Runnin' on empty . He’s racing and pacing and ... Runnin’ down a dream . Thoughts: Happy Friday.  Been a long week.  I'm not sure how many times I've wanted to shirk my duties, stay in bed, keep watching that show or playing that phone game, malinger at work or even lie about something so I can go home early.  Dozens? But I have not. I got up.  I stayed at work.  I went upstairs to read bedtime stories to my kids.  I turned off the movie or show or app and went to bed. I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep . Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II:

Dark and stormy night With plans to call me Ishmael It was the best world. Thoughts: Yeah.  I completely forgot to do my studies yesterday.  Woops. But I did spend an hour talking to my daughter about Marcus Aurelius and Stoic techniques to combat anger.  Does that count? It's ok.  I'm fully aware that I'm not perfect. Now to keep from making a habit of it . . . . Today's Meditation:

Treat others gently. Cruelty's not the answer. Kindness is power. Thoughts: “The best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel. When we see someone who doesn’t look like us, or sound like us, or act like us, or love like us, or live like us—the first thought that crosses almost everyone’s brain is rooted in either fear or judgment or both. That’s evolution. We survived as a species by being suspicious of things we aren’t familiar with. In order to be kind, we have to shut down that animal instinct and force our brain to travel a different pathway. Empathy and compassion are evolved states of being. They require the mental capacity to step past our most primal urges.  This may be a surprising assessment because somewhere along the way in the last few years our society has come to believe that 'weaponized cruelty' is part of some well-thought-out master plan.  Cruelty is seen by some as an adroit cudgel to gain power.  Empathy and kindness are considered weak.

Dooby dooby doo Doo exchanging lances doo. Something something doo. Thoughts: What's my "oh shit!" plan?  If all else fucks up and I am left holding a big bag of nothing, what is my rule? What do I teach my kids so that, no matter what, they will always have at least one thing they can rely on? Do the next right thing. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III:

It's taken five days, This part's remaining pages. So many demands. Thoughts: Dye your soul in the colors of dead sages . The Oracle's message to Zeno....  Who have I chosen as my dead sages (so far)? Seneca / Epictetus / Marcus. Epicurus. Carneades / Hume. Bastiat / Sowell / Mises. And what have their thoughts wrought upon my soul? — Excellence of character as my goal. — Psychological ways of dealing with the world "as it is" (being restricted to probabilistic statements a la the Skeptics). — A commitment to the individual as the smallest minority which must be protected. — And assumption of freedom to any peaceful, non-encroaching activity. — An automatic presumption against any desire I may ever entertain which entails my having non-consensual authority over another. — A categorical denial of non-consensual authority. (This may be broken in edge / extreme cases, but in doing so, I would necessarily assume all responsibility and agree to whatever punishment my

Long and lean and tan. The person is from Brazil. How lovely they are.    Thoughts: Thinking of the girl from Ipanema, I realize that I somehow never took an anesthetics course. Maybe I need to remedy this oversight. I wonder if there are any recorded courses online.... An only very loose synchronicity in my meditations today. Three topics — living virtuously; effective prayer; the search for truth — alike in dignity, In fair ponderings, where we lay our scene, From ancient thought break to new synthesis, Where uncivil discourse makes civil commentary unclean. I'll leave it a jumble of thoughts. Just because I can. Goodnight. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III:

You walk on water? If no, why no? If yes, how? Promises made. Times change. Thoughts: Why are we fighting? Is this worth fighting about? Can I escape the conflict? Need I apologize? Be silent? Agree? How is this, in any way, actually important?  Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II:

What's next? What follows? Reality-based answers Help anxiety. Thoughts: We discussed anxiety and how to ameliorate it the other day, my second child and I, while reviewing ch. 6 of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor  for the second time.† We talked about cognitive distancing (You are not X, but merely my impression of X.), the dilemma of control (What is up to us and what is not up to us.), worry postponement (I don't have time for you now. I'll come back to you [at my designated worry time].), broadening our point of view  in both space and time (What does this matter in the grand scheme of things? Will I still be anxious about this in a week? In a year? In twenty years? If not, why can't I adorn myself in the mantle of indifference now?), modeling of behavior on role models (What would Marcus or Socrates or ABC do?), rational analysis of the event (Are my assumptions and predictions likely? Or am I dreaming up trouble where none exists?) and the closely related te

