The Timeless Art of Grateful Living — The wisdom (or practice) of being grateful appears across wisdom traditions. Although philosophical and spiritual traditions often speak of gratitude in slightly different ways than we do in modern culture. Take this quote from the Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, You think this is just another day in your life…

Happiness & the Meaning of Life — Today’s meditation was part of a recent course, Happiness & the Meaning of Life, exclusively for Perennial Meditations members. The course was a wide-ranging philosophical study of the art (and science) of living well. …

On Living Deliberately — Today’s meditation is part of Reading & the Good Life, a weekly series (and Book Club) that explores classic texts on the art of living. Every Friday at Noon EST, Perennial Meditations readers are welcome to gather for connection, contemplation, and conversations on the art of living! What is Transcendentalism? Transcendentalism is an…

The Wisdom of Reading — To break bread with the dead may sound like odd (or obvious) advice. But strangely, the birth of Stoicism started with this type of suggestion. …

Lessons from Thomas Merton — Thomas Merton was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, and scholar of comparative religion. He wrote over 50 books throughout his short life, mostly on spirituality. 1. Contemplation In his classic book, New Seeds of Contemplation, Merton discussed the meaning of contemplation: “Poetry, music, and art have something in common…

Freedom, Morals, and Human Nature — For Immanuel Kant, the eighteenth-century Prussian philosopher, a morally good life is lived according to reason. Although Kant believed living a rational life is challenging, it is a profoundly worthwhile undertaking. In Choosing Freedom: A Kantian Guide to Life, philosopher Karen Stohr (a previous podcast guest) writes, To live according…

A Counterintuitive Guide to the Good Life — Today’s meditation is part of the weekly series — Letters to a Young Seeker from the Perennial Meditations newsletter. Dear Fellow Traveler, It’s interesting to think about how unique we all are. Truly one of nearly eight billion people. Yet, at the same time, we are the same. We are…

Learning to Be with Emotions — How comfortable are you with sadness? What about the sadness of others? Learning to be with our emotions is often more challenging (and necessary) than we realize. In her book How to Be Sad, journalist and author Helen Russell writes, If we aim to avoid sadness, even a little, we…

A Conversation with Julian Baggini — How does one think like a philosopher? I’ve posed this question to more than a few podcast guests. Most recently to the writer and philosopher Julian Baggini (author of the new book How to Think Like a Philosopher) for an episode of In Search of Wisdom. ‎In Search of Wisdom: Julian Baggini | How to Think Like a Philosopher on Apple Podcasts 📩 Want daily meditations (and courses) on the art of living? Sign up for Perennial Meditations…podcasts.apple.com