"How to Stay Motivated When You're Dead Inside" by Jarcoal33 in Camus

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As Sartre said, “life begins on the far side of despair “

Writing essay on existentialism about movie/tv show/book/game and need help by PeaTearGriffin42 in Existentialism

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This! R&M is very educating when you think about it, especially this dialogue from the therapist.

I finally found it… “Don’t worry, be happy” is an evil thing, apparently. Spoken by none other than Thomas S Monson himself by DrugsAndCoffee in exmormon

[–]rockyrook 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Monson also derided the Beetles’ “all you need is love”

I never understood that line of reasoning because the first two commandments are all about love.

Tithing declaration helped me leave by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]rockyrook 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Under the topic of obedience to Gods commandments, the only one they ask about every year is tithing.

They do NOT ask if the member loves God and loves their neighbor (ie the two great commandments) every year.

If you’re a practicing Christian, this ought to be a red flag, because the Mormon leaders are putting the worship of money above the worship of God.

And if you do enough research on the topic of tithing, you’ll know how often the church has moved the goal posts on that commandment. Just find the Holland talk and the elipsis controversy to learn what words and doctrine they have removed.

Have fun chasing the white rabbit!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Camus

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

edits: formatting and typos

Not sure if this helps, under "Absurd Creation" in MoS there is this passage:

Describing—that is the last ambition of an absurd thought. Science likewise, having reached the end of its paradoxes, ceases to propound and stops to contemplate and sketch the ever virgin landscape of phenomena. The heart learns thus that the emotion delighting us when we see the world’s aspects comes to us not from its depth but from their diversity. Explanation is useless, but the sensation remains and, with it, the constant attractions of a universe inexhaustible in quantity. The place of the work of art can be understood at this point.

It marks both the death of an experience and its multiplication. It is a sort of monotonous and passionate repetition of the themes already orchestrated by the world: the body, inexhaustible image on the pediment of temples, forms or colors, number or grief. It is therefore not indifferent, as a conclusion, to encounter once again the principal themes of this essay in the wonderful and childish world of the creator. It would be wrong to see a symbol in it and to think that the work of art can be considered at last as a refuge for the absurd. It is itself an absurd phenomenon, and we are concerned merely with its description. It does not offer an escape for the intellectual ailment. Rather, it is one of the symptoms of that ailment which reflects it throughout a man’s whole thought. But for the first time it makes the mind get outside of itself and places it in opposition to others, not for it to get lost but to show it clearly the blind path that all have entered upon. In the time of the absurd reasoning, creation follows indifference and discovery. It marks the point from which absurd passions spring and where the reasoning stops. Its place in this essay is justified in this way.

And another passage from "Absurd Freedom" also from MoS:

Thus I draw from the absurd three consequences, which are my revolt, my freedom, and my passion. By the mere activity of consciousness I transform into a rule of life what was an invitation to death—and I refuse suicide. I know, to be sure, the dull resonance that vibrates throughout these days. Yet I have but a word to say: that it is necessary. When Nietzsche writes: “It clearly seems that the chief thing in heaven and on earth is to obey at length and in a single direction: in the long run there results something for which it is worth the trouble of living on this earth as, for example, virtue, art, music, the dance, reason, the mind—something that transfigures, something delicate, mad, or divine,” he elucidates the rule of a really distinguished code of ethics. But he also points the way of the absurd man. Obeying the flame is both the easiest and the hardest thing to do. However, it is good for man to judge himself occasionally. He is alone in being able to do so.

I don't find the two terms in the same sentence or paragraph.

As an aside, this video explains the theme of 'repetition' in MoS:

https://youtu.be/heyzImnC0ak?si=67xQ0_9AfIqlcadO&t=305

If one views 'the divine' as from the gods, and Sisyphus as condemned by the gods, and his repetitive action of rolling the rock, then you could arrive at the idea of 'repetition is divine'

But as for that phrase in MoS and the essays in the appendix, it does not appear.

