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Sloww Sunday Newsletter 217 (May 25, 2025) — Self Origins, Story Meditations, Science + Spirituality, & More
The Sloww Sunday newsletter sends to 10,000+ readers slowing down to the wisdom within. If you enjoy this issue, please help grow Sloww by forwarding this newsletter to others.
New to Sloww? Here’s what it’s about in a nutshell (which mirrors the newsletter sections below):
🌀 Origins of the Self with Bonnitta Roy
This is long overdue, but I finally watched this 3-part video series covering Bonnitta Roy’s perspective on the self (fair warning: it’s deeper than most stuff out there):
- Part 1: Origins of the Self: An Integrated Model
- Part 2: From Mine and Me to I and We
- Part 3: Individuation Beyond Identity
0️⃣ Explore More: 50+ posts on Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development (Sloww Stage Support)
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🌎 The Intentional Language of Nora Bateson
Also long overdue, but I’ve been more deeply exploring Nora Bateson’s work. She’s becoming increasingly known for her idea of ‘warm data’:
Warm ideas vs cold ideas:
- “A ‘warm idea’ is an idea that’s actually not isolated from its relational process … What is the pattern that connects? … A warm idea is going to invite you into exploring relational process, and that just leads you to more relational process. So, it’s the study of relationships that lead to more relationships, instead of divisions that lead to more divisions … A ‘cold idea’ would be a compartmentalized deliverable definition that isolates something from its nest of relational process. A cold idea is one that separates, and when that separation happens, it actually leads to more separation.”
So, what is warm data?:
- “‘Warm data’ is information that’s alive that’s moving through multiple contexts … If you’re dealing with warm data, you’re going to take the time, you’re going to be looking for ways of responding that connect to more than one context.”
A question to think about:
- “Who am I when I’m with you, and who are you when you’re with me, and what path is opened before us?“
For more, check out Nora’s books (on my reading list).
1️⃣ Explore More: 100+ posts on Intentional Living (Sloww Stage 1)
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🧘 Short Story Meditations from Anthony de Mello
I recently read four Anthony de Mello books of short stories (or what he calls ‘story meditations’): Taking Flight, One Minute Wisdom, The Song of the Bird, The Heart of the Enlightened.
I then organized my favorite stories by themes: religion & spirituality, conditioning, attachment & contentment, self-inquiry, seeing & enlightenment, life & death. This was a fun new post to put together that I’ll revisit often: 50+ Anthony de Mello Short Story Meditations to See Truth (🔒)
- “The shortest distance between a human being and Truth is a story … It is a great mystery that though the human heart longs for Truth in which alone it finds liberation and delight, the first reaction of human beings to Truth is one of hostility and fear. So the Spiritual Teachers of humanity, like Buddha and Jesus, created a device to circumvent the opposition of their listeners: the story. They knew that the most entrancing words a language holds are ‘Once upon a time …,’ that it is common to oppose a truth but impossible to resist a story. Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, says that if you listen carefully to a story you will never be the same again. That is because the story will worm its way into your heart and break down barriers to the divine … Since each of these stories is a revelation of Truth, and since Truth, when spelled with a capital t, means the truth about you, make sure that each time you read a story you single-mindedly search for a deeper understanding of yourself.” — Anthony de Mello
2️⃣ Explore More: 50+ posts on Life Purpose (Sloww Stage 2)
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🧠 When Science met Spirituality with David Bohm & Jiddu Krishnamurti
I finally knocked out many of the dialogues between David Bohm and Jiddu Krishnamurti. Decades later, these conversations are still considered a gold standard of showcasing the spirit of shared inquiry when science/physics (Bohm) meets spirituality/philosophy (Krishnamurti).
The talks are also transcribed in a couple books: The Limits of Thought (Book Summary) & The Ending of Time (Book Summary).
If you want to save yourself many hours of going through everything, this new post is all you need: Bohm & Krishnamurti Synthesis: Everything from the Meetings of Science & Spirituality (🔒)
If you want to watch some of the best dialogues (in my opinion), I’d recommend The Future of Humanity (1983): Part 1, Part 2
3️⃣ Explore More: 100+ posts on Mental Mastery (Sloww Stage 3)
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✝️ Thomas Merton Lecture Series
Did you know there’s an entire YouTube playlist of Thomas Merton’s lectures?
I explored several of them and curated his top quotes on the spiritual life, solitude, contemplation, prayer, grace, love, heart, and more.
I also have a few Merton books on my reading list—I’m particularly interested in his late-life thinking and writing where he bridges Western Christianity with Eastern spirituality.
4️⃣ Explore More: 100+ posts on Spiritual Seeing (Sloww Stage 4)
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“If you want to know whether anybody is aware of God, the simplest test: love for all, service for all.” — Eknath Easwaran (his versions of the Upanishads & Bhagavad Gita are on my reading list)
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All the best,
Kyle Kowalski
Founder, Sloww
