Philosophies for Life

In this podcast we will be talking about 8 Life Lessons From Epicurus. His philosophy is often referenced as Epicurean hedonism or simply Epicureanism. Epicurus was most famous for his skilful insights into the concept of happiness.  To understand more about Epicurus’ teachings and how we can apply them into our own lives, here are 8 life lessons from the philosophy of Epicurus -  01. Be content with little 02. Study philosophy all your life 03. Learn to rely on yourself  04. Develop courage through adversity 05. Get great friends 06. Do not try to be popular 07. Don’t fear death 08. Strive to achieve peace of mind I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope these 8 Life Lessons From Epicurus will add value to your life.  Epicurus is one of the most important figures in the history of philosophy, as well as of science. He is less known than Plato or Socrates, but, nonetheless, his teachings are precious and timeless. He lived between 341 to 270 BC, and wrote more than 300 works during his lifetime. Most of his work has been lost, but what remains is extremely relevant even today. In science, he was one of the first to describe the natural world as made of atoms and he rightly understood that all the natural phenomena are in fact based on the movement of atoms. Also, he strongly stressed the importance of basing our beliefs on empirical evidence and logic. In philosophy, he was part of the hedonist movement and he was most famous for his skilful insights into the concept of happiness, starting his own School of Happiness, also known as Epicurean hedonism or simply Epicureanism. If stoics believed that living justly and virtuously is the highest good and that we should be indifferent to pleasure and pain, Epicureanism believed that we should seek to maximise the pleasures in life. There were some rumours that in his school people lavished  themselves in orgies, luxury and decadence, but these rumours were unfounded. Epicurus didn’t have any interest in orgies and expensive meals. His idea of pleasure is far from the classical one. He departed from the classical school of hedonism for which pleasure is the highest good, adding that the pleasure of the mind, not the pleasure of the senses, is the true ‘highest good’. He believed that the greatest happiness comes from reducing suffering, achieving an inner state of peace which he called ataraxia. Ataraxia means being content with simple things in life, like having philosophical conversations about the meaning of life, in your small garden, with your best friends. According to Epicurus, the pleasure from pursuing wisdom is the highest form of pleasure, and the most valuable as it is the one that leads us to true happiness.   

In this podcast we will be talking about 12 practical exercises, as per the book How to be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci that uses Epictituse’s Enchiridion, which we can use in the modern world while mastering the four stoic virtues.  So here are 10 important insights for being a stoic from Epictetus. 01. Examine your impressions 02. Remind yourself of the impermanence of thing 03. The reverse clause 04. How can I use virtue here and now 05. Pause and take a deep breath 06. Other-ize 07. Speak little and well 08. Choose your company well 09. Respond to insults with humor 10. Don’t speak too much about yourself 11. Speak without judging 12. Reflect on your day I hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope you find these exercise helpful if you wish to pursue Stoicism.  The Enchiridion is a short read on stoic advice for living. Epictetus’ practical precepts might change your life.

Carl Jung - Why Turning 40 Becomes Your Superpower (Jungian Philosophy). Carl Jung, one of the most respected psychologists of the 20th century, believed that life doesn’t truly begin when we are young. In fact, he said, “Life really begins at forty. Before then, you are just doing research.” What he means by this is that the first part of life is mainly preparation. In our twenties and thirties, we are learning how the world works. We try to build a stable life - we work, we build relationships, we try to be responsible, to succeed, and to fit in. We form an identity based on what we think we should be. During this phase, we are busy figuring things out and trying to prove ourselves. This is normal. Jung believed this part of life is necessary. But when we get close to forty, something starts to change. And this is where many people misunderstand what’s happening. Our culture often makes turning forty sound like the beginning of decline - like youth is over and everything after that is just a race to the grave. We’ve all heard the phrase “midlife crisis,” as if anyone who questions or changes their life at this stage is falling apart. Jung said the opposite. He believed that the feelings that show up around forty - the restlessness, the questioning, the sense that something is missing - are not signs of failure… but signs of growth. It’s not that life is ending. It’s that the first version of your life has done its job. You have built a life on the outside - now you are ready to understand your life on the inside. So when Jung said life begins at forty, he meant that this is the age when experience finally allows you to see yourself more clearly. It’s the point where life shifts from trying to prove who you are to simply living as who you are. So in this podcast we’re going to explore why life really begins… at forty. So here are 6 reasons why life truly begins at 40 according to Carl Jung -  01. We Spend Early Life Building a Persona 02. Midlife Opens the Door to the Inner Self 03. We Finally Understand Ourselves 04. Dreams Become the New Language 05. Opposites Seek Reunion 06. Spiritual Questions Emerge Naturally I hope you enjoyed listening to these 6 reasons why life truly begins at 40 according to Carl Jung.  Carl Jung, together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, is one of the 3 founders of psychoanalysis which is a set of psychological theories and methods aiming to release repressed emotions and experiences - in other words, to make the unconscious conscious. Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875 and died in 1961, leaving behind great works in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology and religious studies. Jung had Freud as a mentor for a good part of his career but later he departed from him. This division was painful for Jung and it led him to found his own school of psychology, called analytical psychology as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis. If classical psychoanalysis focuses on the patient’s past, as early experiences are very important in personality development, analytical psychology primarily focuses on the present, on mythology, folklore, and cultural experiences, to try to understand human consciousness. One of the most important ideas of analytical psychology which Jung founded is the process of individuation, which is the process of finding the self - something Jung considered an important task in human development. While he did not formulate a systematic philosophy, he is nonetheless considered a sophisticated philosopher - his school of thought dubbed “Jungian philosophy”. Its concepts can apply to many topics covered in the humanities and the social sciences. A good part of his work was published after his death and indeed there are still some articles written by him that to this day have yet to be published. Some of his most important books are: “Psychology of the Unconscious”, “Man and His Symbols”, “The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious”, “Modern Man In Search of a Soul”, “The Psychology of the Transference”, “Memories, Dreams, Thoughts”, and “The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious”. Besides being a great writer and a researcher, he was also an artist, a craftsman and even a builder. His contribution is enormous and there is a great deal we can learn from his works.

