Shows
Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#57 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 12 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textThe 12th and final book of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations is full of gems. Marcus starts off telling himself how to become worthy of the universe that made him. "if you shall not be afraid because you must some time cease to live, but if you shall fear never to have begun to live according to nature then you will be a man worthy of the universe which has produced you..."Other nuggets and aphorisms to himself are just as riveting. "If it is not right, do not do...2025-04-2119 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#56 - Meditations Book 11: No Human is Limited, There Is No Veil Over a Star, Fake Work vs Real Work, The Myth of 'Self Care', Only the Disciplined Are Free & Lessons From KipchogeSend us a textBruce 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 t...2025-04-0748 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#55 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 11 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textBook 11 of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. 2025-03-2424 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#54 - The Nature of Nature & How to Have a Wise Relationship With It, Justin Reveals his Hypocrisy & Why Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is ProfoundSend us a textHave 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 t...2025-03-1751 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#53 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 10 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textIn 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. 2025-02-1627 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#52 - Meditations Book 9: How to Deepen Your Rest & Sharpen Your Focus Like a Stoic, Marcus's Bedtime Stories & Is There Life After TikTok?Send us a textThis 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 fre...2025-02-0436 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#51 - On The Shortness of Life (New Years Special) - Bruce’s Breakup & New Startup, 2 Week Justins, The 2024 Aurelis Award Show, & The Sacredness of TimeSend us a textAs 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.“ 2025-01-1357 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#50 - On Being a Citizen of The World (Audio Essays)Send us a textOn 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 sh...2024-12-2525 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#49 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 9 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textExperience 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 th...2024-12-1627 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#48 - Meditations Book 8: The Why Were You Born-isode, Gradual Coherence, Do You Find Meaning or Does Meaning Find You and the Parable of the Turkey CultSend us a textDiscussing 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!2024-12-1057 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#47 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 8 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textExperience 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 no...2024-11-1827 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#46 - The DeathisodeSend us a textHappy 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 t...2024-11-0135 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#45 - Meditations Book 7: How Much Does Happiness Cost? Instagram Life vs The Simple Life, The Happiest Man in the World, Elon Musk's Life Algorithm & Autotelic activitiesSend us a textCan 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...2024-10-0742 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#44 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 7 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textBook 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.2024-09-1727 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#43 - Meditations Book 6: To Move From One Unselfish Act to Another, Why You Don’t Exist, Big Mind vs Small Mind, Can You Have Two Souls? & KoansSend us a textYour 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 h...2024-09-1135 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#42 - Meditations By Marcus Aurelius Book 6 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textBook 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.2024-08-2828 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#41 - Meditations Book 5: When You Have Failed Return Back Again, W/Composer Matt Lees, The Crazy Rise of Ulysses S. Grant, Slow Practice, Edision's Tenacity, Harmony & What Disharmony Sounds LikeSend us a textIn 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 p...2024-08-1859 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#40 - Meditations By Marcus Aurelius Book 5 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textIn 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.2024-08-1226 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#39 - Meditations Book 4: How To Turn Obstacles Into Flame & Brightness, Anti Fragility, Chubby Thieves, Un-Complicating Yourself & Special Guests Donald Trump And Joe BidenSend us a textWoah. 