Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been in Portland, Oregon and took a break from the project for a little while. I didn’t intend to, but I was working remotely at weird hours and didn’t have anything logistically set up for my Hinduism month (my shrine, time to study, etc.). Instead of doing a half
The concept of detachment has been a recurring them throughout this project. The Stoics were, of course, huge advocates of the concept, and every religious tradition I’ve explored since teaches some form of it. So you would think that after 6 months or so of studying detachment in various traditions that nothing in the world
There is an excellent, Chipotle-like burrito place called Anna’s Taqueria in the Boston area. In high school, my friends and I would make the 20-minute drive to Anna’s, get our burritos or quesadillas (my go-to), and speed back while eating in the car. The quesadillas are delicious. Instead of making them in the traditional flat bread
American culture is incredibly optimistic and forward looking. Any setback or troubles that someone encounters are only temporary and can be overcome by a good attitude and hard work. If they can’t, there is always some lesson to be learned from the misfortune. But the default attitude is to assume that life will eventually work
I’m currently back in my hometown for the holidays (this was written over the Christmas break period) and I admit I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit in terms of my Epicurean goals. I’ve cheated a little bit on my diet, I haven’t exercised for 3 or 4 days, and I watched TV with my
One of modernity’s “virtues” is its claim to reduce harmful variability in our lives. For example, in pre-industrial times, you might only have access to foods that are in season. Strawberries bloom in the spring, and in a time when international trade and refrigeration capability was limited, you could only eat strawberries in the spring.
The Observer just published an article I wrote about what I learned during my month of Stoic ice baths. If you’re a regular reader of this blog the content will be pretty familiar, but I thought I’d share. As for what’s next, I decided to take a break from the 30-day experiments t and will
Our brains like to make stories that make our experiences coherent. For example, if you graduate college and get a job at a reputable company, your brain might lump you into the “young professional” bucket and the extent to which you are psychologically content will be determined by how closely your experiences align with that script.
Over the past five days I’ve been working through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. The exercises ask you to read and pray on a passage from the Bible, and then reflect on a few specific questions. What does this look like when I do it? The night before I am supposed to conduct a specific exercise,
Small, seemingly insignificant events, ideas, and life circumstances can become occasions to discern God’s will and calling in your life. Both inner and outer events and circumstances can be read and interpreted as signposts leading to a deeper understanding of the way the Spirit of God is working in our daily lives. – Henri Nouen, Discernment: