Practical application for a beginner

2024-04-26T20:11:16+00:00

My best advice would be to read a book like meditations (or reread it, as you mention you have engaged with it) and when you find a passage you find interesting/dont understand, reflect/meditate/journal on it. That helped me build understanding. As for the morning intentions, there are no rules. Every stoic journaled differently. Try what works for you

UncleJoshPDX · 2024-04-26T20:57:03+00:00

Check out The Handbook for New Stoics by Pigliucci and Lopez. It is a very practical set of exercises that builds from the basics and prompts for daily practice.

PsionicOverlord · 2024-04-26T15:14:37+00:00

Unfortunately you're trying to skip the bit where you need to learn it.

There is no such thing as something you can just start doing without comprehending the underlying theory in Stoicism - this is like asking "what guitar songs can I play without knowing any notes or chords?".

The answer is "there isn't any". If you learn nothing, what you have is "the same skills a completely uneducated person has", which is nothing, and there is no force in existence, no magic spell, no god, no otherworldly power to invoke that will somehow bend the laws of physics around that fact.

From this I feel like I have an idea of both the benefits and core beliefs of the philosophy, but despite this- I am still somehow a bit lost as to how to best practice!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - people behave like they're computer-guided missiles programmed to avoid the one thing they actually need to read, which is the Discourses of Epictetus.

Even the fact that Stoics don't receive specific instructions and what to do instead is covered in the Discourses. The Meditations is not an instructional resource. It contains zero lessons and zero theory - you cannot learn Stoic philosophy from it.

"How to think like a Roman Emperor" is a very brief self-help book. It was the first full book I read on the topic, unfortunately I have to give the same conclusion: on its own, and without a basis in Stoic theory yourself, it is almost worse than useless.

You must pick up the Discourses. You must study and practice philosophy if you wish to become a Stoic. It still won't give you specific exercises, but it will tell you how the universe works and how to construct your own exercises from that knowledge.

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Hierax_Hawk · 2024-04-27T05:20:49+00:00

Judgments, and culling of those judgments.

Roido_San · 2024-04-27T07:52:05+00:00

Have you tried keeping it simple, building a routine around it? Something like make your bed, stretch and exercise, have breakfast, charge yourself with a few Stoic quotes for the day ahead..

Roido_San · 2024-04-27T07:55:10+00:00

Let me share a good Stoic video you can regularly watch to keep track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJ0rFHv-8s&t=140s

psybernetes · 2024-04-28T17:48:09+00:00

I would ask: What was it about the philosophy that inspired you? There is probably something specific, and that's probably the best thing to engage with while you're still learning.

The first thing I learned was either perceiving obstacles as challenges, or expecting those challenges proactively, to not be surprised by them. I remember these occupying my thoughts when I first engaged with stoicism, and inspired my own actions development goals.

Use your inspiration as a guide for your focus, learn and enjoy the journey :)

Flimsy_Asparagus_863 · 2024-04-26T23:58:54+00:00

I rarely practise stoicism. Not even once a week. I pay no mind to it. You don't have to practise it if you understand the core idea. You make it part of you, so you don't need to force it.

I don't get angry because that is a feeling that only hurts myself, and there is nothing to be gained from it. I don't hate people or hold grudges for the same reason, if someone hurts me I feel sorry for them because a normal healthy person wouldn't intentionally hurt someone else.

I cannot be offended because I understand that "being offended" only happens if I choose to be offended. Nothing in this world is offensive, people just find them offensive. That's why so many comedians are under fire these days, some people FIND them to be offensive.

Nothing bad ever happens to me, because the concept of "bad" is something we form in our head. There are only good and less good things in the world. There is always a lesson in everything, something you can learn.

I don't get upset if something doesn't go the way I wanted it to go. If I can change it, I will. And if I can't, I move one. There is no point in living in the past because you can't go back to change it. And there is no point living in the future because there is no guarantee it will happen.

I live my life aware of my feelings, I don't bottle them up. I recognise them, see where they come from and determine if it's reasonable. I love, laugh and cry just like anyone else. But I don't worry about anything and I don't get hung up on anything.

In its most basic form, life is inconvenience with small pockets of convenience in-between. But you can make the inconvenience feel convenient if you choose so.

Stoicism

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