Stoicism and mindfulness
Stoicism is a philosophy designed to help people live their best possible lives by maximizing positive emotions, minimizing negative ones, and developing a virtuous character. This Ancient Greek and Roman school of philosophy is not theoretical and scholarly in nature: you don’t spend years reading obscure academic texts to understand it; instead you follow a practical strategy that offers hands-on guidance for living well.
The core idea behind stoicism
The world we live in is tough, unfair, and unforgiving. In order to find happiness, we need to, not only accept the challenges and hardships the world throws at us, but to welcome them.
The central theme of this website is the premise that we have three minds: a rational head-mind, an emotional heart-mind, and an instinctive Hara-mind. In this modern day and age, it seems as though most of us are wrapped up in our heads, when we really should be spending more time following to our hearts and listening to our guts.
Stoicism is a 2,000 year old body of knowledge that could help us to get out of our heads and back into our hearts and guts.
Focus on what you can control, ignore the rest
Epictetus taught that the path to a happy life is based on identifying what is within your control, and what is not, and then focusing your efforts on what you can control and accepting what you can’t.
The head tries very hard to control everything, and it gets frustrated when it can’t. The heart and the hara understand that there are certain things you cannot change. You cannot control the economy, other people, the weather, cats, and a lot more. You may try, but you’ll just end up wasting your time and feeling frustrated.
If, on the other hand, you focus on doing what you can with what you have, you are more likely to be productive, and all together more content with life.
Memento mori ~ live every day as if it were your last
The good news is that one day you will die. It might be tomorrow, it may be next Monday, or it could be several decades from now.
While the head ruminates over past grievances or worries about what the future holds, the heart lives entirely in the present moment, totally unconcerned with death.
Take a minute to think about some of the things you cherish: perhaps going to the beach, eating ice cream, visiting friends, or building a campfire. And now, knowing that you will only be able to do these things a limited number of times, you can savor them more. Next time you eat an ice cream relish in its taste and flavor. Next time you spend time with friend appreciate your time with them.
Thanks to the reminder of the briefness of life we can appreciate the present moment more.
Amor fati ~ love everything that happens to you, good or bad
An essential element in stoicism is amor fati. That’s Latin for “love of fate.” The key word here is love. Love your fate, don’t like it, or accept it. Love it. Look at everything that happens in your life, including suffering and loss, not just as necessary but as good.
This seems like a good time to present the Friedrich Nietzsche challenge. He wrote, “My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it… but love it.”
Can you do that? Can you look back on every moment of your life with love and acceptance? Even that time you farted in high school and everyone in the classroom turned around and looked at you.
Imagine yourself slowly floating upwards and away over the treetops and rooftops. You can take someone with you on your journey if you want to. Watch the people below going about their business. A young couple kissing. A businessman stuck in traffic. A dog chasing a cat. Observe, but do not judge. Think to yourself about what’s happening below.
View from above ~ a stoic exercise
In this classic stoic exercise, you’ll visualize yourself looking down on the world from a high viewpoint. This can help you to put things into perspective and to see the bigger picture.
Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes, and with your mind’s eye observe your surroundings. Use all your senses to perceive what is around you. Take note of the sites, sounds, and scents. Feel the temperature of the air against your skin.
Drift up higher and higher. Feel the coolness and dampness of the clouds as you drift up through them. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Notice the world below, and realize how petty and unimportant its problems seem from up above.
Go even higher. Rise through the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. You are now in outer space looking down at the earth below. What do you notice? How do you feel?
Drift out further, passing the moon, the sun, and the planets. There are no problems here. No trivial issues. You are at peace with everything. Without hurrying begin your descent back to earth, back to the spot where you began your journey. Open your eyes.
Negative visualization ~ a stoic meditation
In life we tend to take a lot for granted, but how will we manage if what we cherish the most are taken away? In a negative visualization exercise you contemplate what emotions you’ll experience, and what steps you’ll take, if something precious is no longer there for you. There are four variation to this exercise:
Your most prized possession
What is your favorite possession? Is it your car, your house, or perhaps your cellphone? Could it be family photos? A wedding ring perhaps? Well, I’m happy to announce that it’s gone. Disappeared in a puff of smoke. How do you feel now? Grief, sadness, anger, guilt, anxiety, shocked, lonely, helpless, numbness, or relief? What physical sensations are you experiencing? Do you want to cry? Is there an empty feeling in your stomach? What about loss of appetite, tightness in your chest or throat, or heavy and repeated sighing? What are you going to do now? Save up for another one? Let it go?
You never met your beloved
Who do you love the most? Is it your spouse… your mom, or is it someone called Peter? Could it be the girl you study with at the library? Well, I don’t know how to break this to you, but your dearest is gone. He or she now lives a happy and fulfilling life in an alternate universe, totally unaware that you exist. All you have are your memories. How do you go about your life without your beloved?
A lost sense or ability
When you woke up this morning you discovered, that while you were asleep, you lost one of your senses. You found that you were either blind, deaf, or physically disabled in some way. How do you cope? One variation of this exercise is you lose an ability or talent. Perhaps you can’t speak English anymore. If you are a singer you find that you can’t sing anymore, if you are good looking such
People Standing near the Wrecked Vintage Car by Pixabay
Worst case scenario
Things can unexpectedly go wrong at any moment, so it’s important to be prepared. Think of a situation you might encounter, and then reflect on what it would be like if everything went wrong, and the outcome was as bad as it could possibly be. How you would manage? What resources would you draw upon? How would you maintain your sense of purpose and direction?
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I’m Dr. Rodger Douglas, DMH, a South African-born homeopath now based in Osaka, Japan. With a psychology degree from Nelson Mandela University and a diploma from the Hahnemann College of Heilkunst, I specialize in holistic care for fibromyalgia. I serve clients by phone or video across the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond, shipping remedies directly from Japan.