Hoping against hope That my acts be productive And quiet my soul. Thoughts: Hope is not a strategy.  It's a response, a reaction, or even part of preparing to act . . . but it's not a strategy. That's why the Stoics bent their efforts toward practical exercises: they wanted to discover the best ways to improve peoples' lives, avoiding unproductive navel-gazing. What is up to us and what is not up to us Premeditatio malorum The inner citadel "It's not things that upset us but our judgments about them" "You are not what you claim to be, but merely an impression" The Stoic reserve clause ( Fate permitting ) All of these and more are impactful, life-changing practices if I but use them. Hope may keep me going in dark times, but it's acceptance of, and participation in, life which clears the way and makes straight the path. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III: Today'

What should I study? Nature's way. Non-aggression. This is a good start. Thoughts: Finished the Epicureans and am reading about Skeptics now. Stoics to come in 20 pp. or so. (In A. A. Long's Hellenistic Philosophy .). Fun stuff. It reminds me of college. I learned far too little in school. I had tons of marshmallows thrown at my head , but precious little true learning. And this was my fault. I was always a bright kid who had little trouble "learning" stuff (i.e. getting good grades). Because of this, I never discovered how to give a damn about real learning and how to make a subject truly a part of who I am. It did, at least, expose me to many ideas and attitudes and personalities. Since then, I've come to find out what true study is and it is delightful. Man, I wish I'd known how to do this when I was at university. When I had ready access to so many people who knew so much and would give their eyeteeth for one more of those rarely seen unicorns: a truly,

Not interrupted But on hold, pending info To clarify thoughts. Thoughts: A while back, at an office party, I had a couple of times when my Stoic practice shone through. I caught myself, twice, being judgmental, assuming something bad about people, then rejecting assent to that judgment. Opting instead for a more charitable and pleasant interpretation. I was happy with myself for noticing and reacting properly. Today's Meditation:

Thoughts: I'm a lucky guy. First, thank you to Mrs. Student and the Stüd-lets(?!) for a great day yesterday and for my touching gift.  Today's meditation is filled with great quotes. Lots of important thoughts on conscience. Put a pin in that, we'll come back to it. Also, Marcus's admonition to find stability in the details: do the next right thing and let the future sort itself. Then two from Buddha. Long-term happiness and following the Tao, to mix traditions (though I think Buddha would see that wisdom is wisdom, even if I use another's name for it). (And I didn't even include the four quotes about knowledge and choosing to focus on specific great works rather than wide-spread but shallow pursuits.) Back to conscience . . . Fear all that is not accepted by your conscience. What a wonderful phrase. How remarkably perfect. Fear all that is not accepted by your conscience. It's so easy, isn't it? Something comes up and I know what I should

It's not as I want. — Oh, if I could turn back time. — Fool! The world moves on. Thoughts: Let’s not wish we could turn back time or remake the universe according to our preference. Not when it would be far better and far easier to remake ourselves. ~ Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic for June 18 Thats my objection to most prayer. People are not praying for the wisdom and courage and strength to do what is right. They're praying for the laws of the universe to be temporarily suspended in their favor. Pray instead for the character to continue on despite what has happened. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III: Today's Meditation IV:

What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'. Bet. Foolish beliefs kill. Thoughts: Why on Earth do we associate war with anything other than death, destruction, homelessness, orphans, missing limbs, loss, despair, greed, evil, injustice, innocent deaths, trauma, psychological manipulation, lies, and murder? Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III: Today's Meditation IV:

Spiritual thoughts,  The Professor explains them. Perhaps they are right. Thoughts: If I am injured, I ask for help to complete my task. Why wouldn't I ask for help when some internal issue, some mental block or repressed fear or thoughtless bias, blocks my progress? I'm usually not too shy of asking, but  sonetimes I might have done better to seek it sooner. That's another thing to work on. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditation II: Today's Meditation III:

I've gotten lazy. Like this isn't important. Put in some effort! Thoughts: When I make a mistake, I must take responsibility.  Simply acknowledging the error is step one.  Step two is to correct the error as best I can.  Step three is to make any "victims" of my transgression whole, as best I can. Then I need to look for ways to prevent such problems in the future and put them in place. Today's Meditation:

Taking too much time Off to judge my fellow folks. I need be better. Thoughts: My family is home today. It's nice to see them again. Seems like four days by myself is about perfect. Long enough I get to really relax, but not so long I miss them too much. I like to read when they're gone. Sit on the porch, listen to music, and read or listen to books. Just ordered a new one today: Pierre Hadot's Philosophy as a Way of Life . This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises. Hadot's book demonstrates the extent to which philosophy has been, and still is, above all else a way of seeing and of being in the world. It should be here tomorrow! . . . so I can put it in the queue. Today's Meditation: Today's Meditat