“Garbage in, garbage out.” This modern axiom holds true for computer systems, our physical bodies, and our spirit-minds. There currently exists no “wonder-drug” that will solve our mental and physical health issues. Self-care and deep healing ultimately come about by moderating and regulating our environmental inputs, habits, and mental perspectives.
Modern Western society tells us we as individuals are responsible for our own destiny. The so-called “American Dream” is predicated upon such a premise. Whether the premise is true or not, is a philosophical question many Classic authors delve into deeply.
The last stanza of the famous British poem, “Invictus,” written by William Earnest Henry (after recovering from a leg amputation) summarizes such a perspective: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” This famous phrase was ironically quoted both by President Obama at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service, and as the last words of Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, prior to his execution.
We bear profound responsibility for what we ingest into our thinking minds if these premises are indeed true. So then, what is the merit of taking precious life moments to read the passé words of “old dead guys?”
Below are 5 reasons why reading Classics can heal your mind, body, and soul:
1. Your emotional intelligence, social perception, and empathetic skills will increase.
The New York Times reported on a study that found reading Classics (verses popular culture books, i.e. “50 Shades of Grey,” etc.) had a profound positive effect upon these relational and social skills. All of these abilities connect directly to our work efficacy (since we all work with other humans) and the quality of our personal relationships. Both of these factors radically affect our overall happiness and quality of life.
Relationships are everything. The Classics are “the classics” precisely because they address these core conditions we encounter as human beings trying to live well in an often challenging world. Learning from “the Masters” increases your chances at life mastery.
2. Your personal ethics and decision-making skills can increase.
Some studies have shown that there is a measurable effect upon these areas by regularly reading Classics. The Classics are eternal precisely because they most often address the moral decisions we face as humans. Ethics, morality, decisions, all of this is what determines not only our life outcomes, but the trajectory of the history of peoples and nations. Whether essays, fiction, poetry, and in whatever time period and culture, this is the core of what Classic authors tangle with.
Tim Ferris, the successful author and entrepreneur, has keen insight into this dynamic. He was profoundly affected by reading the letters of a two millennia old Classic Stoic philosopher, Seneca. He recently released an audio compendium of the Seneca’s letters, called “The Tao of Seneca.” Many other famous business leaders, activists, and world leaders regularly indulge in reading Classics and ancient writers, so that they can have a competitive edge and enhance their own personal ethics and leadership skills. One of my own personal hero’s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was trained in reading the Classics. One would need to look far and wide find someone with a stronger moral compass than he.
3. Your mental focus and the “executive function” areas of your brain get a workout.
A recent study conducted by Michigan State University measured participants brain wave patterns connected to MRI equipment while engaged in reading Classics. They found areas of brain activity stimulated by rigorous reading enhanced participant’s ability to maintain focus in distracting environments. Their brain functioning in essence, got a “workout” that enhanced their overall life performance.
While mental focus can be enhanced by other means, such as Qigong, Tai Chi, Martial Arts and meditation, there is an intellectual advantage that comes with specifically improving one’s reading ability, vocabulary, and attention span. We communicate by speaking and writing. Exposing our minds to superior Classic writers will naturally enhance our abilities as word-crafters. Our brains need a workout as much as our other muscles do.
4. Your eyes open to your own cultural and generational prejudices.
There is something refreshing and liberating reading the perspectives of great writers who did not suffer from our generational blinders. They most surely had their own. Yet, noticing these, and analyzing these from our individual moral compass helps us to more clearly navigate the waters we traverse today.
Fish are unaware they are surrounded by water, because water seems so “obvious” to them. Read the writers of the past, and see how they too were often oblivious to the lack of morality and justice of many cultural “givens” of their day. Slavery was considered a norm by many ancient writers, the oppression of women and children, narrow bigotry and the assumption of cultural superiority, etc.
“Prisoners of Modernity”
Yet, our allegedly “evolved” times have their own lists. For example, reading only Western Cultures Classics is considered “the norm,” while each great global civilizations history has their own Classics that we from the West can read and learn from. This generation has the highest number of slaves that has ever existed, yet would you know this from reading today’s books? The treatment of animal life and the ecosystem will one day be judged as being barbaric, but so many of us are blind to these perspectives, being “prisoners of modernity.”
5. You will laugh your ass off, and laughing is great for your health.
I personally find the Classical writers and ancient authors much more funny and entertaining than 95% of what is out there now in popular media. Humans have always loved to laugh—at themselves, their predicaments, and others. Reading a humorous insight by a Classic writer is profound, because, depending on how long ago that author wrote, you become part of a chain of humanity that felt that mental liberation of laughter from the same eternal thought.
There are Classic authors known for their excellent humor. Mark Twain, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, etc. But the ones that really get me rolling are those who are sometimes unintentionally funny. I am a great fan of a book 2600 years old; “The Histories” by Herodotus. When he makes his often insightful cultural insights, or observations on his contemporaries, he is absolutely hilarious. Imagine George Carlin in a toga, speaking on some important topic with a smirk on his lips. The guy is a riot.
I love laughing. It has gotten me through many difficult times, built deep friendships, and keeps me something close to sane in an often insane world. Nobody (except my deceased brother) cracks me up more than Herodotus, Caesar, Jesus, or Mark Twain.
If Spike Lee can make a funny movie starring Samuel L. Jackson (“Chi-Raq”) based on a satirical play Aristophanes wrote 2400 years ago for ancient Greece, you may find something hilarious these old dudes thought was funny too.
As one ancient Classic states, “There is nothing new under the sun.” My own belief is that our generation is way too hung up on the powers of progress and technology. Maybe it is time we took a step back and worked on the progress necessary within our own souls. Applying the insights of Classics can help us along the way to being more wholistic and healthy human beings. For our children perhaps, should we spend a bit more time on nurturing the development of our minds, spirits and souls?
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock