A Beginning

Today is August 17, 2016 and I have decided to go on a journey of self-discovery by writing about my experience applying the principles of Stoicism to my daily life. 

I have been reading Stoic texts (primarily Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius plus a few contemporary authors such as William Irvine) for around the past 15 years without ever developing a methodical way to apply them as guides to my life. I am not sure how that will look, but I have an idea that will allow me to apply some rigor to this philosophical experiment. 

I just realized that The Manual of Epictetus is divided into 53 entries which works out to just over one per week in a 52 week year. What if I studied each entry of the Manual within a given week and applied it to my life in a cumulative fashion? That is, in week 10 I will be applying entries 1 through 10 and in my final week I will be applying all of the entries. 

I won't be going at this alone. Along with the Stoic texts, I plan on using additional texts and, hopefully, guidance from others I meet along the way. Ideally, and this will be the difficult part, I will work to start, or join, a Stoic Café where I can get additional help. Here I go! 

Update: This idea was completely changed as I gave more thought to the setup of The Manual. I also read a noted classical scholar, A. A. Long, that said we should not focus on The Manual but rather seriously study The Discourses. With that in mind, I realized that a week per entry wouldn't work. Instead, I am going to read The Discourses to understand the concepts and apply them to my life. It will be more about exploring and applying these ideas and then relating them in a journalistic fashion. I will read and then observe myself and the world and, hopefully, offer some insights that aren't too trivial. Keep well.