Scan barcode
dineshnarayan's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
### Essence of "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius
#### Core Themes
1. Impermanence and Mortality
- Marcus Aurelius frequently contemplates the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. This reflection fosters a sense of urgency to live virtuously and to focus on what truly matters.
1. Impermanence and Mortality
- Marcus Aurelius frequently contemplates the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. This reflection fosters a sense of urgency to live virtuously and to focus on what truly matters.
2. Virtue and Rationality
- The central tenet of "Meditations" is the pursuit of virtue through rational thought. Aurelius emphasizes living in accordance with nature and reason, embodying the Stoic virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.
- The central tenet of "Meditations" is the pursuit of virtue through rational thought. Aurelius emphasizes living in accordance with nature and reason, embodying the Stoic virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.
3. Control and Acceptance
- A significant portion of the text deals with distinguishing between what is within our control and what is not. Aurelius advocates for focusing on our own actions and reactions, and accepting external events with equanimity.
- A significant portion of the text deals with distinguishing between what is within our control and what is not. Aurelius advocates for focusing on our own actions and reactions, and accepting external events with equanimity.
4. Inner Peace and Mindfulness
- Achieving inner tranquility is a recurrent goal. Marcus Aurelius advises mindfulness and self-awareness, promoting a calm and focused mind despite external chaos.
- Achieving inner tranquility is a recurrent goal. Marcus Aurelius advises mindfulness and self-awareness, promoting a calm and focused mind despite external chaos.
5. Duty and Responsibility
- As a Roman Emperor, Aurelius reflects on his responsibilities and duties. He underscores the importance of fulfilling one's role with integrity and dedication, regardless of the challenges.
- As a Roman Emperor, Aurelius reflects on his responsibilities and duties. He underscores the importance of fulfilling one's role with integrity and dedication, regardless of the challenges.
6. Interconnectedness and Community
- Aurelius often reflects on the interconnectedness of all human beings and the importance of contributing to the common good. He stresses that individual actions should benefit the larger community.
- Aurelius often reflects on the interconnectedness of all human beings and the importance of contributing to the common good. He stresses that individual actions should benefit the larger community.
#### Key Messages
- Live in Accordance with Nature: Embrace your nature as a rational being. Align your actions with reason and virtue, understanding your place in the cosmos.
- Focus on the Present: Avoid being consumed by past regrets or future anxieties. Concentrate on the present moment and what you can control here and now.
- Cultivate Inner Strength: Develop resilience through self-discipline and rational thought. Accept hardships as opportunities to strengthen your character.
- Practice Mindfulness: Regularly reflect on your thoughts and actions. Maintain awareness of your mental state and strive for inner peace.
- Serve the Greater Good: Recognize your role within the community. Act in ways that support and uplift others, contributing to the collective well-being.
- Live in Accordance with Nature: Embrace your nature as a rational being. Align your actions with reason and virtue, understanding your place in the cosmos.
- Focus on the Present: Avoid being consumed by past regrets or future anxieties. Concentrate on the present moment and what you can control here and now.
- Cultivate Inner Strength: Develop resilience through self-discipline and rational thought. Accept hardships as opportunities to strengthen your character.
- Practice Mindfulness: Regularly reflect on your thoughts and actions. Maintain awareness of your mental state and strive for inner peace.
- Serve the Greater Good: Recognize your role within the community. Act in ways that support and uplift others, contributing to the collective well-being.
#### Philosophical Insights
- Dichotomy of Control: Central to Stoicism, this concept encourages focusing on what we can control (our thoughts and actions) and letting go of what we cannot (external events and the actions of others).
- Amor Fati: Love your fate. Embrace everything that happens as necessary and beneficial, shaping your destiny with acceptance and grace.
- Memento Mori: Remember that you will die. This reflection is not morbid but a reminder to live fully and authentically, prioritizing what truly matters.
- Dichotomy of Control: Central to Stoicism, this concept encourages focusing on what we can control (our thoughts and actions) and letting go of what we cannot (external events and the actions of others).
- Amor Fati: Love your fate. Embrace everything that happens as necessary and beneficial, shaping your destiny with acceptance and grace.
- Memento Mori: Remember that you will die. This reflection is not morbid but a reminder to live fully and authentically, prioritizing what truly matters.
