Basic Principles of Objectivism CDs/ Six Pillars of Self Esteem

[SherryTX]

I recently bought Nathaniel Branden's cd lecture set through the TAS bookstore (YAY for the deep discounts they were offering since they are clearing out their book store - or else I would have had to wait several more months to save up for it!).

I have gone through the first few lectures, and just finished up "The Nature of God" lecture.

So far, it is a really great series of lectures. I have been listening to them in the car as a taxi the family around and do errands, since I seem to spend my life as a taxi driver lately it makes me feel like I am making good use of the time haha.

On another note, I am almost finished with his book "The Six Pillars of Self Esteem". Phenomenal! I wish this was required reading for every parent and teacher. I admit that when I bought the book I thought to myself "Well, I won't learn anything new here, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce what I already know." I was surprised there were quite a few things that I hadn't thought of before that he points out. I won't go into details, as those details would fall under the topic "too much information", but I can truly state that this book has helped me clarify a few things in my personal life that I hadn't really thought of in depth. (I found his book at HalfPrice, but I think I am going to call around the other HalfPrice bookstores and see if anyone else has a copy so I can have a spare to lend out to a few of my relatives.)

Anyway, I know many here have listened to the lectures, and has read this book. But for those that haven't, I really think both are worth the time and money.

[Alfonso Jones]

I recently bought Nathaniel Branden's cd lecture set through the TAS bookstore (YAY for the deep discounts they were offering since they are clearing out their book store - or else I would have had to wait several more months to save up for it!).

I have gone through the first few lectures, and just finished up "The Nature of God" lecture.

So far, it is a really great series of lectures. I have been listening to them in the car as a taxi the family around and do errands, since I seem to spend my life as a taxi driver lately it makes me feel like I am making good use of the time haha.

On another note, I am almost finished with his book "The Six Pillars of Self Esteem". Phenomenal! I wish this was required reading for every parent and teacher. I admit that when I bought the book I thought to myself "Well, I won't learn anything new here, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce what I already know." I was surprised there were quite a few things that I hadn't thought of before that he points out. I won't go into details, as those details would fall under the topic "too much information", but I can truly state that this book has helped me clarify a few things in my personal life that I hadn't really thought of in depth. (I found his book at HalfPrice, but I think I am going to call around the other HalfPrice bookstores and see if anyone else has a copy so I can have a spare to lend out to a few of my relatives.)

Anyway, I know many here have listened to the lectures, and has read this book. But for those that haven't, I really think both are worth the time and money.

That's a pleasant memory - the first exposure to those lectures. I am glad that you are having this opportunity now.

Bill P

[SherryTX]

I recently bought Nathaniel Branden's cd lecture set through the TAS bookstore (YAY for the deep discounts they were offering since they are clearing out their book store - or else I would have had to wait several more months to save up for it!).

I have gone through the first few lectures, and just finished up "The Nature of God" lecture.

So far, it is a really great series of lectures. I have been listening to them in the car as a taxi the family around and do errands, since I seem to spend my life as a taxi driver lately it makes me feel like I am making good use of the time haha.

On another note, I am almost finished with his book "The Six Pillars of Self Esteem". Phenomenal! I wish this was required reading for every parent and teacher. I admit that when I bought the book I thought to myself "Well, I won't learn anything new here, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce what I already know." I was surprised there were quite a few things that I hadn't thought of before that he points out. I won't go into details, as those details would fall under the topic "too much information", but I can truly state that this book has helped me clarify a few things in my personal life that I hadn't really thought of in depth. (I found his book at HalfPrice, but I think I am going to call around the other HalfPrice bookstores and see if anyone else has a copy so I can have a spare to lend out to a few of my relatives.)

Anyway, I know many here have listened to the lectures, and has read this book. But for those that haven't, I really think both are worth the time and money.

That's a pleasant memory - the first exposure to those lectures. I am glad that you are having this opportunity now.

