In the book of Marcus Aurelius, both verses 12.26 and 4.3 sums up not only Marcus philosophy but the core meaning of how to live life. Whether you are a entrepreneur, entertainer, teacher or whatever your profession may be, his philosophy in these two verses can benefit your perspective on life. Marcus Aurelius generalized his philosophy in these two verses which regards to dealing with externals and a way of meditation to benefit internal factors.
In the beginning of 12:26 talks about handling externals. Majority of people have a common goal which is to reach a certain level of success in life, each person can define their meaning of success differently. However people can mainly be focused on that goal and be unaware of the blessings that are around them or just wrapped up in external issues. Marcus explains that if you fight back or complain about being in any circumstance you are thinking narrowly/inside the box. The principle of this matter is to never forget that everything
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To Marcus he states in 4.3.2 (page 24) “consider that the mind, once it has abstracted itself and come to know its own defining power, has no contact with the movement of the bodily spirit, be that smooth or troubled.” To reach this level of retreat is ideal in regards to relaxation and coming at ease with oneself. The importance of this practice can be the fundamental solution to all external problems and once you are consistent in this practice external factors may then be less effective to your mental. Meditation is the solution to external issues of life. Once my mind is isolated from my body, as read in [8.13] investigate the cause, identify the emotion as to why I feel the way I feel and apply the analysis to my reasoning. By reaching these mental levels it will make me become a better man and this will help me to maneuver around trials life throws at me much smoother without me
This man had spent the better part of a year reading and rereading the Handbook of Epictetus, throughout that book the message is similar to one of the topics Sherman touches on, “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us,”(pg 2). Basically the circumstances maybe beyond our control, but ultimately what affects us is our judgements and the way we react. She makes a great point that we underutilize our ability to control ourselves when we let external things drive our happiness and that is the difference in so many people's lives, they wager their happiness and satisfaction on factors that should not ultimately
Marcus Aurelius, through his book Meditations, has attained something he scorned in principle - posthumous fame. Throughout his life, he was known as a generous emperor, and not considered to be a student in philosophy. After his death, however, his diary was discovered, and the true inner thoughts of Marcus Aurelius were published for the entire world to read. Although the vast majority of the philosophies included in Aurelius’ book still hold true and make sense, we know that at least one was wrong. Aurelius believed that even posthumous fame was short-lived, for a person’s named is never carried from generation to generation. However, this melancholy collection of philosophies written by a lonely man centuries ago is still considered to be one of the most influential books ever written. Although he never received the opportunity to be a philosopher during his life, Marcus Aurelius certainly deserved the title.
Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius, have both similar and different views on the role that death plays in life and philosophy. They both believe our fear is due in some part to the uncertainty that surrounds the process of death. However, both philosophers have dissimilar approaches on why we shouldn’t fear the unknown concept of death. Drawing from these reasons and explanations, they arrive at the way this fear affects our lives and what we should do to change it.
Mindfulness meditation is a growth of person`s perception at the present time and some people think is a unique way to overcome anxiety and discover greater wisdom in our minds. A person who practices this meditation tries to get rid of any unwanted thoughts, concentrate on present ones, focus on attention and breathing. Some contemporary psychotherapists suggest that we can train our mind by practicing mindfulness meditation. Often almost all people catch themselves on thoughts that transfers from the present to the past and future. This is called mind wandering. This can be very distracting when a person tries to focus on certain task. Naturally, people who experience less mind wandering demonstrated greater mindfulness, and previous studies showed that practicing mindfulness meditation even for eight minutes can increase and mind wandering will decrease (Hafenbrack, 2013).
Epictetus shows us many instrumental concepts in The Enchiridion. He believes that there is a law that guides all things and that virtue consists in the imminent order of things. Human imperfection and the idea of limit is a realization that many have yet to come to. In addition, caution is valuable when setting out to achieve a goal. It is important to look at all factors before jumping into something that could end up causing one pain and frustration in the end. One must convey a sense of self-control at all times. Epictetus gives us insight on how to live a frugal life. Finally, men are disturbed not by occurrences, but by the views which they take of these happenings. The man of great intelligence accuses neither himself nor another when something goes poorly in his life. As we have seen, it is easy for one to relate Epictetus’ beliefs to his own life in today’s society. It is an amazing feat for Epictetus to have written The Enchiridion so long ago, and for it to apply to our current world.
