The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

[Marina9]

Found this book on the web and thought it would be interesting to read. Although at first it talks about how all this "successful" people; CEO's, athletes, etc, "use" stoicism on a daily basis, I just didn't pay a lot of attention to that part. But the good part IMO is all the daily meditations and quotes it offers in order to put them to practice into daily life :)

From amazon:

The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you'll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms.

By following these teachings over the course of a year (and, indeed, for years to come) you'll find the serenity, self-knowledge, and resilience you need to live well.

The book is divided into the big three disciplines:

Part 1: the discipline of perception
Part 2: the discipline of action
Part 3: the discipline of will

In each part there are several months and it offers several topics each day, so I thought it's a handy book that could be another nice tool along the reading, and journaling to add to the daily routine :)

 

[Marina9]

Hello guys! For any one who is interested in this little book, some days ago I converted it to PDF. Here is the link to Mega: https://mega.nz/#!lZVGCITA!QxxumeJ3P_xYS8gniB283GvJvTdul7YqBCQR4swKoho

In my experience it has been very useful, I read the meditations as soon as I wake up and throughout the day I come back to it. Sometimes in the day a certain thing that happens seems to relate to what I read, so I keep them in my mind. Or also coming back to old meditations from previous days if I need to :)

 

[Palinurus]

Hi Marina9,

I'm sorry I have to tell you this but I clicked your link and downloaded the document only to find out it's not in PDF-format but uses some other coding system. I tried to open it as a word document in order to convert the content into PDF-format manually myself but the only thing the pages contained was right out letter salad, i.e. unreadable at all. So I deleted the file.

I searched amazon for the book. It's available in kindle format for $ 5.97 as well as in other formats for different prices. It seems to have been published recently (October 18, 2016) and will be copyright protected in this specific lay-out, selection and presentation, I presume. Therefore, it would be highly questionable whether you're permitted to distribute copies of it -- even among friends. OSIT.

This topic discusses the ethics and further background of that: Good Website for Free Books.

 

[Marina9]

Hi Marina9,

I'm sorry I have to tell you this but I clicked your link and downloaded the document only to find out it's not in PDF-format but uses some other coding system. I tried to open it as a word document in order to convert the content into PDF-format manually myself but the only thing the pages contained was right out letter salad, i.e. unreadable at all. So I deleted the file.

I searched amazon for the book. It's available in kindle format for $ 5.97 as well as in other formats for different prices. It seems to have been published recently (October 18, 2016) and will be copyright protected in this specific lay-out, selection and presentation, I presume. Therefore, it would be highly questionable whether you're permitted to distribute copies of it -- even among friends. OSIT.

This topic discusses the ethics and further background of that: Good Website for Free Books.

I know what happened now Palinurus, I uploaded the wrong link to Mega. Sorry for distributing it, wasn't aware that since it was recently published it's a no-no to share it, my bad and sorry for the noise. Thanks! :D

 

[latulipenoire]

Hi Marina9,

I'm sorry I have to tell you this but I clicked your link and downloaded the document only to find out it's not in PDF-format but uses some other coding system. I tried to open it as a word document in order to convert the content into PDF-format manually myself but the only thing the pages contained was right out letter salad, i.e. unreadable at all. So I deleted the file.

I searched amazon for the book. It's available in kindle format for $ 5.97 as well as in other formats for different prices. It seems to have been published recently (October 18, 2016) and will be copyright protected in this specific lay-out, selection and presentation, I presume. Therefore, it would be highly questionable whether you're permitted to distribute copies of it -- even among friends. OSIT.

This topic discusses the ethics and further background of that: Good Website for Free Books.

I know what happened now Palinurus, I uploaded the wrong link to Mega. Sorry for distributing it, wasn't aware that since it was recently published it's a no-no to share it, my bad and sorry for the noise. Thanks! :D

Thank you Marina, for first mentioning this book, and thank you Palinurus for telling us about the copyright. I've bought a digital copy!

The daily meditation of 30th of December was quoted by Aeneas in this topic, regarding Putin's self-control in face of the latest aggression:

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,43381.msg694196.html#msg694196

It's a great time to be alive and to know more about the Stoics!

 

[loreta]

Yes thank you Marina9 for the book. I think it is a good idea to start this year with the Stoics. They will be very helpfull, I think so. :D

 

[Anthony]

I've been reading this book on and off over the past month, and here are some things I've highlighted.

