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 How is your relationship with time? It might sound like a strange question, but it's essential. The American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, “Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them, and their value will never be known. Improve them, and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.” [...]

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Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on the Perennial Meditations podcast. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern living in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

In a letter known today as On Allegiance to Virtue, Seneca wrote, "You have promised to be a good man; you have enlisted under oath; that is the strongest chain that will hold you to a sound understanding. Any man will be but mocking you if he declares that this is an easy kind of soldiering. I will not have you deceived. The word of this most honorable are the same as the words of that most disgraceful one, to wit: “Through burning, imprisonment, or death by the sword.” [...]

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One of the many universal truths across wisdom traditions is the emphasis on removing desire. Epictetus and the Buddha suggested that freedom is not secured by fulfilling one’s desires but by its removal. A curious question, then, is what is the opposite of desire? [...]

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Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on the Perennial Meditations podcast. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern life in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

In a letter known today as On the Futuility of Learning Maxims, Seneca wrote, "You wish me to close these letters also, as I closed my former letters, with certain utterances taken from the chiefs of our school. But they did not interest themselves in choice extracts; the whole texture of their work is full of strength. There is unevenness, you know, when some objects rise conspicuous above others. A single tree is not remarkable if the whole forest rises to the same height." [...]

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Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on the Perennial Meditations podcast. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern life in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

In a letter known today as On Conquering the Conquerer, Seneca wrote, "Just as in a ship that springs a leak, you can always stop the first or the second crack, but when many holes begin to open and let in water, the gaping hull cannot be saved; similarly, in an old man’s body, there is a certain limit up to which you can sustain and prop its weakness. But when it comes to resemble a decrepit building, when every joint begins to spread and while one is being repaired, another falls apart—then it is time for a man to look about him and consider how he may get out." [...]

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We don’t often consider creativity a prerequisite to living a good life. But one can reasonably view life as the ultimate creative pursuit. Existential thinking encourages living life as a work of art. Nietzsche wrote that creativity may be required to become who we are or who we may want to be. [...]

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Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on the Perennial Meditations podcast. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern life in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

In a letter known today as On Old Age and Death, Seneca wrote, "I was just lately telling you that I was within sight of old age. I am now afraid that I have left old age behind me. For some other word would now apply to my years, or at any rate to my body, since old age means a time of life that is weary rather than crushed. You may rate me in the worn-out class of those who are nearing the end." [...]

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How practical is your philosophy of life? The Zen Master D.T. Suzuki wrote that there is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. When it comes to Zen — the whole point is to be practical. [...]

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Welcome to Sundays with Seneca on the Perennial Meditations podcast. Join the search for ancient lessons for modern life in the writing and Stoic philosophy of Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

In a letter known today as On the True Joy Which Comes from Philosophy, Seneca wrote to Lucilius, "Do you suppose that I shall write you how kindly the winter season has dealt with us—a short season and a mild one—or what a nasty spring we are having—cold weather out of season—and all the other trivialities which people write when they are at a loss for topics of conversation? No, I shall communicate something which may help both you and myself. And what shall this “something” be, if not an exhortation to the soundness of mind? Do you ask what is the foundation of a sound mind? It is not to find joy in useless things. I said that it was the foundation; it is really the pinnacle." [...]

Thank you for listening; I hope you found something useful.

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In the Enchiridion (or Handbook), the philosopher Epictetus asks: “How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?” If you’re listening to Perennial Meditations — one can reasonably assume you’re interested in improving yourself. However, the question, at least according to Epictetus, is how serious are you about making progress? [...]

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