Pg.28 Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
Call to recollection
And count and weigh
How many things have you passed through?
How many things have you endured?
And how many beautiful things have you seen?
How many pleasures and pains have you despised?
How many things called honorable you spurned?
How many ill- minded folks you have shown kind disposition?
How have you to behave-
To Gods, Parents, Brethren, Children
Teachers, Friends, Kinsfolk-
Consider if you have behaved to all in
Such a way that - this may be said of you-
" never has this (wo)man wronged- in Deed or Word"
James Clear
As you work hard at your craft, and put in hours everyday,
The better you become at the craft
And it looks simple from the outward
With people consuming it easily;
As you work too light , or dont put enough time into craft,
The output comes out as complex and difficult;
Simple is Hard
Complex is Easy;
Does another make me worry?
Let me look into it
He has his own disposition
His own activity
I have what Nature wills me to have!
I do what Nature wills me to do!
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations pg.27
Pg.27 Marcus Aurelius
Meditations
Think of the universal substance
Of which you are a small portion
And of universal time
Of which you have been assigned a short,indivisible interval
And that is fixed by destiny
How small a part is mine
In this whole art called Life
Then why am I vexed
Puffed by something
Plagued by something else
And make myself miserable?
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this is why I need to get into spiritual plane of operating and dont get sucked into the material plane -
spiritual plane is abundance mindset -
material plane is scarcity mindset.
Read on below verses by Marcus Aurelius
Pg.27 Meditations
Live with the Gods!
And he does live with Gods
One who constantly shows to them,
That his own soul is satisfied
With what is assigned to him
And uses the spirit as guardian and guide
To Think and Act
According to Nature and Reason
Man is a mix of animal and godly instincts; no doubt;
It's the ratio of this mix that makes man tolerable or not.
A desire of materialistic passions leads to animal instinct
While the spiritual desires leads to Godly instincts
Read on here below the verses of the stoic Sage : Marcus aurelius
Pg.25 Meditations Marcus Aurelius
Philosophy is the art of reasoning
Reasoning and Philosophy are sufficient for themselves
And for their own works
Philosophy and Reason are first principles to begin with
And they make their way to the end proposed to them;
They then become the "Right Acts" that lead us through "Right Roads"
In modern economics, Goods are the material stuff
One based on scarcity mindset; winner takes it all!
In spiritual economics, Goods are entirely different ; they are based on abundance mindset; infinitism;
Read in what Marcus Aurelius has to say:
The real Goods are :
Prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude
But we take good to be those things
Which appear Good to the many- multitude
Oh Man! Rest in solitude and then - Think
What appears as good to the many-
Is it in harmony with Nature?
And what you call it a Good-
Do you have a place to ease yourself in?
Pg.25 Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
There is so much constant Flux
Of substance, time and motion
So one should not be vexed at the natural dissolution
Rather rest in the below principles only
One : nothing will happen to me that is not conformable to the nature of the universe
Two: it is in my power to not act contrary to God and Spirit within
No one has the power to compel me to do this!
Pg.24 Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Are you angry with him? That man
Why dont you tell yourself-
"That man has reason
If he takes pain to discover where in he offends
He is an able man"
And now will you tell yourself- also
"I have reason-
Through my rational faculty,
I will stir up his rational faculty
Show him his error-
And if he listens, it will cure him
And there is no need of anger and drama"
Pg.27 Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Beast is of 2 kinds
Wild and domesticated
Gluttony, lewdness, rashness,
Filthiness,inconsiderate
We act like sheep
Contentitious , harmful, passionate, violent
Signify that we are like beasts ( wild)
In both case we are seperate from
rational faculty
And stop being who we really are:
A rational and mortal being!
Remember that bodily pleasures are
Animal instincts
Only rational thinking takes us
Closer to the Godly instincts!
I will show the nerves -
the strength of a philosopher
A desire never disappointed
An aversion which never falls on that which it should avoid
A proper pursuit
A diligent purpose
An assent which is not rash
There you shall see
The strengths of a Philosopher
You are the work of God!
You have the power of motion
You breathe, faculty to examine things
And being work, of such an artist
Do you dishonor him?
Not only that he made you
He entrusted you to yourself
Would you dishonor your guardianship?
He has delivered yourself to your own care!
So will you not then
Be modest, faithful, erect
Unterrified,free from passion and perturbation?
That is the ultimate self-care!
How to live ? By Carl Jung
Maria Popova blog
Our life is an utterly Improbable trajectory
Plotted not by planning but by living
We long to be given the next step
Enroute to the horizon
Foolishly imagining that it may allay
Our anxieties
But are you aware ?
That death is the only horizon
Certain to arrive
Rest is all anxieties !
Remember this as you are anxious
Uncertainty is the price of beauty
And integrity is the only compass for the territory
Of uncertainty
And best we can do is - to take the next step
By doing the next right thing
The most necessary thing with conviction
We are always doing something meaningful and intended by fate!
