About

David Solomon Leon studied International Relations at the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford (where he was involved in the early days of the Effective Altruism movement) before embarking on a public policy career culminating with a stint at Google, Inc.

Finding both the academic and “proper job” career track slightly boring (and full of annoying, ambitious pushy people), he switched tack and became a writer.
He sweated his way through a novel, won the 2016 BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Prize for Film, and made a living writing smutty romance stories online.

When that didn’t scratch the itch for ultimate meaning, he changed course once more to become a full-time Truth-seeker, spending his late 20s poring over ancient religious and philosophical texts in the Bodleian Library and going for long walks along the river (and even longer meditation retreats).
During this time, he co-founded the Oxford Psychedelic Society, worked in a primary school, and served for several years as the Librarian of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies.

He is currently having another go at being a writer.

He’s the host of the Philosophical Storytime YouTube channel and co-host of the On the Verge podcast.

For a far more useful description, check out the Testimonials page.

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Sitting under a tree at Beckley Church of England Primary School.

Studied Insight Meditation under Jaya Rudgard, Soto Zen Shikantaza meditation under Bárbara Kosen and Sandy Chubb, Samatha meditation under Sarah Shaw, qigong and Daoist meditation under Ben Cox, and Pa Auk Method under Beth Upton, among others.