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 co...2024-08-051h 04Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#38 - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 4 (Audiobook Reading)Send us a textIn 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...2024-07-2827 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#37 - Meditations Book 3: Revere the Faculty Which Produces Opinion, Pompeii Poses, Bruce-Con, Emotional Minimalism, The Opinions We Are Currently Sacrificing & Happy Birthday Modern MeditationsSend us a textDiogenes 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...2024-07-1558 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#36 - Meditations By Marcus Aurelius Book 3 (Audio Book Reading)Send us a textJoin us in this episode as we present a reading of Book 3 from Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations." This chapter offers profound insights into the fleeting nature of life, the importance of living according to reason and nature, and the virtues of self-discipline and simplicity. Marcus reflects on the inevitability of death and encourages embracing the present moment. He emphasizes the need for inner tranquility through rational thinking and the alignment of one's actions with the natural order. Listen in as we explore these timeless stoic teachings and how they can inspire a virtuous and...2024-06-3017 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#35 - Meditations Book 2: 4 Ways a Soul Does Violence To Itself & Marcus’s Remedies, Interdependence, Justin’s Kia Catching on Fire, Roommates Who Bathe In Vegetables, & The Benjamin Franklin EffectSend us a textThis week we dive into Book 2 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, we begin with Justin’s current sparing partner for equanimity, namely his Kia catching on fire. Then we move into the acronym: M.O.M.A which breaks down the four main ways that Marcus discusses that the soul can do violence to itself. But, because we don’t dwell on the negative, we then move into B.E.T.R. Which is the remedy to soul violence. All of that work helps prepare us to live in cooper...2024-06-1846 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#34 - Meditations By Marcus Aurelius Book 2 (Audio Book Reading)Send us a textAs part of our Meditations Series we are reading George Long's translation of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius in an Audiobook format. In Book 2 of "Meditations," Marcus Aurelius delves into Stoic philosophy, emphasizing acceptance of death, the impermanence of life, and the pursuit of inner peace through rationality and virtue. He discusses the importance of mindfulness, fulfilling one's duties, and understanding our interconnectedness with others. This book serves as a guide to living a meaningful life by focusing on personal growth, self-awareness, and gratitude. It's timeless wisdom on navigating life's challenges with g...2024-06-0414 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#33 - Meditations Book 1: From Knee Surgery to Olympian (What We've Learned From Clayton Young), Listening Without Prejudice & A Stoic Call In Radio ShowSend us a textHow do you go from getting a knee surgery to qualify to going to the Olympics in less than 12 months? In honor of Book 1 of Meditations this week we are talking about some of the heroes in our lives and what we've learned from them. Bruce chronicles the story of watching his friend become an Olympian and Justin recounts an authority figure he actually respects (who would've guessed?) Then for our Stoic reimagining we take you into the show of "Dear Marcus" where a clueless radio show host David Mo...2024-05-2746 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#32 - Meditations Book 1 - Learning From The Best In OthersSend us a textThis week we explore the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Book 1, and in the words that Justin says at the book club that Bruce wasn't invited to, "What a Chapter!" We pull apart 11 different phrases from the first chapter of what we would like to be. We discuss the forgotten art of learning from the best in other people, and how to find joy in learning from other people's virtues. Then as a treat at the end of the episode for our Stoic Reimagining we share with you some exotic outtakes of s...2024-05-0640 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#31 - Meditations By Marcus Aurelius Book 1 (Audio Book Reading)Send us a textAs part of our Meditations Series we are reading George Long's translation of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius in an Audiobook format. Next week we'll be back with our regular format to discuss themes from this chapter. 