{"id":287,"date":"2016-10-01T00:27:12","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T03:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/?p=287"},"modified":"2016-10-01T00:31:01","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T03:31:01","slug":"a-simplified-modern-approach-to-stoicism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/a-simplified-modern-approach-to-stoicism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simplified Modern Approach to Stoicism"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Simplified Modern Approach to Stoicism<\/h1>\n
\"Zeno<\/a>
Zeno of Citium, copyright the Trustees of the British Museum. Reproduced with permission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Copyright \u00a9 Donald Robertson, 2013-2016.\u00a0 All rights reserved. \u00a0Revised edition of original article.<\/span><\/p>\n

Please post your comments and questions\u00a0below or reblog this article on WordPress… \u00a0For more information on Stoicism\u00a0follow @Stoicweek<\/a> on Twitter or check out our\u00a0Facebook discussion group<\/a> for Stoicism. \u00a0See my book Teach Yourself Stoicism<\/em><\/a> for a more complete account of Stoic practices.<\/p>\n

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This article is designed to provide a very concise introduction to Stoicism<\/a> as a way of life, through a simplified set of Stoic psychological practices.\u00a0 The first few passages of Epictetus\u2019 Handbook<\/em> (Encheiridion<\/em>) actually provide an account of some fundamental practices that can form the basis of a simplified approach to Stoicism and this account is closely based on those.\u00a0 We’d recommend you treat it as an introduction to the wider Stoic literature.\u00a0 However, starting with a set of basic practices can help people studying Stoic philosophy to get to grips with things before proceeding to assimilate some of the more diverse or complex aspects found in the ancient texts.\u00a0 Both Seneca and Epictetus refer to the Golden Verses of Pythagoras<\/a><\/em>, which happens to provide a good framework for developing a daily routine, bookended by morning and evening contemplative practices.<\/p>\n

Zeno of Citium, who founded Stoicism in 301 BC, expressed his doctrines in notoriously terse arguments and concise maxims.\u00a0 However, Chrysippus, the third head of the Stoic school, wrote over 700 books fleshing these ideas out and adding complex arguments to support them.\u00a0 Let’s focus here on the concise version but bearing in mind there’s a more complex philosophy lurking in the background.\u00a0 For example, Epictetus<\/a>, the only Stoic teacher whose works survive in any significant quantity, described the central precept of Stoicism to his students as follows:<\/p>\n

And to become educated [in Stoic philosophy] means just this, to learn what things are our own, and what are not. (Discourses<\/i>, 4.5.7)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The practical consequence of this distinction is essentially quite simple:<\/p>\n

What, then, is to be done?\u00a0 To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it naturally happens. (Discourses<\/i>, 1.1.17)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The routine below is designed to provide an introduction to Stoic practice for the 21st Century, which can lead naturally into a wider appreciation of Stoic philosophy as a way of life.\u00a0 The instructions are designed to be as straightforward and concise as possible, while still remaining reasonably faithful to classical Stoicism.\u00a0 The most popular book for people to read who are new to Stoicism is The Meditations<\/a><\/em> of Marcus Aurelius, so we recommend that you also consider reading a modern translation of that text during the first few weeks of your Stoic practice.<\/p>\n

The Basic Philosophical Regime<\/h2>\n

Stage 1: Morning Preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plan your day ahead with the Stoic \u201creserve clause\u201d in mind.\u00a0 Decide what goals you want to achieve in advance and make a decision to try to achieve them but with the caveat: \u201cFate permitting.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, aim for success and pursue it wholeheartedly while also being prepared to accept setbacks or failure with equanimity, insofar as they lie outside of your direct control.\u00a0 Try to choose your goals wisely, picking things that are rational and healthy for you to pursue.\u00a0 Your primary goal<\/em> throughout these three stages should be to protect and improve your fundamental wellbeing, particularly in terms of your character and ability to think clearly about your life.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re going to try to do this by cultivating greater self-awareness and practical wisdom, which requires setting goals for yourself that are healthy, while pursuing them in a sort of \u201cdetached\u201d way, without being particularly attached to the outcome.<\/p>\n

Stage 2: Stoic Mindfulness (Prosoch\u00ea<\/em>) Throughout the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the day, continually pay attention to the way you make value-judgements and respond to your thoughts.\u00a0 Be mindful, in particular of the way you respond to strong emotions or desires.\u00a0 When you experience a distressing or problematic thought, pause, and tell yourself: \u201cThis is just a thought and not at all the thing it claims to represent.\u201d\u00a0 Remind yourself that it is not things that upset you but your judgements about things.\u00a0 Where appropriate, rather than being carried away by your initial impressions, try to postpone responding to them for at least an hour, waiting until your feelings have settled down and you are able to view things more calmly and objectively before deciding what action to take.<\/p>\n

