Finished book #4 my notes;

Book #4 notes

And two things material can’t touch the mind. External and inert anxiety comes internally . All things you see will change as you look at them and then they will be no more. The universe is change life is judgement.

Deep thoughts about universe and accepting that we will all die. Famous or not no one will remember.

Love the art that you have learned. Give all yourself to the gods not a slave to any man!

You are a soul carrying a corpase.

The universe is one soul that we are all part of

Think no different between life to the upteenth year or life till tomorrow.

Run on the short road and nature road is short.

Finished book #3

Marcus reflects on living in the moment. The present is all we have. As we age we lose our minds to comprehend what’s going on around us.

Even the greatest of men die and are forgotten about many years into the future. Marcus rattles off Caesar killing and conquering towns only for him to die as well. Making it more assertive to live in the present.

He also reflects on being confident within yourself. Stop worrying what others are doing or thinking. Be a man follow the Gods (God for me) and be true to yourself. It is in man’s nature to work together but one must be true to what is just. If something arrives that is more just than as a man you should pursue that if not then stick with your divinity and Gods.

The path to a good life is living out what is divine in you. Since we are all created by God listen to your inner fire and don’t let others sway your consciousness and confidence.

Finished Book #2 but it was mind blowing.

I need to give it another listen before I give my thoughts and summary notes. The concept of past, present, and future are really profound in this book. Marcus is getting deep here.

I almost referred this book chapter to my male friends. I think all men should listen and think deeply about what Marcus is trying to understand about life.

Finished Book #1:

From what I can gather Marcus really loved and respected his family. He thanked the gods for giving him such a wonderful family. His father taught him integrity and his mother mercy. I think he credits his uncle to him be humble. He rejected the lavish life other rulers have lived.

Overall Marcus is very thoughtful I often think I am violating his privacy by listening to his deepest thoughts but then again he wrote them down.

He had some small quips about sex and waiting his time to indulge. The passage said something about a mistress with his a male figure in his life so I was wondering if he was molested but I doubt it.

Let’s see what Book 2 brings.

Completed the intro so far and here are some of the facts I was able to retain:

• Marcus’s dad died young he was adopted into the ruling class
• Roman names are really hard to remember and spell
• The assumption is Marcus started this reflection at around age 39 when doing military campaigns
• Was co-emperor until the other guy died instantly and then assumed the title
• Boy did Rome love titles. I couldn’t keep up with all the titles Marcus had.
• Condemned the Christians but it appears he doesn’t discuss it much in the book.
• He self reflected in Greek and thus wrote in Greek. He thought Latin was too noisy and caught up in Roman culture. Writing in Greek at the time was more of a philosophy approach to writing and self reflection.

I am sure other facts may come to mind as I haven’t started the books yet. But so far the early ideas kind of resonated with me. The comment about men after 40 feels like life is on repeat is amazing. Look forward to more of this book.

Marcus slept on the floor with a thick tunic to emulate Greek life. While he was Alive he was known to be stoic. He wasn’t link to philosophy until long after his death. Stoicism was the thing and Marcus lived it through in and out!

The thing about stoicism is about two dichotomies. Vices and virtues! And being one with nature!

Finally finished the prolog and it appears I am in for a wild ride over these 12 books. The audio book is very dense and I find my mind scrambling to remember as much as I cans

Some facts that caught attention today:

• The last full manuscript of Marcus’s Meditations is at the Vatican
• Marcus tried to pursue all the virtues that he deemed important beyond the 4 that were part of early Greek philosophy.
• Marcus used philosophy and stoicism as therapy for his inner self. The constant self reflection helped him to try and make sense of the world.

This quote is something that I think all men struggle with

“Men are at odds with their most constant companion the reason that governs all things”

Every day we are trying to make sense of the world and this quote captured that struggle.

I also liked how they point out human reason as it pertains to our sensory experiences. Getting excited about cooked chicken but in reality you are eating a dead bird and how the pursuit of sex is friction and ejecting fluid membranes and yet these simple desires drive us to crazy actions.

Is this the same Marcus Aurelius, that is the true emperor who Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, is a loyal servant to?