About us
This group is dedicated to the serious study and lived practice of Stoic philosophy as a way of life. Together, we explore how the teachings of the ancient Stoics can be applied thoughtfully and rigorously to the challenges of modern living.
We welcome newcomers and experienced practitioners alike. No prior background is required, only a genuine interest in examining one’s beliefs, habits, and character. Our discussions are structured to meet people where they are, while also encouraging steady growth in understanding and practice.
Our meetings focus on engaging directly with Stoic texts, reflecting on real-life situations, and considering how Stoic ideas apply to the choices we face. We emphasize virtue, self-discipline, sound judgment, and responsibility for one’s inner life not as abstract ideals, but as habits formed through daily attention and effort.
How the course works
We run an ongoing 12-chapter Stoicism 101 course that repeats continuously throughout the year.
- We meet Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
- Each night covers a different chapter
- After Chapter 12, the course loops back to Chapter 1
- You can join at any point
If you attend one night per week, you will complete the full course in about three months. If you attend multiple nights per week, you can move through the course more quickly. Each session stands on its own while also fitting into the larger structure.
Alongside the main course, every week we host Sunday Stoa, a more community-oriented, book club–style gathering.
If you’re looking for thoughtful conversation, sincere self-examination, and a community committed to practicing philosophy rather than merely talking about it, you’re very welcome to join us.
Upcoming events
10
Stoicism 101: Week 1 - What is Stoicism?
·OnlineOnlineJoin us for an evening of Stoic philosophy and discussion. We'll kick off the event with a short presentation exploring one of the core ideas of Stoicism, focusing on its real-world application with some practices drawn from the texts. Following the presentation, we'll break into smaller groups for a lightly-facilitated discussion about the topic.
This week, we’ll be discussing what the Stoics believed and how they acted, the cardinal virtues, tranquility of mind, the Stoic Sage, and role of mindfulness in Stoicism. We’ll also be going over three practices; one from Seneca, one Epictetus, and one from a different-but-complementary philosophical tradition.
Here's the video we'll be watching: https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=ogBCQOeVu6mn9WAx&t=6
And here's the text, along with the rest of the resources for the course: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6r2KFyv7f-vChnX-9eKovdFsQ6DYoc_CV5RZtJb9XA/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks so much for your interest, and please remember:
"There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common. And no one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility; you must live for your neighbor, if you would live for yourself." - Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, Letter 48
16 attendees
Acquiring Self-Discipline
·OnlineOnlineCosponsored with Philosophy + Therapy
You know exactly what you should be doing.
Not in general — the specific thing. The email, the appointment, the work you moved to tomorrow yesterday. It came to mind while you read that first line, which is the whole problem: knowing has never been the missing piece.Why do so many thoughtful, self-aware, well-read people find that:
- they're waiting to feel like it, and have been waiting a while
- the thing they avoid takes less time than the avoiding does
- once they finally start, it's rarely as bad as the weeks of not starting
- an outside deadline gets it done immediately, when nothing else could
- they've read about this, made a system for it, and abandoned the system
- putting things off has stopped feeling like something they do and started feeling like who they are
A Guide to Rational Living — the 1961 book that became the foundation of modern cognitive therapy — takes the excuse seriously enough to answer it. You genuinely don't feel like it. That much is true. The false part is the rule hiding underneath it: that the feeling has to come first. It usually doesn't. More often it shows up after you've started, and sometimes it never shows up and the thing gets done anyway.
We'll get into:
- why waiting for motivation is the mechanism of the delay, not a symptom of it
- the difference between "I don't want to" and "I can't make myself"
- what the Stoics said about putting things off when tomorrow isn't guaranteed
- how "I deserve a break" becomes an argument against your own interests
- what changes when the feeling stops being a precondition
No reading required. We listen to the chapter together.
The plan for the night:- Quick intro from me — who I am, and where these ideas came from
- We listen to Chapter 16 together (~20 min)
- Small-group discussion (~20 min)
- Q&A and open discussion
Not therapy. No diagnosis. Nothing you have to share. Just a good book and a more reasonable way to see the world.
9 attendees
Stoicism 101: Week 9 - The Right Way to Receive and Return
·OnlineOnlineJoin us for an evening of Stoic philosophy and discussion. We'll kick off the event with a short presentation exploring one of the core ideas of Stoicism, focusing on its real-world application with some practices drawn from the texts. Following the presentation, we'll break into smaller groups for a lightly-facilitated discussion about the topic.
This week, we’ll be discussing the right way to receive and return benefits so that we build bonds of love and interdependence with others. We'll talk about how gratitude returns the debt of kindness, how to deal with ingratitude, and whether we should be grateful to God and Nature. We'll end by discussing a practice from the texts designed to help us put all this advice into action in our daily lives.
Here's the video we'll be watching: https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=Cf5MJnIhyNyD_lTV&t=10319
And here's the text, along with the rest of the resources for the course: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6r2KFyv7f-vChnX-9eKovdFsQ6DYoc_CV5RZtJb9XA/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks so much for your interest, and please remember:
"There is no such thing as good or bad fortune for the individual; we live in common. And no one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility; you must live for your neighbor, if you would live for yourself." - Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, Letter 48
8 attendees
Sunday Stoa #137
·OnlineOnlineIf you're interested in going deeper than just the intro classes and exploring the community side of Stoicism, please join us for Sunday Stoa.
We begin at 4:00 PM (ET) with 10 minutes of Stoic breath meditation followed by 15 minutes of writing practice.
At 4:30 PM, we move into introductions and social time.
Around 5:00 PM, we’ll listen to selections from the original Stoic texts and then discuss the ideas they present.This week, we’ll be listening to Letters 54 and 55 from Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic: On asthma and death, and On Vatia's villa.
Here's the text and video if you’d like to check them out beforehand:
Letter 54
Text: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_54
Video: https://youtu.be/t8kyl8pGvGMLetter 55
Text: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_55
Video: https://youtu.be/5_JawooZBT4Come for the whole thing or join us whenever it works best for you. See you Sunday!
1 attendee
Past events
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