#### Practical Applications
- Daily Reflection: Engage in regular self-examination, reflecting on your actions, thoughts, and emotions. Use these reflections to guide personal growth.
- Mindfulness Practices: Incorporate mindfulness techniques to stay present and manage stress. Practices like meditation can help cultivate a tranquil mind.
- Virtuous Living: Strive to embody Stoic virtues in daily life. Make decisions based on wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance.
- Daily Reflection: Engage in regular self-examination, reflecting on your actions, thoughts, and emotions. Use these reflections to guide personal growth.
- Mindfulness Practices: Incorporate mindfulness techniques to stay present and manage stress. Practices like meditation can help cultivate a tranquil mind.
- Virtuous Living: Strive to embody Stoic virtues in daily life. Make decisions based on wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance.
"Meditations" is a timeless guide to self-improvement and resilience, offering profound insights into human nature and the art of living well. By internalizing its teachings, readers can navigate life's challenges with wisdom and grace.
gigabedi's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
vonya45's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
The key points of this book can be summed up by this paragraph from the end:
When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten this, that a man's wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened so and will happen so, and now happens so everywhere; forgotten this too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten this, that nothing is a man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from the deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only, and loses only this.
Everything else can be fit into one of these concepts. That leads to a lot of repetition, passages that are practically the same as something read several chapters earlier. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as the reader gets multiple opportunities to think about the philosophy behind each of the concepts.
What struck me as sort of funny/interesting is how much of Marcus Aurelius' wise words actually come across as self-assurances. He is worried about death as he grows older, so he talks about how to not worry about death. He struggles to understand why other people do bad things, so he talks about why people do bad things. He was obviously an extremely intelligent philosopher, but as I read through Meditations I started to get the sense that perhaps he wasn't so much a wise sage with flawless grasp on life's meaning, as a flawed and anxious man with a lot of problems, who happened to figure out some solutions.
This book is not for the stoic philosopher who has it all figured out and lives in a serene state of contentment. It's for the worried, nervous, pissed off, bitter, disappointed, isolated, or self-loathing people. The concepts stand up to the test of time. Humans have always had the same problems with themselves, each other, and the universe, and this book of stoicism represents some of the ways to combat these feelings that make life so difficult.
When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that all things happen according to the universal nature; and forgotten this, that a man's wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened so and will happen so, and now happens so everywhere; forgotten this too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence. And thou hast forgotten this too, that every man's intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten this, that nothing is a man's own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from the deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the present time only, and loses only this.
Everything else can be fit into one of these concepts. That leads to a lot of repetition, passages that are practically the same as something read several chapters earlier. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as the reader gets multiple opportunities to think about the philosophy behind each of the concepts.
What struck me as sort of funny/interesting is how much of Marcus Aurelius' wise words actually come across as self-assurances. He is worried about death as he grows older, so he talks about how to not worry about death. He struggles to understand why other people do bad things, so he talks about why people do bad things. He was obviously an extremely intelligent philosopher, but as I read through Meditations I started to get the sense that perhaps he wasn't so much a wise sage with flawless grasp on life's meaning, as a flawed and anxious man with a lot of problems, who happened to figure out some solutions.
This book is not for the stoic philosopher who has it all figured out and lives in a serene state of contentment. It's for the worried, nervous, pissed off, bitter, disappointed, isolated, or self-loathing people. The concepts stand up to the test of time. Humans have always had the same problems with themselves, each other, and the universe, and this book of stoicism represents some of the ways to combat these feelings that make life so difficult.
ilovegravy's review against another edition
4.0
Nuostabus stoicizmo kūrinys. Daugelis idėjų labai tolimos ir nepritaikomos šiuolaikiniam žmogui, bet nemaža jų dalis - įspūdingai taiklios ir ilgaamžiškos.
Pradžioje skaityti buvo kažkiek pikta. Visgi knygoje nonstop kartojama, jog viską valdo prigimtis, visuomeniškumas ir teisingumas turėtų būti tavo pagrindinės gyvenimo ašys, o malonumai, tai tik tuštybės. Nepavyksta tapti geru žmogumi? Išeik iš gyvenimo. (Geras žmogus, anot šitos knygos, yra vos ne ideali būtybė). Žmonės tavimi naudojasi, šmeižia ir šiaip laiko šiukšle? Nusišypsok jiems, buk malonus ir draugiškai pamokyk dorybių.
