McMindfulness is a critical review of modern, secular mindfulness meditation – especially mindfulness as promoted by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The central argument is that (1) in separating mindfulness from its ethical/religious base, (2) the practice has become a capitalist/corporate tool (“a social anesthetic”) for lulling the populace into submission.
… I kinda loved it.
I studied mindfulness for my PhD dissertation, and – at least from the research side of things – the field sketches me out. There are some massive problems with design, participant selection, conceptualization, theory, safety, and biases that have been swept under the scientific rug. In short: the science ain’t as science-y as people claim.
Purser approached things from another perspective: how mindfulness has been appropriated. It was an angle I hadn’t really thought about, and one I deeply appreciated.
That said: this book is long, heavy on the pretentious academese, and rather repetitive. Unless you’re REALLY curious, I’d suggest checking out the original essay or the Tapestry podcast instead.
The details:
- The book: McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality
- Author: Ronald Purser
- Published: 2019, Repeater
- My copy: Public library
- Read dates: May 2021
- Rating/5: 🧘🏼♀️🧘🏼♀️🧘🏼♀️
The Geeky Jock 