stoic principles


cuchulain
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It has been suggested that I never start topics.  :)  I smile at this, remembering when I used to start many topics, but when I realized that quantity did not equate quality.  We have several new members, I see the list grow on a daily basis.  Many different beliefs, philosophies, ideas.  Call them as you will.  Call a rose by any other name, and it would smell as sweet, I say.

So I thought, with these new people, these new ideas, perhaps there would be some few who were seeking information about others' ideas and beliefs.  I haven't posted anything in a while about stoicism, which is a philosophy I follow(or attempt to, for often I fail to live up to my own ideas, yet still I try).  So I thought I would post some of the basic ideas that I attempt to hold to, for those who might be curious as to what stoicism is.

Nature is rational. 

The universe is governed by the law of reason.  We cannot escape this force, much like the current of a river, but we can choose to go with the flow. 

A life led by a rational nature is innately virtuous. 

Passion is antithetical to reason, and so should be avoided as best we can. 

Pleasure isn't good or bad, it merely is. 

Poverty, illness, death, these are not evil...they are states of being that we find ourselves in. 

Wisdom is the base of virtue.  It is obtained through experience and learning.  

Virtue should be sought for virtue's sake, that is not through pleasure, but duty.  

Focus on what you can control, not on what is beyond your control.  

Take action.  When a decision is reached on right action, take action to make it so.  Or conversely, if you believe something is wrong, do something about it or cease doing it.

Amor Fati:  Love everything that happens.  Understand that life is experience, experience is wisdom, and take in everything that happens to you for your improvement.

Turn obstacles into opportunities.  

Be mindful.  Sounds kind of Jedi like, doesn't it?  

 

There are other ideas that flow through all this, but this is a general representation in any case.  Feel free to discuss, disagree, or agree...Attack the ideas I have presented if it please you, and maybe we can all learn something from the confrontation.  Add to the ideas if you think there needs to be more, by all means.  Life isn't set in stone, certainly...well, unless you choose to be buried in a mausoleum that is :) But then, it isn't life anymore, is it?

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21 minutes ago, Key said:

Out of curiosity, does this belief system allow for the irrational or anything that defies natural order?

i dont see anything as falling into those categories, rather that we dont understand at present.  of course, irrational behavior is human and understandable and at times we fail to be rational, but the pursuit is worthwhile for me.

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