Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World

Bruce has found another hero to obsess about, no surprise it's the world's fastest marathoner: Eluid Kipchoge (a stoic adjacent runner.) In today's episode we break down some of the many lessons that can be learned from him through the lens of Marcus's beautiful quote in chapter 11: "The pythagoreans bid us in the mornings to look to the heavens that we may be reminded of those bodies that continually do the same things and in the same manner perform their work, and also be reminded of their purity and nudity. For there is no veil over a star." We explore the lessons of humility, discipline and the power of doing real work that Kipchoge shows us. And we give you an unforgettable quiz at the end of the show...

Book 11 of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

Have you ever had a friend insist that a quote is relevant, additive, and deep, but you just don't get it? Listen to Bruce try to justify bringing in this quote from "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" and see if it resonates with you? Have you ever wondered what the nature of life is? Marcus says, "A healthy pair of eyes should see everything that can be seen and not say, 'No! Too bright!'.. So too a healthy mind should be prepared for anything." This frames our discussion as we try to learn and explore how we can take in everything life throws at us. What is a healthy relationship with what life gives us? We explore that through a lens of "maturity" through a very ethereal quote from David Whyte and explore where we are immature with our relationship with nature. Are you dying to share Stoicism with young folks in your life, but scared that you'll come across as an old codger? Well, we have a solution for YOU! This Stoic Reimagining we make a natural tale about Stoic growth that will really connect with young people! Cybertruck cars, iphone 16 pro's, explosions, bopping music, trust me these kids will be foaming at the mouth to read Discourses by Epictetus by the end of listening to this! Lyrics from "Hurt" by Sleeping at Last used for intro/outro story.

In Book 10 of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius reflects on the impermanence of life, the futility of seeking fame, and the importance of living in harmony with nature. He emphasizes resilience in the face of adversity, urging us to accept what we cannot change and focus on our duty. He reminds himself—and us—that external recognition is fleeting, while true fulfillment comes from acting with wisdom, justice, and integrity.

This episode took us a year to make... Well, at least it is the byproduct of a year focused on focus and rest for Bruce. If you read between the lines of Meditations Book 9 you'll find an emperor who also shares an obsession with finding ways to increase his focus and find rest. For instance Marcus says things like: "You can remove out of the way many useless things among those which disturb thee, for they lie entirely in thy opinion" Or "Let there be freedom from perturbation with things which come from the external cause and let there be justice done by virtue of the internal cause that is, let there be movement and action terminating in this, in social acts." In this episode we explore practical ways we can sharpen our focus and deepen our rest.

As is now Modern Meditations tradition we ended 2024 with reading Seneca’s “On The Shortness of Life” and sat down for a chat about how we did with this year that is not coming back. We both saw meaningful ways that Stoicism had major impacts in our lives for the better, whether that be through breakups, travel, making major career moves, graduating college or deaths in the family. And at the end we have the internationally acclaimed awards ceremony for the best episodes of the year called, “The Aurelis.“

On the 50th episode of Modern Meditations we break our format to give you two audio essays that changed our views on what it means to be a citizen of the world. In Meditations we read, “My city and country, so far as I am Antoninus, is Rome; but so far as I am a human being, it is the world." The first, by Bruce, from his trip on Thailand and the lessons he learned from the East that would solve many problems in the West. And another from Justin that shows where philanthropy without true understanding of needs and the culture can go wrong. We intentionally left the commentary out this week and just raise interesting questions. We would love to hear your thoughts on the format and the content at modernmeditationspodcast@gmail.com.

Experience Stoic literature first-hand by listening directly to the audiobook of Mediations by Marcus Aurelius. Book 9 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius contains absolute banger quotes such as: 9:20 "It is your duty to leave another man's wrongful act there where it is." 9:27 "When another blames you or hates you, or when men say about you anything injurious, approach their poor sould, look within, and see what kind of men they are. You will discover that there is no reason to take any trouble that these men may have this or that opinion about you. However, you must be well disposed towards them, for by nature they are friends." But don't let us decide which quotes are worthy of your thought and attention; listen and directly find the quotes that most resonate with you on your Stoic journey to building wisdom and character!

Discussing Book 8 of Marcus Aurelius' meditations is not for those unready to face the existential dread of facing themselves and what they were born to do... Are you? We start with a fun teaser of "What is required of someone to be a Stoic?" Then we dive into the heavy-hitting themes of this book of Meditations with figuring out what you were born for. Join to answer the most important question of all! Who will project their biases more onto the world, Justin or Bruce? Find out this episode!

Experience Stoic literature first-hand by listening directly to the audiobook of Mediations by Marcus Aurelius. Book 8 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius contains absolute banger quotes such as: 8:16 "Remember that to change your opinion and to follow him who corrects your error is as consistent with freedom as it is to persist in your error." 8:22 "Attend to the matter which is before you, whether it is an opinion or an act or a word." 8:33 "Receive [wealth or prosperity] without arrogance, and be ready to let it go." 8:36 "Do not disturb yourself by thinking of the whole of your life. Do not let your thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which you may expect to befall you.." But don't let us decide which quotes are worthy of your thought and attention; listen and directly find the quotes that most resonate with you on your Stoic journey to building wisdom and character!