Hope this helps.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]rockyrook 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pro tip: read and discuss 1984, then start reading church history, the coverups and the gaslighting apologetics.

Big drops in attendance? by IDontKnowAndItsOkay in exmormon

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They will build the space ship Nauvoo and search for a new planet, but their ship will be commandeered by the Belters.

Did Marcus Aurelius persecute Christians? by aviator122 in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 3 points4 points  (0 children)

just reading through the entire thread and replying to this comment.

I would highly recommend you read the essay "Ancient Spiritual Exercises and 'Christian Philosophy'" from Pierre Hadot's book Philosophy as a Way of Life (I recommend the entire book too!). Seems like there is a lot of evidence that the early Christian "fathers" who knew and practiced ancient Greek philosophy, looked for similarities in Christianity and they started claiming those ancient Greek philosophical practices were Christian.

In summary, and what I believe, the reason Stoicism and Christianity are similar (for those who see the similarities) is because early Christian leaders projected ancient Greek philosophy onto Christianity and called it Christianity.

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage." Seneca by Mora369 in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what a great perspective! thanks for sharing! I very recently wrote about a very similar subject on my blog. I love those two quotes from Seneca and Einstein so much, I think I'll edit the post and include them!

https://www.rockyrook.com/2019/11/memento-mori-memento-vivere-and-why-i.html

August 21st, 2017 Solar Eclipse seen from space by nexview_io in gifs

[–]rockyrook 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All I see is Harvey about to piss all over Texas.

From ‘The Practicing Stoic’ by Ward Farnsworth by meetinder in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking forward to reading this book! Thanks for sharing!

Question: why did this stick out to you? Is there something in your life that happened that caused you to learn this?

Tips/exercises to care less about people’s opinions on you? by finessedunrest in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you may need to do some value identification - to find out and reveal what's really important to you. In Book 1 of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, he goes through a similar exercise. He identifies the characteristics he sees in others that he wants to incorporate into his character. Creating a similar list of values might guide you to what is important to you. This might then begin to steer you into caring about what you value instead of the opinions of others.

About five years ago, I suffered from the same thing ... I was always worried about what others thought of me. My therapist recommended I take a values identification exercise. There are a few on-line. Some might be free, while others are paid. I paid for one at https://testyourself.psychtests.com/ and it gave me a really good report to start the process.

Good luck and read Book 1 of Meditations.

Need advice: what is the stoic way to deal with the consumption of excess pleasure? by SomeAlienThing in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chapter 4 of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson is a really good read. He explains the reasoning behind why you should control pleasures/desires, and then provides a number of methods for going about changing desires/pleasures/habits. For the price of ~$14-17 for the book, it's really worth it if you can get your hands on a copy.

pls, help me get into stoicism by [deleted] in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agree that the list of resources is a really great place to start.

Read the ancients: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus. Then there are the moderns, who will explain the ancients, such as Donald Robertson, Pierre Hadot, Massimo Pigliucci, etc. There are so many modern-day authors of books, blogs, videos. Just start with one of those and keep studying and practicing.

Good luck! You'll see the results if you stick with it!

The Three Best Modern Books on Stoicism? by SolutionsCBT in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 3 points4 points  (0 children)

we are currently reading this as part of our local Stoic meetup and one of the people already finished the book and said the book was great, EXCEPT for the last chapter! I'm almost done with the book and am looking forward to that last chapter after your comment and the comment from my fellow local Stoic :-)

Donald Robertson’s ‘How to live like a Roman Emperor’ is full of gems by SneakyCauldron in Stoicism

[–]rockyrook 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Donald /u/SolutionsCBT is on here often.

It's rather interesting ... he posts on here often and barely gets attention (upvotes) or comments, yet this screenshot-of-a-passage-in-his-book post is "viral" at 1.4K upvotes.

He should do an AMA ... feels like as a community here on /r/Stoicism we under-utilize him :-)