2024-04-2817 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#30 - Meditations Series Kick Off: The Life of Marcus Aurelius, How Meditations Was Written, The Mullet Snake Cult, Fake Steve Jobs & Seneca's Letters To PaulSend us a text30 episodes in and we are finally ready to officially introduce you to Marcus Aurelius himself. In this episode we give you a bio of Marcus's life from beginning to end so that you can have a better understanding of who he was and why he wrote the Meditations. This episode kicks off "Meditations" series, where we will start by reading you a chapter from The Meditations and then on the next episode we will explore themes and takeaways. We also explain why The Meditations is a book that has ma...2024-04-0845 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#29 - Equanimity Series Finale The Final Remedy: Confidence, The Ascension of Marcus Aurelius vs Elizabeth Holmes, How to Build a Confident Mind & Stoicism in the StreetsSend us a textThe Equanimity Series comes to a close as Justin and Bruce discuss the "Final Remedy" that Seneca teaches his friend about-- Confidence. Marcus Aurelius' ascension to the throne and the tools he used to build confidence within himself in preparation for ruling Rome.After all the tools we have talked about for building equanimity, we talk about how to build confidence in our abilities to cultivate equanimity. We go over some examples of what confidence is not through a song by JP Saxe and Elizabeth Holmes changing her voice.Br...2024-04-0342 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#28 - The First Aurelmas: Smashing Mugs, Sinking Ships, Feasting With Gods, Bonfires and Our Brand New Stoic RapSend us a textWe take a brief departure from our study of Equanimity to recap the celebration of the Stoic holiday (we invented) called "Aurelmas" and then introduce you to the world's (probably) first Stoic Rap. Special audio clips from Aurelmas are heard throughout to help feel what it would be like to throw a stone at a ship or to smash a mug into a bucket. The tantalizing sounds of the mugs breaking and people cheering cap off this celebratory day and episode! Aurelmas Playlist: https://music.apple.com/u...2024-03-2020 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#27 - Equanimity Series - Preference & Attachment, Disturbing TLC Shows, Bonaparte's Strategy for Letting Go, Finding 'Enough', Child Actors vs Buddhist Monks & Exposure TherapySend us a textOne of the most powerful tools in the Stoic arsenal for creating equanimity in our lives is understanding the difference between preferring something and being attached to it. In this episode we explore one of the great examples of this in history, namely Napoleon Bonaparte's temperament on his final exile to Saint Helena. (It will make you hear the song, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay in a whole new light. Then we go through the way that our attachments can be put into their proper place, by talking about some of t...2024-03-0752 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#26 - Equanimity Series Aversions & Desires: The Faith in Loving Fiercely, Taming Desire & Aversion, Accepting the Present, Justin's Deepest Fear & The Stoic Origins of ChristmasSend us a textIn this episode we get personal... We read through the beautiful poem called "True Love" by David Whyte and talk about the struggle that humans have with overcoming both our desires (what we are drawn to) and aversions (what we are repelled from.) We talk about how literal meditation can help us to see our aversions and desires more clearly and detach from them. We also go through the history of Aurelmas, which is the ancient stoic holiday that predates Christmas... that we invented and will be celebrating on March 16th 2024...2024-02-2651 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#25 - Equanimity Series - Pleasure! Hercules Choice, Bruce Becomes a Hippy, The Festival of Yes, and the First Stoic Hymn (We Wrote It)Send us a textHercules (not the Disney version) is faced with the choice between 2 Goddesses, but one is misleading him on the nature of pleasure. This story sets up the important things to be wary of when dealing with pleasure.Bruce recounts his experience at hippy camp and a tempting offer to join "The Festival of Yes." Though extremely tempted, he turns down this experience that targets the basest pleasures and we discuss the remedy to the desire for pleasures as an end to themselves. We are treated to the "Bruce Talks A...2024-02-1447 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#24 - Equanimity Series - PAIN! W/Nationally Ranked Endurance Athlete AJ Conover, Bored vs Boring, Removing Unnecessary Pain, How to Increase Pain Tolerance and Stoic Hot TakesSend us a textFresh off of placing 6th at nationals in collegiate mountain biking athlete, coach and friend AJ Conover sat down with us to talk about his and Bruce's favorite subject and the object of their sport's lives: Pain. This episode is fun, informative and introduces our first lightening round where Justin and Bruce battle to get AJ to give them the answers they want, sincerely. We also talk about how to develop a better relationship with pain, how to increase your tolerance of pain and how to remove unnecessary pains from your...2024-02-041h 09Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#23 - Equanimity Series Overview: The Inner Citadel, King Arthur's Affair, How to Deal With Things That Are Hard to Deal With & Bruce Lee's Advice on MasterySend us a textHave you ever seen Camelot? One of the most famous monologues from