greek philosophy

The concept of the Unimaginable “I” is one to which, so far as I can tell, the Czech-French writer, Milan Kundera, is chiefly responsible for having given life. 

Kundera, twice expelled from the Czech Communist Party (of which he was, in his youth, a devout member) published a book in 1984 entitled The Unbearable Lightness of Being, about which I talk, at some length, on my sister channel, Finneran’s Wake (Check it out on Podcast/YouTube!) 

In the book, Kundera contemplates the idea of the Unimaginable “I”, to which today’s episode is dedicated. 

If you find this content different and stimulating, enlightening and soothing, do consider giving it a “thumbs-up” or a five-star rating. Be sure to share it with friends and family and subscribe to this channel. 

With affection,

Daniel

This episode of Books for Men is a short recap of all the episodes from May '23. There was (1) nonfiction book, (1) work of fiction, and (1) edition of From the Vault. I also share some big updates for BooksforMen.org, like full episode transcripts, new tabs, etc. Listen for more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting the podcast. Any of the three things below will help provide awareness for the initiative—inspiring (more) men to read and bringing together men who do. (Ladies, of course, you're always welcome!)

1. Share with a friend or on social media
2. Subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform
3. Leave a rating or review

Visit BooksforMen.org to sign up for the Books for Men newsletter, a monthly round-up of every episode with full book and author info, all the best quotes, and newsletter-only book recommendations!

To breathe deeply into the abdomen with the diaphragm–that’s precisely the way in which Nature intended us to breathe! 

And yet…

We’ve unlearned this simple technique (for which a remedial lesson is urgently needed!)

Together, let’s relearn how to breathe properly. 

Follow along, and–within a few minutes’ time–you’ll significantly improve the quality of each breath. You’ll lower your stress, improve the structure of your palate and face, and appear much more confident and refined. 

Be sure to subscribe to this channel and share it with a friend and a family member. 

Check out my other channel, Finneran’s Wake, on which I conduct long-form conversations with an amazing cast of guests. 

With affection,
Daniel

Since its inception in Autumn of 2022, Pneuma has accumulated 50,000 downloads (almost exclusively on Spotify)!

I just want to take this opportunity to THANK everyone for supporting this channel and for helping our community grow. Behind every number is a person, a deeply complex and unique human being, to whom I extend my sincerest gratitude. 

It’s my goal for Pneuma to become the FIRST (and perhaps only!) place you visit when in need of a soothing voice and a thoughtful word. 

A soothing voice and a thoughtful word: To you, dear friend and listener, I’ll never fail to deliver these things. 

Affectionately yours,

Daniel

Are you ready? 

Here’s the secret: 

Gaining mastery over your emotions is as simple as replacing one word with another. 

When angry, do you say: “I am angry”? 

Try this: the next time that you’re visited by the emotion of anger, simply substitute the word “feel” for “am”. 

“I feel angry” is much different from “I am angry”. 

Feelings are fleeting. They are visitors to which you can either open or close your door. Being is a bit more permanent. 

Once you perceive your emotions as visitors, you can gain control over their coming and going. 

I hope this meditation is helpful! 

If so, please subscribe to this channel and share this episode with an (overly emotional!) friend.

Be sure to check out my other channel, Finneran’s Wake, on which I host profoundly insightful and endlessly edifying conversations. 

With affection,
Daniel

Through winter-time we call on spring,

And through the spring on summer call,

And when abounding hedges ring

Declare that winter’s best of all…

–WB Yeats

Is it not the case that we’re incessantly looking ahead to the future? 

That we very seldom stop and appreciate the season in which we’re living? 

That we live not in the present moment, in the sacred “here and now”, but in the distant times and places to which our hopes and fears drag us?  

No more! 

In this episode, we’ll discuss how to live in the “here and now”! 

Borrowing from the wisdom of the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats and the American Transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau, we’ll learn how to “live in each season as it passes”. 

We’ll learn how to be fully present and immersed in the Now. 

Tell me: Do YOU live in each season as it passes? Or are you constantly yearning for a cooler, or warmer, or more festive time of year? 

