Yes bro, Stoic philosophy has very strong base and is very practical, especially helpful in this distracted and stressful world. In fact, it was created to survive any hard times in life. Look at Marcus Aurilius; he was the emperor of Rome for 9 years and everyday he had to face to stressful and nerve wrecking events. It was Stoic philosophy that helped him. Just like Buddhism, Taoism etc Stoic philosophy gaurantees real peace and clarity in perception. Please do read and think about it before accepting the concepts. It is helping me a lot.
This is also a great book, on the topic; two of the most famous book on amazon right now are this and Daily Stoic. There are hundreds of rereading and writings happening on it because stoic philosophy is very helpful in modern times and offcourse in gaining control over addictions too.
Bro @The_integrous_one , but if you want to really grasp the ideas of stoics we have to dig into the original writing of marcus Aurilius, Seneca and Epictetus. Their books Meditation, Letters of Seneca and Discourses are the most important ones, in my understanding.
Ok bro I’ll look into them later on in life, Now a days I just manage around 15-20 minutes of reading self help books along with my routine and studies, so I’ll be sticking with the daily stoic for now . I have just started this daily reading habit about 2 months ago and I was able to finish just one 190 page book in 2 months .
Agree with you. We can learn lot of things from stoic philosophy, Buddhism, Taoism. I find commonality between these three. These are timeless philosophies which will never get old.
I have already read the Meditation and Letters By Seneca but I feel I should read it multiple times. Because i forgot most of the stuffs.
Also Stoic philosophy helps us to develop the real character as a Man.
100%
In fact, the perfection of a stoic is when he is able to stay calm and cool when any kind of destruction happens in life. ‘Indifference’ is the key word. But there is much more to it.
A lot to learn bro. I am also focusing on Epicureanism which was also famous in Greek at the time (3rd - 2nd century BC). this philosophy has a huge eastern shadow. Their basic idea is give up all the unnecessary baggage we carry in name of pleasure such as fame, lust, sense pleasure etc.
Live a simple life. A life of sense pleasures = life of pain.
A happy life is a life without pain, anxiety, fear etc
So choose a simple life by following the basic necessities of life. Give up everything else. I am moved by this philosophy of Epicurus.
You do read a lot too bro. Happy to find a man with similar interests. What is your age? You speak like a mature man. Keep going; you are born for greatness.
Make my bed Deep work (1 hour)
Yoga at 7:30 am: Sookshma Vyayam, Soorya namaskar, asanas: Sirshasana, sarvangasan, matyasana, siddhasan Om Chanting Pranayam- bhastrika, Kapalbanti, agnisar, shithali, anulom vilom, bhramri Jalandhar bandh Uddhiyana bandh Meditation (15 mins) Shavasan Stoic lesson (5) Journal Cold shower Vajrasana after lunch Reading (Hatha Yoga Pradipika) Pray in the evening + Gitanjali No TV No phone No junk food Evening Meditation (10 mins) Plan for tomorrow Sleep before 11
Wake up (6 am) Mindful eating + Mitahara
Work: 5 hours. (Today you won bro @_TIGER . I was distracted and had slept in the afternoon. Lets see tomorrow!)
One question brothers @Tagore@anon13059885 should I start the daily stoic from 11th may (today) page or should I start reading from the beginning only?
@The_integrous_one it doesn’t matter, as it’s not a “story” that builds up or anything. I’d suggest you simply start today with the day you are expected to read. It’s one page per day or something. Then keep the consistency, just start of your day with reading.
Ok bro, still I have started from the beginning only, I’ll read one page daily, I have made a habit of reading 15-20 minutes in the morning everyday, so it won’t be a problem to stay consistent. Thanks @anon13059885 .
Yes true bro. That’s the real strength when you’re calm in adversity. And sooner or later life will taste us with this situation. The more strength we develop the more severe test we will face from life. Equanimity is the word used in Buddhist traditions for this. We remain equanmious with all situations.
I agree with this. Comfort life make us weak. Buddha suggested to sleep in hard mattress rather than on comfortable cushion. That’s why Spartans used to send their soldiers to the forest to survive in the wilderness. We most of the modern men are weak.
Yes but one major difference between Buddhism and Greek Philosophy is that in Buddhism all the truth the Buddha spoke we have to experience ourselves before we accept it. I mean these can be known if have the self awareness at the level where we can control our flow of thoughts. I am not there so can’t say much.
Yeah man I am happy too. Not lot of people talk about Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche. I am 26 will turn 27 in few months now. Yeah man I am born for greatness. I had been the in the flow but due to my own stupidity i strayed from path and wasted lot of precious time but I won’t do that again.
Man you can also check out books by Herman Hesse. He won Nobel prize in literature. His one book Siddhartha is very popular. His other books The Glass Bead Game and Steppenwolf are also great.
Bro @anon65589122 are you a Buddhist?
Yes, nowhere in this world can we find a figure like Buddha. I believe, I may convert into Buddhist religion and will live in a monastery for 6-12 months for totally purifying my mind, body and spirit.