Meditation allows for you to relax, slow down, and become more aware of yourself and your environment. By meditating in a quiet place with no distraction, you are able to greatly limit the information that is constantly entering into our brains. This information gives us a train of thought that is very difficult to be halted, because it is in the nature of our brains to analyze any information that we have coming in from our senses like what things we are seeing with our eyes and what we are hearing with our ears. By limiting the amount of information that is entering into the brain, we are able to separate ourselves from the mind that is analyzing all of that information and to become aware of it.
It also includes illnesses such as bipolar disorder, depression, and borderline personality disorders. People often experience uncontrollable thoughts on a regular basis which are negative depending on how far his or her depression has become. In order to cope with the reoccurrence of negative thoughts, meditation can be used to train one’s self to be weary of lingering thoughts, thus bringing your attention to focusing on more positive ones in the present moment. Those experiencing depression, tend to have a lot of consistent negative thoughts about their stressors. With a compilation of mindfulness based stress reduction and cognitive therapy, this approach to treating depression has become very
For thousands of years people have practiced mediation for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Albeit there are many mediation types, in this paper I will be discussing and focusing on mindfulness mediation. Before further exploring mindfulness mediation, it is crucial to define mediation as a whole. Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016 state “Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attentional and emotional capacities” (p.213). Having that in mind, we can dive into mindfulness mediation. Mindfulness meditation is defined as “nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences (Tang, Holzel, & Posner, 2016).” A useful analogy to consider is going to the gym, going to the gym allows one to enhance the body, well similarly, practicing mindfulness is akin to taking the mind to the psychic gym, it enhances it. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on your breathing and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present all while dismissing discursive thoughts and maintaining a special focus on breathing.
Though Buddhism has long been a disciplined and strict religion since its’ beginning in the 3rd Century, it has recently gained positive utilitarian use within the psychological and neurological fields of science. Programs dedicated to improving and helping the lives of those who suffer from mental illness have started to incorporate the use of meditation as a form of treatment. Meditation is enforced in many schools of Buddhism as a method, or a way of life, to becoming enlightened. With growing qualitative and quantitative research on meditation, it becomes more evidential of the positive and life changing impact meditation serves in improving overall health of the mentally ill. Additionally, meditation can be implemented as a preventative
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
..., that is to the highest part of himself, the governing element, the deity within him. Marcus writes, “Man violates his soul when he turns away from any human being or is borne against him with intent to injure him. Love the human race.” Marcus understood that a good stoic could not be annoyed by others, but found it hard to deal with.
Marcus Aurelius’ literary work, Mediations, has been seen throughout history as one of the most important literary works. It is similar to a journal, written by Aurelius during his life, about his life. Aurelius was a man who was unlike other emperors. While most other emperors disgraced themselves, he was an exception. There was no particular reason why he acted this way, and no external forces caused him to act this way. He was a man who could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and yet he didn’t use his power for his own benefit. He was afraid of doing what was wrong, and intended to live a life where he wouldn’t feel guilty about anything. He never wanted the things he wrote to be published; however they have given advice to many people over the years. Aurelius lived a lonely life, because there was no one as his equal, and anyone who talked to him was looking for something. Throughout the passages in Meditations, Aurelius makes a lot of really good observations.
Understanding the brain and the different signs will help acknowledge the issues within a person to help them cope with the issue. It is important for one to be aware of their selves and their reactions/behaviors. On the other hand, the studies address the different types of mediation and possible consequences. When introducing a specific technique, there are always pros and cons, and people that are for or against the matter. Meditation is known as healing of the body and/or mind and can be religious. Those different types were address and justified for the understanding of the use for the
The article that BBC New of America has provided, gives information on an archeological dig in which the tomb of a general was found. The general was Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a favorite of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Macrinus helped the emperor achieve many victories in Europe. The tomb was discovered where construction work was taking place, and was mainly preserved by the Tiber River. It is said to be the greatest Roman discovery in the past twenty to thirty years.
The writings by Marcus Aurelius, the only Roman emperor who also gained the title as philosopher, are one of the most unique in classic literature when considering the fact it was written without the idea of publication. Aurelius is an aspiring individual, who stands to remind our anemic and easily disheartened race how human goodness and sedulity should be carried. With this in mind, it should be substantial for one to read the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius when considering the writing techniques, and his use of self reflection.