Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
I am a new man. Today I feel zero anxiety and I appreciate everything that I have in my life… Just kidding, I feel the same. Yesterday, I took my first ice bath. I went to CVS to buy two, 7-pound bags of ice. I came back to my apartment, looked at my bath tub,
I’ve become a big fan of the hot shower after the ice bath. It completely beats shivering your butt off for 40 minutes. If you are planning on replicating my ice bath experiment, I suggest going through the first few weeks without a hot shower, and then the second few weeks with a hot shower.
Yesterday, I wrote about the four types of temperaments as discussed in the Talmud. Today, we’ll look into the four types of students and how they stack up. “There are four types of students: a) One who grasps quickly and forgets quickly, his gain is offset by his loss; b) One who grasps slowly and
After two weeks of praying five times a day, it’s not obvious that I’m becoming more humble. Nobody would notice anything different in their interactions with me. My routine, other than the actual prayers, hasn’t changed too much. At work around 1:30 I will mysteriously disappear for 15 minutes into a conference room by myself,
After 35 prayers, I can feel the humility coursing through my veins. I would say I’m pretty high up in the ranks for the “most humble” competition. Just kidding. I don’t feel particularly different. My first week of prayers actually reminds me of my first week of ice baths for Stoicism. The effects are subtle.
My 20th ice bath felt warm. It must have had something to do with the beautiful 50-degree weather outside. The fact that 50-degree weather feels warm is a testament to the practice of exposing yourself to cold temperatures. We have had some cold days here in DC, so when it’s 50 degrees out, it feels
I arrived at the ADAMS Center Mosque 15 minutes early for my meeting with the Imam. At the top of the steps to the front entrance, there were multiple shelves holding several pairs of shoes. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. I took a peek inside and I couldn’t see anyone walking
To wish for a fuller, happier life than your present one is natural and commendable. What is not commendable is to despise your present state while yearning for a more exalted one. – Zen Master Yasutani-roshi, via The Three Pillars of Zen One of the consistent pieces of wisdom that run through all of the ancient
The Bible is an answer to the supreme question: what does God demand of us? Yet the question has gone out of the world. God is portrayed as a mass of vagueness behind a veil of enigmas, and His voice has become alien to our minds, to our hearts, to our souls. We have learned
Thursday evening, I drove into downtown DC to meet my girlfriend, her co-worker, and another friend for a double date. My girlfriend and I set up her co-worker, Rebecca, and our friend, Jacob [names changed for privacy], as they were both looking to date a nice Jewish guy and girl respectively. This was my first