Four ways we may stumble in attempting to live Stoically

Have you encountered these difficulties in attempting to live Stoically? (Living philosophically?) After a conversation I had, some time ago, about living as a Stoic philosopher, I found myself wondering what pitfalls and stumbling blocks a person is likely to encounter when they try seriously to integrate Stoic teachings and practice into their life. Four things came to mind almost at once. I’m going to … Continue reading Four ways we may stumble in attempting to live Stoically

Philosophy as an Art of Living

I often like to use the word ‘philosophy’ in a somewhat unusual way. What I mean is philosophy understood as a craft, skill, or art of living. This is, actually, how philosophy was originally understood and practiced, in the ancient Greek and Roman periods of what we now call Western philosophy. That understanding, and even that practice, has never completely gone away. It has, however, … Continue reading Philosophy as an Art of Living

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The Ladder of Enlightenment

I came across something called the Map of Consciousness in a book I’ve been reading recently – Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins. In it he talks about the different emotional levels we operate on.  He presents them in a way I’ve never seen before – as a kind of ladder that we can climb. Starting with depression at the bottom … Continue reading The Ladder of Enlightenment

A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

In previous posts I’ve been expanding on four difficulties probably faced by those of us attempting to practice Stoic philosophy. Here is the fourth: a certain lack of effective exercises for developing “philanthropy,” meaning a love of humanity or love of human beings. This “philanthropy” is itself a great topic and matter for reflection, but I won’t go into that here. I want to focus … Continue reading A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

The pitfall wherein we try immediately to be a sage

A lot of Stoic teachings describe the way a sage would see and feel. We of course are not sages. Yet we can easily fall into trying to be one immediately, trying to force our perception and feelings to be other than they must be at this stage of our development. This is one of four ways we may easily stumble, in attempting to learn … Continue reading The pitfall wherein we try immediately to be a sage

The Pitfall of Reliance on Providentialism

In a previous post, I mentioned that reliance on “providentialistic” views was one potential difficulty for present-day Stoics. Today I’ll explain this a bit. When I say “providentialistic” or “providentialism,” I’m referring to what theoretical discourses term “divine providence,” or perhaps more accurately, a belief in divine providence. In short, belief in divine providence is the belief that everything which happens, happens in accordance with … Continue reading The Pitfall of Reliance on Providentialism

Note on acceptance, control, and Stoicism

I sometimes get the impression that Stoicism is often taken as, and practiced as if it were, a way to finally control everything, including our feelings. Yet this is quite incorrect. Stoicism is not about becoming able to control everything. It is about finally starting to begin to acknowledge that we don’t and can’t, and to start to begin to learn, to know, in and … Continue reading Note on acceptance, control, and Stoicism

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Question of the day: Number 551

“Enlightenment is when a wave realises it is the ocean.” – Thich Nhat Hanh What does it mean to be enlightened? How would you define enlightenment? How does one attain it? I’m curious to hear your thoughts. *** You can find AP2’s personal blog here at: https://clear-air-turbulence.com You can also find him on Medium at: https://anxiouspilot2.medium.com Or on Twitter at: @AnxiousPilot Continue reading Question of the day: Number 551