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News Philosophy Stoicism

The Future of my Substack Newsletter

Dear Stoic fam,

I want to begin by thanking you! In January, my newsletter became one of Substack’s official bestsellers, as a direct result of your support.

When I was thinking about starting it, I wondered whether it was really needed and what it could accomplish. Way back in Oct 2012, I was invited to a multi-disciplinary workshop, organized by Chris Gill, professor emeritus of Ancient Thought, at Exeter University. We went on to found the Modern Stoicism organization, the Stoic Week online course, and Stoicon conferences. We contributed, I hope, in our small way, to the renaissance in popularity that Stoicism has gone through since then. However, in some regards the philosophy we love has now become a victim of its own success.

Over the years, I noticed more and more articles, videos, podcasts, and books, which seemed to present Stoicism in a very superficial way, or even to badly misrepresent its central ideas. I also watched as the Stoicism communities on social media grew to hundreds of thousands of members but increasingly became dominated by joke memes, and articles about things like how to get rich quick, etc. This seemed very far removed from the Stoic philosophy of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Controversial influencers, such as Andrew Tate and others like him, have jumped on the bandwagon, claiming to be inspired by Stoicism. I noticed that high-quality content from leading experts on the philosophy — like Chris Gill, Massimo Pigliucci, and Chris Gill — was often being drowned out by all the noise on social media.

I learned, though, that Substack was building a space designed to be different. I began to wonder if starting a newsletter might offer a way to create a community where I could help others to put Stoicism and other branches of Greek philosophy into practice, in ways that might help them in daily life.

Read more…

Categories
CBT Psychotherapy Resilience

Short Guided Relaxation Exercise

Listen to this Audio Recording of my Fractional Relaxation Technique

NB: This episode contains a recording of a guided relaxation technique, which you should not listen to while driving. I created this recording for my psychotherapy clients, many years ago, but wanted to make it more widely available. It’s a short and simple exercise, about thirteen minutes in duration. This is the approach that I found to work best for the majority of people.

Short Guided Relaxation Exercise Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life Podcast

NB: This episode contains a recording of a guided relaxation technique, which you should not listen to while driving. I created this recording for my psychotherapy clients, many years ago, but wanted to make it more widely available. It’s a short and simple exercise, about thirteen minutes in duration. This is the approach that I found to work best for the majority of people. Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Instructions* Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair, where you are free from distractions* Close your eyes, while you listen to the recording* If you want to fall asleep, it’s okay to listen in bed at night* Try to use this recording at least once per day for at least two weeks* Relax your body and your mind togetherThrough regular use, you’ll develop an association between the recording and the feelings of relaxation, which will make it much easier to relax more quickly, and more deeply. Thank you for reading Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. This post is public so if you found it helpful, please feel free to share it. Get full access to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life at donaldrobertson.substack.com/subscribe
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Podcasts Stoicism

Podcast: Death, Love, Stoicism

This is a new audio recording of an article I published on Medium about the Stoic contemplation of death. The photo shows me outside the ruined Temple of Hades at the ancient site of Eleusis near Athens.

This is a new audio recording of an article I published on Medium about the Stoic contemplation of death. The photo shows me outside the ruined Temple of Hades at the ancient site of Eleusis near Athens. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
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Interviews Marcus Aurelius Stoicism Videos

Video: Conversation with Ryan Holiday about Marcus Aurelius

My conversation with Ryan Holiday for the Daily Stoic podcast, talking about Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism, and Verissimus, the graphic novel.

Categories
Marcus Aurelius Podcasts Stoicism

Conversation with Ryan Holiday about Marcus Aurelius

I recently spoke with author Ryan Holiday about our mutual fascination with the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, on the Daily Stoic podcast. You can also download the episode from Spotify or Apple Podcasts, among others. If you found our chat interesting, please share your comments or questions on Twitter, for me to read, and tag DonJRobertson.

Verissimus Cover
Categories
Marcus Aurelius Podcasts Stoicism Videos

Video: Chris Williamson’s Modern Wisdom Show

Video of a recent interview I did about Stoicism for Chris Williamson’s Modern Wisdom podcast.