The What Is Stoicism? Podcast

To prepare for the day ahead, the Stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius would often remind himself of the type of people he was likely to come into contact with.“At the start of the day,” he wrote in his Meditations. “Tell yourself: I shall meet people who are officious, ungrateful, abusive, treacherous, malicious, and selfish.”In this episode, we look at why we might want to develop a similar practice.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote 124 letters to his friend Lucilius and reveled in his replies:"Your letter has given me pleasure, and has roused me from sluggishness."—Seneca, Letters 74.1This collection of letters is today one of our best sources of Stoic life advice from ancient Rome.In this episode, we look at why we should consider writing some letters of our own.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Robertson’s new book How To Think Like Socrates will be a welcome release for anyone keen to delve into the life of the man often referred to as the grandfather of Western philosophy.Almost all philosophical schools after Socrates traced their roots to him, including the Stoics.In this episode, I talk to Donald about the book and what we can learn today from how Socrates thought all those years ago.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s face a worry together using this time we have carved out specifically for our philosophical practice.It’s a short exercise, so there’s no need to rush.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The formula for human greatness: it’s a grand proposition that there would even be one but is it really as simple as loving what happens?📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I explore a fun writing prompt that can help achieve the powerful perspective of Stoic objectivity.It's reminiscent of an exercise Marcus Aurelius described to himself as follows:“This should be your practice throughout all your life: when things have such a plausible appearance, show them naked, see their shoddiness, strip away their own boastful account of themselves. Vanity is the greatest seducer of reason: when you are most convinced that your work is important, that is when you are most under its spell.”📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the wisdom of Epictetus and discover how Stoic philosophy teaches the importance of exercising our freedom of will. Listen to captivating stories from Stoic philosophers that illustrate practical ways to face life's challenges with calm and resilience. Plus, get inspired by a simple 10-minute morning routine to kickstart your day the Stoic way. Find out how you can apply these timeless principles in your everyday life!

In his book Being Better, Kai Whiting tells us that the Stoic philosopher Panaetius established the idea that everyone has four roles in life.In this episode, we look at what those roles are and how we can perform them as well as possible.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three philosophical questions, courtesy of the late poet John O'Donohue, to ask yourself today and help inform the actions you take.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By repeatedly telling ourselves negative stories we add a second layer of suffering to whatever sorrow we happen to encounter.Due to our close proximity to them, instead of detaching from the stories, we end up detached from reality.If we are to see these stories for what they really are we must zoom out from them.📻 FOR MORE STOIC AUDIO + EMAIL CONTENTCheck out What Is Stoicism? on Substack:https://whatisstoicism.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.