self-transcendence – New Walden

Best Version, part 2: The Problem with Steven “Pollyanna” Pinker and the Emersonians

In my previous post, I discussed the idea of being “the best version of yourself.” My main point was that we all believe in this idea in some form; that’s why the ritual of making New Year’s resolutions is so popular. And if we take the idea seriously that there is a best version of […]

The Best Version of Yourself

If you have never read anything by Matthew Kelly, you have a homework assignment from me. He is the author of Rediscovering Catholicism and a slew of other books and CDs. One of his key ideas is becoming “the best version of yourself” (Kelly, 2002, pp. 67–69). I would like to make a couple of […]

New Walden’s Mission

What America needs most desperately is a spiritual revival. This is the mission of New Walden. The name of our website comes from Henry David Thoreau’s famous book and so suggests that the Transcendentalists serve as an important inspiration for this mission. They play this important role not because they are any more infallible than […]