Spirituality for Success Book Club October Meeting
About this Event
Meditations, Part I: The Inner Life
How do we become the kind of person we want to be—not just in principle, but in practice?
For our October book club gathering, we’re beginning a two-part journey through Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, one of the most enduring works of Stoic philosophy.
But Meditations was never intended to become a book!
Written nearly two thousand years ago by a Roman emperor facing extraordinary responsibility, uncertainty, conflict, loss, and the ordinary frustrations of being human, these reflections were Marcus Aurelius’s private conversations to himself: return to what matters. Govern your reactions. Remember that life is short. Treat others well. Do the work in front of you. Become the person you know you can be.
For our first gathering, we’ll read Books 1–6 and explore the inner work at the heart of his philosophy.
We’ll consider questions like:
- What is actually within our control—and what happens when we stop fighting what isn’t?
- How much power do our perceptions have over our experience?
- What is the difference between suppressing an emotion and governing our response to it?
- What does Aurelius believe makes a person genuinely good?
- Why does he need to remind himself of the same principles again and again?
- And what does it take to turn something we intellectually understand into something we actually live?
Read This One Slowly
Unlike a novel, Meditations isn’t a book to race through.
Pause. Underline things. Write in the margins. Notice what you resist. Notice what feels immediately true. Notice when Aurelius gives advice you’re not sure you agree with.
You don't need to understand every passage—or agree with what is written—to participate. In fact, some of our most interesting conversations may begin with the places where we don't agree!
New to the Book Club? Join Us!
You don’t need to have attended any of our previous gatherings to participate. If you're new to the club and want more information, you can email us at [email protected]. Or, you can just show up to our next meeting!
Pick up a copy of Meditations, read Books 1–6, and bring your curiosity to the table. Our book club is less interested in finding the “correct” interpretation than in using great books as starting points for thoughtful conversation, reflection, and connection.
Come with a passage you loved, an idea you questioned, or simply a willingness to listen and explore.
What might change if philosophy became something we practiced rather than simply something we believed?
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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