Episode
Beyond McMindfulness – Ron Purser
- Podcast
- Ancient Futures
- Published
- Mar 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1899
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://ancientfutures.substack.com/p/ron-purser
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Summary
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com If mindfulness has drawbacks, what’s the alternative? 🤔 Ron Purser is perhaps best known as the author of McMindfulness , critiquing the movement as “capitalist spirituality”. His latest book Mind Space is radical in other ways. It considers how to meditate without being a meditator – inspired by the writings of Tarthang Tulku , a Tibetan Buddhist lama. As Ron sees it, one problem with mindfulness is its view of the self as an “inner manager”. Striving to control things narrows the focus to coping with stress, which can overlook its causes. By contrast, Mind Space dismantles the manager to see past self-centredness. We discuss how that works, and revisit questions Ron raised in McMindfulness , particularly regarding the influence of Jon Kabat–Zinn. Ron is a professor of management at San Francisco State University. He teaches courses at Dharma College , hosts The Mindful Cranks podcast and contributes to various media. Recent highlights include an interview with the New Yorker and a takedown of life coaching for Current Affairs magazine. -- 💠Join us on The Path of Knowledge for a mix of yogic wisdom and critical thinking. 🙏 Your support makes this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or make a donation ... It's greatly appreciated!