that play serves as a perfect backdrop for kicking off our series on Equanimity. In it King Arthur must wrestle with two parts of himself, the one that feels pain and outrage, and the other that demands justice. Which is a human struggle that we all go through as we travel through the ups and downs of life. In this episode we explore what is equanimity? How can we cultivate it? What generally prevents us from having inner peace...2024-01-2230 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World# 22 - On The Shortness of Life (Full Audiobook Reading)Send us a textWe're reading you the whole book! Last week we talked in depth about Seneca's "On The Shortness of Life" and we thought the book was so good and people were not likely to go read it themselves... So we decided to read it to you. This book is a great annual reminder of a few important themes: The time in life we have is precious Time is passing every day The future is uncertain so we need to learn to live our lives fully and richly today Many of the thing...2024-01-081h 04Modern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#21 - On The Shortness of Life (New Year’s Special)Send us a textOn this special edition of Modern Meditations we explore the book “On The Shortness of Life” which was practically made for New Year's day reflections. We go through how the book can change your outlook on what a long or a short life is, and then we take an audit of our own year and give questions to think about when evaluating how we spend our time. Then Seneca comes from the dead to read Bruce’s Journal and then give some sagely advice. 2024-01-0152 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#20 - Stoic Fundamentals - Amor Fati: The Lost Episode, "Pollyanna" and her Links to Stoicism, Bruce Plays the Glad Game, How to Pronounce "Fati" and "Nietzsche" And an Audio Forest BathSend us a textEpisode #20! In this episode we discuss the Stoic idea of loving your fate or as Nietzsche (however you pronounce his name) would put it Amor Fati. We dissect his quote: "My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity.” And ask the obvious question, is Pollyanna his idea of greatness? We break down the definition of Amor Fati. What is fate exactly? And how should you love it? Like your mom? Your Girl...2023-12-3042 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#19 - Stoic Fundamentals - Memento Mori : How Learning How To Die Will Teach You How to Live, AI Justin, Stoic 10 Commandments & How To Live ImmediatelySend us a textIn this episode, we explore life, death, and the beauty of existence. We start by introducing to audience to AI Justin, and then go into Justin's near-drowning experience. We tackle the concept of 'memento mori', reflecting on the temporariness of self and others, and how this awareness can inspire a life of purpose, dignity, and mindfulness. This episode promises to be a deep, introspective look at how ancient wisdom can guide us in understanding the full spectrum of human experience.We've got some powerful quotes from the likes of Ma...2023-12-1138 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#18 - Stoic Fundamentals - A View From Above: Jeff Bezos in Space, You Thought Your Monday Was Bad?, The Plight of White Blood Cells, Stoic Practices For Gaining Perspective & How to Be Less Self CenteredSend us a textHave you ever mourned about the death of a white blood cell in your body? No? Well in this episode we discuss why the universe feels much the same way about you, and how that is not actually sad. A few thousand years ago Marcus said: Take a view from above — look at the thousands of flocks and herds, the thousands of human ceremonies, every sort of voyage in storm or calm, the range of creation, combination, and extinction. Consider too the lives once lived by others long before you...2023-11-2755 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#17 - Stoic Fundamentals - Objective Representation: Decatastrophizing, Hitler's Communication Issues, Speaking Like a Stoic & Seeing Life With ClaritySend us a textIn this thought-provoking episode, the podcast delves into various themes, juxtaposing seemingly unrelated topics like Subway and Jimmy Johns sandwiches, historical references to Hitler and the Luftwaffe, and the joy and challenges of romantic comedies. The central theme revolves around the teachings of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, emphasizing the importance of logical and accurate analysis in spiritual growth and the dangers of assigning moral values to external events.Key points discussed include:Seeing Reality Objectively: The episode stresses the importance of simplicity and honesty as direct paths to...2023-11-1343 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#16 - Stoic Fundamentals - Judgement: How To View The World Rationally, Stoic Tools For Better Judgement, Bruce Overcomes a Childhood Fear, How to Forgive Android Users & The Parable of We Will SeeSend us a textHow do you deal with "bad" events that happen to you in life with tranquility and poise? That's what we seek to answer in our new season of episodes. This is the first in our Stoic fundamentals series where for the next few months we will tackle a fundamental concept