Zen, Motorcycling & Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Dharma Wheels tells two love stories as one.
One: the story of a motorcycle trip through Western states that lie between the 105th meridian and the sea. Glacial mornings silent except for the squeak of still-cold leathers. Pinion smoke wafting over late-night country lanes. Meteors crisscrossing red rock canyon lands like some jai alai game of the gods. Six weeks sans screens or wristwatch, the ticking of the odometer the only clock. Wheels is a love letter to the art of motorcycling.
Two: the ancient, ever-new story of the human quest for happiness. Itself a journey, this quest is the backstory to any tale of the road. My whole life has been an inquiry into the habits of heart and mind that have always enabled us to live and to die well. As a cognitive-behavioral scientist my days are an investigation into precisely this. As a Zen practitioner I’ve engaged koan study to recognize and relinquish the cognitive filters that cloud a direct apprehension of reality. Classic Zen texts and fMRI machines now agree: throughout space and time wellbeing is one the world over. I love this truth. Better: this truth is love itself. Through the lens of science East and West, Dharma Wheels snaps into sharp focus the moving parts of this love.
Dharma Wheels is a profoundly insightful exploration of the human mind.
Mathew May, MD
Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University
The Zen of motorcycling is alive and well.
Henry Shukman
Guiding Teacher, Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Co-Director of the Rio Grande Mindfulness Institute.
Author of: One Blade of Grass
Mr. Mintie connects with the reader in a very personal yet universal way.
Prof. Dr. Yehuda Bar Shalom
Rector and President, Hebraica University, Mexico City.
A treasure house of spiritual and psychological wisdom.
Shivarama Varambally MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Officer-in-Charge, Integrated Centre for Yoga, National Institute of Mental health and Neuroscience, Bangalore, India.
A rejuvenating read and nourishing meal for the mind.
Nimisha Kumar Ph.D.
Founding President, Indian Association for Cognitive Behavior Therapy; Associate Professor, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, SGT University, Gurugram, India.
The Curiosity Hour Podcast - With Daniel Mintie
Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund are joined by guest Daniel Mintie on July 12, 2019 for episode 115 of The Curiosity Hour Podcast. Daniel discusses and share stories about his shared passion for Zen Buddhism, motorcycling and Cognitive Behavioral therapy.
Author Interview
Jacob Towery, MD, adjunct clinical faculty member in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University, speaks with author Daniel Mintie about his new book Dharma Wheels: Zen, Motorcycling and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Daniel speaks with Dr. Towery of the 6 weeks motorcycle tour he took through the American West as a "retreat," quite like the Zen retreats he's done at centers around the world for more than 40 years.
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