Cities contingent, the ones who moved there for the schools, hung on by their fingernails to pay the mortgage and property taxes, then, soon as the kids were out of the house, made a run for the border while they still had the last vestige of their sanity. They all found that Chardonnay and 11 percent ABV beer make shopping so much easier.

The bar expanded as it became a hit. Its a grocery store, not a bar, you understand. Having a drink at the airport isnt really having a drink; its waiting for a plane. So, too, at Whole Foods. Youre actually shopping. The missus sent you out last minute for the French butter, lemons, and fresh thyme and rosemary for the Anthony Bourdain roast chicken that youll be making. Youve taken Junior to help you carry the lemonsand youre now having a pint at the bar while Junior is dutifully testing his herb recognition skills over at the bunches standing in water near the electric door. Always task Junior with finding the more obscure items. It takes him longer, develops initiative and a sense of entrepreneurialism, and it gives you extra drinking time. Junior wont be able to rat you out to his mother that youre drinking two pints because he wont have seen you ordering the second one, so deep will he be in a discussion with a helpful Whole Foods associate about marjoram and oregano and whether one can be substituted for the other in a boeuf bourguignonne. Every boy should know how to cook and shop for food. So should every girl. Never rush them. Even if it takes a third pint at the bar. Your wife will understand. I dont have kids, but I have many progressive ideas on parenting.

The bar is at the back, adjoining the cheese counter, with a clear view to the meat counter, the fish counter over catty-corner, the olives and artisanal crackers made of Parmesan nearby. The wine and beer racks are in clear and present view/danger over to the west, stage right, as it were. You can take a bottle from the rack. Take the most expensive one. Why not? Or the cheapest. Its a free country. Take it to the bar, and have the barman open it for you. Because youre shopping. Excellent. Youre actually virtually at home, in fact. Merely minutes away. Considering tonights menu. Pour me a second glass, wont you? Who else wants a glass?

You sit, if you have any sense, with your back to the vitamin and nutters section of the store, the place where all the very unhealthy people congregate, determined to ward off ailments with tankloads of pills and secret fish oil concoctions to tip into the four-person yurt-ready meal theyre probably putting together. I strongly advise keeping your back to this section. Its counterproductive and throws you off your game. The bar is well-designed for this. Nearby is the coffee and tea. Farthest away is the yeast, mung bean variants, the Puy lentil loading stations at the Annie Hall plastic dispensers next to where Woody would have been complaining about the cracked yeast salad. Beware the recycled sandals made of rainforest-gathered legume shells and pressed chaff from faraway places. They tend to hang them near the vitamins. Im convinced theyre the slippery slope, the trickle down, the rising tide raising all sandals, that will lead me involuntarily to wearing those rubberized clog things for garden gnomes. I dont think I can do that, even if they are truly good for the arches of your feet. Sometimes you have to draw a line.

So my regimen is to stick with the older and more trusted drugs, the ones that actually work. The alcohol, the caffeine, the red meat, the salmon, the vongole, the European cheeses, the walnuts. The bar betrays this hierarchy in a fairly honest fashion. Around it radiate cheeses from distant shoresnot a stellar collection, but if you look, youll find Borough Market and Neals Yard cheeses from England (you wont find much better English cheeses than these, though the selection is limited to only a few), some decent French, Dutch, and Italian cheeses here or there. I can, if I pick through, be truly cosmopolitan. Im almost back in Soho with its myriad Continental delicatessens and street markets. Im steps from the meat counter, which is good because Ill be over there in a minute to quiz the butcher on whether that leg of lamb is truly from New Zealand or merely mislabeled as such (watch out for this) and to buy ground chicken for Murray, the dog. Hes not allowed in the store, so I have to pick it out for him. He trusts me implicitly on this.

And then the hardcore gear: the caffeine, the booze, the oily deep-sea cold-water fishes to keep my skin and hair looking always fantastic without the aid of $140 worth of vitamin pills. Why spend $140 on pills when you can buy a bottle of Chteauneuf-du-Pape? Keeps your hair looking great. Whats the secret to your youthful boyish looks, Richard? Try a case of this! Its only $900. Have people lost their minds since the election? Vitamin pills? When theres a Neals Yard Stilton and a Roquefort? Do they not know about the caves of Combalou?

