Stoicism and The Law of Attraction: The Ancient Truth About Manifestation and Magical Thinking
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind,” the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote. “Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.” Does that mean Marcus Aurelius and the ancient Stoics believed in the Law of Attraction, as popularized by Rhonda Byrne? It’s a good question....
5 Stoic Tips for Handling Rude People
Today, the name “Karen” has rapidly become the catch-all term for unhinged, incredibly rude people. The person who calls the manager on a waiter for messing up an order. The person who screams at a person in the street for menial and unimportant. And while this terrible behavior may well...
Stoicism: The Philosophy of the Beehive NOT Just the Bee
This is a guest post by Kai Whiting. Kai is the co-author of the recently released Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living in. Stoic philosophy is profoundly about sculpting your own character for the purpose of living what the Stoic founder, Zeno of Citium, referred to as the...
Stoicism and Mimetic Desire: 3 Keys To Living Intentionally
This is a guest post by Luke Burgis. Luke is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which is now available for pre-order and releases on June 1st! “Mimetic desire” is a concept that originated with the French thinker René Girard. He believed that our...
How To Be Happy: 11 Strategies Proven Over The Past 2,000 Years
“It is clear to you, I am sure, Lucilius, that no man can live a happy life, or even a supportable life, without the study of wisdom.” — Seneca We know what you’re thinking. What do the Stoics know about being happy? Isn’t a Stoic resigned to whatever happens? Isn’t a...
Coping With Grief: 10 Timeless Strategies From Ancient Philosophy
“It’s better to conquer grief than to deceive it.” Seneca, Consolation to Helvia, 17.1b Death and loss are recurring themes in the classic Stoic texts because they are recurring themes across all human life. People we love die, people we need die, people we don’t know die, and eventually,...
Motivation: An Ancient Guide on How To Get and Stay Motivated
The struggle to find and hold on to motivation isn’t new. Consider the argument the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius has with himself in the opening of book 5 of his Meditations, written over two thousand years ago: At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I...
Dealing With Stress: 12 Proven Strategies For Stress Relief From Stoicism
“It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet, if you’re using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if he’s living a normal human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be bad?” — Marcus Aurelius,...
How To Overcome Procrastination Based On Ancient Philosophy
People have been procrastinating for thousands of years. Just like you, they put things off, they delayed, they made excuses, they hoped deadlines would never come due. This caused them anxiety, it pissed their colleagues and families off, it created problems and most of all it wasted time. Twenty centuries...
Oikeiosis – Stoic Ethics and the Unbreakable Connection Between Self-Interest and the Interests of Others
By: Stephen Hanselman The Seeds Of Virtue For perception is the origin of all appropriation (oikeiosis) and alienation (allotriosis), and Zeno and his followers assert that oikeiosis (appropriation, or alliance) is the principle of justice. –Porphyry, On the Abstinence from Animal Food, 3.190 Porphyry, the great Neoplatonic philosopher writing toward the...
