[Practical Stoicism #28] Borrowing wisdom from others
There's a lot of overlap between Stoicism, modern psychotherapies, and Eastern philosophies like Buddhism. Especially now, we should make sense of reality and use whatever practice works.
Dear fellow Stoics,
I hope you're doing all well mentally and physically. Please think of yourself and others, and stay safe.
The past week was my third week in isolation. I've felt under the weather since around the 7th of March, luckily without fever or any serious issues. As the official guidelines of the Dutch government are to stay inside when showing cold symptoms, I've done that.
As an introvert, isolation has been quite comfortable for me. Working from home feels nice, and I have more time and mental space to think about a broad range of topics. Listening to podcasts and reading articles is down to zero. I watch almost no television and have switched to mostly reading and writing.
For now, I won't organize Zoom calls. Currently, I spend so much time in video calls for work every day, that I want to be away from my computer whenever possible. When not working, I like to spend my time with an interesting book and take notes on paper.
One of the topics I've been doing a deep dive is Buddhism and how it overlaps with Stoicism. There are many concepts in both philosophies that Aldous Huxley dubbed "perennial philosophy," and I notice that by expanding my reading, I am coming to a somewhat eclectic practice that's still fully compatible with Stoicism.
I recently finished reading Patrick Ussher's master thesis titled Stoicism & Western Buddhism, which underlines and puts into words what I've sensed before. There are many similarities between Buddhism and Stoicism, but both have unique features that enable the Buddhist and Stoic to enrich his/her practice by borrowing from the other philosophy. I'm aiming to publish my notes on the book in the coming week.
If you also borrow from other philosophies in your practice, I'm eager to hear from you. Leave a comment on Substack (click the title of this newsletter) or simply reply to this email.
Ramses
A flowchart for everyday challenges
Some of us are more inclined to think in steps than others. Probably due to the nature of my profession, I tend to think with decision trees and flowcharts.
The graphic below gives you a few handles for throughout the day. The sides provide reminders of Stoic exercises to do in the morning and evening. In the middle is a nifty flowchart to guide your thinking when faced with challenging or emotionally triggering situations.
What I've been watching
You can trust Ryan Holiday to find parallels with ancient Rome and Stoicism whenever something big happens. The current Covid-19 outbreak and taken measures have similarities with 2nd century Rome and the outbreak of the Antonine Plague. I liked this video as a way to meditate on the similarities between the two time periods. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations have certainly more come to life in recent weeks.
Stoics from the meetup group Stoicism Toronto have been organizing online talks and discussion groups due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Some of the conversations are recorded and published on YouTube. My favorite one so far is on "Stoic breathing" by Steve Beattie, who is a teacher of the Wim Hof Method. I linked to Steve's talk and breathing exercises at Stoicon-X Toronto in a previous newsletter.
Breathwork is an essential component of my practice, and so is cold exposure. I've been an avid practitioner of the Wim Hof Methods for almost five years now, and have noticed significant benefits. Breathing exercises and cold training have helped my health and deepened my philosophical practice. In my view, there is no better voluntary discomfort than taking a cold shower or bath.
What I've been reading
I'm following a Letter by Peter Limberg, who is the founder of The Stoa. As he is organizing hugely valuable online Stoic gatherings at a high pace, it's interesting to be able to read his reasoning and how he deals with internal and external struggles.
I thoroughly enjoyed Ronald Robertson's long read titled Stoic Philosophy as a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, about the Stoic roots of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). What's interesting is that some of the most effective modern psychotherapies draw from ancient philosophies. Stoicism has provided CBT and REBT with some essential truths (like the dichotomy of control) that many clients find very useful in day-to-day life. Similarly, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) draws from Buddhist mindfulness practices, some of which we can find in Stoicism.
April's edition of THE STOIC magazine has come early, and you can read it here. Not surprisingly, this edition has everything to do with how to act as a Stoic during the coronavirus pandemic, with useful advice and exercises.