Daily Devotional: October 14th

Ides Eve

Hymn for the Ides Eve

O Jove, exalted lord of skies,

Thy power no mortal can despise.

With thunderbolt and eagle's flight,

Thou reignest in celestial light.

On this eve of Ides we call,

To thee, the mightiest of all.

Grant us wisdom, strength, and grace,

To face each challenge we embrace.

In thee, the fates their course align,

With justice pure and will divine.

Protect our homes, our sacred ties,

And bless the paths where virtue lies.

O Jove, supreme in heaven’s dome,

Guide our hearts, our spirits’ home.

To thee we lift our prayers, our voice,

In thy great power, we rejoice.

Daily Meditation

"Those who do not punish bad men are really wishing that good men be injured.”

—Pythagoras

Sentance 166

Evil proliferates in society by giving leniency to criminals and other bad men. This leniency is idiot-compassion—the veneer of virtue masquerading as mercy. When authorities fail to punish criminals, they are responsible for the criminal offending again and bear the blame. People must be punished for their crimes not because it reforms them but because justice demands it.

Monthly Ascesis: Breath and the Pneuma

“In the Western classical tradition, the words for spirit and soul - pneuma, psyche, anima, and spiritus hold profound significance. Interestingly, each of these words also carries the meaning of breath or to breathe. This linguistic connection underscores the belief that breath is the essence of life. In the myth of Prometheus, for instance, it was Minerva’s breath that animated the clay figures of man, giving them life.”

The breath is one of our most powerful tools for spiritual practice and is directly linked to our souls. When we speed up our breathing, our mind speeds up. When we slow it down, our mind slows. Controlling our breath is a leap forward for control of the self and our passions.

“Once you have fixed your breath, you can start to focus on it and use it as an instrument to still the mind. With each breath, there will be a slight pause at the top of the breath and a slight pause at the end of each exhalation. To increase stillness, we will let our minds come to rest in the pause following the exhalation. Breathe out and rest in that moment between breaths. When you feel the need to breathe in again, then do so and come back around to the rest point of the next exhalation.”

-Excerpts from, Ascesis: the Handbook of Platonic Practice

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