Dr. Andrew Belaveshkin

 The 12 Stoic Commandments 1.  Who to compete with?  Compete with yesterday's Self. Strive to surpass yourself, going to bed even just a bit smarter and stronger than you were the day before. “The greatest victory is the victory over oneself,” and “one who conquers himself conquers the entire world.” 2. Whom to command?    Command yourself. The person who cannot command himself is a slave. "Who cannot obey himself will be commanded." "He who cannot command himself must obey. Some can command themselves, but still lack much to know how to obey themselves." Control yourself and observe the Stoic dichotomy of control - "You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." 3. Who to listen to?  Listen to your reason and be inspired by the emotions it generates through rational vision. "A person must conquer his passions, or they will conquer him." You will rule over many if your mind rules over you. Reason...

  1. If you would be outraged if someone tried to take control of your body, then why do you allow anyone to control your thoughts and judgments? You let others shake your beliefs and make you doubt without feeling offended or humiliated.       2. Don’t expect events to happen as you wish; instead, train yourself to want everything to happen exactly as it does, and you will be happy.   3. If a desirable object or fantasy disturbs your mind, remind yourself: “You are just a thought, a potential future, not a reality, no matter how much you seem like one.” Then test this thought against your principles: first, determine if the realization of this desire depends solely on you. If it does not, be ready to say, “This does not concern me.”   4. Train yourself to observe what you desire and what you fear, but do so with ease, without force or excessive effort. Every person is a slave to anyone who can give or take away something they desire or fear.   5. The...

Discipline of desires.   From early childhood, we hear about the immense importance of our desires, as if our desires and their fulfillment are the essence of life, and "suppressing desires" is perceived as violence against oneself, harmful to health. "Do what you want," "listen to your desires," and "everything you want is good for you." "Do what you love, and follow your desires."   We forget that inside us, there are not only angels but also demons - we are the sources of destructive desires for ourselves and others. We can desire unhealthy things due to our biological vulnerabilities (ultra-processed food, pornography, the "terrible enemy" - all capable of pushing our buttons). In this case, overeating in front of the screen is "do what you want."     We forget that our desires are also the desires of our dark nature - the dark triad (narcissism - the desire to devalue others and prove one's superiority, psyc...