Turn Have to into Get to

A long To-Do list seems intimidating and burdensome—all these things we have to do in the course of a
day or a week. But a Get To Do list sounds like a privilege—all the things we’re excited about the
opportunity to experience. This isn’t just semantic playing. It is a central facet of the philosopher’s
worldview.
Today, don’t try to impose your will on the world. Instead see yourself as fortunate to receive and
respond to the will in the world.
Stuck in traffic? A few wonderful minutes to relax and sit. Your car broke down after idling for so
long? Ah, what a nice nudge to take a long walk the rest of the way. A swerving car driven by a
distracted, cell-phone-wielding idiot nearly hit you as you were walking and soaked you head to toe with
muddy water? What a reminder about how precarious our existence is and how silly it is to get upset
about something as trivial as being late or having trouble with your commute!
Kidding aside, it might not seem like it makes a big difference to see life as something you have to do
versus get to do, but there is. A huge, magnificent difference.

The obstacle is the way

“While it’s true that someone can impede our actions, they can’t impede our intentions and our
attitudes, which have the power of being conditional and adaptable. For the mind adapts and
converts any obstacle to its action into a means of achieving it. That which is an impediment to
action is turned to advance action. The obstacle on the path becomes the way.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Today, things will happen that will be contrary to your plans. If not today, then certainly tomorrow. As
a result of these obstacles, you will not be able to do what you planned. This is not as bad as it
seems, because your mind is infinitely elastic and adaptable. You have the power to use the Stoic exercise
of turning obstacles upside down, which takes one negative circumstance and uses it as an opportunity to practice an unintended virtue or form of excellence.
If something prevents you from getting to your destination on time, then this is a chance to practice
patience.
If an employee makes an expensive mistake, this is a chance to teach a valuable lesson.
If a computer glitch erases your work, it’s a chance to start over with a clean slate.
If someone hurts you, it’s a chance to practice forgiveness.
If something is hard, it is a chance to get stronger.
Try this line of thinking and see whether there is a situation in which one could not find some virtue to
practice or derive some benefit. There isn’t one. Every impediment can advance action in some form or
another.

How you do anything is how you do everything

“Pay attention to what’s in front of you—the principle, the task, or what’s being portrayed.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

I’s fun to think about the future. It’s easy to ruminate on the past. It’s harder to put that energy into
what’s in front of us right at this moment—especially if it’s something we don’t want to do. We think:
This is just a job; it isn’t who I am. It doesn’t matter. But it does matter. Who knows—it might be the last
thing you ever do. Here lies Dave, buried alive under a mountain of unfinished business.
There is an old saying: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” It’s true. How you handle
today is how you’ll handle every day. How you handle this minute is how you’ll handle every minute.

Impossible without your consent

“Today I escaped from the crush of circumstances, or better put, I threw them out, for the crush
wasn’t from outside me but in my own assumptions.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

On tough days we might say, “My work is overwhelming,” or “My boss is really frustrating.” If only
we could understand that this is impossible. Someone can’t frustrate you, work can’t overwhelm
you—these are external objects, and they have no access to your mind. Those emotions you feel, as real
as they are, come from the inside, not the outside.
The Stoics use the word hypolêpsis, which means “taking up”—of perceptions, thoughts, and
judgments by our mind. What we assume, what we willingly generate in our mind, that’s on us. We can’t
blame other people for making us feel stressed or frustrated any more than we can blame them for our
jealousy. The cause is within us. They’re just the target.

"I judge you to be unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent - no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you." - Seneca

Find what you do out of rote memory or routine. Ask yourself: Is this really the best way to do it?

The day in review: What bad habit did I curb today? How am I better? Were my actions just? How can I improve?

External things (like money, approval, etc.) can't fix internal issues.

Locate the yearning for more, better, someday and see it for what it is: the enemy of your contentment.

Stop acting like getting worked up is having an impact on a given situation. Situations don't care at all.

We can change our entitlement and decide to accept and love what's happening around us.

Your attention is one of your most critical resources.

Seeing each day and each situation as a kind of training exercise.

You will only get one shot at today.

Focus on doing the absolutely smallest thing well.

We tell ourselves that we'll get started once the conditions are right.

Things that you think are holding you back can be a hidden source of strength.

Your time is the most valuable and least renewable of all your resources.

Can you be a source of strength and inspiration to others around you?

 

[Matthew]

I read each day's entry as one of my regular tasks for the day. This month's entries have been really helpful on many days, especially once the hysteria about the virus ramped up. I find it a helpful antidote to all the propaganda; it helps me to keep my head and not get swept up in the hysteria.

 

[unkl brws]

The author of "The Daily Stoic" Ryan Holiday has just announced his new book "Lives of the Stoics".

This is from his FB page -

My latest book, Lives of the Stoics, is available for pre-order now. It comes out September 29th, and it's a deep dive into the lives of the Stoic philosophers that built the philosophy from scratch and changed everyone's lives for the better. It covers the most well-known thinkers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, as well as other interesting Stoics like Athenodorus Cananites, Musonius Rufus, Aristo, and more.
I'm offering great preorder bonuses to anyone who orders 1 or more copies of the book before its official release date of Sep 29. Learn more here: dailystoic.com/preorder