of Stoicism and then give you some Stoic tools to master it. Today we talk about Judgement which is a statement about the nature of something, whether it is good or bad, and how we actually have more of...2023-10-3034 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#15 - Wisdom (Pt 2): Old Vs Wise, Mariachi Bands Vs Indoor Plumbing, Why Most Advice is Bad, Stoic Satan, Foolishness & Our First RemixSend us a textWoah. This episode has everything. Explore the final Stoic virtue in our series, perhaps the crowning virtue which is wisdom. We explore the questions what does it mean to be wise? Do you have to be old to be wise? We also have some very entertaining stories of a Mexican village who is given the choice between indoor plumbing and a Mariachi band, what they chose may surprise you. We also talk about Bruce’s failed attempted to conquer the world in a game of Risk because of an untr...2023-10-1735 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#14 - Wisdom (Pt 1): Do Dogs Love You? Accepting Reality, Defining Wisdom, Epictetus on Wisdom & Justin’s/Bruce’s Least Stoic MomentsSend us a textToday we take on the root of all philosophy: Wisdom. That word gets thrown around a lot in our daily lives but what does it actually mean to be wise? The answer may surprise you. We also take some time to explore if dogs really love you, what it means to accept reality, why trade offs are a necessity and Justin/Bruce's only non-stoic moments... Or at least a brief sampling of them. Links referenced in this show:- Rumi's Guest House- Epictetus's Si...2023-10-0254 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#13 - Justice (Pt 2): Line Cutters Will be Prosecuted, The Origin of Lines, Duty is Not a Dirty Word & Titanic 2 TrailerSend us a textWe continue our exploration of justice through Justin's shocking experience at a Walmart where a Karen is the one who shows justice. Witness a beautiful moment of community at Walmart.What is the origin of lines?? We don't know either, but it will come up! We bring in a 5-pronged approach to understanding justice by Cicero which helps us explore more thoughts on justice and how it interacts with different types of relationships such as parent-child, pastor-congregation, peer-peer, etc...In the Stoic Reimagining witness the captivating trailer of the s...2023-09-2437 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#12 - Justice (Pt 1): Getting Evicted, Fairness vs Kindness, Stoicism & The Constitution, Reimagining Titanic & The Planet of The ApesSend us a textJustice is a word that is thrown around... A lot. But what does it mean to be just? In this installment of the Stoic Virtues Series we explore what is justice through the experience Bruce had with a show down with his land lord that led to a notice to vacate posted on his door... We discuss how Stoicism influenced founding fathers like John Adams and their thoughts on justice and we explore some of the more challenging areas of where justice begins and ends. In the Stoic Reimagining we...2023-09-1150 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#11- Temperance (Pt 2): Demons That Keep Us Awake, Overcoming Youtube Binging, the Prudent Arranger, Temperance as a Rudder, and MoreSend us a textThere are demons that keep us awake... Which scary TV show has kept Justin awake?We continue the discussion on Temperance through Justin's lens. A more under-disciplined spot than Bruce's over-disciplined nature. We go through the things that impede his sleep schedule and the "Why?" behind why he wants to improve it, and the next practical step he will take on that journey. We explore the idea of a well-governed appetite bringing liberty. Then Bruce brings up the idea of the "Prudent Arranger" and how that fits into building a...2023-09-0443 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#10 - Temperance (Pt 1) : Becoming Worthy to Feast With the Gods, Bruce Overcomes His Uptightness, Dial Theory & Humility as the Beginning of UnderstandingSend us a textHow does one become worthy to feast with the gods? We continue our journey through the Stoic virtues with a discussion on temperance, from a slightly different angle than you might be accustomed to. We begin by showing where Bruce has strayed towards intemperance through his rigidness with discipline and how he has relaxed a bit. We explore the virtue through this lens of someone who strays towards over-discipline rather than under-discipline. We bring up Plato's golden mean, and talk through Justin's independent theory on that called "Dial Theory" and...2023-08-2824 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#9 - Courage (Pt 2): Wimbledon ambitions, the courage to choose, thinking for yourself and the top 5 stoic states in AmericaSend us a textThis week we continue our exploration of the major Stoic Virtues by taking a look at a major decision that Justin had to make in college, whether to drop out and pursue a pro tennis career or to stay in school and give up his aspirations for Wimbledon. We explore courage from the lens of how to make good decisions even when other people will judge you no matter what choice you make. Then at the end of the episode we give you a top 5 count down of the most (and