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Soren Ross

Soren Ross
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Practice

Twenty Years of Meditation: What Changed (And What Didn't)

After 20 years of meditation and 7 in a spiritual organization, here's what actually changed - and what didn't. No transformation story. Just honest inventory.

By Soren Ross 10 Mar 2026
A single wooden door standing alone in an open field at dusk

Thinking for Yourself

What Seven Years in a Spiritual Organization Taught Me (And What It Took to Leave)

The funny thing about cults is that nobody inside calls them that. I was twenty-something, European, and convinced I had found something real. Seven years later, I walked out.

By Soren Ross 05 Mar 2026
Why I Journal (And Why You Might Not Need To)

Practice

Why I Journal (And Why You Might Not Need To)

I've been journaling for thirty years. Not every day - that's a myth. But consistently enough that I have notebooks stacked in boxes, filled with versions of myself I barely recognize.

By Soren Ross 03 Mar 2026
The Last Thing You Try to Control

The Honest Mirror

The Last Thing You Try to Control

I was ending a professional relationship. Five sentences would have been enough. I wrote 847 words instead - and that wasn't even the first draft. Twenty years of practicing non-attachment, and I still couldn't let someone misunderstand me.

By Soren Ross 26 Feb 2026
When the Messenger Ruins the Message

Thinking for Yourself

When the Messenger Ruins the Message

I closed a YouTube video in one second because someone looked old and tired. Years earlier, a TV crew dismissed us in one second because we looked young and naive. Different judgments, same mechanism, and I've been on both sides.

By Soren Ross 24 Feb 2026
The Fanaticism Test

Thinking for Yourself

The Fanaticism Test

I run this test regularly like antivirus software for the soul: Can I disagree with my teacher and still respect them? Can I question the system and still practice within it?

By Soren Ross 19 Feb 2026
I Woke Up to Someone Else's Alarm

The Honest Mirror

I Woke Up to Someone Else's Alarm

I spent years being available to everyone, thinking it made me helpful. What it actually made me was scattered, reactive, and never quite present anywhere.

By Soren Ross 17 Feb 2026
I Wanted to Be the Best Meditator in the Room

The Honest Mirror

I Wanted to Be the Best Meditator in the Room

I spent years trying to be exceptional. Exceptional meditator. Exceptional contributor. Exceptional something. Then I realized: ordinary is harder - and maybe more honest.

By Soren Ross 12 Feb 2026
Cracked ceramic bowl with golden light through cracks, representing anger as information breaking through suppression

Practice

Why Anger Matters

I spent years transcending anger because spiritual people don't get angry, right? Wrong. They just get passive-aggressive and wonder why their body hurts.

By Soren Ross 10 Feb 2026
Empty chairs arranged in rows in a dimly lit hall, one chair slightly out of place, representing the moment of stepping away from compulsive service.

Thinking for Yourself

The Volunteering Trap

I spent twenty years confusing exhaustion with devotion. Here's how volunteering becomes a cage - and the one question that reveals whether your generosity is a choice or a compulsion.

By Soren Ross 05 Feb 2026
You Don't Need Another Book (You Need to Start)

Foundation

You Don't Need Another Book (You Need to Start)

The search can become the addiction. If you've read this far, you already know enough. Here's how to stop consuming and finally start doing.

By Soren Ross 03 Feb 2026
A person steps forward in soft light while translucent figures fade behind them, illustrating gentle movement away from inherited beliefs.

Thinking for Yourself

Your Beliefs Probably Aren't Yours (And That's Not Your Fault)

Discover why most of what you believe comes from others-and why you can't tell the difference. 20 years of practice, one uncomfortable truth.

By Soren Ross 27 Jan 2026
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Soren Ross

Soren Ross

Notes from a fellow traveler

Soren Ross

Essays on practice, growth, and thinking for yourself. No gurus, no guarantees. Notes from a fellow traveler.

Safe travels.

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