Ep. 15 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Marcus Aurelius and Jesus 

If going to church provided inspiration and meaning as these lectures do for me, I wouldn’t miss another Sunday Service ever again.

As a practicing/believing Christian, I am profoundly moved by how you described Jesus, Logos, kairos, metanoia, and agape. That last section was better than many a sermon I’ve heard! Thank you for showing such respect to all the religious traditions you talk about.

I have been living my life as a Cynic and now going to live as a Stoic. Thank You again John.

God my conciousness has gone up so many times throughout the series I barely feel the same man.

“Love is a modal way of being.” Possibly the most important statement I’ve ever heard.

I have studied philosophy and psychology, casually for over a decade, but this course continues to provide some real insights that I had not come across before.

Thank you for this series Mr Vervaeke. I'm not an uneducated person and yet listening to your lectures I feel like my extended education left me wholly ignorant about the roots of my own culture - no wonder we have a meaning crisis. I didn't go to university until I was in my 30s and I was surprised at how little the kids coming into university straight from A levels seemed to know. This lack of education, as opposed to a lack of schooling, seems to be getting worse as education in the UK is increasingly assessed relative to its utility in producing the right sort of workers with the right sort of skills for the economy we're going to have (in the glorious future). The only sort of education such schooling seems to provide is that one's value lies in what one has (in this instance skills but the lesson generalises) and so, it seems to me, to lead inexorably to modal confusion and to a deepening of the meaning crisis. Adam Curtis's film 'The Century of Self' comes to mind.

I almost cried during the "heaven" analogy and your personal stance on immortality. Thank you for these treasures and wisdom Professor Vervaeke

I have been sitting down on Sunday with the kids and watching an episode of your series after church. It has raised alot of interesting question from them.

'You can be happy even in a palace' I love that line. While I greatly admire The Buddha for everything thing he has done which are in some ways greater than what Marcus Aurelius did, but just because of that one line Marcus Aurelius seems so much more moral and good to me. To achieve his personal wisdom,he didn't abandon everything. He carried it all while on his journey to wisdom. So amazing, that's a great role model.

Again such an insightful episode. And when you spoke about yourself in third person as, of course, John Vervaeke, my subtitles made "John Verve a Key" out of it - which makes perfectly sense to me :-) Key experiences conveyed with a lot of verve. Thank you so much.

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” - serenity prayer

You are the only genuine ally my generation has ahead, in the name of the milleannial spirit. I most sincerely thank you for your breaking it down. It might not change the world forever on its own. but for sure what you're portraying is a huge millestone. Thank you very very much.

(c. 10:18) "The core of wisdom is knowing what's in your control and what is not."

Brilliant! Thank You!

Lately I've been toying with the idea of applying to a master's and becoming a therapist and this video convinced me.

I’ve listened to this full lecture all the way thru a few times and yet I still routinely get sucked back in when one just randomly starts playing. AMC is the Shawshank Redemption of RU-vid lectures

I'm watching this episode again. And it's blowing my mind even more than before, now that I have a stronger grasp of all the concepts. I'm glad this resource is publicly available.

Thank you

Fantastic. Your description of agape made me cry. It's so profound and beautiful.

This is bright side of youtube. Free knownledge.

ok. Noooow I am hooked. I mean the part with the budha was awesome but now you bring clarity in subjects like death and love. Wow. Best class ever.

"Love is a verb, it ain't a thing. It's not something you hold, not something you scream. If you show me love, you don't need your words. Cause love ain't a thing, love is a verb." A beautiful and insightful song by John Mayer

Hands down the best teacher and thinker on youtube. You can definitely see that he practices what he preaches and is speaking through wisdom instead of knowledge.

"You're not trying to consume the child" feel this is the kyros to mention Kronos

Sticking the cup back together to use is reward in itself.

Thank you very much, for your time and attention.

Amazing closing statement John. Connecting this to the last lecture on the wide-scale domicide experienced by so many peoples in the Roman Empire that were left in a state of existential homelessness - one can fully appreciate the draw of the Christian message in offering them personhood and spiritual citizenship.

