Pneuma with Daniel Finneran

How should we think about our manifold worldly possessions?--the cars, clothes, houses, boats, bags, and countless fancy electronic gadgets by which we’re everywhere surrounded (and, whether we notice their encroachment on us or not, increasingly consumed?) Do we submit to and agree to be enslaved by them? Or, resisting their claim on us, do we fight, renounce, and abstain from them entirely? Perh...

Your complete guide to establishing (and maintaining) an impeccable posture! Listen to this episode, incorporate its tips, and you'll be the envy of the slouching world. This episode has everything you need to know in order to stand in a strong, graceful, poised, and self-confident way. Above all, remember the words of Oscar Wilde: "Style is largely dependent on the way the chin is worn". Wear it...

In this episode of “Jog Your Mind”, I share with you the strange, stimulating, and, above all, unscripted thoughts by which my little brain is filled while running. Immediately upon finishing my run, I hop on my spin bike, turn on my microphone, and record those very thoughts for your listening pleasure. In this episode, we cover the wonders of childhood; the Biblical exhortation that we become as...

“In the deep heart of man, care builds her nest, Over secret woes she broodeth there, Sleepless she rocks herself and scareth joy and rest” Listen to this episode, and un-build care's brooding, scary nest.  Quiet your cares, silence your worries, and enjoy a blissful night of sleep.  Be sure to subscribe to this channel, leave a 5-star rating, and send me a flattering review in the morning! Sweet...

In this inaugural episode of “Jog Your Mind”, I share with you the strange, stimulating, and, above all, unscripted thoughts by which my little brain is filled while running. Immediately upon finishing my run, I hop on my spin bike, turn on my microphone, and record those very thoughts for your listening pleasure. In this episode, we cover perfect happiness; sublime felicity; whether or not you’ve...

My advice to you this summer: Sun yourself like a Cynic! That's right--like a Cynic! Diogenes the Dog, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy, liked nothing better than to bask all day in the sun. Perhaps he didn't know that, by so doing, he was generating vitamin D, increasing his testosterone, heightening his serotonin, setting his Circadian clock, and extending his life. He just knew how to...

The second episode of my "Sleep Story" series, with which I hope to facilitate your transition to sleep.  In this episode, I read to you an excerpt from Benjamin Disraeli's "Sybil".  In it, we meet the titular character, Sybil, as she meditates on the deep, unbridgeable chasm in English society--the gap between the landed and landless, the rich and poor, the conquerors and oppressed--just before e...

#sleep #bedtimestories #calm #relaxation #books  “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” This was the first recorded episode of my "Sleep Story" series, with which I hoped, and continue to hope, to facilitate your...

Venerated for his authorship of the Declaration of Independence, detested for his refusal, not only during, but after his life to emancipate his slaves, Thomas Jefferson inhabits, in the minds of many, an ambivalent place. He certainly does in mine. That said, I urge you to reserve your judgment on a man from whom, all these years later, so much good advice and practical wisdom can still be gather...

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Can a simple thought truly influence your destiny? Can a state of mind, so easily adopted, really make you into the person whom you want to be? Join me on this episode as we explore the power of thoughts and how they, more than...

I grant you, it all sounds a little bit too "hippie" and "green", too earthy and primitive for you, my civilized and sophisticated listener, but you'll be absolutely AMAZED by how transcendent it can be to simply examine, admire, and celebrate a tree--that marvel of nature by which, almost everywhere you look, you're quietly surrounded (and, if you'll notice, made to feel quite small). Appreciatin...

“O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, that thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down and steep my senses in forgetfulness?” - Shakespeare Let’s reacquaint ourselves with gentle sleep. Let’s return to Nature’s soft nurse, into whose cozy bosom we hasten when the night is near. Beginning at sunrise, ending at bedtime, this episode will give you simple tips to have a...

Upon allllllll the rest of the world, it seems, sleep has been bestowed. Under the soft, caressing weight of warm covers, everyone's at peace. None stirs, none moves, none frets. All have retired to that blissful realm of dreams. From you, and you alone, this welcome gift's withheld. To you alone is the slumberous gate to heaven barred. No longer. I will lead you through it. I will guide you back...

Every philosopher worth his salt has put forth, in one way or another, a theory of the "Good Life", and the means by which this universal goal to be obtained. In his pursuit of the "Good Life" or, Eudaimonia, each philosopher offered his unique guidance. Aristotle advised the cultivation and practice of the virtues. Aristippos suggested indulgence and sybaritic excess. Zeno encouraged a life of St...

In America, two mass shootings have occurred in as many weeks. In all, thirty-one innocent lives have been claimed, and countless others traumatized by the dual horror to which they bore witness. In this episode, I share with you my personal reflections on these two atrocities--that by which Buffalo, NY, and that by which Uvalde, TX were plagued. I share with you how I approach and think about the...

Notice the sweet spring breeze: In what direction is it blowing? Does it carry with it, along its airy stream, the delicious fragrance of the season, that intoxicating mix of primrose, honeysuckle, and sweet iced tea? Of lilac, saw-dust, and fresh-mowed grass? Ground your feet, gather your breath, begin to walk and...bathe in the breeze with me!

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of nature in her naked dress, her blushing innocence, her primitive form–a form from which, with all our technology, comfort, and progress, we’re so far removed.  Listen to her song—it’s a masterwork of nature. It’s grander than Beethoven; more majestic than Mozart; more sublime than Debussy.  All it lacks is ears, your ears, with which to appreciate its native gen...

What is the ultimate state of being of which we’re all in pursuit? To what sort of existence do we all aspire? The answer is simple: Eudaimonia. Eudaimonia, that highest end to which every philosophical school is in service, is more than happiness, pleasure, or the base sensual gratification derived from touch or taste. It’s a state of unperturbable contentment, sober fulfilment, tranquility, virt...

"What wondrous life is this I lead! Ripe apples drop about my head; the luscious clusters of the vine upon my mouth do crush their wine; The nectarine and curious peach into my hands themselves do reach; Stumbling on melons, as I pass, ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass." A short, poetic meditation brought to us by Andrew Marvell. Most suitable for Spring!

Trapped in a line in the checkout aisle of the grocery store? If so, I can think of no better opportunity to practice mindfulness! Let's share fifteen thoughtful, reflective minutes as we wait for this line to move.

Shall we become Saunterers, one and all? The word is beautifully derived from idle people who roved about the country, in the Middle Ages, and asked charity, under pretense of going "à la Sainte Terre"--to the Holy Land. Eventually, seeing so many travelers pass along their crowded streets, the children exclaimed, “There goes a Sainte-Terrer”, a Saunterer, a Holy-Lander. Every walk, so long as it’...

“The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. You should be awakened by your own newly acquired force and aspirations from within, accompanied by the undulations of celestial music—to a higher life than that from which you fell asleep”. Hark! Can you hear that divine music, to which only the most sensitive ears of morning are attuned? This early symphony fills...

"If a man should stand by a limpid pure spring, and curse it, the spring never ceases sending up potable water; and if he should cast clay into it or filth, it will speedily disperse them and wash them out, and will not be at all polluted. How then shalt thou possess a perpetual fountain?" How will you be pure of mind, wholesome of spirit, unblemished by nonsense, and cleansed of the corruptions b...

Immerse thyself in mindfulness as you soak up the glories of a shower.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way”. If your attitude is such that it never consents to be bothered, unbothered you shall be.