210318 What I learned in my studies this morning

Cat waking early 

Raises me to consciousness. 

Time to start anew. 

Today's Zen:

It has no shape or form;

It is not square or round.

There are no things in words;

There are no words in things.

Deliberate exploitation is contrary

To true function;

When meditating with no intention,

Everything is Zen.

- Tung-shan (807–869)

From The Daily Stoic: 

Today I escaped from the crush of circumstances, or better put, I threw them out, for the crush wasn’t from outside me but in my own assumptions. —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.13

My emotions are not me. My actions are. 

They often happen without notice. Bursting upon the scene as impactful and urgent as always. Emotions demand they are the Most Important Thing right now. 

Once I become aware of them, once I recover my wits, I can change them. After that realization, if I continue to indulge them, i have done so by choice and the repercussions are doubly mine.

While this passage makes a good point about judging others and externals, it applies easily to my inner world as well.

What I feel first is what I have been conditioned to feel. What I do next defines who I am by choice.

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I'm reading so many things, it's hard to choose what to add to my blog.

Every few days, I'll complete a new section in Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric and post it. For the other days, I'm torn between at least four other sources.

1. Bhagavad Gita As It Is

2. Feynman Six Easy Pieces

3. Jones The Classical Mind

4. Farnsworth The Practicing Stoic

Eventually, I'll make up my mind and begin adding them to my daily notes.

Cheers.