🖼️ Monday Muse | Introspection, Distraction, and Practical Wisdom
Perennial Newsletter (July 3rd, 2023)
Greetings, Readers!
Here is the latest Monday Muse with a morning meditation, perennial reminder (and question), and recommendations to consider.
Be wise and be well this week!
📿 Morning Meditation
This week’s morning meditation is courtesy of a recent episode of In Search of Wisdom. The clip comes from my conversation with Andrew Lang, the author of Unmasking the Inner Critic: Lessons for Living an Unconstricted Life.
📌 Perennial Reminder(s)
Monks thought a lot about thinking because one of the goals that most defined their practice was to connect their minds to God and to achieve a state of attention that was unshakable. In that state, the mind could attain panoramic vistas of the universe that transcended both space and time. It was clear-sighted calm above the chaos. … Yet despite their understanding of distraction as common to all human beings, they didn’t come to the conclusion that it was morally neutral. Instead they saw themselves as obligated to fight against it. And their struggle became something of a professional identity: stretching the mind out to the things that mattered, against the ethically inferior alternatives, was what made a monk a monk.
Source: The Wandering Mind by Jamie Kreiner (Listen to the conversation)
💡 Perennial Question(s)
Do externals tend to distract you?
Then give yourself the space to learn some further good lesson, and stop your wandering. That done, you must guard against the other sort of drift. Those who are dead to life and have no aim for the direction of every impulse and, more widely, every thought are drivellers in deed as well as word.
Source: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
🔥 Recommendation(s)
This week’s recommendation is a new podcast called Practical Wisdom by
(a previous podcast guest), the author of The Quest for Character, A Handbook for New Stoics, and many others.Thank you for reading/listening; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
P.S. As always, if you’re interested in becoming a member but unable to afford it. Feel free to request a complimentary membership or use this discount link for anyone who needs a little help.