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!
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May you enjoy tranquility and bliss!
What is Pneuma by Daniel Finneran?
Mindfulness for the Thinking Mind.
A soothing, soporific voice with which to calm and center yourself.
Episodes on themes as diverse as walking, sleeping, stretching, anxiety, worldly possessions, positive affirmations, lunch hours, and morning commutes. Meditations and sleep stories for every occasion at any stage of life.
From Shakespeare to the Stoics, Coleridge to the Platonists, the Buddha to the Transcendentalists, we'll borrow our wisdom from the best who have ever thought, and strengthen our minds with their collective genius.
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