So. Im not a barfly at all. I like wine but not whats behind the bar. I like beer, but Im not a craft beer nut. Although I appreciate the efforts, and Dallas-based Peticolas Royal Scandal is first rate in my view. For an Englishman looking for a good English-style IPA, this is it. This will do fine. More than fine, in fact.

But thats not why Im here. I dont want to be in a bar. But what Dallas sorely lacks is a sense of the town square, the piazza. No such thing exists in Dallas, anywhere. Theres only the ubiquitous, utterly soul-destroying, vapidly squalid, and culturally hoodwinking strip mall. Who invented these things? You can be sure they were in league with road builders. Those places around which supposedly America is to be made great again. How is this to happen? The lack of street, the incessant valet culture, the parkingI cant really deal with it all.

I miss the street, the Yorkstone pavers, the piazzas, the small garden squares with their plane trees. Cambridge Circus, where youll find the Coach and Horses, which was next to Leicester Square, which was next to Piccadilly Circus, which was next to Regent Streetaah, London, London, London. What a city! Dr. Johnson, Lord Nelson, Brunel, Charles Dickens, Hogarth, Gilbert & George, Richard Patterson. Anyway, Im not there. Dallas is not London. Its Dallas. Im not there. Im here. Honest I am.

You sit, if you have any sense, with your back to the vitamin and nutters section of the store, the place where all the unhealthy people congregate.

In my head, Im totally in Dallas. To prove this, I stare at the ceiling in Whole Foods and I remind myself of what I like about here that I couldnt get there. Like the feeling of being completely unhurried while I shop. The almost surreal Luis Buuel-like feeling that Im in a French art film/dream sequence as I drink a glass of something in a supermarket, in a giant shed, near a large artificial lake. Whole Foods has a modern metal ceiling like an aircraft hangar. This I like. I like its diamond-polished concrete floor. It is the indoor Dallas piazza. Its quintessentially both modern and old Dallas. You feel the enormous weight of the water of White Rock Lake not far behind you. You can almost smell the pond weed, reedy, sulfurous, lake-ish smells from the spillway.

The lake: Dallas leading nature feature. I used to live adjacent to the lake. I like it a lot and now regularly walk around it. Driving past it at 3 am on the way back from the studio and seeing the moon reflect off its surface was always a touch Raymond Chandler to me, a bit Hollywood to the British eye. So standing in the Whole Foods parking lot, looking north, up the gradient, and at the storefront, you see only the stores facade and then the sky. Its a stand-alone effort, apparently guarding the old world of Lakewood from its final extinction by the inane architecture of Walgreenses and CVSes and toll roads and big strip mall idiot signs (although its not without all of this stuff). But if you stand in this spot and dont move, you could believe otherwise.

Looking south, you see the yellow neon Wells Fargo sign on the top of the bank, which although not the actual bank nonetheless serves as a reminder of the progressive Oklahoma banker who relocated to Lakewood in the 1960s and had the vision to give out loans to less likely mortgagees on the proviso that homeowners began to improve and restore the neighborhood. Then, across Abrams, the 1930s Lakewood Theater and its period lighting, which might for now stand in as a medieval Sienese tower or something from a de Chirico painting marking the corner of the piazza. And then the rooftops of East Dallas beyond, under whichat least until they are all torn down and replaced with condos and apartments that look like prisonsbongs and didgeridoos and throwback vintage cheese fondue sets are at standby, ready to be rediscovered by Gen Z and their grandparents alike. Added to that, the massive blue Texan skyscape, or the brooding tornado-laden green skyscape, or whatever is stretching across the Great Plains or whipped up from the Gulf. Somehow, the Whole Foods parking lot is the place to contemplate un-London Dallas, American politics, Dallas politics, New Zealand lamb, home-cooked dog food, early music. All of these things.

As an immigrant, its my version of Arthur Millers A View From the Bridge. A View From the Parking Lot, the Last Bar. I want my name! he yells.

Inside at the bar, if I can, I just listen and watch. The great actor Oli Reed talked about sitting in bars as being a key insight into human nature. It told him everything he needed to know about acting. Generally, I only stay for a single drink, and when possible I prefer to be alone. But I can be alone and around people. Doing so at this bar is not quite like being the lone drinker in the regular bar because you may, in fact, be having a chat with the butcher to determine why they stopped doing chicken livers. He peers inside a couple of chicken carcasses to double-check, while you take another gulp of wine. Its a bloody civilized way of getting to know how it all works. Now theyre doing chicken livers again. Eventually you determine that Whole Foods HQ makes a lot of the decisions and that the customer is not always right, because the aggregated customer from elsewhere has determined whether or not Niman Ranch European-style ham will be deleted across the board. Whole Foods apparently has its own electoral college. Its way more human and persuasive to sort this out over a drink. You get to reason with the staff in this way.

Meanwhile some coachlike dad wanders past with his 15-year-old, whos enthusiastically and expertly tossing a football near the olive counter. Could this be more Texan? The boy is oblivious to the plights of the Englishman and the stores only plausible European-style non-sickly ham thats now banished from Whole Foods despite being a bestseller in Lakewood. But there you go, very egalitarian. Im more than happy they toss the ball in the store. Im sure theyre equally impressed by my knowledge of Neals Yard Shropshire Blue or Red Leicester and my tutting at the staff about the Saran-wrapped cheeses. Where, oh, where is the waxed paper? I mean, this is from Borough Market. Waxed paper, is it really too much to ask? It has taken them years to make this, nay centuries. It takes all sorts. Im cool with their football. Im sure theyre cool with my inquisition on the fidelity of the dry-aged beef.

There is a range of people in Whole Foods willing to chat, and somehow shopping for food takes the otherwise taciturn Dallasites off their guard.

And Im not alone in doing this. Well, maybe the waxed paper bit. You get to watch the world go by. You learn that the most experienced barman is actually the guy on the wrong side of the bar. That theres a hard core of regulars who provide, almost without fail, ready-made scripts for a Dallas version of Cheers. I even wrote one down once, so entertaining was it, and sent it off to some magazine editor. The only reason not to publish it was that it would have betrayed their privacy. The genius of it is that its their ad-libbed scriptthe script of life. Life is stranger and funnier than fiction. You literally cant make this stuff up. Suffice to say, there are conversations and musings on the continued relevance of Paul Giamatti in Sideways and how he never actually says, I dont like Merlot. There are discussions on political correctness long before the election hijacked the whole topic. There is a great disquisition on acid reflux, one of my all-time favorites. At the bar, I see artists I know, various crossovers from the pool I swim at, the coffee shop I coffee at. It is the village square. Its hard not to run into someone you know. It is the natural nexus of East Dallas in some respects.

It was from my cheese-side perch at the bar that I wrote to that same magazine editor, with considerable chagrin, my prediction that Trump would win the election. Whole Foods and my coffee shop, I said, are bellwethers. Id detected too much disdain for the election in general and an unspoken reluctance to write off Trump. A feeling that something was not right, either way around. If metro, liberal, elite, lentil-fermenting Whole Foods was wavering, so, too, surely was the nation. This is not to saddle the store with undeserved political views. Im sure it hosts many perspectives. And as Ive said many times of Dallas, craft beer, artisanal beards, and vintage filament lightbulb restaurants do not alone equate with liberalism. Cooking a Provenal ratatouille does not mean youre either un-American nor a guarantee that you might not have just descended into a plot far worse and less funny than the one in Mel Brooks The Producers.

