Tag: Seneca

Enough Self Improvement

Our world is always imploring us to improve. You need to have a better physique, create some new skills so that you don’t get left behind, improve your relationships, your spirituality, learn a new language, or manage your money better. Here is the thing; the list is endless and 90% of the investment you make reading or taking classes in self improvement is pretty much worthless. Why do we get on the self improvement treadmill and never get off? Sometimes we are told we aren’t good enough, or if not that directly maybe it is something you could improve in a particular area. I fucking hate feedback! Often it’s not what other people are telling you, but what you are telling yourself. Now you know perfectly well what you might want to work on to get a little better, or maybe a lot better, but before I take any actual action, I think it would be nice to read another self improvement book to find the secret to life and then everything gets better.

My advice to you and to myself: Stop all this fucking self improvement bullshit, including planning out every little detail of your future, hoping that someday all this shit will lead to some version of your life where you will be happy, thus the Lao Tzu quote above.

You already have everything you need to be happy. Do you ever wonder why those monetary goals for a bigger house and more stuff doesn’t inspire you? In fact the things you think you need to acquire to be happy you probably already have. Stop selling yourself short because you haven’t spent 10 years mastering a skill before you can call yourself a teacher, a writer, an investor, a painter (pictures or rooms), or whatever you want to be. You already are the person you want to be, but you think I need more skills, more experience, always trying to get better. You would be better off just diving into whatever it is you want to do and learn through experience. It might not be pretty, but reading 50 books on the subject and taking countless classes won’t really get you closer to your goal.

The key difference in someone that accomplishes a lot and feels happy is that they don’t waste their time creating endless plans, reading self improvement books like The Secret, Think and Grow Rich, and on an on, which I myself am guilty of. The folks that get things done for the most part are those that spend their time doing or being. As an example they don’t dream about being a writer, instead they work from the premise that they are a writer and start writing.

While introspection can be a good thing, there is a fine line between being introspective and being totally self absorbed. When you are self absorbed you make yourself, your career, the way you feel, what’s wrong with you, and everything else a walking talking reflection of yourself. So instead of just living and enjoying each day you analyze the living hell out of yourself and others with some desire to make things better. Better for what? Well so that you can do it over and over again. You run as fast as you can chasing the shiny object which might be an idea or some material thing, just to get it and then start chasing the next thing.

The whole self improvement rabbit hole is perpetuated by a feeling that you are not good enough and need to improve. You spend a lot of your time trying to change who you are, to become smarter, more valuable, richer, and whatever else your trying to improve. Not only do you feel compelled to improve yourself, but you want other people to perceive you in a certain way, and for what?

Ultimately all this self improvement shit just leaves you exhausted and bored to death, living the same day over and over. Often we work our whole lives doing something we really don’t want to do so that you don’t have to do it in the future.

It would be better to have some belief in yourself and stop looking at yourself as some kind of self improvement project. Listen, I’m not against improving your skills, relationships, or spirituality, but these broad stroke approaches advocated by the self improvement books and courses will not get it done. Have you ever noticed that even authors you like will write one book on self improvement using a particular philosophy and when the royalties slow down, they create a new or enhanced philosophy to life that you should adopt. Aside from the obvious monetary reasons, they realize you are just a self improvement junkie, looking for another quick fix to your problems.

I like this quote by Alan Watts.

This is the real secret of life – Be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

Alan Watts

It would be too simple to advocate for living in the present and viewing work as play as Alan Watts said. A simple truth that may be difficult to actually do, probably doesn’t resonate with most people. I mean when you could look to Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins, Mark Manson, James Clear, Dale Carnegie, Mel Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, Stephen Covey, or Jim Kwik for wisdom instead of Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Jesus, or Muhammad then by all means do so. We as humans seek the more complex answers to our questions instead of the time tested philosophy from Buddhism, Stoicism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Take it from one of the all time self improvement junkies, don’t waste your life looking to self professed gurus for wisdom. I’ve spent thousands of hours reading some of the folks I mentioned above and many more not mentioned, and for what I really learned from it all, I would have been better off sticking to the classics or spent more time meditating.

Now with that said I do include the Bible, Quran, Pali Canon, Meditations, and Letters from a Stoic as a form of self improvement. I just think this multi-billion dollar self improvement industry preys upon our feeling of not being enough or having enough. Realize you are unique in your own right and perfectly equipped to follow your own path on this thing we call life.

Namaste

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The Stoic Buddhist

Marcus Aurelius and the Buddha

I recently changed my byline to The Stoic Buddhist and you may ask why? It is partially due to the many books I have read on Buddhism and Stoicism. So one reason is the interest I have in both philosophies, but as my studies progressed I started noticing some pretty interesting similarities. In this blog post I just want to focus on a couple of the things stoics and Buddhist’s have in common.

