Ewen's Newsletter - July 17, 2024
Ewen's Newsletter - July 17, 2024
Hi All
Here’s this week’s newsletter.
Remember, you can refer a friend and earn rewards. More info below.
Film: The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973)
Synopsis: In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.
Undervalued Films page - Watch Trailer
Book: Four Archetypes
About: The concept of the archetype is crucial to Jung's radical interpretation of the human mind. Jung believed that every person partakes of a universal or collective unconscious that persists through generations. The origins of the concept can be traced to his very first publication in 1902 and it remained central to his thought throughout his life. As well as explaining the theoretical background behind the idea, in Four Archetypes Jung describes the four archetypes that he considers fundamental to the psychological make-up of every mother, rebirth, spirit and trickster. Exploring their role in myth, fairytale and scripture, Jung engages the reader in discoveries that challenge and enlighten the ways we perceive ourselves and others.
Music: Life’s Too Short
Artist: Metahesh
Undervalued Music page - Listen
Reflections
"The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend." - Henry David Thoreau
"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place." - Laozi
"Not all those who wander are lost." - J. R. R. Tolkien
"Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength." - Phil Jackson
"All phenomena are preceded by the mind, created by the mind, and have the mind as their master." - The Buddha
Project Update
Last week, a reader messaged me asking if they could get a copy of my book The Philosophy of Focus. I have actually abandoned all my non-fiction books for a number of reasons, however, there are two reasons that come front of mind:
Those non-fiction books are not a real representation of who I am right now. I am an entirely different person, and I wouldn’t want those books to represent me.
I’m aware that this point seems odd, but I don’t like to give people advice. The reason why is what people usually view as better or the best is really a reversion to the mean. In other words, to be better or to be the best at something is often to be the most average at that thing. And this comes about by taking other people’s advice. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from and correct your own mistakes. But to abide by what other people tell you to do will only lead you to being average. And my perspective is that people should become who they are. But for people to become who they are, by implication, they can’t be taking advice from other people. So I’ve done away with advice giving and taking and just focus on correcting my own mistakes.
Having written all this, I did feel bad about my interaction with this reader. Honestly, I kind of felt that my communication with this reader could easily have been construed as brushing the reader off to the side. And I don’t like doing that to people.
So, what I decided to do over the weekend was take the ideas that I found fun from The Philosophy of Focus and rewrote and condensed them down into a much more concise and friendlier read, and made it a reward for referring a friend. When you refer my newsletter to a friend and they join, you’ll be sent this revised version of The Philosophy of Focus. There is also a snippet of it below so you can see for yourself if it’s something you’d be interested in.
Grateful For
This week, I’m most grateful for books, especially books on Zen, Buddhism and Taoism.
What are you grateful for this week? (You’re welcome to share with me. But I encourage you to share your gratitude with those close to you)
Video
Want to more?
Receive free & exclusive long-form reflections by referring a friend:
Here’s a snippet of the first reflection:
The Philosophy of Focus
When I was younger, I used to have a very set way of looking at the world. Like most growing up, I used to have an unwavering set of beliefs that were almost stuck on me. But as I’ve gotten older, all those beliefs have gradually fallen away to the point where I can’t even remember most of what I used to believe in. And now I don’t hold any beliefs. None whatsoever. And I am aware that this is quite antithetical to what most tell us. People say “You have to believe in something”, “You have to believe in yourself”, etc., etc. But I don’t believe in anything anymore.
What has brought this on has been my widened perspective. As I’ve come to new realisations of life, I’ve realised more ways in which I could disprove my beliefs. And quite naturally, my beliefs have eased. It’s not that I don’t have thoughts anymore. It’s just that I don’t believe any of my thoughts are true. They’re just words that float through my mind.
But what does all this have to do with focus?…
Film
Watch my film Śūnyatā:
Books
If you haven’t already, grab both my books The Flow of All Things and The Shadow Stalker for free by clicking the covers:
Thanks for checking out this week’s newsletter. If you have any feedback or would just like to say “Hi”, you can simply reply to this newsletter. I do my best to respond to every email.
Have a great rest of your week.
Cheers,
Ewen