Affirmations for Stoic emotional mastery?

[X_X]

Quote

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

By Stoic I mean: by knowing (down to your bones) that it's not things themselves that distress us but our preceding thoughts about them, and that we can change our thoughts at any moment, hence being able to always be in equanimity.

Which strongly incentivizes the ego to pay importance and attention, and be on the look out, for what's going on in our minds, our thoughts, the meaning we assign to things, because it's been integrated down into the ego: Who we think we are and what we think can and can't hurt us. What we think we can and can't do.

To reprogram our minds, self-image along with the abilities and threats, would be extremely beneficial to us, for living not only in harmony and fulfilment but also persistently mindful with a higher level consciousness, love, and being. 

Affirmations such as "I love being confident" and "I'm independent of the good or bad opinions of others" are nice and effective, but they can't substitute this wisdom that is so deep, that one would automatically derive to the states that the prior affirmations try to bring. 

Can you guys try to make an affirmation that could drill this principle down into our egos. One that would probably have to meet most if not all of these:

• has "I am / I always.. " (or any way that redefines the self)
• has significance for self survival (danger/reward)
• makes cognitive processes salient and important, encouraging persistent meta-cognitive awareness.
• is empowering  ( eg "I can" or like in the " and this you have the power to revoke at any moment..)
• is short and concise

 

Quotes for ideas:

“ If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” -Marcus Aurelius

" What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about these things." -Epictetus

" We suffer more in imagination than in reality." -Seneca

" It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." -Epictetus

" You have power over your mind, not outside event. Realize this and you will find strength." -Marcus Aurelius

“ Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” -Viktor E. Frankl

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by X_X

[Matt23]

@X_X

6 hours ago, X_X said:

Ya, I've heard of the idea that people take Stoicism to mean toxic suppression of emotions and just being unhealthily... well... "Stoic".   Vs. a healthy inquiry into emotions and life and neither suppressing nor destructively expressing them.

[X_X]

Humble bump

[Jacob Morres]

On 9/25/2020 at 7:37 AM, X_X said:

 

For me I noticed this in the sense that my interpretation of event can actually avoid pain.. like a bad thing happening to someone versus me, my interpretation of the event can be completely different 

Like one person gets depressed because they lose their job

Versus someone else who is like great I can finally fucking work on some other shit now/follow my heart etc. 

[mmKay]

Idk about afirmations, but I can share my 2 cents on the topic of emotional mastery work. 

Imo working within direct experience and your emotional body is more effective than working with concepts and words. 

Lay in bed or visulize things that " trigger " you emotionally ( if you dont know this concept, look up shadow work ) . Feel into those feelings and visions as deep as you can, and completely accept them as deeply as you can. And by "visualize" I simply mean imagining with your whole mind and body as vividly as you can. 

That's it. Super simple but super effective. 

A step deeper into emotional mastery is actually having enough awareness to catch trigger moments in real time as they happen in your day to day, and deeply accept and love them till death. 

Real Stoicism is warm, open and vulnerable, not cold , closed off and distant. 

Imagine being emotionally stabbed in the heart multiple times. Being judged and laughed at. And still having enough "stoicism"  to forgive, embrace and radiate love. 

What's more  stoic than walking with your naked heart in the palm of your hand for everyone to judge, and still being indestructible? ( metaphorically speaking) 

 

Ofc all of this can be misunderstood, you can turn into a doormat or a simp or whatever. Balance and nuance is requiered. 

Super tricky to comvey such topics. Gl.