Bill P

The book and the lectures have been very helpful keeping me positive. I was laid off about 2 months ago, and though I am usually a pretty upbeat person, I have to admit for several weeks it really had me down. I am a recruiter, and usually have a good grasp on the job market for my field locally, but things have been really bad due to the economy in general. I realized that I was spending way too much time focusing on the negative things about my situation instead of working on how I could better my life. Listening to the lectures and reading the book both are helping to remind me that I am responsible for my life and own happiness regardless of external situations that can make things difficult. My goal - or you could even say purpose - right now is to focus on the other areas in life I can improve on. There are a lot haha, and I am grateful that Ayn Rand published her novels and essays, and that there are a lot of great people that have written about her philosophy.

The most important thing I am finding, especially with his book, is that Branden lays out a way to actually put Objectivism principles in practice to improve one's life. I am not saying other Objectivist authors haven't done that - but his Six Pillars book and Tara Smith's book on Ayn Rand's Ethics are the two I have read so far that show how on a very personal level why it is truly the only philosophy for living on earth.

Sometimes I feel like a nerd because I still get excited about what I am learning hahah. I hope my kids as they get older will experience the same "aha!" moments and excited I have had the past few years since my husband and I started studying the philosophy.

[Alfonso Jones]

Ouch! A difficult time. Our MBA students here in Shanghai are also going through job change issues (they quit to come to our school, and then search for a job as graduation draws near) which are tougher this year than in years past.

Incidentally - I grew up in the Dallas / Fort WOrth area, specifically in Arlington. Then, earned my M.S. and PhD at Southern Methodist University.

Bill P

[SherryTX]

Ouch! A difficult time. Our MBA students here in Shanghai are also going through job change issues (they quit to come to our school, and then search for a job as graduation draws near) which are tougher this year than in years past.

Incidentally - I grew up in the Dallas / Fort WOrth area, specifically in Arlington. Then, earned my M.S. and PhD at Southern Methodist University.

Bill P

My husband grew up in the Arlington area. It is nice down in the Fort Worth side, but I insisted on moving north of Dallas because I needed to be near more Yankees - it was much easier to for me and my then young son to adjust. TX is like a different country!

It has been rough - but fortunately, my manager was brutally honest about the situation so I had months to prepare, and we were able to pay down some bills and prepare for cutting back on several things. In fact, hopefully if my former employer doesn't call me back (I worked from home so that would be ideal), or if I don't find something to work nights and weekends (so I can continue to home school my daughter) we will be able to live on my husband's salary by the time my UI benefits run out. It involves a lot of math on my part (oh the part I don't enjoy) and really forcing myself not to evade the reality of the budget haha, but I have to say my husband and I both are in a better place mentally regarding money the past 6 months than we have ever been. I contribute that totally to trying to apply the philosophy. For years we were guilty of personal financial evasion, and so are still undoing the harm we created. But, ti feels good to know that even though our income has been cut down by 30 or 40% that we won't lose the house, the car, or have to sell any of the kids on eBay. =)

[tjohnson]

The most important thing I am finding, especially with his book, is that Branden lays out a way to actually put Objectivism principles in practice to improve one's life. I am not saying other Objectivist authors haven't done that - but his Six Pillars book and Tara Smith's book on Ayn Rand's Ethics are the two I have read so far that show how on a very personal level why it is truly the only philosophy for living on earth.

Sometimes I feel like a nerd because I still get excited about what I am learning hahah. I hope my kids as they get older will experience the same "aha!" moments and excited I have had the past few years since my husband and I started studying the philosophy.

I wrote this here http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/in...ost&p=40128

Nobody responded

I read this transcription of a speech by Nathaniel Branden here http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writin...AndHazards.html

I found this quite fascinating because during my brief exposure to Objectivism and comparing it to General Semantics I feel that Dr. Branden came to many conclusions I also did. The most important, in my opinion, is the lack of a method to reach the goals of Objectivism in an individual - goals that are shared I think with GS. The issues which Dr. Branden brought up in this respect were addressed in Korzybski's work and it actually became both a theory of sanity and a therapeutic method to reach this goal. Another therapist, Albert Ellis, was heavily influenced by Korzybski but apparently did not see eye to eye with Brandon but Ellis was not strictly following Korzybski as he created something called REBT and I am not familiar with that. All I can say is that I have used GS for 30 odd years and I felt that Branden's views seemed very similar to mine and GS in general.

