Weekly Wednesday Wisdom #8

Business, spirituality, and a challenge...

Greetings friends and lovers of wisdom,

As it has been a few weeks since my last newsletter, this issue summarizes much of what I’ve been consuming over February. There’s a fair amount of variety this time, with a balance between spiritually and business oriented minds.

[Photo of Hermes by Jon Butterworth on Unsplash]

Let’s dive in.

What am I reading?

Carlos Castaneda - I’ve started Journey To Ixtlan, recently gifted to me though I feel drawn to start at the beginning of the series. While Castaneda was certainly before my time, I feel inspired to read him given how significant he was to one of my close teachers.

Ben Settle - A marketer, copywriter and businessman noted for his daily emails and polarizing content. Certainly not the first nor the last to draw parallels between dating and business, he’s excellent at expressing contrarian views in a compelling way.

What am I watching?

Rich Schefren - A marketer, entrepreneur and coach that’s created a platform that could be summed up as Netflix for entrepreneurs. Many of the following sources from this week’s newsletter came from a trial of that service.

Peter Sage - An entrepreneur and speaker, his approach to describing stages of consciousness is intriguing. 

• “To me” - victim consciousness. 

• “By me” - a hustler’s mindset.

• “Through me”  - A co-creative attitude.

• “As me” - The domain of mystics, saints and sages.

Wes Watson - Ex-con turned YouTuber. This was definitely an unexpected find. Wisdom can be found in the unlikeliest of places. One takeaway that I found worth reflecting on is becoming accountable in subtler ways as we grow spiritually: first our body and actions, then our thoughts, then our energy.

John Assaraf - An entrepreneur and expert on the brain and mindset. A useful takeaway is rehearsing who we want to become very much like an actor rehearsing their role and the vital distinction between interest and commitment in achievement.

What am I listening to?

Radical Acceptance - written by Tara Brach, a noted Buddhist spiritual teacher and psychotherapist. 

Sam Harris & Robert Waldinger - The Good Life –  This podcast is about the longest running study on human happiness and its findings. In short, relationships seem to be the most important over a lifetime in terms of life satisfaction. Also – you’re never too old to make new friends or find love.

Adyashanti -- I’ve been working my way through a series of guided meditations on the Waking Up app. One of his teachings on meditation is about making three commitments: to be still, to allow, and when lost in the mind, return to the breath. Here’s his website.

Tim Ferriss & John Vervaeke – Two of my favorite people have a conversation! It did not disappoint. I wrote a primer to John Vervaeke somewhat recently in December so this was a very welcome surprise. The first ten minutes are the clearest I’ve heard John explain his Four P’s Of Knowing – propositional, procedural, perspectival and participatory. I invite you to read my primer or listen to the professor himself.

What am I thinking about?

Lately I’ve been thinking about procrastination, creative process and output, and becoming a more effective writer. Foremost on my mind is balancing or resolving the apparent conflict I have between commercial and creative interests. There’s also a yearning for less friction.

What am I working on?

Some musical material from Kenny Werner from Jazzheaven.com (an excellent resource for any jazz musician) I’m practicing is rhythmically oriented and mastering eighth notes in all their permutations. It’s been a great and humbling challenge so far and there’s a part of me that really loves working on fundamentals. I like his take that time consists of notes and rhythm is about silence. 

I’ve recently applied to join the Student Success Team at Write Of Passage where I recently completed Cohort 9. It was through that program that sparked the impetus to publish this very newsletter you’re reading.

On a parting note, I received a challenge by my men’s group to write a book. Here’s some context: I offered the inquiry, “What do you need to do before you die?” as an exercise in aligning one’s life. Writing a book came up for me as one of my items, hence the challenge. It is an interesting coincidence as I’ve recently heard unfortunate news from a friend that reinforces a sense of urgency and mortality to consider this challenge seriously.

That’s all for now.

Take care and stay wise,

Tai