Respond in the comments section below! 

Be sure to “like” this episode and share it with a friend and family member. 

Subscribe to my channel for new material!

In a previous episode, we meditated over a question than which, in my opinion, there simply is none bigger, more profound, nor more important: 

“TO BE, OR NOT TO BE”. 

(Or, in other words: to keep on living, or to give up and die).

This is the famously quotable line with which Act III of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” opens. 

Hamlet, the troubled Prince of Denmark does what he does best: he dithers. I suppose, ultimately, he decides NOT to be (a decision for which nearly everyone close to him suffers). 

In “Paradise Lost”, the great epic written by John Milton, an unlikely proponent of the “TO BE” position, Belial (one of Satan’s fellow demons!) comes forth and answers Hamlet. 

He says, in short: 

“To be no more; sad cure; for who would lose, 

Though full of pain, this intellectual being”? 

Join in this fascinating meditation as we explore a devil’s “pro-life” response to Shakespeare’s Hamlet! 

Become a part of the Pneuma family (16 members strong!) by subscribing to this channel. “Like” this episode, give it a good rating, and share it with a loved one. 

Leave me a note in the comments section below, or send me an email directly at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

Check out my other project @finneranswake, available on YouTube and Podcast streaming services. 

May you enjoy tranquility and bliss! 

zzzzZZZZzzzz

😴😴😴

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to this episode of “Fall Asleep With Me”.

In this series, I read classic bedtime stories to which you can (and most assuredly WILL) fall asleep. 

Tonight’s episode is a sleepy, dream-inducing reading of “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. 

For what it’s worth…

I’m not so sure the mischievous, misbehaving, wolf-boy Max is totally deserving of the hot supper (served to him in his bedroom, mind you!) to which he returns, but it’s a fantastic story regardless. 

I think you'll enjoy it. 

Tell me in the comments below: should Max have returned home to his hot supper? Should he have gone to bed hungry? Should he have stayed with the Wild Things? 

Please subscribe to this channel for many more sleepy bedtime stories and soothing meditations to which the whole family can listen along.

Don’t it always seem to go

That you don’t know what you’ve got

Till it’s gone…

The legendary Joni Mitchell (to whom the Counting Crows don’t hold a candle!) said it best: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. 

GK Chesterton, the great English essayist, cultural critic, and Christian apologist of the early 20th-century wrote something very similar in his article, “On Being Moved”. In it, he said: “For it is the point of all deprivation that it (deprivation) sharpens the idea of value”. 

The joined and timeless wisdom of Mitchell and Chesterton will be the focus of today's meditation. 

Use it to cultivate a sense of gratitude, to expand your consciousness, to calm your nerves, and to reflect on the objects–be they little or big–that you possess, but seldom appreciate. 

I hope that you enjoy this episode. 

If so, be sure to subscribe to this channel for MUCH more original content to come.  

“Like” this video, share it with a friend and loved one, and comment below.

Send me an email directly at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

Visit my sister channel, finneranswake (finneranswake.com), on which I host long-form conversations with fascinating people. 

Affectionately yours,

Daniel

Shhhh! 

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to this special bedtime episode of Pneuma.

This is a sleepy, dream-inducing reading of “Goodnight Moon”--a book to which, so far as I can tell, the entire English-speaking world has been falling asleep since its publication way back in 1947. 

Can you believe that this timeless book (of which every newborn child is the recipient!) is over three-quarters of a CENTURY old? 

There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular and enduring bedtime stories. 

Tonight, you can choose to read along with me, or just listen to my voice as you drift away to a placid land of dreams.  

Either way, I can assure you: we’ll be asleep before you know it! 

When you wake, be sure to “like” this episode and share it with a friend. 

Tell me in the comments below: to whom do you most enjoy saying “Goodnight”? 

The cow? 

The mouse? 

The mush? 

Please subscribe to this channel for many more sleepy bedtime stories and soothing meditations to which the whole family can listen along.