[SherryTX]

The most important thing I am finding, especially with his book, is that Branden lays out a way to actually put Objectivism principles in practice to improve one's life. I am not saying other Objectivist authors haven't done that - but his Six Pillars book and Tara Smith's book on Ayn Rand's Ethics are the two I have read so far that show how on a very personal level why it is truly the only philosophy for living on earth.

Sometimes I feel like a nerd because I still get excited about what I am learning hahah. I hope my kids as they get older will experience the same "aha!" moments and excited I have had the past few years since my husband and I started studying the philosophy.

I wrote this here http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/in...ost&p=40128

Nobody responded

I read this transcription of a speech by Nathaniel Branden here http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writin...AndHazards.html

I found this quite fascinating because during my brief exposure to Objectivism and comparing it to General Semantics I feel that Dr. Branden came to many conclusions I also did. The most important, in my opinion, is the lack of a method to reach the goals of Objectivism in an individual - goals that are shared I think with GS. The issues which Dr. Branden brought up in this respect were addressed in Korzybski's work and it actually became both a theory of sanity and a therapeutic method to reach this goal. Another therapist, Albert Ellis, was heavily influenced by Korzybski but apparently did not see eye to eye with Brandon but Ellis was not strictly following Korzybski as he created something called REBT and I am not familiar with that. All I can say is that I have used GS for 30 odd years and I felt that Branden's views seemed very similar to mine and GS in general.

The 2nd link seems to be broken?

I just wanted to correct (I don't see that I did this already) that I meant to write "The Concept of God" not Nature of God.

Not sure what I was thinking...

Still working on listening to the lectures...good stuff though. I am hoping to get Barbara's course by the end of the year.

[tjohnson]

The 2nd link seems to be broken?

here it is

[SherryTX]

The 2nd link seems to be broken?

here it is

Thanks!

[RightJungle]

I recently bought Nathaniel Branden's cd lecture set through the TAS bookstore (YAY for the deep discounts they were offering since they are clearing out their book store - or else I would have had to wait several more months to save up for it!).

I have gone through the first few lectures, and just finished up "The Nature of God" lecture.

So far, it is a really great series of lectures. I have been listening to them in the car as a taxi the family around and do errands, since I seem to spend my life as a taxi driver lately it makes me feel like I am making good use of the time haha.

On another note, I am almost finished with his book "The Six Pillars of Self Esteem". Phenomenal! I wish this was required reading for every parent and teacher. I admit that when I bought the book I thought to myself "Well, I won't learn anything new here, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce what I already know." I was surprised there were quite a few things that I hadn't thought of before that he points out. I won't go into details, as those details would fall under the topic "too much information", but I can truly state that this book has helped me clarify a few things in my personal life that I hadn't really thought of in depth. (I found his book at HalfPrice, but I think I am going to call around the other HalfPrice bookstores and see if anyone else has a copy so I can have a spare to lend out to a few of my relatives.)

Anyway, I know many here have listened to the lectures, and has read this book. But for those that haven't, I really think both are worth the time and money.

That's a pleasant memory - the first exposure to those lectures. I am glad that you are having this opportunity now.

Bill P

The book and the lectures have been very helpful keeping me positive. I was laid off about 2 months ago, and though I am usually a pretty upbeat person, I have to admit for several weeks it really had me down. I am a recruiter, and usually have a good grasp on the job market for my field locally, but things have been really bad due to the economy in general. I realized that I was spending way too much time focusing on the negative things about my situation instead of working on how I could better my life. Listening to the lectures and reading the book both are helping to remind me that I am responsible for my life and own happiness regardless of external situations that can make things difficult. My goal - or you could even say purpose - right now is to focus on the other areas in life I can improve on. There are a lot haha, and I am grateful that Ayn Rand published her novels and essays, and that there are a lot of great people that have written about her philosophy.

