Ataraxia: Tranquility thru embodied cognition

Philosophy entails perceiving the ordinary in extraordinary ways. Reinvention, however, is not necessary; in fact, the Stoics garnered from the wisdom of those who came before: Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. As 21st century stoics, what can we add to the basic tenets of Stoicism? What if Zeno of Citium, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius knew what we know now, especially in the fields of psychology and neuroscience? What would an evolved version of Stoicism look like and how would it lead to _eudaimonia_ (the good life)? Can _dichotomy of control_ be distilled as _locus of control_? Can _introspection_ be stacked with _interoception_ to gain deeper personal insight? Can we transmute _andreia_ (courage/fortitude) further into _antifragility_ (resilience 2.0)? Can Stoicism be made more inclusive to consider the neurodivergent and folks with diminished self-awareness? Using social tinkering, we will deviate slightly from the usual meetup format through social experimentation and collaborative participation—participants are encouraged to discuss less and experience more. Expect a departure from the conceptual discussion of Stoicism, the philosophy, while still exploring stoicism, the mindset. The aim is to expand our stoic skillset, as we go beyond _logic_ (reasoning) and _ethics_ (virtues) to venture into _physics_ (nature) and, additionally, _soma_ (body) in aspiring for psychological flexibility and a stoic mindset. Beyond the concept of _ataraxia_ (unperturbedness + equanimity + stillness), we can further our exploration to encompass _antifragility_ by effectively addressing constraints and expanding our nervous system’s window of tolerance. Since this meetup will veer away, somewhat, from our usual format of open and conceptual discussion, you may expect this to be more of a directed interactive workshop that will suit the stoicurious and the neuronerds amongst us. As we attempt to fuse ancient wisdom with recent studies in health science, you’ll come away with practicable skills that you can add to your daily stoic practice. Consider this your stoic expansion pack, as we explore bottom up techniques to foster a stoic mindset. P.S.: Prepare to get a bit physical!