14 JUL 2025 by ideonexus
Zen and the Art of Mastering Something
Every one of the arts which have been discussed involves a technical training which follows the same essential principles as training in Zen. The best account of this training thus far available in a Western language is Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, which is the author's story of his own experience under a master of the Japanese bow. To this should be added the already mentioned letter on Zen and swordsmanship ( kendo ) by the seventeenth-century master Takuan, translated by Suz...Folksonomies: zen
Folksonomies: zen
14 JUL 2025 by ideonexus
Grasping for Nirvana is Grasping
"If my grasping of life involves me in a vicious circle, how am I to learn not to grasp? How can I try to let go when trying is precisely not letting go?" Stated in another way, to try not to grasp is the same thing as to grasp, since its motivation is the same-my urgent desire to save myself from a difficulty. I cannot get rid of this desire, since it is one and the same desire as the desire to get rid of it! This is the familiar, everyday problem of the psychological "doublebind," of creati...Folksonomies: zen
Folksonomies: zen
07 DEC 2024 by ideonexus
What is Prosochē?
The brief definition offered above provides some insight into the Stoic concept of prosochē; however, I do not think it draws out its full meaning and richness. My own understanding of the concept was furthered by the following descriptions of prosochē from various authors:
A “fundamental attitude” of “continuous attention, which means constant tension and consciousness, as well as vigilance exercised at every moment.”
Being “perfectly aware not only of what [one] is doing, but ...Folksonomies: mindfulness stoicism
Folksonomies: mindfulness stoicism
07 DEC 2024 by ideonexus
Aurelius Quotes on Mindfulness
2.8 Rarely is a person seen to be in a bad way because he has failed to attend to what is happening in someone else’s soul, but those who fail to pay careful attention to the motions of their own souls are bound to be in a wretched state.
2.11 Let your every action, word, and thought be those of one who could depart from life at any moment.
3.4 Do not waste what remains of your life in forming impressions about others, unless you are doing so with reference to the common good. For you are...Folksonomies: mindfulness stoicism
Folksonomies: mindfulness stoicism
06 JUL 2024 by ideonexus
Games Offer Perfect Unfreedom
In The Sims, things proliferate. Or rather, the skins of things. You can have many different kinds of sofa, or coffee table, or lamp shade, but the meter is running, so to speak. You have to make more money to buy more things. But some gamers who play The Sims trifle with the game rather than play it. These gamers are not interested in ‘winning’ the game, they are interested in details, in furniture, or telling stories, or creating interesting worlds. If a cheat is someone who ignores the...Folksonomies: gamespace
Folksonomies: gamespace
30 MAY 2024 by ideonexus
Enjoyment, Satisfaction, and Purpose
Arthur C. Brooks: There are three macronutrients to happiness. They are enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose. People who are truly happy about their lives, they have all three. And they have them in abundance, and they have them in balance. And people who are out of balance [with] enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose tend to define themselves as unhappy. They know that something is wrong with their happiness.
So that’s where I want to start. And I want to start with the first of those, whi...23 SEP 2023 by ideonexus
Withdrawing Attention is Civil Disobediance
Civil disobedience in the attention economy means withdrawing attention. But doing that by loudly quitting Facebook and then tweeting about it is the same mistake as thinking that the imaginary Pera is a real island that we can reach by boat. A real withdrawal of attention happens first and foremost in the mind. What is needed, then, is not a “once-and-for-all†type of quitting but ongoing training: the ability not just to withdraw attention, but to invest it somewhere else, to en...18 NOV 2021 by ideonexus
Personal Growth is Not Hoarding Knowledge
Personal growth is about figuring things out and gaining experience, not hoarding knowledge. An attitude that promotes discovering the new and the valuable is far more important. Thus, your tactics and strategy should always be changing and evolving. Adopt fresh tactics regularly to replace your old ones. Today is more important than yesterday.
What's yours is not the new technique, but rather the effort that goes into unearthing it. Knowing what's needed to make those discoveries will allow...Folksonomies: self-improvement
Folksonomies: self-improvement
02 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Consider the Longevity of the Knowledge You Consume
While most of us focus on consuming information that we won’t care about next month, let alone next year, Buffett focused on knowledge and companies that change very, very slowly or not at all. And because the information he was learning changed slowly he could compound his knowledge over time. And as Schroeder notes, Buffett has been in business for a long time, giving him incredible opportunities to create a cumulative base of knowledge.
Expiring information is sexy but it’s not knowle...Folksonomies: mind hacks
Folksonomies: mind hacks
20 NOV 2018 by ideonexus