PEACE OF MIND: Stoic Insights

By Carolyn J Sweers

In a life time of studying philosophy, I have found no philosophy more personally useful than that of the Stoics.  In two cancer experiences, 20 years apart, it was the Stoics who helped me keep perspective, taught me how to control my thoughts so that fear did not take over, and provided the ongoing challenge to use those experiences, and

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Mar 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781950540082

Carolyn J Sweers

Carolyn Sweers grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1950's. It was there that she had her first experiences of the profound truths she tries to describe in this book. These experiences, more than any others, shaped her life and led her to a career as a philosophy student and teacher. This book and others that she has had published recently, have a shared objective: to evoke insight in the reader. She knows from experience the importance of finding what Kierkegaard called "the truth for me." And, she shares the Socratic conviction that people have within them this truth. It simply needs to be evoked.

Book preview

cover.jpg

Peace of Mind

Stoic Insights

Carolyn J Sweers

Copyright © 2019 by Carolyn J Sweers.

Paperback: 978-1-950540-07-5

eBook: 978-1-950540-08-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Ordering Information:

For orders and inquiries, please contact:

1-888-375-9818

www.toplinkpublishing.com

[e-mail]

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

How To Read This Book

What It Means To Be A Stoic

Three Stoic Philosophers

Thirty Stoic Topics

Recap

How To Read This Book

This is not a book that will explain something

and all you have to do is read it.

The Stoic insights are intended to

facilitate a direct encounter;

to start a conversation:

a conversation with you, the reader, and your life experiences.

The unexamined life is no worth living. Socrates

No one needs to tell you

the best way to live.

You can find out for yourselves,

with the guidance of wise teachers,

which the Stoics are.

In this little book,

you will be guided to reflect on your life

And to experiment with Stoic insights.

The best way to use this book

is to think of it as a kind of workbook.

Wide margins are provided for your notes and reflections.

I recommend spending a few minutes each day on a single topic.

That kind of attentiveness will allow the passage to speak

In ways that deepen understanding

and inspire beneficial actions.

There are thirty sections in this book;

thirty different but related topics.

You might want to consider doing one a day for a month.

No need to do this in any particular order.

Be intuitive.

Use the topic list as a guide.

Experiment with pondering the selections randomly.

Different sequences will produce new insights.

From time to time, I offer specific reflection suggestions.

If these are helpful, use them.

If they are not, leave them alone.

If readers find this book helpful,

I would encourage them to

to read more widely in the Stoic literature.

A calm, receptive mind is important.

Each time,

before you begin,

spend a few minutes

sitting quietly

attentive to your breath.

This will help calm the