Up to Me
Buddhist nontheism teaches us that no one else is going to liberate us. We are each responsible for our own liberation. Thus, self-self-liberation first is most important because without self-self-liberation true compassion, the fuel to…
Tag: Pierre Hadot
Getting Free
We are caught in the prison of the mind. If we are to escape we must recognize that we are in prison. If we think we are free, then no escape is possible.—George Gurdjieff, quoted…
Letter to a Barista
Dear Fräulein Sabine, I read a book I think you might appreciate (as if you don’t have enough to read with your Civil Engineering course and your Higher Mathematics course and your reading Spinoza for pure…
When Life Starts to Improve
Leo Tolstoy, Spiritual Writings, edited by Charles E. Moore Prophetic witness consists of human deeds of justice and kindness that attend to the unjust sources of human hurt and misery. It calls attention to the…
Forever on the Alert
I’ve known Pat Geier almost 40 years. Not two months into the pandemic, we began Zooming on Fridays, then added Mondays, and before too long were immersed in reading and discussing the works of French…
Train Wholeheartedly
Attention [prosoche] is the fundamental Stoic spiritual attitude. It is a continuous vigilance and presence of mind, self consciousness which never sleeps, and a constant tension of the spirit. Thanks to this attitude, the philosopher…
Joy
1. Always maintain only a joyful mind. —Mind-training slogan, Pema Chödrön, Always Maintain a Joyful Mind 2. The effect of wisdom is continuous joy… and only the strong, the just, and the temperate can possess…
The Mutation of Vision
Pierre Hadot, What is Ancient Philosophy? Translated by Michael Chase My friend Pat and I have been reading and discussing via Zoom works by French philosopher Pierre Hadot since this past summer. Having previously read…
Cheer Up!
Dear Simone, It’s been a pleasure to spend the last seven months reading together Montaigne, Sarah Blakewell, Peter Berger, and, above all, Pierre Hadot! Your fascination with him has deepened my own: The Present Alone…
A Call to Life and Deeds: Goethe’s Maxims
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections Translated by Elisabeth Stopp; edited with an introduction and notes by Peter Hutchinson; Penguin Books, 1998 I’ve been reading Pierre Hadot’s 2008 book, N’oublie pas de vivre:…