Links to resources that I have found useful on Taoism, Stoicism, Art, Art History, Photography and other things.
Articles and Texts Online:
- Taopage.org/Texts – wonderful selection of core Taoist texts online in a variety of translations. Home page is a great resources for broad topics on Taoism.
- The Golden Elixer / Texts – The Golden Elixer has links to Taoist texts along with many articles and posts about Taoism, with a focus on internal alchemy from a historical and theoretical perspective for those who are interested in practice.
Online Photography Archives:
- Fotostiftung Schweiz – Swiss photography and history museum with a fully-accessible online archive of more than 34,000 photographs from the mid-twentieth century.
Books:
- “Inside The Photograph: Writings on Twentieth-Century Photography”, Peter C. Bunnell, Aperture press. This book collects a series of essays and articles discussing specific photographers and elements of their work through the twentieth century. It is a wide ranging and comprehensive look at the individuals and themes that drove change throughout the century when photography in America was really going through a gold age of exploration, experimentation and introspection.
- “Cognitive Motivation: From Curiosity to Identify, Purpose and Meaning”, David Beswick Cambridge press. This book is an in depth and thoroughly researched exploration of the psychological systems at play for how we explore and develop our understanding or our world and ourselves. This was a core text for developing my focus on Curiosity, and goes into the science far more carefully than I am able.
Podcasts:
- What’s This Tao All About? – Contemporary podcast that explores Taoism in the modern world with a focus on making accessible for everyone in a heart-felt and humorous way. These guys make me smile each episode and tie the philosophy back to everyday life.
- The Stoic Psychologist – Podcast approaching Stoic ideas through the lens of psychology through interviews and book reviews. I appreciate the earnest interviews and technical details that tease out interesting aspects of the philosophy and how we as humans interact in the world.
- Artist Decoded – Podcast featuring interviews with contemporary artists from diverse fields. Focus on intersection of art and life and individual philosophy rather than technicalities of the art. Deep, non-linear and honest interviews. This podcast has continued to inspire and challenge my practice. One of the few art podcasts that doesn’t let itself get tied up in the details, rather gives a window into who the artist is and how art is a consequence of their character.
Books:
- Tao, The Watercourse Way – Alan Watts. This books provides a beautiful and deep description of Taoism, presented with compassion for humanity and a deep desire to provide readers with an entirely new perspective on their relationship with themselves and the world around them.
- Meditations – Marcus Auralius. Short writings from a Roman emperor to himself about the nature of life and his place within in. Stunning and poignant reflections on human emotion and the human condition, with a constant focus on how to live with virtue.
- Tao Te Ching – Gia Fu-Feng and Jane English translation, with images by Jane English. This version of the core Taoist text uses a contemporary translation and beautiful photography to bring the mysterious text to life.
- Chuang Tsu Inner Chapters – Gia Fu-Feng and Jane English translation, with images by Jane English. This text is considered the second most important text of the Taoist canon and is written as short stories and anecdotes, often with great humor. A wonderful companion to the Tao Te Ching offering a different avenue of approach to the core ideas.
- Seneca: Letters From a Stoic – Seneca. Writings on Stoicism from a Roman aristocrat and educator to his protégé. These are longer format philosophical texts that get deep into arguments and analysis of core Stoic concepts while also using Seneca’s year’s long life experience as perspective.
Lens Taoism 