So for me, its the square. I watch the world go by in a way that I cant elsewhere in Dallas, somehow freer from the cloying consumerism and spangle of NorthPark. Its still consumerism, of course, but there is a range of people in Whole Foods willing to chat, and somehow shopping for food takes the otherwise taciturn Dallasites off their guard. Truthfully, everyone in there is solid and friendly. Dont know why but thats how it is. People meet your eye. They ask you how you are. It makes East Dallas, to me, the coolest part of the city. I dont live in Oak Cliff. I may be too old by now. But in a sense it hipsterploded almost instantly and went a bit trinket town before it even got to the Portlandia stage. East Dallas is a bit more robust. Its not that cool to start with. Its a bit middle-aged and tragically like a real-life Louis C.K. episode meets a faded copy of The Ice Storm. It has a hint of what in England is called the chattering classes. The burgeoning metropolitan bourgeoisie who all read the Guardian, watch BBC Twos Newsnight, know whats on at Tate Modern, have several imminent reading lists, use public transport regularly, and by nature are always rubbing shoulders with each other. Without the chattering class, the arts arent much more than a mirage. Does Dallas have this? No, actually, it doesnt. But in the Whole Foods bar, for a minute, you can pretend that it does.

Richard Patterson is a YBA painter who has shown in solo and group exhibitions around the world. His work is in the Saatchi Collection (London), the Tate Gallery (London), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Denver Art Museum, among others.

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A Meditation on the Proper Care of Good Cheese and the Soul of Dallas - D Magazine

David Lowery delivers a poetic statement on the passage of time.

We spend our time on earth sailing through the traces of others. We dont always see their footprints or smell the residue of their perfume, but we subliminally know someones already been wherever we currently are. Hauntingly anchored in this awareness, A Ghost Story is a poetic statement on the passage of time and on eternity that thoughtfully ponders the spiritual, circular history of places and objects. Through the tale of a romantic relationship tragically cut too short, David Lowerys latest finds a new and heartbreaking angle into the way people fade away and those that are left behind cope with grief.

Sure, there is indeed a ghost in this film. Confused, broken and regretful, that ghost floats around aimlessly and continues to spookily linger in the house he once occupied with his significant other. But dont let the title (and my shorthand description) fool you: this isnt your typical, run-of-the-mill haunted house horror film.

Instead, A Ghost Story is a singularly, defiantly unique experiment that deals with massive ideas via modest means. And it is likely to frighten you (especially if youve experienced the kind of grief the film portrays), just not quite in the way you might expect. Throw away most of the afterlife-related wisdom you gained from the likes of The Conjuring, Ghost, and Changeling, except for that deep, painful sense of regret. You will need that familiar sorrow and perhaps the kind of empathy Alejandro Amenbars The Others finds for tormented ghouls, in engaging with Lowerys lovely tale.

In A Ghost Story, the aforementioned romantic relationship belongs to a couple played by Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. The names of their characters arent quite identified beyond M and C respectively. We dont really get to learn much about them; we dont even know how long theyve been together. But we see through their togethernessin their spooning on their couch and intimacy while asleepenough to gather theyre comfortably, lovingly settled in their cozy relationship. They seem gentle with each other: they softly touch and share delicate, expressive kisses.

It doesnt all seem like smooth sailing, however. (But what relationship is easy?)For starters, C cant seem to contribute to the process of mutual decision-making he is the kind who frustratingly puts off things he doesnt want to deal with. And the two dont seem to agree on whether their house a rural, simple one-story home with a seemingly generic exterior is the right place for them to reside at. But alas, those worries prove to be trivial ones soon enough, as a car crash claims Cs life out of the blue. But he rises underneath the bed sheet hes wrapped up in at the hospital and follows M back home.

At first glance (and even on paper), a ghost wandering around underneath a bed sheet can seem notoriously silly and childish. After all, a presence covered in a sheet is hardly an original depiction of a ghost: it is the first image people universally think of about spirits that linger on earth. But Lowerys costume designer Annell Brodeur boldly embraces this minimalist and commonplace mental image and makes it uniquely her own through a specific design, with a curious volume and a long train that leaves an implied trace whenever C moves. As we experience more of Cs confusion and regrets during his souls extended time on earth, the bed sheet astonishingly takes the form of a tortured presence right before our eyes. We internally weep as C watches M move out and sees other families and persons move into (or perhaps invade) the house he once loved and lived in. We understand and even sympathize when he eventually distresses some of the new residents as an extension of his own bewilderment. The sheet does not cover any of it up, but rather elevates the on-screen woe.

