Need More Inspiration?

The amount of content that we have access to in the modern world can be overwhelming at times. Interested in learning how to live out a more tranquil and happy life through philosophy? Here’s a curated list of places where I absorb, process and implement wisdom on my journey of self-improvement. I hope you find these to be helpful and as always, let me know if you have any recommendations for me to check out!

Books

The traditional medium by which humans have used to pass on knowledge for many years, books are a fantastic way to gain wisdom. The key is to interact with the text. Highlight and makes notes as you read. Then ruminate, make connections and implement key notions. Come back and re-read texts, for you will gain something new each time.

On Western Philosophy (Classic Texts)

• Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays (2004)
• The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness by Epictetus and Sharon Lebell (2013)
• Discourses, Fragments, Handbook (Oxford World's Classics) by Epictetus, Robin Hard and Christopher Gill (2014)
• Letters on Ethics: To Lucilius by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Margaret Graver and A.A Long (2015)

On Western Philosophy (Modern Commentary)

• Lives of Michel Foucault by David Macey (1993)
• Philosophy as a Way of Life by Pierre Hadot (1995)
• The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman (2016)
• At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell (2016)
• How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson (2019)
• The Quest for Character by Massimo Pigliucci (2022)

On Eastern Philosophy (Classic Texts)

• Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English (1998)
• Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings translated by Burton Watson (1996)
• Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu translated by Victor Mair (2000)
• Chuang Tzu: A New Selected Translation with an Exposition of the Philosophy of Kuo Hsiang by Fung Yu-lan (1989)
• Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living by Eva Wong (1995)

On Eastern Philosophy (Modern Commentary)

• A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation by Chad Hansen (1992)
• No death, no fear: Comforting wisdom for life by Thich Nhat Hanh (2002)
• The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton (2010)
• The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Professor Michael J. Puett and Christine Gross-Loh (2017)
• Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Cook Ding by Roel Sterckx (2019)
• Zen Wisdom for the Anxious: Simple Advice from a Zen Buddhist Monk by Shinsuke Hosokawa (2020)
• I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad (2022)

On Living

• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973)
• Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great by Joshua Medcalf (2015)
• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (1946)
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)
• Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn (1994)
• Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up by Norman Fischer (2003)
• The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy (2019)
• Philosophy and Life: Exploring the Great Questions of How to Live by A.C Grayling (2023)
• Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love by Oren Jay Sofer (2023)
• When Skies Are Gray: A Grieving Mother's Lullaby by Lindsey M. Henke (2024)

Academic Research

The beauty of reading from academic journals is that you have access to high quality research, which often has been peer-reviewed and undergone a rigorous editing process. Ideas and concepts are thoroughly discussed and debated, serving as a trustworthy source of information.

NB. References are in APA 7th format.

• Bai, H., Scott, C., & Donald, B. (2009). Contemplative pedagogy and revitalization of teacher education. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 55(3). https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v55i3.55330
• Bai, H., Eppert, C., Scott, C., Tait, S., & Nguyen, T. (2015). Towards intercultural philosophy of education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 34, 635-649. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-014-9444-1
• Culham, T., & Lin, J. (2020). Daoist cultivation of qi and virtue for life, wisdom, and learning. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44947-6
• Guenther, L. (2018). “I Must Be Emerald and Keep My Color”: Ancient Roman Stoicism in the Middle School Classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 88(2), 209-226. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-88.2.209
• Gunnlaugson, O., Cueto de Souza, R., Zhao, S., Yee, A., Scott, C., & Bai, H. (2023). Revisiting the nature of transformative learning experiences in contemplative higher education. Journal of Transformative Education, 21(1), 84-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344621106728
• Holowchak, M. A. (2009). Education as Training for Life: Stoic teachers as physicians of the soul. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41(2), 166-184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00384.x
• Low, R. Y. (2021). The mind and teachers in the classroom: exploring definitions of mindfulness. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70384-4
• Miller, J. P. (2022). Taoism, Teaching, and Learning: A Nature-Based Approach to Education. University of Toronto Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctv333ksts
• Niesche, R., & Haase, M. (2012). Emotions and ethics: A Foucauldian framework for becoming an ethical educator. Educational philosophy and theory, 44(3), 276-288. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00655.x
• Pigliucci, M. (2020). Stoic Therapy for Today’s Troubles. In The Routledge Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy (pp. 384-396). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351168120
• Pignatelli, F. (2015). Ethical leadership development as care of the self: A Foucauldian perspective. Schools, 12(2), 198-213. https://doi.org/10.1086/683214
• Robertson, D. J. (2016). The Stoic influence on modern psychotherapy. In The Routledge handbook of the stoic tradition (pp. 394-408). Routledge. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.sydney.edu.au/10.4324/9781315771588
• Sharpe, M., & Ure, M. (2021). Philosophy as a Way of Life: History, Dimensions, Directions. Bloomsbury Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350102170
• Wah, S. S. (2010). Confucianism and Chinese leadership. Chinese management studies. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506141011074165
• Whiting, K., Konstantakos, L., Misiaszek, G., Simpson, E., & Carmona, L. G. (2018). Education for the sustainable global citizen: What can we learn from stoic philosophy and freirean environmental pedagogies?. Education Sciences, 8(4), 204. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8040204
• Wu, J., & Wenning, M. (2016). The postsecular turn in education: Lessons from the mindfulness movement and the revival of confucian academies. Studies in Philosophy and Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-016-9513-8

Podcasts

Listening in on meaningful conversations add immense value to my life. Since discovering these amazing channels, I have gained enormous amounts of insight and takeaways about various philosophical ideas which have improved the way I perceive or operate in the world. The best part is that you can easily put one of these on whilst driving to work, going for a walk or cleaning the house!

• Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast hosted by Timber Hawkeye

Timber Hawkeye offers a secular approach to being at peace with the world, both within and around us.

• Happy Place hosted by Fearne Cotton

Fearne Cotton talks to incredible people about life, love, loss, and everything in-between as she reveals what happiness means to them.

• The Daily Stoic hosted by Ryan Holiday

Hosted by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday, the podcast features the audio version of the popular Daily Stoic email meditations. A short 2-3 minute Stoic inspired meditation designed to help you live your best life.

• The Happiness Lab hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos

Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale — the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history — The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

• The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living hosted by Dan Casas-Murray

This podcast is for the Tao Curious, those looking for a random bit of wisdom once in awhile, or for those who want to dive into this wonderful teaching.

• The Way Out Is In hosted by Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino

This podcast series explores the late Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh’s (1926-2022) deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy. It is aimed at helping us to transcend our fear and anger so that we can be more engaged in the world in a way that develops love and compassion. The title reflects his calligraphy, where the way out of any difficulty is to look deeply within, gain insights and then put them into practice.

Disclaimer

These recommendations are not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, maintained, authorised, or sponsored by any third-parties.