Stillness is the Key

The Book in 1 Sentence

The act of calming your mind during stressful events puts you in great company

Brief Review

Throughout history, there has been a desire rise above ones emotions. Both the religious and non-religious look to take action in their lives, but it is when we are controlled by the energy that we lose our ability to be in control. This book presents ideas and examples of the way these ideas have been used. From manual actions like take a walk through nature or other steps like journaling.

Why I Read this book

As I might have mentioned before I find myself attempting to better my mind in multiple different aspects, mainly an understanding of religion and to find a more spiritual force within myself to keep my calm as I move throughout this life. This book was recommended and I find the idea of stoicism to be something we should all look at to halt or slow our consumption of the ilk that is around us.

In-Depth Review

I listened to this on audible and very well might pick it up to read again as there are some solid quotes to pull from just as a mantra that we should have in our own mind. Ryan Holiday does a fantastic job presenting the ideas from different sources in a way that doesn't force the theology of the source on you, but provides it as a justification that each source has something of value.

His recommendations are, mostly, completely doable in todays life style with little to no sacrifice, but more a rearranging of our daily habits. Some of the examples are grossly outrageous to be able to do in today's life with the ever present need for a job that pays more, but most of the examples should serve as a framework of what to imitate.

Since this is Audible, it was read by Ryan Holiday himself and I always find that to be a much better time as you can hear the emotion of what they are thinking about during the read. He is clear and precise in his words.

How my life / behavior / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

Overall, I think I will have to read it again with taking notes about each section, but at the beginning of this year I had already started working on some of the items, specifically the journaling and the exercise. I have a goal for some activities that I want to do in the next couple years and they will require some new actions so these items will help enforce that mindset.

I will right out all the recommendations in the future below this.

Rating

This is a solid book at an 8. Pay full price and you will get your monies worth easily. It is a short read really, but packed full of information.

Recommendations from the book

Stillness is a state of clarity, contentment, peace, awe, love, fulfillment, and brilliance.

• Calm the muddy waters of your mind

Stilling the mind

• Conserve your mental energy
• Create a quiet atmosphere
• Maintain mental clarity
• Strengthen your mind

Stilling the Soul

• Heal your soul from toxicity
• Become virtuous
• Connect with something greater

Stilling the Body

• Create Order to optimize your space
• Slow down and take care of yourself
• — Take walks
• — Seek solitude
• — Stay well-rested
• Spend time wisely

Exercises for yourself:

What makes life worth living, for you? List as many as you can think of.

Looking at your list, identify the values underlying those things that make life worth living. For example, if your list includes "raising my children," the values underlying that might include love and loyalty to family.

Once you've defined your most important values, how can you reprioritize some of your time to better align with those values?