You should seek what to write
Rather than how to write it
And even that not for the purpose of writing
But of feeling it
That you make thus, what you felt more of your own
When you notice a style that is too careful and polished
You may be sure that mind is no less absorbed in petty things!
Really great folks - speak informally and easily
Whatever they say - they say with assurance- rather than with pain!
Seneca
Letters from a stoic
Those who go by Pleasure as the ideal
Hold that - good is a matter of the senses
While stoics maintain that
Good is a matter of Understanding and reasoning
For senses never reject any pleasures
And slaves to - appetite and lust
Don't look upon senses as arbiter of good and evil
Rather go by the reasoning
Seneca: letters from a stoic
The day will allow a goodly space of time
If one rises , so to speak with day itself
We are more industrious- we are better
If we anticipate the day
And welcome the dawn!
Letters from a stoic
Seneca
Bad bread!!! You say
But just wait
It will become good bread soon!
Hunger will make even a bad bread ,good
The most Delicious and finest of flavor
For that matter, I must not eat
Until hunger bids me;
So I shall wait and shall not eat
Until I can either get good bread
Or else cease to be squeamish about it!!!
(Good bread is here a metaphor for Luxury and superfluity)
Seneca
Letters from a stoic
Many of our troubles can be explained thus:
We live more according to pattern
Than by reasoning
We seem to think- just because its frequen
Its more honorable !
How much do we acquire simply because
Our neighbors have !!!
Letters from a stoic
Seneca
Words of Wisdom
No man is good by chance
Virtue is something that must be learnt
Pleasure is lowly- to be shared with dumb animals
Glory is empty and fleeting
Poverty is no evil ( as long as you are content)
Superstition is the misguided idea of an lunatic!!!
Seneca: letters from stoic
In mountain climbing,
The man coming down a slope
Has to bend backwards
The Lady ascending a steep,
needs to lean forward
My dear Lucilius,
So the same with Pleasure and Virtue
Pleasure takes you downhill
And you shall put the reins on it to hold back
And avoid falling down the slippery slope
Virtue takes you to the mountain top
But you must lean in forward
As it is rough and hard to climb!!!
Seneca: letters from a stoic
There is no joy in the finite
There is joy only in the Infinite
(There is no joy in the tangible
There is joy only in the Intangible)
(There is no joy in the material
Joy only in the spiritual)
The Upanishads
The Guru cannot take us there
But (s)he can
show the way
Tell us what to look for
Warn us about the missteps
Advise us about detours
Inform us what to avoid
Finally ,urge us that
"It is our destiny as Human beings
To make this journey memorable and our own!"
Eknath Eswaran
A group of bullies in the school would play prank with the kid every day.
The prank was this:
The small boy would be offered rs.1 and rs.5 coins and asked to choose between the both. Whatever he chooses he gets to take it.
The kid would invariably pick the 1 rupee coin, every single opportunity.
And the bullies would give a minor slap to the boy: "you son of a crap!!!!" , and would have hearty laughter and move on to the classes.
The kid's friend asks him one day: " why are you doing this? Choose the rs.5 coin and prove them you are smart"
The kid replies with a winkle :"the day I pick the five rupee coin, the game would be over!, and I cannot buy my daily chocolates!"
Delayed gratification, my friend, may not take you there faster, but surely takes you farther!
Link to delayed gratification
Pays in long run
4 steps to becoming an entrepreneur
@dickiebush
1. Solve a problem you have - problem & solution
2. Package your solution into a product- solution and product
3. Put that product out for sale - product and Sales
4. Tweak your solution until it's so good that your customers do 100% of your marketing!
You need 3 hobbies in life
-a physical one- (sports, martial arts, lifting)
-a cerebral one- (reading, chess , maths)
-a creative one (music, writing, painting)
Commit to one of each
And you will never feel lost again!
Today as I was going for morning jog, in the sun-kissed morning, I got this radiant thought!!!
Inspiration :
Most of us derive inspiration from people - an idol
A person ,alive or dead;
Rather I got this thought :
Why dont we derive inspiration from a skill that this person has?
Pick one skill or a quality from this person ,whomsover it is - young/old, senior/junior, fresher/ experienced - without bias-And emulate it
If you do so,
You can hit 2 mangoes with one stone:
Build your skill
Water-down your ego
Letters from a stoic Seneca
pg.454
Whenever I see a splendid palace
With well-groomed corps of attendants
And bearers carrying litters-
Why wonder?
Why gape in astonishment?
It is all show-
Such things are displayed , not possessed!
Rather ,learn to become content with little
And cry out with courageousness and greatness of soul-
"I have water, I have porridge
Let me compete in happiness with Jupiter himself"!
You must crave nothing,
If you would vie with Jupiter,
For jupiter craves nothing!!!
See clearly for yourself
What is necessary?
And what is superfluous?
What is necessary- will meet you everywhere
What is superfluous - has always to be hunted out - and with great endeavor!
Always desire
and Always refuse
the same things
You will end with a noble result
When they draw the load with equal yoke
Author Seneca
Letters from a stoic