Stoicism for women

[ArabellaScott]

There can be a bit of macho posturing among some Stoic groups, but on the whole I find people who practise Stoicism generally calm, thoughtful and amenable to reasoned discussion. Especially the women.

I thought a thread of resources might be of interest (I know little, so would be delighted if anyone with more knowledge would like to add their perspective):

www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/19/inject-that-stoicism-into-my-veins-10-tools-of-ancient-philosophy-that-improved-my-life

astoicremedy.com/2018/01/29/why-women-should-explore-stoicism/

dailystoic.com/stoic-women/

I didn't realize there were modern Stoic groups, that's quite interesting! Do they see it mainly as a kind of practical self-help tool, or as a whole philosophy with a metaphysics and all that?

I've been thinking more and more about stoicism. I've go5 a couple of books. I think there's also a mn thread.

Both, Mangy! There's quite a large Stoic movement, conferences etc. Some people involved are very scholarly, some use principles at a simple self help level.

There is a nice Stoic thread in the MN philosophy/religion section; the women there are great
I like it as stoicism builds resilience; you understand that you should act on things you have control over and accept there are things you have no control over and not obsess over it.

Oh, great, thanks Hippolyta, I shall check it out.

Ooh looks interesting. I love the Oliver Burkeman book The Antidote which has a great chapter on Stoicism. (He also gets bonus points for being actively Terfy on twitter)

I only came across it recently and I think it's totally what I need.

Ooh love Oliver and his terfy ways!

I only really started getting interested in stoicism a couple of years ago and I am finding it fascinating. Thanks for the links.

Add me to the Oliver Burkeman fan club.

medium.com/stoicism-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life/how-to-actually-practice-stoicism-993721d3ed9

I had a few friends who practiced Stoicism when COVID started. They did what they could; vaccines and face masks and then when stuck at home, carried on with their lives. No drama no meltdowns...They really impressed me by their behavior.

Are there any book versions for children? I think it would help both ds's

that also may help me as fried brain is struggling with philosophical stuff

I found this, Warrior?

dailystoic.com/teach-children-stoicism/

@WarriorN and this . It's an excellent idea
medium.com/stoicism-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life/stoicism-for-children-7ce300bb7b7f

Thanks for this thread. I'm very interested in stoicism.Einzelgänger on YouTube has some good stoic content

This is really interesting. Thanks for sharing, Arabella.
Going to lurk on this thread for more info.

Thanks Arabella and queen. I used some ideas today to get perspective

There's some overlaps with mindset actually, which if used correctly can be v helpful for children- eg see obstacles as opportunities, seeing mistake making as how we learn

Teaches Resilience ?

I don’t practice Stoicism, but I aspire to being more stoic. It has helped at lot in terms of creating a better emotional balance (hand in hand with pharmaceuticals).

DH introduced me to Marcus Aurelius and his meditations in Italian. I use a recording in English because otherwise my brain starts wondering about how irritating Italian articulated prepositions are, which is not very stoic. It my way of cheating at meditation, I suck at it. My brain never shuts up. But if I stick on headphones and listen at this slow speed I can at least focus on the sound outside of brain and try to not overthink breathing.

There others with different narrators, but I like the tone of this guy’s voice.

Anybody got a link to the MN Stoic thread ? I can’t face the maze of the talk topics list.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4581490-are-there-any-stoics-here

Here's the link to the other thread. I'm watching it rather than contributing. I started listening to the daily stoic podcast when walking the dog, partly just to make myself actually focus on something and properly listen. They are only a few mins long (3-5 mins mostly) so I have to pay attention. Then I got distracted by another podcast and need to get back to the stoics!

Here is the Stoic thread.

I know Epictetus is kind of the main guy, but it's always Marcus Aurelius' way of putting things that appeals most to me. I have the Daily Stoic, which has a Stoic quote for every day of the year.

Thanks for link. Turns out the OP came through the same door that I did to stoicism, the Fabulous app. (I also have five invitations for a free month if anybody wants one, hoping to give them away so it stops reminding me I have them 😅)

I’m off to subscribe to the Daily Stoic and look into the Happy book in case there’s an audio version.

Here is Epictetus' Handbook on archive.org:

archive.org/details/epictetus-the-enchiridion

Thank you for raising the subject, and providing some excellent suggestions of what to read!

For those with an active Audible subscription, have a look at "Think like a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World"

It's free in addition to your regular credits. I believe a reading of Aurelius' Meditations is available in the Plus catalogue too.

’I was reading an old book the other day describing a Stoic woman as a contradiction in terms, like “sweet vinegar.”’

Clearly an ignorant man who has never tried balsamic vinegar and has no appreciation that sometimes the best things in life come in unexpected places.