Same thing happened to me bro. I don’t belong here. During this time, I should be living my life as a writer; creating great stories, living a life of greatness and passion. But now, what is the condition. But even this addiction can be a blessing in disguise bro (only if we conquer it at this age itself). We will be disciplined till the end of our life because loosing self discipline equals going back to addiction. We can change our attitude and see everything from the right perspective.
A lot of great men had different addictions- Dostyovsky had gambling addiction (how many hours and days he spent gambling! (but it helped him in writing; even he wrote a book called gambler), greatest short story writer in the world Allen Poe was a extreme alchohol addict- died at age 40 in the street being drunk, Martin Scorsese- one of the greatest film maker was a cocaine addict- at one point in his life he forgot everything and spent days and months using cocaine, then his friend and great actor- Robert Deniero saved him and took him back to life.
But yeah, if we conquer this addiction now itself and not allow it to conquer our precious coming days and months it can be considered as a lesson and it can also motivate us to be disciplined till the end
I have read Siddhartha bro. I had goosebumps and I my mind was on another plane when I read the chapter in which Buddha comes in that book. While writing that chapter Hesse was on a god-like state as a writer. Such perfectly he wrote about Buddha, his movements, his actions, composure etc. Those images will never leave my mind. Even as I got to the end of that book, I was in another world. I consider it as a holy book; I’ll read and will reread it. There is a lot more to understand and learn from it.
The other two books I haven’t read but surely will read it. Thanks for suggesting it brother
I relapsed brothers.
Yes, it really is very hard to come here and say that shit went wrong. But I was extremely stressed due to exams, due to lockdown relationship with friends and family were going astray, not being disciplined; it all reached a peak point and everything happened unconsciously.
Not unconsciously. The fact is I fucked up.
But I consider this as another lesson. Now I know one more way pmo traps us and how to avoid it. After all, experience had taught me that putting myself down will only help in increasing the wound. I will look at the 125 days (4 months) in which I was sober and made great improvements. I’ll come back stronger! Only with our accountability and brotherhood that I was able to reach this far; next goal is 180 days. This is an ongoing process and I’ll become the god of my life. Nothing in this world; pmo or whatever the fuck can never hold me back! Fuck the victim mentality. We are all born for greatness brothers! I locked my fucking phone, locked its settings, changed the device admin, locked the fucking playstore and gave the password to mother. Now, how am I going to relapse again?
No more relapse! Only chasing the deamon and beating them down the road till they die.
Oh man , I can’t tell you how much bad I’m feeling … Watch out for the Chaser effect . You can do it again , you made 100+ days streak 2 times . You are the Real Beast …
That is quite shocking to hear man. It was unexpected since you were full-on beast mode. You have a great routine. I will say keep being productive. Or keep being how you were. One relapse shouldn’t hinder your progress.
Yes brothers. But I am very serious about this; I know how much falling into a chaser effect can destroy my brain. I will break my laptop and phone to not fall into that trap. But most of my progress are still there. One relapse cannot take away the improvements made for 125 days.
I am changing my work place into a public place, locked my phone, I’ll stay extremely productive and disciplined. Will be updating my diary daily. Going back to pmo = becoming an animal. My pg entrance is coming; I have to prepare really well to crack it. This is only a one way road brothers. Thanks for all the support; we are together in this
oh man. I literally couldn’t believe this, I thought I opened some old thread.
But what happened happened, please be careful next time, our goal is not to just break the previous streak and then go back, our goal is to leave this trap forever man. We are here for you, full support.
Also you’ll still have most of the benefits, the habits you built in 4 months is not going anywhere now, just follow your routine properly keeping your goals in mind .
I thought the same brother, But I believe in you bro @Tagore You will take care of it, this is the proof that You have to keep wining every single day, One defeat can cost a lot. No one can take away the benefits from you. And chaser can’t do anything to a beast. Stay Strong Buddy You haven’t lost much till now, It’s your call now You have to take care of your mindset brother. You can do it. Keep Moving forward, Fight Fight !
I won’t say I am a complete Buddhist but as I started practicing meditation and read the books I got inclined towards that. By birth, I am a Hindu.
I won’t say much about that. But I want to specify one thing. Spirituality is also a path, a different kind of path. I wanted to say that don’t forget your main goal about being a great writer. I mean there is a lot of things in the world that will lure you. Spirituality can also become a distraction. So, keep that in mind. Also don’t follow my advice completely because I am not capable of giving you advice. I am also in the same boat as you trying to figuring out things. Try to experiment with things but do always what feels right to you. What moves you from within.
Yes man especially in the world of art I have seen that Great artists and writers had really weird habits. I didn’t know these facts about Dostoevsky. There is too much contradiction in everything.
Yes, I had the same feeling after reading Siddhartha. It also gave me goosebumps. I agree he has given a really lively image of Buddha in his book.
. I have just started this daily reading habit about 2 months ago and I was able to finish just one 190 page book in 2 months 
Make my bed
Wake up (6 am)
oh man. I literally couldn’t believe this, I thought I opened some old thread.
.
You haven’t lost much till now, It’s your call now You have to take care of your mindset brother. You can do it. Keep Moving forward, Fight Fight ! 