Well back to the question about the byline. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me one can embrace multiple philosophies and sometimes even just certain tenants. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Both Buddhism and Stoicism have always encouraged independent thinking analyzing what you feel is true and real in the world. I doubt that the Buddha would have objected too much if someone wanted to read the works of Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, or Epictetus. Both Stoicism and Buddhism take an analytical approach to philosophy as opposed to a faith based approach of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Buddha was not a God and either was Marcus Aurelius or Seneca, and in the case of the stoics far from it. So in my life and studies I borrow from both, calling myself a Buddhist first and foremost, that also has a keen interest in stoicism.

Two of the more common themes that I noticed in both Stoicism and Buddhism are about desiring less and not fearing death.

Desire

Both Buddhism and Stoicism teach that there is inherent suffering involved with desires. The more you desire the more unhappy you will be, ever wanting more. The Buddha taught that the root of suffering was desire and Epictetus equates freedom to limiting what you desire.

Another quote from Marcus Aurelius speaks to the idea that very little is needed to be happy.

Actually Marcus Aurelius wrote extensively in his book Meditations about the need to control ones desires and the destructive nature of vices and materialism. As you know this was a Roman Emperor who could have had anything he wanted, but practiced a huge amount of self control in the way he lived. I think both the Stoics and Buddhists recognized that desires led to excesses, creating suffering and ultimately preventing one from leading a more noble existence.

Death

It is my understanding that both Stoicism and Buddhism viewed death as a natural part of life and not to be feared. With that said the Buddhist might believe that you will be reborn into another life; the Stoic will just state that this death is part of natures life cycle and your body is given to the earth. In either case as a Stoic or a Buddhist you will be expected to not fear death, to be courageous, and calm upon your demise.

Whether a Stoic or a Buddhist it is not death to be concerned with, but rather how well you have lived. Was the life you had meaningful and of service to mankind? To the stoic philosopher or a dedicated Buddhist a life satisfying selfish desires is a life wasted and not worth living. Another similarity between the Stoic and Buddhist view of death is that it begins when we are born with each day we die a little bringing us that much closer to our final demise.

Below is a quote from the Buddha from the Pali Canon , Sali Sutta that illustrates the nature of life and death.

From Marcus Aurelius a quote on the inevitability of death and our response to it.

While this by no means is meant to provide any kind of exhaustive comparison between similar views shared by Stoics and Buddhists, I wanted it to be more of an introduction to the idea that there are some aspects of the two philosophies that they have in common. As death pursues us all I hope there will be time to go into a more detailed analysis of where the two philosophies converge.

There is no way of cheating nature of our own inevitable destiny. We all will face death, some sooner, some later, but it will surely come. With that in mind whether you are a Stoic or a Buddhist; it is all up to you to live an authentic life and cherish each day.

I’ll leave you with a final quote from Seneca.

“You want to live-but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying-and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?”

Namaste

Not for appearance sake

One of the themes I understand from studying the Stoics like Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius is the idea that above all you should do the right thing. Another way of putting this is to be a good person, first and foremost. Doing the right thing is not done for accolades or praise, but simply because it is the right thing to do. If you find yourself more concerned about how the things you do are perceived by others then you are missing the point.

Maybe you are not doing the right thing or being a good person because you find it inconvenient taking too much effort. Being lazy or selfish is not an excuse for shirking your responsibilities and doing what is right. The stoic ideal requires self-discipline and adhering to the principle of doing good. A selfish me oriented attitude will never result in doing the right thing, nor will living a life focused on impressing other people.

Put your ego aside today and think is what I am doing the right thing, is it good for the world, or is it self serving?

There is such a thing as an honorable life, but it is not easy. Doing the right thing is difficult in this me oriented world, but you have greatness inside you and you just need to release it.

Ask yourself today, as Epictetus would, am I doing this for the sake of appearance or because it is the right thing to do?

Namaste

 


This post was proofread by Grammarly.

 

Still miserable – Seneca

Seneca rightly points out that a mindset devoid of gratitude is never satisfied regardless of the amount of achievement, material things, or pleasure bestowed upon the person. For many people this is their life, in a nutshell, seeking and finding, yet no appreciation. They have accumulated great riches, big houses, expensive cars, fine wine, country club memberships, and yet at their core, they are miserable.

Gratitude is a mindset after all, that you can cultivate, but you must begin to challenge the assumptions you held so dear for such a long time. Your assumptions have been that seeking wealth and fame is my life’s goal, which feeds your ego and provides a nice way to compare yourself to others. You think you are superior because you have more money, a bigger house, and a luxury car, but you are never really happy.

