Good Fortune

In this episode I look into physical exercises that can enhance Stoic practice. The ancient Stoics believed that confronting discomfort and pain was essential if one was to live the flourishing life. If anything, the modern ability to wrap ourselves in comfort makes these practices all the more relevant.

In this episode I recommend books and other resources that can help the stoic practitioner. I cover the ancient texts, modern books, and online resources that are available.

Sometimes we stumble and don't know how to get back on track. In episode 8 I ask what we can do to recover when we fail at our philosophy.

This week's questions:

How am I supposed to react when I screw up?

How can I stop blaming myself (should I stop blaming myself?) when the fact is I really did do something wrong?

What exercise can get me back into my Stoic practice?

In this extrasode I read the post How Stoic Treat Jerks, from this blog. Another article, Citizen of the World, is mentioned in passing. How Stoics Treat Jerks bridges the concepts laid out in episode 7 and those that will come up next week in episode 8.

This week I cover the Stoic way to deal with challenging people. I draw from Aurelius' Meditations as we look at a how to think about our situation and as we learn to apply the Stoic Reserve Clause to our future planning.

This week I cover the Stoic way to receive bad news. We spend time in Epictetus' Discourses, Book 3, Chapter 28 and talk about the hegemonikon (ruling faculty of the mind) and Stoic indifference. I wrap up by discussing how to use the practice of Physical Definition (as mentioned in Episode 3) to decide what to do in light of distressing events.

As you'll hear in today's extrasode, I have a new job! This is a good thing (a prefered indifferent) but this week it gobbled up all my free time. That said, I did not want simply leave the week silent, so my solution is Ep. 5.5. I read a post I wrote in 2011, titled Stoicism and the Blues. In it, I write about using Stoic thought to combat depression. I've learned more since then, but my general approach to depressive episodes is still the same.

By the way, if you want a good sense of what living with depression is like, or if you do know and want to feel understood, be sure to read Hyperbole and a Half's Depression Part 2. It's amazing.

In this episode I review a common Stoic practice, the Evening (or Retrospective) Meditation. Beginning with the exercise itself, I later cover potential pitfalls if the exercise is misunderstood, and an alternative use that applies to parents.

In this episode I cover the dichotomy of control as found in chapter one of the Enchiridion. I also cover the Stoic practice called "suspension of judgment."

In this episode I cover the importance of attention, the fundamental Stoic spiritual attitude. I also cover the Stoic practice called 'Physical Definition,' as derived from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.