24:08 it's ok! it's ok! shhh. it's ok, we are here. :) he is so passionate with this one!!! because this is a hard truth - "the world does not care" - or probably, the opposite - "our views are often wrong"

Wtf!!! this is such an epic and profound topic of these two names!!

"L♡ve turns animals/non-persons into a moral person" Love this💖👍

Thank you so much. Since I’ve started following you my life has become more meaningful again. I watch these videos and do your guided meditations. What makes your videos special for me that I end up feeling peaceful instead of being confused or feeling hatred towards others.

Beautiful.

Love it, this has inspired practical engagement to mental health here in Marion Ohio.

By far the most impactful lecture so far! Thank you deeply for this series John and I look forward continuing it.

Today Marcus Aurelius's birth day!

Aaaah!!!! This is your best lecture to date John! I cant wait for next week!

Thank you infinitely for your work and your insights, you're a badass.

I am currently being asked to join a mental health organization for work. I am already vice-president of my state’s National Alliance on Mental Illness and only 27, but now that my position involves managing networks of teams I have been listening to Aurelius while alone. John, I am going to be managing people who are all motivated to be in the mental health field, what content can I share with them that can explain modal confusion? The quote that: one can be happy, even in a palace, has always weighed upon me. Thank you for your efforts and your team’s help. Also, thanks for respecting Christianity enough to talk with Pageau, that conversation and your Revel Wisdom interviews are very helpful for those of us who go to church every Sunday.

wow this is brilliant, especially for people like myself and my partner who are fascinated by philosophy but couldnt afford to study it!!!

I watched the series backwards and reached enlightenment

"Would you be free from your burden of sin? There's power in the blood of Jesus." I agree with you John... an eternal existence stuck with our sin nature would be torture.

The title got me and the Debussy intro got me cozy and dialed in.

when you fuse them together you get confused, that's pretty deep

I can't believe how incredible this is and that I have access it to it. Thank you, John.

I have never before thought of the Buddha as one who shirks moral responsibilities, but that's pretty much what he did in a way.

It is always a pleasure to listen to you, professor Vervaeke. Your talks help me assess my assumptions.

I just stumbled upon this series and what a profound gift it is. You are indeed a master of the craft of teaching.

I am in awe..! Nothing more and nothing less. Totally deeply in awe.

In a situation where I have been profoundly jaded, this video series has brought about deep insights in me that have been integrated into my conscious and unconscious processes that have enabled me to facilitate the same realizations in my children. The concept of parasitic processing was pivotal. In this video, it was new understanding Agape. I owe you a great debt of gratitude.

John you have a way of teaching logos and kairos that makes me understand more in 15 minutes of your lecture than 15 years of preaching at church lol.

Thank you very much for your time and dedication.

You’re blowing my doors off John 👏

Truly an excellent and moving explanation of Jesus , My Lord.

it's a genuine privilege to watch this series.

I have been into Stoicism over the past months, reading and watching lectures. Found this series by chance mentioned on a podcast, and I’m now quite interested in following the whole set of videos. Recommend by J.B. Peterson, and complemented by books by Ryan Holiday. Thanks.

Sacred IamMortality 😊😊😊 Blessings

This is a treat. Thank you John

A marvellous episode.. a lesson on living and being.. everyone dies, but not everyone live.

Enjoyed this one...thanks Professor!

Thank you John for all this beautiful work.

I appreciate YOUR time JV ❤️🍄

God bless you for this series, thank you.

Thank you so much John. Your work is painfully deep and inspiring.

Thanks John.

These episodes are the best thing on the internet!!!! Thank you :O)

A powerful journey through the human condition. Like a curious child, he overturns the cultural touchstones and reveals beneath, we are all still there.

10:00 Totally echoes the Serenity Prayer 39:00 "I do not want to live forever..." I find this utterly courageous, humble, and admirable to proclaim, especially in the way you did. Bravo, Sir.

Thank you, John.

I enjoyed this lecture a lot. I agree that love isn't an emotion, it's rather a mode of being, a mode of relating to the world that engenders different emotions. Paul Tillich in his book " Love, Power and Justice" said that if love is just an emotion, how can it be demanded? You cannot demand someone to have a particular emotion towards something. But love is the basic moral principle in Christianity that transcends justice and is demanded of people to treat each other according to it. It stand to reason that this sort of love is agapeic.

