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Renko Styranka

Renko once lived in a Zen temple and was involved in the practice, formally or informally, for over twenty years. Contemplate This explores various subjects through this lens. His autobiographical book, Endless Knot (Insomniac Press, 2001), explores thought and desire and was published in 2001 under the name Mathew Styranka.  His first crime novel, Char Broiled, was released last summer.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is an insidious chronic condition that can affect soldiers, emergency responders, or just about anyone who encounters a traumatic experience.

Navigating Canadian health care and chronic pain

Getting answers to illness and pain can be a lot like stepping into a Robin Cook novel.

Meditation and chronic pain

If neither you nor anyone immediate to you has had chronic pain, it is nearly impossible to relate to.

Surfing addiction

Surfing and surf culture are riddled with pitfalls similar to drug addiction.

Sexy knots of desire

Even at age 10, I realized the ludicrousness of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore sleeping in separate beds.

Gods worshipped by the power elite

Every avowed Christian president of the U.S.A has blatantly ignored at least two Commandments.

A final Zen koan: so bloody what?

Mystical searching has become a hodgepodge. The art of breaking ground with your shovel and digging deep in one spot has become rare.