Walking the Eightfold Path through mindfulness, modern life, and the spaces between.
I'm Dan Arel — Communications leader, writer, father, and Buddhist exploring leadership, mindfulness, labor, and the work of living with more clarity and compassion.
Join My Newsletter
New essays on secular Buddhism, mindfulness, and everyday practice — delivered to your inbox.
What I write about
four threads, one practiceWhat inspires the path
The teachings, teachers, and moments that keep pulling me back, the ones that still feel worth studying, practicing, and returning to.
Practice in daily life
Parenting, work, relationships, and the ordinary noise of life, where mindfulness has to hold up outside the cushion.
Buddhism and modern life
How old teachings speak to contemporary life, from attention and technology to the habits that shape how we live now.
Writing and reflection
Thinking out loud, making sense of what I’m learning, and using writing as a way to pay closer attention.
Recent reflections
latest writingWhat is rebirth to the skeptic?
As an atheist falling into Buddhist practice, I’m faced with many of the same questions and beliefs shared by most Buddhist schools of thought, and none is more persistent …
My first half-day meditation retreat
This past weekend, I attended my first half-day silent meditation retreat. I am not really interested in weeklong retreats, which I think in too many cases are western-centric …
Buddhism gave me ground when I needed it most
I have spent the better part of my life as an atheist, and, to be honest, I remain one. When I use the term atheist, I use it in an agnostic sense: I don’t know for a fact that …
Books
written by meI'm the author of Parenting without God and The Secular Activist.