Lessons from an American stoic : how Emerson can change your life

Lessons from an American stoic How Emerson can change your life

Mark Matousek

Book - 2023

"A lifelong Emerson lover, teacher, and spiritual seeker reveals how American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson's twelve essential teachings hold the answer to living an authentic and fulfilling life, one that is in harmony with our souls"--

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Subjects
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, > 1803-1882 > Philosophy.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, > 1803-1882.
Self-reliance.
Self-actualization (Psychology)
Philosophy.
Essays.
Self-help publications.
Genres
Essays
Self-help publications
Published
New York, NY : HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Mark Matousek (author, -)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xxiii, 260 pages ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-260).
ISBN
9780063059696
  • Key to Abbreviations
  • Preface: Falling in Love with Emerson
  • Introduction: Trust Yourself
  • Lesson 1. On Originality
  • Character Is Everything
  • Becoming Yourself
  • You Are Interesting
  • Follow the Bliss
  • On Wilderness
  • Gifts of the Shadow
  • Lesson 2. On Perspective
  • You Are How You See
  • The Laboratory of Experience
  • Your Brain Is Plastic
  • Write It Down
  • Beyond the "Me Story"
  • Irrational and Unpredictable
  • Lesson 3. On Nonconformity
  • Build Your Own World
  • Society Is Not Your Friend
  • Don't Be Too Good
  • Be Youthful and Impetuous
  • Popularity Is for Dolls
  • Lesson 4. On Contradiction
  • Everything Is Double
  • Working with Paradox
  • The Other Is You
  • Turn the Obstacle Upside Down
  • Flesh and Spirit
  • Lesson 5. On Resilience
  • Without Confidence, the Universe Is Against You
  • The Cost of Living
  • Why Does Not Exist in Nature
  • Power and Circumstance
  • Lesson 6. On Vitality
  • A Stream of Power Runs Through You
  • Locating the Source
  • The World Is Not Two
  • Learning from Nature
  • One Mind
  • Lesson 7. On Courage
  • The Death of Fear
  • Face Forward
  • Equal to the Task
  • High Anxiety
  • Fear of Freedom
  • Lesson 8. On Intimacy
  • Love Is the Masterpiece of Nature
  • A Thorn in the Flesh
  • Truth and Tenderness
  • Love Isn't Personal
  • Lesson 9. On Adversity
  • When It Is Dark Enough, You Can See the Stars
  • The House of Pain
  • Include All Things in Your Gratitude
  • After the Ruin, the Resurrection Is Sure
  • Lesson 10. On Optimism
  • The Soul Refuses Limits
  • Lightening Up
  • The Substance of Hope
  • The Moral Sentiment
  • Science and Optimism
  • Lesson 11. On Awe
  • The Proper Emotion Is Wonder
  • Express Your Astonishment
  • Time Stops
  • Shock and Awe
  • Lesson 12. On Enlightenment
  • Your Giant Goes with You Wherever You Go
  • Rational Transcendence
  • Stop Worshipping the Past
  • Expanding the Circle
  • Spiritual Exercises
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this contemplative essay collection, memoirist Matousek (When You're Falling, Dive) draws life lessons from the philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803--1882), "the eloquent voice of America's conscience." Specifically, Matousek focuses on Emerson's thinking on self-reliance, and how it can "dispel the illusion of our powerlessness" in a society that can feel fragile or dangerous. The author encourages readers to "cultivate the art of being alone" to develop self-knowledge ("With practice, solitude becomes the 'place where we are least alone'"), forge resilience that's inextricable from vulnerability (or, as Emerson wrote, "Our strength grows out of our weakness"), and adopt a practice of journaling (Emerson's journal was his "closest companion" beginning at age 14). Emerson's worldview is cogently conveyed, and readers will find comfort in his principles' staying power and the knowledge that what Matousek dubs America's current "torn-in-half feeling of tenuous survival" is anything but new. Those looking for commonsense guidance to a more self-directed life will find it here. (June)

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