"Newddhists' — A Coined Word (by James Atlas) for Westerners Hungering for Balance

Also called, "nightstand Buddhists" by the author of the NYTimes Op-Ed, 6/17/2012 as he writes about a spiritual retreat he attended in northern Vermont. Atlas sounds like a rank newbie to the concepts of bare attention, psychological distance, the no-self, and the rest of the many values of meditation, whether it is based on Buddhism — or not.

I was uncomfortable with the author's approach — making it all sound mystical and strange, though beneficial.  As many of you know, meditation, mindfull or mindempty, is a great route to brain fitness. It improves immune response and mood, reduces stress, increases resistance to distraction and strategic allocation of attention, plus generally increases emotional self-regulation. How else can you get so much for so little effort and time?