But in the end, this film belongs to Maras M, who quietly yet visibly wears her grief and sadness on her sleeve in her every move. Lowery carefully photographs M in a studious fashion: his long takes and meticulously photographic lighting and compositions (lensed by cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo) injects every object around M with so much weight and meaning that we cant for a second forget they are all a part of her memories with C. In one (now infamous) scene that Lowery films in one take, she devours a pie a concerned neighbor leaves on her kitchen counter. Mara, in perhaps one of the bravest and most unique depictions of on-screen grief ever, lyrically externalizes a very private, internal pain. As she stabs the pie monotonously bite after bite, her emotions journey through sadness, anger, vengeance and submission in this tranquil meditation on life and afterlife, made for thosecurious and brave enough to step outside the right now and gaze towards both the past and future with an inquiring mind. If you are among them, you might just find a lifetime of riches inside this deeply, unapologetically melancholic miracle of a film.

A Ghost StoryDavid LoweryRooney Mara

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'A Ghost Story' Review: A Beautiful, Tranquil Meditation on Life and Afterlife - Film School Rejects

Most of us wish that we ate a little healthier, but according to meditation app Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, theres a different approach we should be taking when it comes to looking at the connection between ourselves and our food. Mindfulness has less to do with what we eat and more to do with how we eat, Puddicombe says. Somewhat inevitably though, as we slow down and become more aware of what we are eating, we often end up making some changes to our diet.

Years before co-founding Headspace, Puddicombe, now 44, spent a decade training as a Buddhist monk, studying in Nepal, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia and Russia, before setting up his own meditation consultancy in 2006 back in the U.K. In 2013, three years after launching Headspace, which has since gone on to become one of the most successful apps in its category, he wrote The Headspace Guide To... Mindful Eating, a book designed to help you better understand your relationship with food. However, Puddicombe's strong connection to food dates even further back into his childhood when he worked in a restaurant kitchen in his native Bristol from the ages of 11 to 17.

We spoke to him about mindful eating and how his diet has changed since moving to southern California, getting married, having kids and battling testicular cancer, all in the past 10 years.

For anyone not familiar with mindful eating, its really the practice of eating without distraction. Obviously, this is easier to do when we are alone, but, with practice, its quite possible to do this when enjoying and sharing food with others, too. The result is that we feel more in tune with our senses, we begin to appreciate and enjoy our food that little bit more and we begin to develop a healthy relationship with our diet.

Both my wife and myself have always been passionate about food and nutrition, and parenthood has not changed that. The biggest change to our diet was just before our first child arrived. I got testicular cancer and, post-op, we decided to not only go vegan, but to also go exclusively raw, for a year. There were many aspects to my recovery, but this was a key part of a holistic approach. It really set the tone for how we have chosen to eat in the years since and whilst it is considerably more relaxed now, that way of eating is still very much part of our and our childrens lives.

While we experiment with new things once in awhile, we definitely have a few staples that we enjoy together. Tofu Thai curry is usually atop the list and jackfruit curry comes up pretty often too, usually with Indian spices, though. We all have a sweet tooth, so my wifes homemade chocolate-orange vegan ice cream usually goes down well. However, our collective favorite is probably a weekend breakfast, whether its homemade granola with coconut yogurt or avocado and chili flakes on toast, its the one time in the week we all get to share food free from any time constraints.

Headspace keeps me pretty busy, so Im very fortunate to be married to someone who likes to cook. Its something I look forward to doing more of in the future, though, as its something I love to do. I studied cooking and nutrition growing up and worked in a restaurant kitchen on nights and weekends from the age of 11 to 17. It was so rewarding and gave me a lifelong appreciation of food, and wine for that matter.

Well, the foods that I enjoy that some might consider guilty pleasures are probably of the sweet variety, namely chocolate and ice cream. About 10 years ago, a friend in London introduced me to the world of artisan chocolate. It quickly became a passion and I continue to hunt down strange, unusual or exceptional chocolate bars from around the world. I have one mindful square following dinner each nightunless theres a truly amazing bar lying around, and then I might have a square upon waking, too.

