Meditations
About the book
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by Marcus Aurelius | Penguin Classics ©2006 |
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304 pages |
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7.5 hours saved on average by reading this note |
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brian’s take
Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor-Philosopher of the Roman Empire and one of the most enlightened leaders ever. Meditations is a collection of journal entries he wrote to himself and in this Note, we'll explore some Big Ideas of his Stoic philosophy—from the importance of never confusing ourselves with visions of a lifetime all at once, to not worrying about what others think of us and living a life of purpose and service.
"To live each day as though one’s last, never flustered, never apathetic, never attitudinizing—here is the perfection of character."
Marcus Aurelius
big ideas
01 |
Historical Context |
02 |
Quick Intro to Stoicism |
03 |
A Surplus of Time |
04 |
Visions of a Lifetime |
05 |
The Opinions of Others |
06 |
Retire Within Yourself |
07 |
Being in Tune With Every Note |
08 |
Time Is a River |
09 |
For What Were you Made? |
10 |
Your One Delight |
11 |
The Equanimity Game |
12 |
Your Power |
13 |
I Seek the Truth |
14 |
Do It Right |
15 |
Soak Your Mind |
16 |
The Bond That Unites All |
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Meditations
introduction
from the book
“Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Soak it then in such trains of thoughts as, for example: Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible."
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Not only is Marcus Aurelius one of my heroes, he’s also one of history’s leading Stoic Philosophers. Stoic philosophy. You know, one of the classic Hellenistic philosophies—right there with Epicureanism and Cynicism.
Huh?
Whether or not you’ve heard of Stoicism, you’ve probably met one of its leading thinkers: Marcus Aurelius—he’s the old emperor in the movie Gladiator. :)
In this Note, we’re going to take a quick look at the historical context in which Aurelius wrote Meditations and the Stoic philosophy that influenced his thinking. From there, we’ll jump into some of my favorite Big Ideas from the classic Emperor-Philosopher’s journals.
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