After the complete mental vacation afforded by reading the Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars trilogy I have taken a turn for the philosophical. Last weekend I read "The Art of Living" a modernization of the Encheiridion, the philosophy of Epictetus in pithy bite-sized pieces. I followed it up this week durring my commute with "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, the stream of consciousness personal diary of a Roman Philosopher-Emperor. This has rekindled my taste for Roman Stoicism, having previously read "Letters from a Stoic", "On Benefits", and "On The Shortness of Life" by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. I am especially intrigued by the strong similarity between the beliefs of the Stoics and the teachings I received at the Vipassana Meditation center of Mr. S. N. Goenka. I have resolved to spend the time to attend another 10 day course, I suspect I will benefit from the householder's practice.
