Stoicism 101, Week 11 for the Stoic Philosophy Practice Group: talk on the Happy Life and group exercises to leave with practical prompts for virtuous living.

**Please join our main group, the [Stoic Philosophy Practice Group](https://www.meetup.com/stoicism/), to RVSP to this event.**

Join 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 Happy Life, Stoic joy, and how our pursuit of virtue should also make us the happiest people. We'll also talk about how to deal with critics, and how practice Stoicism if you aren't temperamentally suited for it.

Here's the video we'll be watching: [https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=8Ht89YsSxfG3OcPP&t=12794](https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=8Ht89YsSxfG3OcPP&t=12794)

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](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

Stoicism 101

danirispena

luisag2410

Sharon

John Lumpkin

Stefanos Ugbit

Scott

efdnyc

Rob Matthews

Aaliyah Taylor

Stoicism 101: Week 11 - The Happy Life

Online event

Intro-level Stoicism session for beginners with a brief talk and small-group discussion; learn courage techniques to overcome embarrassment and fear.

**Please join our main group, the [Stoic Philosophy Practice Group](https://www.meetup.com/stoicism/), to RSVP to this event.**

Join 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 courage, bravery, and freedom. We’ll also be going over a couple practices; one to get over our fears of embarrassment and another to get over our fears of everything else.

Here's the video we'll be watching: [https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=8Ll8J-3-Y_VwQhsi&t=3731](https://youtu.be/G1nM9UCJCIs?si=8Ll8J-3-Y_VwQhsi&t=3731)

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](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

kabellasoperasions

jnieves6136

Stoicism 101: Week 4 - Courage

This group is for men who want to deepen their Stoic practice and cultivate genuine strength of character. We’ll start by listening to short passages from the original Stoic texts, reflect on them together, and connect those ideas to real life, relationships, work, and the choices we face every day.

This week, we’ll continue with parts 10–14 of *On the Firmness of the Wise Man*, where Seneca turns from injury to insult and argues that the wise person is untouched even by disrespect, ridicule, or humiliation. He treats insults as signs of childishness, ignorance, or sickness of mind, and insists that offense exists only where there is insecurity. We’ll explore the Stoic claim that dignity comes from self-command, not recognition, and what it means to live beyond resentment, wounded pride, and the need for approval.

Come ready to think, talk, and take something useful back to your life.

Here’s the text and video:
[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Firmness_of_the_Wise_Man#X.](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Firmness_of_the_Wise_Man#X.)
[https://youtu.be/7FOFQ-ZkFrk?si=ezaCBKiEv9lPIqO-&t=1760](https://youtu.be/7FOFQ-ZkFrk?si=ezaCBKiEv9lPIqO-&t=1760)

*"Associate with those who will make a better man of you. Welcome those whom you yourself can improve. The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach."* \- Seneca\, Letters from a Stoic\, Letter 7

Stoic Philosophy Practice Group

Stoic Men's Group

Community Stoicism group for those seeking deeper engagement; practice meditation and writing, then discuss Seneca’s Letter 104 on health and peace.

If 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 Letter 104 from *Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic*: *On care of health and peace of mind.*

Here's the text and video if you’d like to check them out beforehand:

Letter 104
Text: [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_104](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_104)
Video: [https://youtu.be/lLkpJjKsLYQ?si=Pdh-pnMV-aKsF7cn&t=11138](https://youtu.be/lLkpJjKsLYQ?si=Pdh-pnMV-aKsF7cn&t=11138)

**Come for the whole thing, or join us whenever it works best for you.** See you Sunday!

Holly

Sunday Stoa XCVIII

Listening to Plotinus' On Beauty with a discussion; for beginners and beyond readers. Outcome: describe how beauty leads to purification and ascent.

In this session, we’ll listen to the tractate *On Beauty* from Plotinus’ *Enneads* (about 30 minutes). This is one of his most important writings, where he explores what beauty truly is and why it has such power over the soul.

Plotinus moves from visible beauty to moral beauty, and finally to **absolute Beauty itself** — showing how beauty awakens memory of the divine, draws the soul upward, and becomes the path of return to the Good.

Key themes include:

* Why beauty is **not** merely symmetry or proportion
* How the soul recognizes beauty through **inner likeness**
* Purification as the path to becoming beautiful
* The ascent beyond sense to **the source of all Beauty**

Here's the text and audio if you’d like to check them out beforehand:

Text: [On Beauty](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Plotinus_(MacKenna)/Volume_1/Ennead_1.6)
Audio: [https://archive.org/details/enneads/enneads_05_plotinus_i6.flac](https://archive.org/details/enneads/enneads_05_plotinus_i6.flac)

After listening, we’ll open a shared discussion around questions such as:

* What makes something truly beautiful?
* Why does beauty move the soul so deeply?
* How does Plotinus connect beauty, virtue, and purification?
* What does it mean to “become beautiful” inwardly?

**Beginners are very welcome**, but this is advanced material.
You’ll get much more out of the discussion if you **check out this [Introduction to Neoplatonism](https://youtu.be/vZEUo_sHoBw?si=9X98GH9PHa-L7ajk) beforehand.**

The Cambridge Platonists

Christopher Klimowicz

admarteev

Isabel

Alex

Maksym Ponomarenko

Roshan

Christina Hays

Elle Jay

Jeremy Mahr

Madison

On Beauty (Plotinus, Ennead I.6)

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