
This is the profound morality of fairy-tales; which, so far from being lawless, go to the root of all law. Instead of finding (like common books of ethics) a rationalistic basis for each Commandment, they find the great mystical basis for all Commandments. We are in this fairyland on sufferance; it is not for us to quarrel with the conditions under which we enjoy this wild vision of the world. The vetoes are indeed extraordinary, but then so are the concessions. - G.K. Chesterton, Fairy Tales
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Feb 1, 2024
1 hr 4 min

The Way of combat strategy can be likened to the craft of carpentry. Comparing samurai with carpenters is related to the subject of “houses.” We speak of noble houses, warrior houses and the “Four Houses.” We also talk of the collapse or continuation of a house. In the arts we refer to a school or tradition as a house. It is because the label “house” is employed as such that I draw parallels with the carpenter’s Way. The word “carpenter” (dai-ku) is written with the two ideograms meaning “great” and “craft.” The Way of combat strategy is also a “great craft,” which is why I relate it to the carpenter’s endowments. Study the content of these scrolls carefully if you seek to become accomplished in the craft of war. Train assiduously, with the teacher serving as the needle and the student as the thread.
Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings
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Jan 24, 2024
1 hr 30 min

“Never fail to have this attitude of mind, go forward without hurry, learn the essence of things through frequent experiences, taking advantage of every occasion. Fight against all kinds of people and be aware of their mind. Follow a road that is a thousand leagues long one step at a time. Be without haste and be convinced that all these practices are the duty of a bushi. Be victorious today over what you were yesterday; tomorrow be victorious over your clumsiness and then also over your skill. Practice in accordance with what I have written without letting your mind deviate from the way.” ― Miyamoto Musashi, The Complete Book of Five Rings
Spotterup Article: https://spotterup.com/mastering-the-art-of-self-control/
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Jan 17, 2024
1 hr 5 min

I got lost in the tall grass of my thoughts after promising at the front end of the podcast that I wasn't going to do it! So, I discuss confidence versus overconfidence, finding your passion, and being a life-long student.
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Dec 27, 2023
1 hr

The Child that was ere worlds begun(… We need but walk a little way,We need but see a latch undone …)The Child that played with moon and sunIs playing with a little hay. - G.K. Chesterton, Aleteia
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Dec 20, 2023
33 min

“Any passion can become an addiction; but then how to distinguish between the two? The central question is: who’s in charge, the individual or their behavior? It’s possible to rule a passion, but an obsessive passion that a person is unable to rule is an addiction…If in doubt, ask yourself one simple question: given the harm you’re doing to yourself and others, are you willing to stop? If not, you’re addicted. And if you’re unable to renounce the behavior or to keep your pledge when you do, you’re addicted.”
Gabor Maté, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
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Dec 14, 2023
1 hr 8 min

“the spirit of wickedness in high places is now so powerful and many-headed in its incarnations that there seems nothing more to do than personally refuse to worship any of the hydras' heads.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, quote from The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays
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Dec 6, 2023
1 hr 26 min

Myths, Lewis told Tolkien, were "lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver."
"No," Tolkien replied. "They are not lies." Far from being lies, they were the best way sometimes the only way of conveying truths that would otherwise remain inexpressible. We have come from God, Tolkien argued, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily toward the true harbor, whereas materialistic "progress" leads only to the abyss and the power of evil.
Building on this philosophy of myth, Tolkien explained to Lewis that the story of Christ was the true myth at the very heart of history and at the very root of reality. Whereas the pagan myths were manifestations of God expressing Himself through the minds of poets, using the images of their "mythopoeia" to reveal fragments of His eternal truth, the true myth of Christ was a manifestation of God expressing Himself through Himself, with himself, and in Himself. God, in the Incarnation, had revealed Himself as the ultimate poet who was creating reality, the true poem or true myth, in His own image. Thus, in a divinely inspired paradox, myth was revealed as the ultimate realism.
Links: https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/art/j-r-r-tolkien-truth-and-myth.html
Link: http://www.tolkien.ro/text/JRR%20Tolkien%20-%20Mythopoeia.pdf
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Nov 29, 2023
1 hr 3 min

“After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
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Nov 22, 2023
1 hr 22 min

In this episode, I read three early Anglo-Saxon texts: The Lorica of Loding, Precepts, and Vainglory. Each poem offers encouragement and hope to those who are in need of protection, wisdom, and guidance in spiritual and earthly matters. They also offer us another way to see the world, which to modern eyes, may seem strange and even fantastical.
Links:
Lorica of Loding:https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/08/01/the-lorica-of-gildas/
Precepts & Vainglory: https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/
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Nov 17, 2023
1 hr 16 min
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