Arthur Brooks
23 things Arthur uses or recommends, from 11 episodes.
Arthur's top picks
What Arthur uses or recommends most, ranked by how often and how strongly. Paid ads are left out.
Uses and recommends it · talked about in 2 episodes
"I practice the Brahma muhorta which in Sanskrit means the creator's time. That means I get up before dawn."
Recommends it · talked about in 3 episodes
"But it turns out there's a philosopher who specializes in understanding leisure and that's Josef Pieper who wrote Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Have you read it? Oh, it's great. It's a little thin book that he wrote. He's one of the greatest, you know, 20th century German philosophers untainted by Nazism. Thank god."
Uses and recommends it · 1 episode
"Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner. You pray the first half as you breathe in and the second half as you breathe out. The last 15 years I've gone to sleep praying that prayer every night."
Uses and recommends it · 1 episode
"electrolytes and with some creatine monohydrate 10 grams because I don't want the just you know that second five grams is really good for your brain"
Uses and recommends it · 1 episode
"You gave me the diary of wisdom from Tolstoy calendar of wisdom. The calendar of wisdom. You gave it the last time I was here. It's so good to read right before bed."
Uses and recommends it · 1 episode
"Reading to your partner is an incredibly good way. We've been reading psalms and love poetry. We read to each other a lot at night."
What Arthur warns against
Things Arthur says to avoid or be careful with. Other experts don't always agree.
"You don't get oxytocin through Zoom screens. You get a different kind of experience when you have the in real life experience."
"you're kind of staying in and scrolling and watching YouTube Shorts"
"Workaholism is a terrible way to deal with your anxiety."
All 23 of Arthur's picks
- Brahma Muhurta Uses and recommends it 2 episodes "I practice the Brahma muhorta which in Sanskrit means the creator's time. That means I get up before dawn." Only Arthur
- Leisure: The Basis of Culture Recommends it 3 episodes "But it turns out there's a philosopher who specializes in understanding leisure and that's Josef Pieper who wrote Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Have you read it? Oh, it's great. It's a little thin book that he wrote. He's one of the greatest, you know, 20th century German philosophers untainted by Nazism. Thank god." Only Arthur
- The Jesus Prayer Uses and recommends it "Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner. You pray the first half as you breathe in and the second half as you breathe out. The last 15 years I've gone to sleep praying that prayer every night." Only Arthur
- Creatine monohydrate Uses and recommends it "electrolytes and with some creatine monohydrate 10 grams because I don't want the just you know that second five grams is really good for your brain" +30 others
- The Calendar of Wisdom Uses and recommends it "You gave me the diary of wisdom from Tolstoy calendar of wisdom. The calendar of wisdom. You gave it the last time I was here. It's so good to read right before bed." Only Arthur
- Reading to partner technique Uses and recommends it "Reading to your partner is an incredibly good way. We've been reading psalms and love poetry. We read to each other a lot at night." +1 other
- Phone-free bedroom rule Recommends it "You shouldn't have your phone in the bedroom ever, ever, ever, ever. God forbid you get up to pee at 3:00 in the morning and look at your phone — your pineal gland shuts off, no more melatonin for you, and you spike your cortisol. The phone should be in a different floor, in a closet, plugged in someplace, from the hour before you go to bed until an hour after you get up." Only Arthur
- Phone-free bedtime routine Recommends it "The last hour of the day — part of that is sleep architecture and blue light, the pineal gland, melatonin. But part of that is just the way that you actually understand yourself at the end of your day. If you're living with your partner, that's critically important to your relationship — not to be looking at your device in the last hour so you can be fully present as you drift off to sleep together." Only Arthur
- Technology fast Recommends it "People need phone fasts. They need technology fasts. I recommend 96 hours a year — there's a little bit of research on this that shows that this can actually break the relationship that you have. You prove to yourself that you actually don't need it, and you're kind of in a state of bliss by the fourth day. I go on a spiritual retreat every year for four days, no phone. First day it's like children screaming in my head. Second day I'm calming down. Third day I like it. The fourth day I wish it were the whole year." Only Arthur
- Starbucks Uses it "I drink a lot of dark roast Starbucks. You know, the more they burn it, the better I like it" +1 other
- Stoicism Uses it "I also work I've studied vipassana meditation and stoic philosophy" +4 others
- Vipassana meditation Uses it "I also work I've studied vipassana meditation and stoic philosophy" Only Arthur
- A World Awaits Recommends it "The new book is actually the book to read for people who are not either philosophers or neuroscientists or even psychologists. A World Awaits is what it's called. I've never met him, but I love the book. I think it's absolutely fantastic." Only Arthur
- Camino de Santiago Recommends it "I recommend that everybody go on a 500-mile walk across northern Spain from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. I've done it — just the last eight days, two times — and what you realize is that that's a metaphor for your life." Only Arthur
- Phone-free morning routine Recommends it "You wake up in the morning, if you can, don't look at it at all for the first hour for neurocognitive programming. If you're a journalist or you have your job and you got to look at it, make sure nothing's on fire. That's it. Put it down. That's it for the hour." Only Arthur
- Self-Reliance Recommends it "Self-reliance is everybody. Everybody should read Self-Reliance. Self-reliance is like a tall glass of cool water on a summer day in Bastrop, Texas." Only Arthur
- The Myth of Sisyphus Recommends it "If we read one Camus we'll read the myth of Sisyphus, right? That's the one thing to read. If we're talking happiness, that's the one we should read." Only Arthur
- Marine leadership rule (80% knowledge principle) Recommends it "What they train Marines to do in leadership is to get to 80% knowledge and then choose and stop looking. Use the marine rule of leadership." Only Arthur
- Eye contact technique Recommends it "Hold hands while you stare into each other's eyes deeply for 5-10 minutes. This really, really, really works." +1 other
- Hand holding technique Recommends it "You can save most marriages by holding hands more and always looking at each other in the eyes when you talk. This will save most marriages." Only Arthur
- The Atlantic Uses it "I'm usually 8 to nine weeks out on my column in the Atlantic because I'm trying the things that I'm suggesting." Only Arthur
- Daily Gratitude Practice Recommends it "Have a little mantra at the beginning of the day say I'm truly grateful for the happy things and the fun things are going to happen this day, but I'm also grateful for the trouble I'm going to have because therein lies my growth." Only Arthur
- My Suffering is Sacred Mantra Recommends it "I ask my students to repeat after me. My suffering is sacred." Only Arthur