Mudita Journal

Who is Joshua Zader

December 13, 2002 · Filed under: Personal
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I am a graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where I live with my wife Kathy and our two cats. Intellectual and spiritual pursuits are my strongest passions, revolving principally around applied ethics, mindfulness, and the philosophy of individualism.

I also work as a web developer, specializing in Adobe Photoshop and GoLive. Although I’ve created plenty of sites on an independent basis (and continue to do so for the occasional client) I increasingly find that what I enjoy most is collaborating with programmers, so that I can focus on design and layout, and leave the back-end work to someone who specializes in that area.

Academically, I recently completed my master’s thesis (on May 15, 2003), which was titled “A Structural Assessment of Biomedical Ethics” and examines differences in how experts and novices organize their knowledge in the domain of biomedical ethics. I’m likely to do additional research in this area, but I plan to conduct my dissertation on a more clinically-related subject such as mindfulness meditation.

I became interested in mindfulness in 1999, and my readings began with Thich Nhat Hanh, who impressed me with his poetically evocative writing that seemed to convey the spirit of mindfulness so effortlessly. Today some of my favorite writings on mindfulness are those by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, and Ken McLeod—particularly McLeod’s excellent Wake Up to Your Life.

I’m particularly interested in the application of mindfulness-based therapies to the treatment of chronic pain (of which I am a sufferer; I’ve experienced chronic, untreatable facial pain since I was young). While I often gain inspiration from books, I also develop many useful insights from my own meditation practice of generally 2+ hours per day. One of my aims in this journal will be to articulate insights I gain through my practice—insights not just about pain but also about creating a meaningful life in the face of adversity.

For many years I’ve also been interested in the philosophy of individualism, and particularly the teachings of novelist Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Rand’s vision of a moral society—guided by the principle that every person is an end in him- or herself—fits neatly with my core sense of the good life.

Combining the concepts of individualism and mindfulness may seem like a stretch to people familiar with either of these important traditions. Yet, their intertwinings are the stuff of elegance, and provide the intellectual basis of this journal.

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  • http://www.FunJoyment.com mark michael lewis

    Joshua, what a sweet gift mudita is!

    I look forward to getting to know you through time. I think you and I will enjoy one another greatly. What a wonderful future we have together!

    Namaste, (or as my friends like to say, “no mistakes”!)

    Mark

  • gautham

    hi joshua

    being a web developer and a fan of ayn rand , i couldn’t help my self from browsing your site . my congratulations . a job neatly done. i feel it would be wunnerful if we could get to discuss onj the net more about objectivism and mindfullness.

    gautham

  • http://www.infinitesmile.com Michael McAlister

    Interesting site.
    Amazing that there seem to be so few excellent sites dealing with closing the gap between Eastern peace and Western dynamism.
    Come by some time and visit mine: http://www.infinitesmile.com
    Take care,
    Michael

  • Greg Feirman

    “Yet, their [mindfulness and individualism] intertwinings are the stuff of elegance, and provide the intellectual basis of this journal.”

    A worthy endeavor and important integration of two concepts/traditions that need each other. Coming from a background in “individualism”, I believe that individualism has got to mean more than individual rights and free markets if it is going to make a difference in people’s lives. Those two worthy goals are simply boundary conditions that set up a space in which to live our lives — free from the initiation of force by others including the government. But the really important question is: how should we live our lives, in a free country and in the country we have right here, right now? After all, I’d say the pay off in terms of happiness and fulfillment of a knowledge of true principles of politics and economics is fairly limited. It is not fundamental. The really important stuff is at a deeper, more personal, level.

    I look forward to enjoying your thoughts.

  • Melissa Zader

    Hi, Well my email doesn’t have anything to do with your business, sorry. I was wondering if we’re related to eachother because there’s only a few Zader’s out there?????

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