Skamba neįtikėtinai, nes mūsų egocentrizmo laikai tokių vertybių nebepuoselėja.
Kažkur iki pusės knygos norėjosi staugt, jog gyvenimu reikia mėgautis, reikia leist sau fantazuot, kartais klysti, kartais jausti visus jausmus iš karto. Norėjosi pasakyti, kad knyga atgyvena. Vėliau, apsipratusi su tuo, jog su ne visomis knygos mintimis sutinku, bet ir neprivalau, pasidarė kažkaip gera ir malonu. Ir knyga persimainė iš pramogos šaltinio (šį kartą neįtikusio) į nenupasakojamai gilią
įžvalgą į Senovės Romos laikus, į patį Marką Aurelijų.
Kūrinys sudarytas iš kelių skyrių, vadinamu knygomis, kuriuose punktais vardijami pamokymai, bet, o stebukle, jis neįgyja to erzinančio pamoksliško tono, kuris lyg ir sako: “Aš tau kalbėsiu apie dalykus, kurių tu iš tikrųjų nepasieksi, nes tam turėtum būti tokiu antžmogiu, kaip aš.”
Knygos genezė nėra iki galo išaiškinta, bet galimai tai tiesiog buvo užrašai - “Sau pačiam”, nemigos kankinamų naktų pamąstymai, savęs padrąsinimai. Ir man patinka tikėti šia istorikų teorija. Teorija, jog didysis Romos imperatorius, valdovas, išsaugojęs valstybę vienu iš sudėtingiausių jos laikotarpių, rašė sau pačiam patarimus, kaip nugyventi gyvenimą dorai ir teisingai.
P.s. jaučiu, jog kūrinys neatitiko mano brandumo ir jį perskaityti turėčiau tik po daugelio metų.
Pradžioje skaityti buvo kažkiek pikta. Visgi knygoje nonstop kartojama, jog viską valdo prigimtis, visuomeniškumas ir teisingumas turėtų būti tavo pagrindinės gyvenimo ašys, o malonumai, tai tik tuštybės. Nepavyksta tapti geru žmogumi? Išeik iš gyvenimo. (Geras žmogus, anot šitos knygos, yra vos ne ideali būtybė). Žmonės tavimi naudojasi, šmeižia ir šiaip laiko šiukšle? Nusišypsok jiems, buk malonus ir draugiškai pamokyk dorybių.
Skamba neįtikėtinai, nes mūsų egocentrizmo laikai tokių vertybių nebepuoselėja.
Kažkur iki pusės knygos norėjosi staugt, jog gyvenimu reikia mėgautis, reikia leist sau fantazuot, kartais klysti, kartais jausti visus jausmus iš karto. Norėjosi pasakyti, kad knyga atgyvena. Vėliau, apsipratusi su tuo, jog su ne visomis knygos mintimis sutinku, bet ir neprivalau, pasidarė kažkaip gera ir malonu. Ir knyga persimainė iš pramogos šaltinio (šį kartą neįtikusio) į nenupasakojamai gilią
įžvalgą į Senovės Romos laikus, į patį Marką Aurelijų.
Kūrinys sudarytas iš kelių skyrių, vadinamu knygomis, kuriuose punktais vardijami pamokymai, bet, o stebukle, jis neįgyja to erzinančio pamoksliško tono, kuris lyg ir sako: “Aš tau kalbėsiu apie dalykus, kurių tu iš tikrųjų nepasieksi, nes tam turėtum būti tokiu antžmogiu, kaip aš.”
Knygos genezė nėra iki galo išaiškinta, bet galimai tai tiesiog buvo užrašai - “Sau pačiam”, nemigos kankinamų naktų pamąstymai, savęs padrąsinimai. Ir man patinka tikėti šia istorikų teorija. Teorija, jog didysis Romos imperatorius, valdovas, išsaugojęs valstybę vienu iš sudėtingiausių jos laikotarpių, rašė sau pačiam patarimus, kaip nugyventi gyvenimą dorai ir teisingai.
P.s. jaučiu, jog kūrinys neatitiko mano brandumo ir jį perskaityti turėčiau tik po daugelio metų.