This dude is a body snatcher!! Love this smoke!

I really like this video its good back ground sound to work or drive to. Helps me manage myself better.

Thank you John😊

The problem I have with the "I'm done now" idea, is the scope of the desire I wish to see fulfilled would take an incomprehensibly long time to see to completion... Imagine how long it would take to see every planet in the galaxy, to seed each and every one of them with life, unique life, and see each of those planet's inhabitants grow to say they truly lived. To see all that creation has to offer and then to remake creation in order to create new things for it to offer. The sad thing is, it presents a stark picture; as if what meaning is now within our grasp to comprehend is beyond the scope of our lives to obtain... In stark contrast to how it was for the majority of people throughout history. The best we can do is express it in art and call it a day.

Agape = love for a slug, got it

"When you bring a child home from the hospital, it's basically a slug." A slug with a distinctive event-meaning relationship. One of love, Agape love. This example hammered home how agape is a Modal way of being.

Wow! WOW!! Such a great lecture! Thank you, John. This video took much longer to complete, although I didn’t want it to end, because I kept rewinding to hear certain parts over again. Truly excellent, thanks! _/\_

Very deep and insightful. Thank you John for these lessons. I look forward to listening to them every Saturday. Namaste

Excellent thank you

This was probably my fav ep so far. Agape

What an incredible , I mean truly incredible episode, I became very engaged

Love the wisdom, but also giggled at the truck not caring about my happiness xdd

I've found all the episodes very interesting and I look forward to watch the rest. Something that caught my eye this time is how when you, John, started talking about Jesus, there was a cross behind you. Fun, isn't it? Was that planned in any way? Not at all fishing for any biased beliefs to be put forward, not a religious person myself at all, just always intrigued and curious about how things play out in this level of reality we're all part of at the moment.

I am not very smart. I had to re-listen to this video many times. I think about 6 times over weeks. Every time I learn something new. Just beautiful. Really beautiful. Can I use the word orgasmic? :-)

Well, John Vervaeke, you may last forever whether you like it or not. This Pre Covid-19 lecture may be the foundation of a long lasting post Covid-19 philosophy.

Life is short, but it's wide

Things are getting real.

my only problem with your description of therapy (which you describe as CBT) is that it assumes we are rational beings, and that resolving the confusion between the meaning and the event (or in CBT, the cognitive distortion ) will alleviate the depression. I don’t believe this is the case - depression is not (purely) a disorder of cognition

36:50 I think John missed the point of having a period being in heaven is about becoming or grasping or being in most proximity to the highest and most ideal good. So the point of going to heaven is not to achieve in mortality, instead immortality is just a byproduct of chasing the good

It would be awesome to have few hours of lecture about Marcus Aurelius and his work.

Being dead sounds heavenly enough to me.

Stoic exercises 1) Separating meaning from events (imagining sex as a physical process cause/event relationship 2) Kissing son goodbye every night 3) View from above (changing arena perspectives) 4) Internal Socratic dialogue

The notion of Logos manifesting as The Word in the First Moment is in Egyptian theology by 1500BCE and is hardwired into their language through the use of puns. A major selling point of Christianity because it was a major focus of philosophy and mystery religions of the time was a nullifying of the necessity of fate

It is so interesting you decided to combine Marcus A, with Jesus, I would personally like to see a lecture that combines Plato with Hegel.

42:25 - 43:17 YES!

Anyone have a decent set of notes from these lectures they would be willing to share? It'd be much appreciated.

When someone knows everything about everyone and every thing, be suspicious, very suspicious.

John, I love your work and even cited you in my final philosphy paper but can you buy another sweater?

Marcus Aurelius, portrayed by Sir⚔️Alec🗡️ Guinness, is so far the closest Epic Film🎬 representation of what we have concerning the Divine, Christed✝️Character👑of Caesar Marcus Aurelius🎯True🎺Mettle is sharpest

20:07 Shat me pants goddammit, what the hell was that noise! I was listening to you in the background and briefly had no idea from where such a demonic sound was issuing Thanks for the vids, profound stuff!