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How Meditation, Marriage and a Cancer Diagnosis Changed the Way This Tech Entrepreneur Eats - Food & Wine

Before I started meditating daily starting on November 1st, 2015, I had tried meditation on and off several times. I had heard about many of its benefits and had even witnessed its benefits in friends and family members. Nevertheless, part of me was still skeptical. I struggled with my racing mind and at sticking with a practice that I felt that I had no aptitude for whatsoever. The perfectionist in me saw it as a waste of time when there were so many things I had to do or could be doing that were more "productive."

Though I continue to struggle a lot with my monkey mind and have days where I don't stay present for more than 30 seconds, meditation's impact on my life has been nothing short of miraculous and transformational.

Today, I would like to share 5 common mistakes that people make while starting a meditation practice that I wish that someone had shared with me earlier.

1. Believing That There Is A Certain Way That Meditation Has To Happen

I am a very by the book kind of girl. So realizing that there are no strict rules for how meditation has to happen felt both liberating... and scary. The reality is that you don't have to be sitting up to meditate. You don't need to be cross legged on a cushion. You don't need to close your eyes. You don't need to empty your mind. You don't have to meditate at the same time or in the same place or for a specific period of time. You don't need to use a mantra and you don't need to follow your breath the entire time.

You are naturally a spiritual being with or without these things and it is about connecting to that part of you (that connects us all) is a ways that is accessible and that works for you. It less about something you work to achieve and more about something you let yourself be, sink into, and connect with. The real work is being aware and present that it is happening.

2. Not Fully Comprehending What Meditation Is

You know that meditating is good for you. And the Internet is filled with reasons to meditate and the benefits of meditation. But what IS meditation? In the words of Swami Rama: Meditation is a word that has come to be used loosely and inaccurately in the modern world. That is why there is so much confusion about how to practice it. Some people use the word meditate when they mean thinking or contemplating; others use it to refer to daydreaming or fantasizing. However, meditation (dhyana) is not any of these.

Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. Meditation is not a part of any religion; it is a science, which means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles, and produces results that can be verified.

Though I believe that the meditative experience varies from person to person and even from day to day and minute to minute, I believe that meditation involves a clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused mind. When someone meditates, they are fully awake and alert, but their mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around them Meditation involves and still inner state that allows the mind to become silent. When the mind is silent and no longer distracts, meditation deepens.

3. Not understanding what being in a meditative state feels like.

As I alluded to above, the experience of meditation varies from person to person and even varies for the same person depending on the day, type of meditation, life circumstances, etc. Some people feel a sense of peace and calm. Others feel frustrated and impatient. Others feel more anxiety at first. You can feel dizzy or a vibrating inside or outside of your body. You may feel warmer or cooler. You could feel numb or as though you are being pulled upwards. You may also feel as though your energy is spilling out into the entire room. Or you might feel something else entirely.

Get curious about how meditation makes you feel on different days. There are an infinite number of variable that can impact how meditation might feel to you. Its not static. Some people believe that you are supposed to feel a certain way or you did not achieve a meditative state. That is not true.

4. Not knowing what it means to "achieve" a meditative state.

Some people believe that in order to achieve a meditative state, one needs to be in a quiet room, sitting in a certain position, controlling the breath. Well, guess what? You (and most people) are likely meditating every day without even knowing you're doing it. Also, meditation isn't something to be achieved in the sense of something that is completed, mastered, or checked off once you get there.

You can be in a meditative state when youre staring into space, when youre daydreaming, when you're relaxing in a chair, and even when youre staring at the TV. When your body is relaxing and your mind is quiet, you naturally achieve a meditative state.

5. Believing that one type of meditation is better than another.

Meditation is about being about awareness and connection with your spiritual center on a conscious level, and it doesnt matter how you achieve that awareness. If you find this space through guided meditation, then do guided meditation. If you prefer breath awareness or mantras or something else altogether, do that. Be flexible and patient with yourself and curious and non-judgmental about your experience. Try to see things with a Beginner's Mind as though you were approaching and seeing your experience and yourself for the first time.

People meditate for different reasons and people approach meditation with different goals and hopes. Some people might desire a deeper spiritual connection while others seek to learn how to relax and improve their cardiovascular health. Still others might be in it for a challenge or to try something new.