l...2023-08-2249 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#8 - Courage: Surviving a Student Business Fiasco, Becoming the Man in the Arena, Timid Souls, Hypnotist Mothers & Stoic Haiku'sSend us a textWe begin the first episode in our series on the four Stoic Virtues by tackling Courage. For each virtue we are doing two episodes, one with Bruce's take and another with Justin's. This week we dive into what Bruce learned by starting a white glove cleaning business with his friend at college that lead them to try to overcome the impossible task of doing 70 apartment cleaning jobs in one day... and the insanity that ensued afterword. We discuss Theodore Roosevelt's famous "Man in The Arena" quote, what it means...2023-08-1245 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#7 - How to be Truly Wealthy: Stoic Advice on Career Selection & MoneySend us a textIf you were to get a job that would give you fame, fortune and prestige in your town vs a job that would only put food on your table, which one should you pick? From a Stoic perspective, that would not be enough information to make a good decision. In this episode we discuss the Stoic angle on job selection, which is much more focused on the internal reasons for selecting the job rather than the external ones that we normally think about it. In the episode we talk ab...2023-08-0626 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#6 - To Forgive a Man Who Has Done Wrongly: How to Move Forward With ForgivenessSend us a textIn the late nineties Desmond Tutu started a controversial program in post apartheid, anyone who would come forward to admit their crimes, including murder, would be forgiven. Many asked was this taking forgiveness too far? In this episode we discuss what forgiveness is, and what it isn't. We analyze the story of Marcus Aurelius and how he handled a civil war justly through forgiveness. We discuss how to fire people justly, what to do in a basketball game when someone fouls you and there is no call, and end the episode w...2023-07-3033 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#5 - Stoic Sports Psychology: How to Improve Your Mental Game Through the Dichotomy of ControlSend us a textIn this episode we explore how Stoic principles like the dichotomy of control can improve mental toughness in sports performance.We discuss one of our favorite quotes: Take the case of one whose task it is to shoot a spear or arrow straight at some target. One’s ultimate aim is to do all in one’s power to shoot straight, and the same applies with our ultimate goal… To actually hit the target is, as we say, to be selected but not sought. (On Ends, III, 22)We have...2023-07-2335 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#4 - Virtue is Not Just the Absence of Vice: How to Fill Your Life With Good ThingsSend us a textIn episode 3 we discuss the idea of cleaning out your soul of unnecessary attachments, but now that we've emptied the soul, what should we fill it up with? We discuss how it is not enough to just rid ourself of vice, but to actively pursue virtue. This discussion leads us through Bruce's struggle and then eventual triumph with not eating dessert and whether or not it is more important to have a positive vision of what your life could be or a negative vision of what it will be to motivate...2023-07-1330 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#2 - Don't Just Talk About What a Good Person is, Be One: How to Use Stoicism to Become BetterSend us a textWhat do the Stoic's mean when they advise us to, "live in accordance with nature"? In this episode we discuss how Justin's experience with Croup can show us exactly what that means. We then go through the difference between motion and action in our daily lives and what the difference is between saying that you are a good person and actually being a good person is. The Stoic reimagining is a special treat, it's an imagined breakup scene between Taylor Swift and Marcus Aurelius and is something you won't want to mi...2023-07-0622 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#3 - A Stoic Soul Spring Cleaning: How to Remove Unnecessary Beliefs That Are Holding You BackSend us a textIf you could get rid of any pattern in your life, what would it be? Spring is a time of new beginnings, and many of us take the spring time to clean out things that we don't need in our houses, today we're taking a look through Bruce's soul, using this quote from Marcus Aurelius as our guide: Wash yourself clean. With simplicity, with humility, with indifference to everything but right and wrong.” - Marcus AureliusWe discuss what we'll throw away and what we'll keep. Things we...2023-07-0626 minModern Meditations - Stoicism For The Real World#1 - Intro to Modern Meditations - What Stoicism is, Why it Matters & What You'll Get From This PodcastSend us a textWelcome to Modern Meditations, Justin and Bruce introduce you to everything that you need to know to enjoy the podcast. They begin by talking through their own journey into Stoicism, then discuss the important the Stoic philosophers in a fun way, introduce some Stoic principles that will be helpful for living a better life and talk about the benefits of living the Stoic life. 2023-07-0216 min