Once you have achieved greater self-awareness of your stream of consciousness and the ability to take a step back from your thoughts in this way, begin to also apply a simple standard of evaluation to your thoughts and impressions as follows.\u00a0 Having paused to view your thoughts from a distance, ask yourself whether they are about things that are directly under your control or things that are not.\u00a0 This has been called the general precept or strategy of ancient Stoic practice.\u00a0 If you notice that your feelings are about something that\u2019s outside of your direct control then respond by trying to accept the fact that it\u2019s out of your hands, saying to yourself: \u201cThis is nothing to me.\u201d\u00a0 Focus your attention instead on doing what is within your sphere of control with wisdom and to the best of your ability, regardless of the actual outcome.\u00a0 In other words, remind yourself to apply the reserve clause described above to each situation.\u00a0 Look for ways to remind yourself of this.\u00a0 For example, the Serenity Prayer<\/em><\/a> is a well-known version of this idea, which you might want to memorise or write down somewhere and contemplate each day.<\/p>\n

Give me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,<\/p>\n

The Courage to change the things I can,<\/p>\n

And the Wisdom to know the difference.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You may find that knowing you are going to review these events and evaluate them in more detail before you sleep (see below) actually helps you to become more mindful of how you respond to your thoughts and feelings throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Stage 3: Night-time Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

Review your whole day, three times, if possible, before going to sleep.\u00a0 Focus on the key events and the order in which they happened, e.g., the order in which you undertook different tasks or interacted with different people during the day.<\/p>\n

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  1. What did you do that was good for your fundamental wellbeing?\u00a0 (What went well?)<\/li>\n
  2. What did you do that harmed your fundamental wellbeing?\u00a0 (What went badly?)<\/li>\n
  3. What opportunities did you miss to do something good for your fundamental wellbeing?\u00a0 (What was omitted?)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Counsel yourself as if you were advising a close friend or loved one.\u00a0 What can you learn from the day and, where appropriate, how can you do better in the future?\u00a0 Praise yourself for what went well and allow yourself to reflect on it with satisfaction.\u00a0 You may also find it helps to give yourself a simple subjective rating (from 0-10) to measure how consistently you followed the instructions here or how good you were at pursuing rational and healthy goals while remaining detached from things outside of your direct control.\u00a0 However, also try to be concise in your evaluation of things and to arrive at conclusions without ruminating over things for too long.<\/p>\n

    If you’re interested, you can complete The Stoic Attitudes Scale<\/a> and rate how strong your belief is in different aspects of Stoic theory.<\/p>\n

    Appendix: Some Additional Stoic Practices<\/h3>\n

    There’s a lot more to Stoicism, in terms of both the theory and practice.\u00a0 You might want to begin with a simple approach but you should probably broaden your perspective eventually to include the other parts of Stoicism.\u00a0 Reading The Meditations<\/em> of Marcus Aurelius and other books can provide you with a better idea of the theoretical<\/em> breadth of Stoic philosophy.\u00a0 Here are three examples of other Stoic practices, followed by a link to a longer and more detailed article on this site…<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Contemplation of the Sage<\/em>: Imagine the ideal Sage or exemplary historical figures (Socrates, Diogenes, Cato) and ask yourself: \u201cWhat would he do?\u201d, or imagine being observed by them and how they would comment on your actions.<\/li>\n
    2. Contemplating the Whole Cosmos<\/em>: Imagine the whole universe as if it were one thing and yourself as part of the whole, or the View from Above: Picture events unfolding below as if observed from Mount Olympus or a high\u00a0 watchtower.<\/li>\n
    3. Premeditation of Adversity<\/em>: Mentally rehearse potential losses or misfortunes and view them as \u201cindifferent\u201d (decatastrophising), also view them as natural and inevitable to remove any sense of shock or surprise.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Follow this link for a much\u00a0more detailed account of Stoic practices<\/a> with a wider range of techniques.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      This article provides a brief description of a simplified modern approach to Stoic practice, designed for anyone to follow, even if they are completely new to this subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[15,16,17,13,14],"class_list":["post-287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stoicism","tag-epictetus","tag-marcus-aurelius","tag-seneca","tag-stoic","tag-stoicism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287\/revisions\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/colabstaging.co.uk\/msbackup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}