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Sloww Sunday Newsletter 013 (April 19, 2020) — The Philosophy of Seneca, Hell Yeah or No, How Darwin Thought, & More
Sloww Sunday is an email newsletter sharing inspiration to awaken the art of living.
In a modern world focused on the trendy, here’s your weekly dose of the timeless.
1 // Sloww Stuff
New Public Posts:
As you read this, I’m wrapping up an eBook called The Hierarchy of Happiness that will be free for email subscribers! Stay tuned for next week’s email for the free download. The eBook is an updated and more polished version of the happiness post series:
New Premium Posts: Premium now has 60+ members and counting! Learn more about Premium Membership.
- Stream of Consciousness: Do You Live Life, or Does Life Live You? — I’m thoroughly enjoying crafting these Stream of Consciousness posts. This one synthesizes thoughts from philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and transpersonal psychology (spiritual psychology) to take a deeper look at one of life’s ultimate questions.
2 // Video I’m Watching
Life Is Not Short; We Just Waste Most of It — The Philosophy of Seneca (YouTube | 10 mins)
Last year, I gave myself a crash course on the “Big Three” of Stoicism. So far, I’ve resonated with Seneca the most—followed by Epictetus and then Marcus Aurelius. This is a nice video introduction to Seneca.
“So it is inevitable that life will be not just very short but very miserable for those who acquire by great toil what they must keep by greater toil. They achieve what they want laboriously; they possess what they have achieved anxiously; and meanwhile they take no account of time that will never more return. New preoccupations take the place of the old, hope excites more hope and ambition more ambition. They do not look for an end to their misery, but simply change the reason for it.” — Seneca
Pair with:
3 // Podcast I’m Listening To
Hell Yeah Or No — Derek Sivers (Future Thinkers on YouTube | 25 mins)
Derek Sivers is one of those consistently fascinating humans. Fun fact: Derek has read 300+ books (Sivers.org) and his #1 book of all-time is Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman (Amazon).
If you enjoy this podcast segment, check out the others below from the same interview or the full podcast (FutureThinkers.org | 80 mins):
- Stoicism & Minimalism (YouTube | 15 mins)
- How to Live (YouTube | 15 mins)
- Becoming a Life Explorer (YouTube | 18 mins)
“If (more) information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” — Derek Sivers
Pair with:
- Derek Sivers inspired me to create a “Now” Page
- See another great video from Derek—How to Start a Movement (aka Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy)—in newsletter issue 007
4 // Article I’m Reading
How Darwin Thought: The Golden Rule of Thinking (Farnam Street | 11 mins)
A quick look into influences on Darwin’s thinking—great thinkers, geology, barnacles, and more—and how they shaped his habits of completeness, diligence, accuracy, and habitual objectivity.
“Counter-intuition was Darwin’s specialty. And the reason he was so good was he had a very simple habit of thought … He paid special attention to collecting facts which did not agree with his prior conceptions. He called this a golden rule … So we see that Darwin’s great success, by his own analysis, owed to his ability to see, note, and learn from objections to his cherished thoughts.” — Shane Parrish
Pair with:
5 // Quote I’m Contemplating
Quote: “The others obey their own lead, follow their own impulses. Don’t be distracted. Keep walking. Follow your own nature, and follow Nature—along the road they share.” — Marcus Aurelius
Question: Do you feel like your own (individual) nature and (universal) Nature have aligned yet in your life? If not, what are some steps you could start taking to follow your own lead?
PS: This quote pairs nicely with the new premium post: Stream of Consciousness: Do You Live Life, or Does Life Live You?
Worth sharing? If you enjoyed this issue of Sloww Sunday, please share with a friend or two (or post socially). It’s easy for them to subscribe for free here.
Have feedback? It’s always appreciated! Please let me know by email or socially. Also, please let me know if you come across interesting content on the same wavelength as Sloww. I may be able to include it in an upcoming newsletter.
Have a thoughtful week!
Go with the Sloww,
Kyle Kowalski
Founder, Sloww
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