Happiness and the Meaning of Life
Saturday Review | Notes, Takeaways, and Reflections (16-22 Oct)
Welcome to Perennial Meditations (Saturday Review) — A weekly recap and reflection of ancient lessons for modern life. Below you’ll find links, notable quotes, transcript summaries, and a Saturday Meditation.
1. Seneca, On Groundless Fears (Listen here)
In a letter known today as On Groundless Fears, Seneca wrote,
I know that you have plenty of spirit; for even before you began to equip yourself with maxims which were wholesome and potent to overcome obstacles, you were taking pride in your contest with Fortune; and this is all the more true now that you have grappled with Fortune and tested your powers. For our powers can never inspire in us implicit faith in ourselves except when many difficulties have confronted us on this side and on that and have occasionally even come to close quarters with us. It is only in this way that the true spirit can be tested—the spirit that will never consent to come under the jurisdiction of things external to ourselves. […]
2. The Way of Reason (Read here)
In our Monday Meditation (The PATH), we searched for ancient lessons on The Way of Reason according to Kant (Freedom, Morals, and Human Nature).
Freedom — To live according to reason is, for Kant, to live in accordance with our fundamental natures as free, rational beings. […]
Morals — “The greatest human quest is to know what one must do in order to become a human being.”― Immanuel Kant […]
Human Nature — Although Kant believed that we are free and have a sense of right and wrong, he did not think the path to living rationally was free of obstacles. […]
3. On Groundless Fears (Listen here)
In this episode, I shared a conversation with my friend Simon Drew from the Walled Garden Philosophical Society and the Soul Searching with Seneca podcast. Simon is a poet, musician, and philosopher, and deeply appreciates Seneca’s wisdom and writing. We reflect on Seneca’s Letter titled On Groundless Fears in the conversation.
4. The Path to Enlightenment (Listen here)
In this episode of In Search of Wisdom, my guest was Jonathan Robinson, the author of The Enlightenment Project. Jonathan is the author of 14 books, a psychotherapist, a spiritual coach, and a professional speaker. His first book, The Experience of God, includes interviews with the late Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and several other spiritual masters. You can learn more about Jonathan's work in the world at theenlightenmentproject.net.
5. Kindling the Joy Within Us (Read here)
Leo Tolstoy believed that one should accept themselves not as a master but as a servant, and then our bad feelings, anxiety, and dissatisfaction will be turned into calmness and peace. By doing so, “You will be filled inside with a clear vision of your purpose, and with a great joy.”
Similarly, the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote,
As our self-interest diminishes, our anxieties disappear, and then comes quiet and firm joy, which always diffuses us with a good spiritual disposition and a clear conscience. Every good deed helps to kindle a feeling of joy within us. […]
6. How to Demand the Best for Yourself (Listen here)
In the Enchiridion (or Handbook), the philosopher Epictetus asks: “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” If you’re listening to Perennial Meditations — one can reasonably assume you’re interested in improving yourself. However, the question, at least according to Epictetus, is how serious are you about making progress? […]
7. Happiness and the Meaning of Life
Is happiness the meaning of life? Yes, according to Aristotle, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim...” But how does one begin to cultivate happiness? “Happiness is not something that you can find, acquire, or achieve directly,” writes the psychologist Jonathan Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis.
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