Sydney Stoicism Meetup Group

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! 🤓 Can you sit through a dinner without saying a single word?

The Game Plan:
6:00 PM Arrival: We’ll start with a chat, get settled, and discuss the power of non-verbal communication to set our intentions.

Ordering & The Silence: We’ll use the QR codes to order food and drinks. Silence begins the moment we start ordering!

Phones Away: To make this truly intentional, once our orders are in, all phones go away. We’ll then enjoy one full hour of silence—just us, our gestures, and our facial expressions.

The "Accountability" Jar: If you accidentally slip up, speak, or reach for your phone, you can drop a gold coin into our jar. This is optional but a fun way to keep us all on track (donations go back to the Meetup group)!

Once the hour is up, we’ll break the silence and have a laugh sharing our experiences.

They say communication is 80% non-verbal, so we’re tuning into a different way of connecting. For Stoics, voluntary discomfort is about resilience. Seneca believed that by temporarily giving up a comfort we take for granted—like easy conversation—we train our minds to be content with less. It reminds us that we are capable of enduring hardships, so when life gets "real," we’re already prepared.

Note to RSVPs: I need to confirm final numbers with the restaurant, so please reply to my message or adjust your RSVP status if your plans have changed!

Looking forward to a great challenge with you all!

Socrates Café are gatherings around the world where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange philosophical perspectives based on their experiences, using the Socratic Method.

A typical Socrates Cafe group meets in a public place, is open to anyone who wishes to attend, and dive deep into dialogue on a particular topic which is chosen by vote or which is announced shortly in advance. There are no prerequisites, and no reading or other preparation is required.

Please post in the comments a question you'd like to nominate for us to explore Socratically.

Unlike other philosophies, Stoicism was named after a place not a person, making it accessible to ALL people. In ancient greco-roman times people would meet at the Stoa, where they would discuss Stoic Philosophy. We can meet in the park just as the stoic sages 1000s of years ago.

Join us to read through and discuss Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Google books has a FREE PDF you can download.

No need to do any homework, we will read together and discuss. Am looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Event fee (optional) is $2, this goes to admin costs of running the group, please consider I am from Wollongong and wanted to keep this group when original organiser stepped down. I have significant travel expenses and am generally organising creative events that take resources. A gratuity would be a wonderful way to make me feel appreciated.
Pay on the day, payID 0416147804, PayPal: paypal.me/jonnikaren or private message for direct deposit details. In lieu of event fee, you can buy me a coffee :)