#sleep #bedtime #sleepmeditation #bedtimestories #sleepy #asmr #childrensbooks #soothing 

Good morning! 

Are you looking to boost your confidence as you prepare for the trials and tribulations of the day ahead? 

Are you looking to uplift your spirit and strengthen your resolve as you embark upon a new and daunting journey? 

I can assure you: you’ve come to the right place! 

Take a seat, close your eyes, attend to your breathing, and join me on this 15-minute affirmation meditation, at the end of which your confidence will be completely restored. 

You’ll exit this meditation equipped (spiritually, if not physically!) to go out there and conquer the world. 

If you find this type of meditation encouraging and helpful, please share it with a friend. 

“Like” this video, leave  me a note in the comments section below, and email me at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

And, of course, subscribe to this channel! I hope to grow with you and to be the voice of calm upon which you can always rely, no matter the circumstance, whenever you’re in need. 

Blessings,

Daniel

No doubt—this world in which we live is a crazy one! 

From political unrest, to economic uncertainty, to global pandemics, and interminable wars, you might begin to feel as if there’s no escape. 

Rest assured, there is. 

The path is simple: all you need to do is retire into yourself and find your inner peace. 

Join me on this soothing meditation to rediscover your inner peace and, above all, to keep your calm in what is, by any measure, an increasingly crazy world! 

Like this episode, share it with a friend, and Subscribe to this channel! 

Send me a note at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com 

Jason Stephenson is the founder and host of the wildly popular YouTube channel, “Jason Stephenson: Sleep Meditation Music” to which some 3 million people (and counting!) are subscribed. 

Since joining the platform in 2011, Jason’s videos on sleep, mindfulness, meditation, music, nature, life, and breathing have amassed over 700 million views–a number to which I’m honored to say I’ve contributed!

In this conversation, Jason and I discuss…

His tumultuous background and how it led him to a life devoted to wellness; quitting his job in order to pursue his true passion; the prodigious growth of his YouTube channel; becoming a full-time “content creator”; how he formulates ideas and approaches the writing process; his diet, consumption of caffeine, and daily/nightly regimen; the importance of community; the role of religion; his atheistic upbringing; his experience in a Buddhist temple and a Christian Church; life in Australia; the epidemic of anxiety and depression in the West; his advice to young YouTubers beginning their journey, and MUCH more! 

Links to Jason’s stuff: 

Website:
https://www.jasonstephenson.net/lp/sleep-meditation/free-sleep-meditation

Enter your email address and receive a mindfulness MP3! 

YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@jasonstephensonmeditation

Jason’s other YouTube channels: 
https://www.youtube.com/@jasonstephensonmeditation/channels

Links to my stuff: 

(My original site): Finneranswake.com 

Listen to this and all episodes of Finneran’s Wake on your favorite podcast streaming service: 
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/74eUg83Q8zOgaRA5EBuzyl?si=871b6aa8082146af. 
Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finnerans-wake/id1560923796. 

–

Pneumameditations.com

For Sleep Stories
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx_8UKeM6leybSC3ZgKsh9A

Or, check out the podcast for mindfulness exercises and calming talks: 
https://open.spotify.com/show/6b9DBhemWHvEy0wiiBHwYo?si=05b5fc8e12a84050

Please, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message (to which, I assure you, I’ll promptly respond!) 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080972774597
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielethanfinneran/
Twitter: @DanielEFinneran

Email me at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

#conversation #sleep #meditation #wellness 

William Butler (WB) Yeats (1865 - 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and statesman. 

A poet to whom I was introduced at the tender age of twelve, Yeats has continued to inhabit a special place in my heart. 

His finest work, in my opinion, is "Sailing to Byzantium". After the collapse of Rome in the fifth century AD, the center of European culture shifted east to the Golden Horn. Renamed "Constantinople" after the famed Christian Emperor, Byzantium was, to Yeats, the spiritual homeland to which, in a modern world overcome by materialism, he yearned to return. 

The tone of the poem, at its beginning, is wistful: Yeats, now an old man, feels like a stranger in both his time and place. The world around him abounds in flesh, sensuality, youth, and lust. It is, as he says, "no country for old men". 