Whatever draws someone to meditation, there are no rules when it comes to achieving a meditative state. The key is awareness becoming more aware of when you reach this state, more aware of when and how many times during the day you achieve this state, and more conscious of what you are thinking about and doing when you reach this state and while you are there.

Ultimately, remember that meditation is a practice, not a box to be checked or a skill to be mastered. Mistakes happen, even for advanced meditators. I would love to hear about your experiences with meditation, or what keeps you from wanting to meditate. And, I would love to hear about some of your favorite meditations/ experiences with meditation.

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Meditation Misconceptions - HuffPost

SALT LAKE CITY Thomas McConkie sits in a tall, straight-backed chair, the sleeves of his crisp, button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows. He smiles at men and women in sandals, T-shirts and summer dresses, who watch him from two sections of chairs, four rows in each, placed to face the center of the room.

Were just a bunch of adults out on the town doing a little mindfulness, McConkie jokes, referring to the activities hell soon lead. Nothing unusual about it.

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Meditation groups may not be unique, but this gathering is. McConkie, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is also trained in Buddhist mindfulness, is pushing the boundaries of traditional religious practice, helping people of varied faith backgrounds use meditation to deepen their spiritual lives.

"We are not here to tell people whether they should continue in their religious tradition or not. We want to provide space and practice where they can come to a new level of honesty and truthfulness within themselves," McConkie said in an interview, referring to his meditation community, Lower Lights Sangha (pronounced suhng-guh.)

McConkies group meditation work recently caught the attention of a couple of Harvard Divinity School scholars who invited him to apply to a conference they hosted in December. He was one of 80 leaders gathered there to discuss the future of faith and community building at a time when organized religion is on the decline.

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.| Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Someone described it as the Silicon Valley of religion, said Casper ter Kuile, one of the events organizers. That felt true to us because there was such a sense of deep honoring of history and tradition, but also such openness to how religion is changing.

The conference was part of a broader effort by ter Kuile and Angie Thurston, who are ministry innovation fellows at Harvard, to understand where millennial Americans go to find community and how leaders like McConkie can expand the spiritual offerings of traditional churches.

"We're really thinking about how to help build bridges between what has been and what is coming into being," Thurston said.

Millennials' (lack of) faith

McConkie, 37, didn't set out to create a spiritual haven for millennials in Salt Lake City. He arrived a year too early for that generation, but grew up with the same sort of discomfort with organized religion that's linked to Americans born between 1980 and 1996.

Attendees leave after taking part in Lower Lights group mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.| Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Born into a blue-blooded LDS family with relatives that included high-level church leaders, McConkie left the faith as a teenager, spending his 20s traveling and working in Europe and Asia while studying Buddhism and developing a meditation practice. It took more than 15 years for him to make peace with his Mormon upbringing and to realize he wasn't done with the faith.

"It was my Buddhist meditation practice that helped deepen my understanding of Christianity and deepen my Christian faith," he said.

McConkie moved back to Salt Lake City almost five years ago, ready to reconnect with family members and old friends. Some expressed interest in learning more about meditation, and Lower Lights Sangha, which launched formally in September 2016, grew out of years of smaller gatherings in McConkie's home.

The meditation community is open to anyone, but around two-thirds of the 80 attendees at a recent meeting in June appeared younger than 40. McConkie said his efforts to deepen faith by drawing on diverse religious practices likely resonates best with millennials.

"There's a huge need, especially in the millennial generation, to start to explore what's beyond partisan and religious divides," he said.

Around 1 in 3 millennials are religious "nones," meaning they don't affiliate with a particular faith group, according to the Pew Research Center. Many of these religiously unaffiliated Americans believe in God and pray regularly but don't want to stick within the limits of a single faith.

"Various practices are being unbundled and remixed in people's individual, spiritual lives," Thurston said.

McConkie begins Lower Lights Sangha's monthly gatherings with a brief breathing exercise. Chairs squeak and groan as people adjust their posture and clear their minds.

People meditate as they listen to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

"I want to invite you for a moment to do absolutely nothing," McConkie says, the words delivered slowly and deliberately in a deep, soothing voice.

Next, McConkie offers a brief description of his meditative philosophy, which blends Buddhist practice with developmental psychology. He asks people to introduce themselves to their neighbor, encouraging them to share what made them want to meditate.

