Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

The Rumi Podcast

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Rumi is one of my favourite poets of all time.

So, having read through the wonderful Rumi: Selected Poems, I couldn’t help but turn the microphone on and let it all gush out.

The result?

Rants on victimisation culture, religious fundamentalists, the negative attitude of men towards women, low-consciousness humans, and liars.

There’s also beauty! We pick apart poems that touch the soul, carry the sunlight at dawn in every word, and inspire you onto new life.

You can get the book here:

Listen to Hardcore Literature: The Poetry of Rumi

If you want to listen in a dedicated browser, click here.

If you want to download the Mp3, click here.

You can also listen to the podcast through iTunes. Search for Hardcore Literature and it will pop right up so you can listen on-the-go.

And if you can spare just one second, please leave me a 5-star rating on iTunes because that will help more people see the show, which is important in the early stages of release. I really appreciate it!

Topics Covered in the Rumi Podcast (with Timestamps)

Feel free to jump to any particular theme that interests you:

  • 3:04: blaming the victim vs. playing the victim
  • 10:54: what is the story you’re telling yourself?
  • 14:07: the 3 things that fuel the fire of harmful stories
  • 14:12: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • 16:38: on being self-involved and playing the victim
  • 18:36: the hard thing about analysing poetry
  • 19:44: “all language is a longing for home” (Coleman Banks)
  • 22:26: Jung and how to integrate your shadow
  • 25:32: Why I hated The Joker
  • 27:13: why you want the Death card to appear in a tarot reading
  • 27:33: on cold plunge ice baths
  • 28:10: let assumptions go
  • 28:37: marathon training and crabs in a bucket
  • 29:30 ‘they seem to protect, but really they imprison’
  • 30:20: how to give praise and compliments
  • 32:15: where can you find emptiness in your work?
  • 33:32: your body gives you wrong advice
  • 34:06: on patience
  • 37:01: on using the word ‘God’ or ‘Allah’ (a rant about religious believers)
  • 43:01: how to beat writer’s block and nihilism through brainwashing
  • 45:31: Aristotle: we are what we habitually do
  • 46:41: how to become God
  • 47:46: how to have an internal locus of control (lessons from Adam and Eve)
  • 48:55: the teachings of Buddha
  • 49:15: ‘what’s reflected is projected’ (Benjamin McEvoy)
  • 49:37: a rant about a low-consciousness retard from Essex
  • 56:20: the wisdom of proverbs and clichés
  • 57:16: why I don’t like men who complain about women
  • 58:37: Nietzsche and virtue
  • 58:58: ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’
  • 59:34: the emotional bank account
  • 1:00:54: ‘feeling is knowing’ (Wim Hof )
  • 1:01:47: you are protected by God
  • 1:03:18: advice for writers and artists
  • 1:06:00: why I hate lying
  • 1:07:08: people from Toronto are full of shit
  • 1:08:58: dishonesty vs. vulnerability in relationships
  • 1:09:53: run at your boogeymen
  • 1:11:31: Connor McGregor’s morning routine
  • 1:13:37: ‘don’t go back to sleep’
  • 1:14:16: how to wake up early without an alarm
  • 1:14:44: ‘ask and you shall receive’
  • 1:15:50: the problem with today’s generation

Poems by Rumi discussed in this podcast:

  • ‘Acts of Helplessness’ (3:04)
  • ‘Saladin’s Aladdin Bowl’ (8:28)
  • ‘Enough Words’ (21:39)
  • ‘Craftsmanship and Emptiness’ (28:14)
  • ‘Emptiness’ (34:29)
  • ‘Music Master’ (1:02:12)
  • ‘No Flag’ (1:03:00)
  • ‘The Night Air’ (1:05:20)
  • ‘A Great Wagon’ (1:11:01)

Books and works mentioned in this podcast:

Let me know what you think of the podcast and the poetry of Rumi.