Dear Umair--

I'm glad your puppy has partially redeemed you from bleak existential despair. But the stark choice between unthinking belief in an imaginary deity and despairing nihilism exists only within Western epistemologies that have reified the autonomous individual self.

In East Asian traditions--India, China, and southeast Asia--as well as in indigenous cultures throughout the world-- there has long been another option. Put most simply, that option can be summarized as breathing, observing, and letting go.

This basic discipline is at the core of contemplative traditions throughout Asia--Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and indigenous alike. It involves metacognitively unplugging ourselves from our identification with our "monkey mind"--that compulsive thought-stream that normally afflicts us and distracts us, especially if, like you and me alike, we are "intellectuals," given to habitual rumination on the state of the world.

But this discipline should not be confused with forcefully suppressing this thought-stream. Anything so suppressed finds other outlets, often destructive to ourselves and others. Instead, it involves metacognitively "stepping back" and observing our thought-stream as if it were a movie. With practice, this enables us to let go of it, and return to the present moment, where--if we look deeply--we can always find a quiet joy and equanimity at the miracle of being alive (as you have with your beloved puppy). So here is the discipline in a nutshell: we BREATHE in order to observe; we OBSERVE in order to let go; and we LET GO in order to breathe. Repeat as often as necessary.