No. 

The country in which he belongs, for which he pines, and to which, by way of his poetry, he'll take us, is that of the spirit. 

Subscribe, like, leave a five-star rating, and share this with friends. Send me poem recommendations at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

Thank you! 

The 4-7-8 breathing exercise, of which the great Dr. Andrew Weil is widely-acknowledged to be the inventor, is simple and effective. You need only do the following: inhale for 4 seconds; hold the breath for 7 seconds; and exhale for 8 seconds. That constitutes one cycle. You'll then repeat this sequence for a total of four cycles. Perform this at least twice a day. 

A little "behind the scenes": this episode, which was completely unscripted, was recorded while I was sitting on the beach. Sadly, I was a bit too far away from the shoreline to capture the calming music of the waves. Instead, I got a background full of the clamorous din of a jet plane flying up above! For that, I offer you my sincerest apology. 

I hope, nevertheless, you enjoy this episode. 

Send comments and criticisms to pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

Visit my sister project, finneranswake.com and the "Finneran's Wake" YouTube channel and podcast. 

The Antikythera Mechanism, an astronomical computer probably crafted in Rhodes in the second century BCE, is regarded as being the first precision, gear driven calculator and the forerunner of modern computers.  Found by sponge-divers as a corroded lump in a 2,100-year-old Roman-era shipwreck in the early 1900's, it is one of the most advanced examples of technology ever discovered from the ancient world.  The level of genius revealed by this wondrous mechanism has fascinated and astounded historians for decades.
A historian of science and a staunch environmental advocate, Dr. Evaggelos Vallianatos returns to Claremont Speaks to relate how the mechanism was created, lost, found and then studied and investigated.  From that foundation, he extrapolates the implications to what today's society could have been had the mechanism and the guiding philosophies and purposes that created it been allowed to flourish.
This interview provides a window into how the achievements and lessons of the past speak loudly as cautionary tales regarding the efforts and pursuits of technology today, and how crucial it is to continually measure the ongoing advancement by whether it is truly good for all of society, not simply to enrich corporate coffers.
Caution: listening to this episode may foster a deeper curiosity about the Antikythera Mechanism and how ancient Greek philosophy, if applied to today's technological advances, might very well help, instead of continue to damage, today's environment.

==============================================

For more on the Antikythera Mechanism

Dr. Vallianatos' book,  The Antikythera Mechanism: The Story Behind the Genius of the Greek Computer and its Demise
Available on Amazon

Dr. Vallianatos' presentation on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/8nNbiLf2_Fs

To contact Dr. Vallianatos, please email claremontspeaks@gmail.com.

Feedback, questions, comments, constructive criticism are all welcomed and encouraged.
Send to claremontspeaks@gmail.com with Feedback in the subject line, or go to the appropriate page on Claremont Speaks' website - https://www.claremontspeaks.com

Claremont Speaks is a Paradise Road Media production. PRM is dedicated to helping you create, launch and produce your own podcast, allowing you to focus on being the creator while PRM does the rest. To explore using the power of your own podcast for your self or to promote your business, charity, political group...or any other reason...email paradiseroadmedia@gmail.com.

The title says it all! After a peaceful morning spent reading on the beach, I took a few minutes to absorb all the natural beauty, tranquility, picturesqueness, and happiness that surrounded me. Join me and interrupt your day with the gentle sound of waves rolling on the beach, wind blowing through the trees, laughter dancing in the air, music echoing in every direction, and--the least euphonious of the aforementioned--my calming voice leading you through a simple breathing exercise. 

Visit my website at pneumameditation.com and send me an email at pneuma.finneran@gmail.com

Visit my sister podcast/youtube channel at finneranswake.com

Thinkers and philosophers of ancient times sorted out much in the way of living a meaningful and purposeful life. But after thousands of years of progress, material growth, and convenience, we largely fail to find meaning in our modern lives. Today we examine the philosophy of eudaimonia and how we can truly develop our sense of meaning and purpose.