In this first episode of Season 2, we dive into one of my favorite meditations from Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1. I’ll be using the Farquharson translation throughout this season, and today, I’m excited to get started.
Meditation Quoted:
"Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today inquisitive, ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, unch ... Show More
Nov 21
Growing Into Roles We're Not Good At Yet
In this episode I talk about what it’s like to take on a large number of new roles in a very short period of time, and how doing so can leave you feeling detached from yourself unless you approach those roles with clear thinking, humility, and attention. Over the last few years I ... Show More
16m 30s
Nov 14
Living Well on a Hot Planet [The COP30]
In this episode I take a current headline—the opening of COP30 in Belém, Brazil—and sit with it like a philosopher, not a pundit. Instead of debating policy language or political victories, I look at what a global event like this means for people trying to live excellently right ... Show More
25m 35s
Nov 5
Gender Roles and the Rational Soul
In this episode I take on a listener question about gender roles and Stoicism — whether they exist, how the Stoics would have defined them, and what any of it means for modern relationships. We look closely at Musonius Rufus, the so-called “fourth head” of the Stoic school, who a ... Show More
22m 28s
May 2021
Episode 96, Pride and Anger (Part III - Further Analysis and Discussion)
<p class=""><strong>Introduction</strong></p> <p class="">If I told you I was a proud and angry person, what would you think of me? Would you conjure up the image of an entitled, arrogant aggressor? The devil's turn from God was born of pride after all. What if you thought of a p ... Show More
58m 23s
Apr 2021
Episode 96, Pride and Anger (Part I - Pride)
<p class=""><strong>Introduction</strong></p> <p class="">If I told you I was a proud and angry person, what would you think of me? Would you conjure up the image of an entitled, arrogant aggressor? The devil's turn from God was born of pride after all. What if you thought of a p ... Show More
1h 17m
Sep 8
Hegel on Stoicism (Part One)
Discussing the section on Stoicism in Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit," which is under "Freedom of Self-Consciousness," "Stoicism, Scepticism, and the Unhappy Consciousness." This comes right after his famous lordship and bondage chapter, and explains how in reaction to being de ... Show More
58m 13s
Sep 17
410: What True Compassion Is and How to Employ It By Default, part Cinq/Five of "What Lies at the Heart of Living Simply Luxuriously"
"Just as we are wired to be in connection with each other, we are wired with an impulse to help, with an instinct for compassion." —Deb Dana, author of Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory Empathy in action. While to empathize with another is a goo ... Show More
52m 36s
May 2021
Episode 96, Pride and Anger (Part II - Anger)
<p class=""><strong>Introduction</strong></p> <p class="">If I told you I was a proud and angry person, what would you think of me? Would you conjure up the image of an entitled, arrogant aggressor? The devil's turn from God was born of pride after all. What if you thought of a p ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 2023
How To Make It Good | Judge Not, Lest…
<p>Oscar Wilde was the victim of a terrible tragedy and a terrible injustice. At the height of his artistic powers, he was thrown in jail–an awful prison which contained the germs that later killed him. It was intolerance and tyranny, plain and simple. Everything he cared about w ... Show More
9m 11s
Sep 13
Episode #236 ... Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
Today we talk about the collection of journals known as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. We mark the differences between Stoicism, modern Stoic ethics, and the journals of Marcus Aurelius. We talk about the divine logos, indifferents, and how metaphysical assumptions ladder up int ... Show More
36m 57s