7 Shadow Clues That Reveal Your True Calling - Carl Jung (Jungian Philosophy). Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who believed that the human mind has two layers - the conscious, which is everything we’re aware of, and the unconscious, which holds the thoughts, emotions, and memories we’ve pushed out of awareness. And deep within that unconscious lies what Jung called the shadow - the hidden side of ourselves. We suppress these parts because, at some point, we learned they weren’t acceptable. Maybe we were told to stay quiet, to be “good,” or to hide our emotions - so we buried whatever didn’t seem to fit. But Jung believed that if we truly want to understand who we are, we have to stop running from those hidden parts and start listening to them. Because here’s the thing - your shadow isn’t just the darkness you try to hide. It also carries your unlived potential: your creativity, your voice, your courage, your power -  and often, the clues to your real calling. Jung’s philosophy is often referred to as “Jungian Philosophy”. He has also published multiple books like  The Psychology of the Unconscious, Man and His Symbols, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious, Modern Man In Search of a Soul, The Psychology of the Transference, Memories, Dreams, and Thoughts, and The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious. In this podcast, we’re going to explore 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling. So here are 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung - 01. Feeling Stuck, Numb, or Disconnected 02. Strong Reaction to Someone Else’s Behaviour 03. Repeating Patterns or Failures  04. Messages from the Dreams 05. Stories, Movies, or Characters You’re Drawn To 06. When Life Mirrors Your Inner World 07. Self-Sabotage and Avoidance I hope you enjoyed listening to these 7 shadow clues that reveal your true calling from the philosophy of Carl Jung.  Carl Jung, together with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, is one of the 3 founders of psychoanalysis which is a set of psychological theories and methods aiming to release repressed emotions and experiences - in other words, to make the unconscious conscious. Jung was born in Switzerland in 1875 and died in 1961, leaving behind great works in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology and religious studies. Jung had Freud as a mentor for a good part of his career but later he departed from him. This division was painful for Jung and it led him to found his own school of psychology, called analytical psychology as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis. If classical psychoanalysis focuses on the patient’s past, as early experiences are very important in personality development, analytical psychology primarily focuses on the present, on mythology, folklore, and cultural experiences, to try to understand human consciousness. One of the most important ideas of analytical psychology which Jung founded is the process of individuation, which is the process of finding the self - something Jung considered an important task in human development. While he did not formulate a systematic philosophy, he is nonetheless considered a sophisticated philosopher - his school of thought dubbed “Jungian philosophy”. Its concepts can apply to many topics covered in the humanities and the social sciences. A good part of his work was published after his death and indeed there are still some articles written by him that to this day have yet to be published. Some of his most important books are: “Psychology of the Unconscious”, “Man and His Symbols”, “The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious”, “Modern Man In Search of a Soul”, “The Psychology of the Transference”, “Memories, Dreams, Thoughts”, and “The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious”. Besides being a great writer and a researcher, he was also an artist, a craftsman and even a builder. His contribution is enormous and there is a great deal we can learn from his works.

Lao Tzu - 7 Taoist Morning Habits for (Almost) Limitless Energy (Taoism).  In this podcast, we will talk about 7 Taoist Morning Habits for (Almost) Limitless Energy from the philosophy of Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher who is known to be the founder of Taoism and the writer of Taoism’s most sacred text, the Tao Te Ching. So with that in mind, here are 7 Taoist Morning Habits for (Almost) Limitless Energy from the philosophy of Lao Tzu -  01. Rise with the Mao Hour 02. Open The Gates 03. Practice Zuo Wang 04. Nourish Simplicity 05. Inner Cultivation Practice 06. Connect with Nature 07. Seal the Qi We hope you enjoyed listening to this podcast and hope these 7 Taoist habits, from the philosophy of Lao Tzu, will help you change your energy. Taoism is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu which contributed to the folk religion of the people primarily in the rural areas of China and became the official religion of the country under the Tang Dynasty. Taoism is therefore both a philosophy and a religion. Taoism teaches to embrace wonder and the joy in living gracefully with style. Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer who is known to be the founder of Taoism. He is also credited as the writer of Taoism’s most sacred text, the Tao Te Ching and his words can apply to people all over the world.