Let’s start by chipping away at your ego, shifting your goals from wanting more, to appreciating what you have. I love this quote by Lao Tzu which always helps me put things in perspective:

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu

Start by being grateful for what you have, especially the small things. Start a gratitude journal and write 3-5 things you are grateful for every morning or evening. If you can do that you begin to chip away at the ego and your materialistic tendencies and a shift towards gratitude begins to take place.

Namaste

 

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A model personality

How do you see yourself?

Do you think you are lazy, unworthy, prone to anger, or lacking direction in your life? What Epictetus is advocating is to see yourself as something greater than you currently do. He even goes so far as to say imagine yourself a model personality, maybe someone like Epictetus, Seneca, or Marcus Aurelius. It could be anyone that you admire, maybe Winston Churchill,  Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or anyone that you aspire to be more like. Use that model character as your guiding light that leads on a course of to follow in terms of speech and action.

Once you have chosen that individual or ideal for yourself now act upon it in both your public and private life. It does no good if you ramble on in public about your philosophy if you cannot implement it in your personal life. If you want to be kind, compassionate, loving, understanding, and calm then do this at all times. It’s not only a philosophy, but it must become a way of life. Don’t study the Bible, the teachings of the Buddha, or the Holy Quran, and go about your life as normal. Just thinking about being a better version of yourself does nothing; you must think then act.

I don’t advocate Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Stoicism, or any other religion or philosophy. In fact any of these mentioned provides guidance on how to live a model life, but you are free to choose one or all of them for yourself. An example of this is the Dali Lama who often talks about loving kindness and compassion and by all accounts his actions support his teachings. So the challenge for the day is to take any of the tenants from your studies and actually implement it in your actions. As it becomes more challenging to be virtuous, during these stressful times, it also becomes more important to act as that model character you want to become.

Who do you aspire to be?

Namaste

 

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Leisure for the mind

You have to love Seneca, he always provides profound guidance, which I have so thankfully been accustomed to receiving over the past year or so. To me this is pretty straight forward. For you or me to have time to think or even to relax we need to be either a poor man, or resemble a poor man. He goes on to say that “study cannot be helpful unless you take pains to live simply”. So to be a great scholar maybe you need both the luxury of time and a life that is not too complex, so as not to compete with your studies.

Finally he states and “living simply is voluntary poverty”. Now mind you Seneca was not poor, but I think he could see that the pursuit of wealth was not healthy to obtaining the state of mind needed to relax the mind if you will. Just like the rest of us we often know the path, teach the path, but struggle to follow it ourselves.

Let you life be simple today, do what you must to earn a living, but keep a bit in reserve for you studies.

Namaste

 

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Learn while you teach

I’m sure you have experienced that when you teach something it accelerates your own learning. Could it be the students, or the preparation studying the material, or maybe a combination of both.

Seneca also says to associate with those that make you a better person, and welcome those who you can improve. You could interpret this as associate with people you can learn from, and share your knowledge with those that can learn from you.

Maybe today we seek out opportunities to share knowledge with others; not to bolster our ego, but to give back in some way. It might be as simple as sitting with a child and talking about letters or numbers. Maybe you show someone in your family a yoga pose that will relieve back pain. The opportunities are endless, and your reward includes the enhancement of your own knowledge.

Listen I know you are busy, worried, and a bit overwhelmed, but would 10 or 15 minutes to share some knowledge with a friend or family member really be that difficult. Hell do it for yourself if you must, even if it’s just to make you feel good about helping someone.

So that’s it for today. Your challenge is to impart some useful knowledge to someone. No fucking excuses!

Namaste

Blend in the crowd

What is Seneca really saying here? I think he is saying as a philosopher you will be different in the way you think and understand the world, but in public you should not appear different. Stoic philosophers like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius were certainly people who focused on finding meaning in life, figuring it out if you will, but they for the most part did not look down upon the masses. I don’t think what I’ve read about Seneca that he wanted to call attention to himself. He had a relationship with philosophy as a personal study with a few selected students. I think there was also the realization that even though he was a very educated and enlightened person in many ways, he was still part of humanity and did not want to come off as superior, at least when in public.

Namaste

Vices over time

It starts out innocent enough, a few drinks with your friends and later on it escalates into full blown addiction. Have you seen this whether it is alcohol, smoking, drugs, or over eating? These vices become a habit and habits are hard to break. Seneca seems to be saying it is easier to slow it down than to stop it. This is the power of our vices, in some ways they make us feel better, and we pattern our existence around them, making them so very potent. Rather than put yourself through the painful process of trying to stop, it is a wise person that never starts. Next time you tell yourself it won’t hurt to have that drink, try that drug, smoke that one cigarette, or eat that crap you know is clogging your arteries; think how easily these little missteps turn into a powerful self destructive habit.

Namaste