The most important thing I am finding, especially with his book, is that Branden lays out a way to actually put Objectivism principles in practice to improve one's life. I am not saying other Objectivist authors haven't done that - but his Six Pillars book and Tara Smith's book on Ayn Rand's Ethics are the two I have read so far that show how on a very personal level why it is truly the only philosophy for living on earth.

Sometimes I feel like a nerd because I still get excited about what I am learning hahah. I hope my kids as they get older will experience the same "aha!" moments and excited I have had the past few years since my husband and I started studying the philosophy.

Hey, another Tara fan? Cool. I am currently reading her "Viable Values". I too have a copy of the 'Basic Principles of Objectivism" CD's but I bought a set with very poor reproduction so I'm anxiously awaiting the transcripted book. However, I'm still listening to them and I recently went through those about Government and Capitalism again. Found a connection between Branden's description of the way the economy grows under Capitalism and the fact that under fully free markets, the economy doesn't dislocate in "fits and starts" so people have time to respond to the coming changes in the economy. I read books and web sites by the enemy so I see what they are doing and this morning I found one that said, "Consolidate the Various "Adjustment Assistance Programs" into a Single, Broad-based Adjustment Program. In the New Economy, where all Americans are potentially affected by rapid economic change, it no longer makes sense to limit adjustment assistance only to those affected directly by a government action (e.g., defense cutbacks, a new trade deal). The various programs should be consolidated into the single WIA system. This consolidated, comprehensive system should be locally based, well-financed, and linked to ongoing efforts at skill upgrading, and it should use public-private partnerships to marshal government resources."

Now, obviously this is way not "Objectivism", but it is really interesting to me to see this description by the Progressive Policy Institute that was unable to point to non-government caused "rapid economic change". I suspect that we Objectivists need to jump on this subject with both feet as it is also heavily involved in the "green jobs" ecological movement that is going to help the Progressives get Marxism established in this country. If you are interested I found the site and the article when I was researching the "Athena Alliance" organization. Here is the site for any who are interested: http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=107&subsecID=175&contentID=929

[thomtg]

Hey, another Tara fan? Cool. I am currently reading her "Viable Values". [...]

Me too, I am a Tara fan. Currently I am reading her Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist. I'm also listening to her 1998 lecture course "Rationality and Objectivity."

[RightJungle]

Hey, another Tara fan? Cool. I am currently reading her "Viable Values". [...]

Me too, I am a Tara fan. Currently I am reading her Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist. I'm also listening to her 1998 lecture course "Rationality and Objectivity."

I hope to see some threads here about Tara's Moral Rights and Political Freedom. I'm convinced that the answer to saving this country is in that book's ideas. Would be nice to head for Austin and just have a little chat with her, wouldn't it?

[Robert Campbell]

Mary Lee,

Sorry, Moral Rights and Political Freedom is the one Tara Smith book I haven't read.

Hoping to get it to it before long...

Robert Campbell

[anonrobt]

Hey, another Tara fan? Cool. I am currently reading her "Viable Values". [...]

Me too, I am a Tara fan. Currently I am reading her Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist. I'm also listening to her 1998 lecture course "Rationality and Objectivity."

I hope to see some threads here about Tara's Moral Rights and Political Freedom. I'm convinced that the answer to saving this country is in that book's ideas. Would be nice to head for Austin and just have a little chat with her, wouldn't it?

That was her first book, Moral Rights, and have it - but been a time since read it, so guess is time to reread...

[was somewhat disappointed with her Virtuous Egoist, as it omitted other sources, especially Branden and Kelley... aside from that, however, was well worth the reading, as it gave deeper illumination to the virtues...]