Today I am happy to report that I spent some time updating the site, some time evaluating where this blog is going and most importantly meditating on the hard choice that is to be as honest and as vulnerable as possible. I mean, it's not like more than 10 people are reading this now, (hi Nicole!) but even then my flight/fight response is demanding I edit my thoughts. However, I've had so much fun writing the past few days that even if I change my mind on any subject, I promised myself to never go back and tweak anything. So in the spirit of peeling back the layers of my inner life, it made sense to create a good reading list for myself to learn from the best philosophers and thinkers in human history. (I can hear my book-club members screaming) (SERIOUSLY GUYS, I can read both lists!)
This assignment is a lil ambitious, but I think I can do a book a month. After doing some re-search, these are the books I've landed on for the rest of the year:
July: Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
August: Modern Man in Search of a Soul by Carl Jung
Considered by many to be one of the most important books in the field of psychology, Modern Man in Search of a Soul is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of Carl Gustav Jung. In this book, Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the field of analytical psychology, including dream analysis, the primitive unconscious, and the relationship between psychology and religion. Additionally, Jung looks at the differences between his theories and those of Sigmund Freud, providing a valuable basis for anyone interested in the fundamentals of psychoanalysis.
September: Maps of Meaning. The Architecture of Belief by Jordan Peterson
Why have people from different cultures and eras formulated myths and stories with similar structures? What does this similarity tell us about the mind, morality, and structure of the world itself? Jordan Peterson offers a provocative new hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated. A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind.
October: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzche
Represents Nietzsche's attempt to sum up his philosophy. In nine parts the book is designed to give the reader a comprehensive idea of Nietzsche's thought and style: they span "The Prejudices of Philsophers," "The Free Spirit," religion, morals, scholarship, "Our Virtues," "Peoples and Fatherlands," and "What Is Noble," as well as epigrams and a concluding poem. Beyond Good and Evil is one of the most remarkable and influential books of the nineteenth century.
November: Being and Nothingness by Jean Paul Sartre
In Being and Nothingness, Sartre writes with some debts to Heidegger, to demonstrate the existence of free will. Wide ranging, he explains in part how man is obsessed by the idea of “completion”, what Sartre calls literally “a being that causes itself”, which many religions and philosophers identify as God. Being and Nothingness is considered Sartre’s most important philosophical work.
December: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote meditations during his experiences administrating the Roman Empire and during his life as a warrior. He outlines a timeless philosophy of commitment to virtue above pleasure, tranquility above happiness, and perhaps most importantly, a search for inner peace in the face of an endlessly changing and chaotic world. Highly practical for everyday life
(All book descriptions taken from Amazon)
And the fun doesn't end with this list. I'm sure my thoughts will make themselves known in this blog, but if you'd like to read along and have more in depth discussions- join the forum! It could be a fun conversation, or a place to share insights in general. Also comments are now possible! wooot.
Leave a comment. And let's examine life together :)
XOXO
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