As I continue to laud these wise men of ancient times, I share with you an inspiring post that support my claims that ancient philsosophy can do much to help your self-development in all areas of modern life.
Read the following excerpt from the post ‘Ancient Philosophy and Modern Personal Development’ written by Stephen Cox:
Read part 1 of the series: ‘Manly P. Hall’s Lessons of Self-Unfoldment (Part 1): Personal Growth’.
I wish to share with you selected passages from the book ‘Self-unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization’
This book contains many wise lessons and practical instructions on how we can penetrate deep within ourselves so to understand the Truth of who we are, and how we fit into this universal existence.
The ultimate aim is to attain the self-knowledge for us to grow effortlessly towards wisdom and a blessed life.
I am still in the process of reading this fascinating book, and will endeavor to post more enlightening and insightful passages as I go along.
Hicks: The smoking "Truth-Seeker" of comedy
I now like to turn your attention to the late Bill Hicks, who was in the same mould as George Carlin, featured in the post ‘The Wise and True Prophets of Comedy (Part 1): George Carlin’.
In fact, the young Bill Hicks was very much inspired/influenced by the older George’s style and subject matter.
Fortunately for us lost deceived souls, Hicks decided to produce and to display his own brand of social commentating and irreverent comedy.
Carlin: The "Socrates" of comedy
Wisdom and Truth can be garnered from the most unlikely of places – none more so than the spectacle of stand-up comedy. So I’d like to introduce you all to two such past comedic greats who can be considered true prophets of their craft.
The comedians in question were George Carlin and Bill Hicks, who both penetrated our conscience, and raised our consciousness with their pinpoint insights and observations into all the pretentious bullshit and hypocrisy that society propagated and continues to propagate – not to mention, provoking uncontrollable laughter at the same time.
Both Carlin’s and Hicks’ social and political views were considered controversial at the time – but controversy does not mean that they were wrong.
American writer, historian, and philosopher Will Durant describes wisdom in his own intelligent and eloquent way.
Read the following excerpt of ‘What is Wisdom?’ by Durant:
“What is wisdom? I feel like a droplet of spray which proudly poised for a moment on the crest of a wave, undertakes to analyze the sea.
Ideally, wisdom is total perspective — seeing an object, event, or idea in all its pertinent relationships. Spinoza defined wisdom as seeing things sub specie eternitatis, in view of eternity; I suggest defining it as seeing things sub specie totius, in view of the whole.
Obviously we can only approach such total perspective; to possess it would be to be God. The first lesson of philosophy is that philosophy is the study of any part of experience in the light of our whole experience; the second lesson is that the philosopher is a very small part in a very large whole. Just as philosopher means not a “possessor” but a “lover” of wisdom, so we can only seek wisdom devotedly, like a lover fated, as on Keats’ Grecian urn, never to possess, but only to desire. Perhaps it is more blessed to desire than to possess.
Shall we have examples? Rain falls; you mourn that your tennis games must be postponed; you are not a philosopher. But you console yourself with the thought, “How grateful the parched earth will be for the rain!” You have seen the event in a larger perspective, and you are beginning to approach wisdom.”
Please read the rest of this fascinating article here.
Read more…
The great American poet Walt Whitman was a shining influence for Marty Rubin, who now produces great wisdom of his own in the form of aphorisms
My like-minded friend, Marty Rubin who is also known as nothingprofound on BlogCatalog, is a man of pure wisdom and creator of thought-provoking aphorisms which are, despite his alias, nothing but profound.
So without further ado, here I shall present you with a select few of Marty’s words of wisdom:
Whenever I do nothing I feel I’ve accomplished a lot.
What variety is to life, contradiction is to the mind.
The flea that doubts doesn’t jump nearly as high.
Water flows because it’s willing.
Looking in the mirror is seeing what other people see.
If it’s work you’re trying too hard.
To hate everything is to be wounded by everything.
The old philosophers knew so little; that’s why they were so wise.
The air lets the arrow pass right through.
In the wind, more leaves tremble than any theory can account for.
If the light’s not in you, you’re in the dark.
Someone told me the world is round, but I’m checking it out for myself.
Please take the time to visit Marty’s blogs Out Of Context: pieces of a life and Aphorism of the Day to sample more of his delightful aphorisms.
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