The main event during the two-hour meeting is a group meditation. McConkie asks people to move their chairs into circles of four or five, then provides speaking prompts.

Participants complete sentences like "Something you don't know about me is" with stories from their own lives, describing their siblings, favorite vacation spots or how lost they've felt for the last 12 months.

Community builders

As people sit in their circles, sharing and listening, McConkie strolls around the room, a smile playing on his lips.

A calm has settled over the room since he cracked his mindfulness joke. He's successfully ushered another group into deeper awareness of themselves and others.

McConkie said nurturing new connections and growth is one of his strengths. The spiritual side of Lower Lights Sangha's work comes naturally to him; the business aspects of community building are a little trickier.

People meditate as they listen to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

"What I noticed at the December gathering (at Harvard) is that some people are brilliant social entrepreneurs (and) killer marketers. At Lower Lights, I would not say our strength is our business model or marketing plan," he said.

All 80 leaders invited to the Harvard conference lead some kind of community, which ter Kuile and Thurston define as a group of people who know each other, care for each other and work together to weather life's storms. These leaders came from sacred and secular contexts, including art cooperatives, fitness studios and faith groups that meet at bars.

Samantha Nielsen takes part in discussion as Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

"The focus in putting that gathering together was trying to understand what these leaders need," Thurston said.

Conversations centered on issues like funding, overcoming conflict and maintaining relationships even as a community grows. People leading secular groups were encouraged to think about how they could support members spiritually, while leaders from religious contexts like McConkie brainstormed ways to track membership and increase their impact.

"I came back from Harvard in December and said we have got to tighten up the organizational side of what we're doing," McConkie said.

Over the past six months, he and his team have designed a website and debated as to which type of nonprofit corporation they should register as.

McConkie also had the chance to pick the brains of other leaders, who continue to support him from across the country. Although they were only together for a few days, the 80 leaders and others brought in to advise them quickly became their own community, listening and responding to one another's needs.

These relationships "provide for them what they're providing for others," said the Rev. Sue Phillips, a Unitarian Universalist clergy member who helped organize the conference.

Authority shifts

Ter Kuile and Thurston's work, including the December conference, grew out of their shared sense that reports on the decline of organized religion were missing the real story: the rise of new types of communities.

"There's such a sense of doom and gloom within religious institutions. But we see an inspiring story of how people are coming together. We want to tell that story," ter Kuile said.

The pair have published a series of reports outlining how millennials build communities at their gym or through regular dinner parties, and offering tips for how established faiths can evolve in order to attract younger members.

"We're trying to navigate between institutions and the growing number of young people who are finding different ways in which to bring belonging and meaning to their lives," ter Kuile said.

Olivia Knudsen listens to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights as he leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.| Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

New developments at the fringes of a faith group can sometimes create a crisis of authority, as more established religious leaders worry about shifts in practice. Denominational leaders must search for a way to welcome new initiatives like a social justice group or service-oriented gathering without compromising on leadership training or core teachings.

"What's emerging asks us to be different, a new 'us,'" the Rev. Phillips said. "The truth is that a lot of denominations focus on propagating the 'us' that they currently are."

The Rev. Phillips urges clergy members to embrace novel ideas and to be patient when there are bumps in the road.

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

"The most powerful things traditional leaders can do is come alongside these innovators and say 'yes' at every junction," she said. "That's what I am trying to do and that's what I believe we have to do to become all of who we can be."

Lower Lights Sangha is not linked with the LDS Church, beyond McConkie and some participants' personal involvement in the religion.

McConkie said Mormon doctrine and practices inspire his meditation and vice versa, and he believes his meditation community calls to younger Mormons looking for new ways to express their faith.

"We're discovering new truths together in community. I hope how we evolve is in service of what the church is trying to do and how it's trying to grow," McConkie said.

At the end of June's Lower Lights gathering, McConkie invited people to shout out what they were feeling. They said they were grateful, happy and feeling connected to everyone around them.

"I'm feeling like I should have come months ago," one woman says.

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What a Mormon doing Buddhist meditation has to do with the future of faith - Deseret News