"This is a beautiful book, full of ideas that could help restore America’s genius for freedom and promise.”
— Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul
A lifelong Emerson lover, teacher, and spiritual seeker reveals how American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s twelve essential teachings hold the answer to living an authentic and fulfilling life, one that is in harmony with our souls.
In this wise, illuminating book, award-winning author Mark Matousek reveals how Emerson’s timeless wisdom can help us with the problems we’re facing today. America’s ‘original Stoic’ confronted many of the issues before us, from polarization to fake news, from crooked politicians and rampant materialism, to the scourge of racism.
Matousek explains that Emerson’s path of self-reliance can radically improve your quality of life. The mentor and friend of Henry David Thoreau, Emerson (aka the Oracle of Concord) was America’s first self-help author, and his nation’s conscience for half a century. Like the Stoics before him, he emphasized self-knowledge and mindfulness as paths to happiness; also, self-reliance, cooperation, non-conformity, originality, adaptability, and receptiveness.
As Americans are once again discovering the power of Stoicism, Matousek shows why Emerson’s vision is precisely the medicine we need today. The principles of Waldo’s philosophy are universal and require no spiritual faith to put into practice.
- Each person creates her own reality
- Obstacles are teachers in disguise
- Your character is your destiny
- Wonder and awe are the keys to the kingdom
- Nonconformity is the greatest virtue
- Nature is the doorway to God
- Life without self-knowledge is not worth living
Emerson encourages us to throw-off conventions and platitudes, explore ourselves in depth, tell the truth about what we find there, and awaken to our greatest potential.
“This is a beautiful book, full of ideas that could help restore America’s genius for freedom and promise.” —Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul
A lifelong Emersonian scholar, teacher, and spiritual seeker reveals how American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s twelve essential teachings hold the answer to living an authentic and fulfilling life, one that is in harmony with our souls.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a spiritual revolutionary whose profound vision of human potential came to define the American character. Known as America’s original Stoic, he offered a radical message of optimism, authenticity, and self-realization that is more necessary today than ever.
In this timely, remarkable book, noted memoirist and teacher Mark Matousek reveals the depths of Emerson’s extraordinary wisdom, demonstrating how his timeless philosophy can help us navigate the challenges of contemporary life. Using personal stories, psychological research, and life lessons from Emerson and his contemporaries—including Thoreau and Whitman—he offers practical lessons in the art of living.
They include:
ON ORIGINALITY—Character is everything
ON PERSPECTIVE—You are how you see
ON NONCONFORMITY—Build your own world
ON RESILIENCE—Without confidence, the universe is against you
ON VITALITY—A stream of power runs through you
And more
Emerson’s far-reaching vision of excellence and spiritual flourishing is the medicine we need to heal ourselves. “Trust yourself,” he teaches. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” This philosophy of hope, known as transcendentalism, is the vein of gold in the American psyche. Lessons from an American Stoic helps us to reclaim our national treasure.