Happy Halloween! What a perfect time to discuss death! On this spooky holiday we open with Data asking Picard to grant him a gift... mortality. We discuss how we deal with mortality and why it is such a gift to be alive and that we all die. We go into how we can prepare for our own inevitable death. Part of that is destigmatizing death to not let it be a looming fear, but instead of provider of beauty and meaning. Can it be destigmatized too much? Possibly, but we think the pendulum is swung towards a fear of "tempting fate" by talking about it. How does Marcus respond to people thinking speaking about death is tempting fate? Find out in this episode! Special for Halloween, we combined the outro and Stoic reimagining with a longer story of "Death's Messengers" by Brothers Grimm, with a symphony playing Danse Macabre to set the tone. Death’s Messengers Fairy tale (original) - Story by Brothers Grimm (61) Danse macabre, Op. 40 - YouTube

Can we just say, "What a chapter?!" Book 7 has many riveting themes, including... Simplicity! Marcus says, "Always bear this in mind; and another thing too, that very little indeed is necessary for living a happy life." To explore that we compare how much it would cost to live the life of an Instagram Influencer compared to a simple life. The happiest *recorded* capacity for happiness was found in a man who lived in absolute simplicity, the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. We use the Catchy Quaker Classic, Simple Gifts, as inspiration on what simplicity should bring, freedom. Aside from its catchiness, the song gives some great insights on living a simple life and how that will make life more cohesive. Elon Musk gives a practical formula for simplifying things in business which we extrapolate to simplifying life. Then Winston Churchill gives a great example of an "Autotelic" activity. For the Stoic Reimagining we thought we would challenge ourselves to simplify this episode. It may have worked too well...

Book 7 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius focuses on Stoic themes like living in harmony with nature, accepting the impermanence of life, and the importance of rationality. Marcus considers valuable things such as how little is necessary to living a happy life, what the perfection of moral character looks like, and how the more you dig for good within yourself the more it will bubble up. The chapter is a reminder to align actions with reason and find peace within oneself through disciplined living.

Your favorite Stoic podcast is back, as we work our way through Meditations Book 6 which is all about the unself. Marcus makes quite the claim in this chapter that “The only rewards of our existence here are an unstained character and unselfish acts..." But what does it mean to be unselfish? And why is it a reward? To answer these questions we explore some Buddhist tenants and a surgical procedure that will make you question whether you exist at all. Then we move through what Marcus suggest on how to live a happier more selfish existence. Stick around for the Stoic Reimagining, it’s um, life changing… Email us: Modernmeditationspodcast@gmail.com

Book 6 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius focuses on Stoic themes like living in harmony with nature, accepting the impermanence of life, and the importance of rationality. Marcus emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things, urging a life of virtue and inner tranquility despite external circumstances. He advocates for focusing on the present moment, maintaining humility, and valuing personal wisdom over fame or wealth. The chapter is a reminder to align actions with reason and find peace within oneself through disciplined living.

In Book 5 Marcus deals wrestles with the ideas of failure, imperfection and the love of a craft. To helps us deepen our understanding of how to view mistakes not as problems but as information and what it means to harmonize with nature we brought on Composer and friend of the podcast Matt Lees. In this episode we bring back the Lightening round, deeply go through the troubled yet amazing history of Ulysses S. Grant. We explore the tenacity that made Thomas Edison tick. Then go through what it means to slow practice, how to attack the 25% of our lives we don't want to change, and what it might sound like to be out of harmony with nature. And much more!

In Book 5 of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius reflects on themes of duty, self-discipline, and the transience of life. He emphasizes the importance of rising each day with purpose, fulfilling one's responsibilities with a sense of duty, and aligning actions with nature and reason. The book encourages focusing on the present moment, controlling impulses, and finding contentment in simple, virtuous living. Marcus also discusses the inevitability of death and the need to accept it as a natural part of life, urging readers to live with integrity and humility.

Woah. This is quite the episode exploring themes from the Meditations Book 4. We deep dive into both Marcus's advice to be like a blazing fire, and Bruce Lee's advice to be water my friend. And a big part of both is working with the experiences that we're given to become, new vocab alert "Anti Fragile." We also have a brief therapy session with Justin about a person that stole his winter coat who he had revenge fantasy's about until he decided to take a more Stoic path. We of course wrote a new song about one of the verses from this chapter about being harmonious with the universe. And as if that wasn't enough we also invited our friends Joe Biden and Donald Trump onto the podcast for a Stoic coaching section. (Because we all know the biggest part of any election is getting the Stoic Vote.

In this episode, we delve into Book 4 of Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations," a cornerstone of Stoic philosophy. Join us as we explore themes of self-discipline, the transient nature of life, and the importance of inner peace. Marcus reflects on the impermanence of the material world, urging us to focus on our inner virtues and live in harmony with nature. Through his introspective writings, he guides us to embrace the present, act justly, and maintain equanimity in the face of life's challenges. Tune in for a thought-provoking journey into the mind of one of history's greatest philosophers.

Diogenes the Cynic a predecessor to Stoicism and Alexander the Great were cut from very different cloths, but when Alexander the Great came to Diogenes their supposed meeting gave us one of the most legendary favors ever asked for of a king. Bruce recaps his time in his hammock and in nature. We discuss the shocking revelations that Bruce unearthed during Bruce-Con, his annual conference of just himself. We go in depth about opinions, the Stoic views on opinions as expressed by Marcus Aurelius and their inability to affect the world around us. Just as Bruce's opinions about the sun's presence (annoyance or affection) didn't change the sun's positioning in the sky, so our opinions don't affect the things in the world, nor do other's opinions of us need to affect us.