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Epictetus didn't write books. He ran a school where students lived for years, practicing responses to insults, hardship, and loss. Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations as a daily training regimen—the same ideas, over and over, drilling them into his reflexes. Seneca reviewed his day every single night for decades.

The Stoics weren't building a library. They were building a gymnasium for the soul.

Somewhere along the way, we forgot this. We turned philosophy into content to consume. We read about the exercises instead of doing them.

In this episode, I explore what Stoic training actually looked like, why our modern approach would baffle the ancients, and what practice looks like in daily life—not in theory, but in the specific exercises you can start today.

Plus: I've been working on something to make this kind of structured practice easier. I'll share more soon.

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A few months ago, I was in a conversation that started to go sideways. I could feel the tension rising—the tightening in my chest, my voice getting sharper. I knew exactly what was happening. I've studied this. I've taught this. I know what Marcus Aurelius would say. And in that moment, it was like I'd never read a word of Stoicism.

If you've spent any time with this philosophy, you've probably had your own version of this experience. The email lands and you spiral. The criticism stings and you're devastated. Someone cuts you off and you react exactly the way Epictetus said not to. This is the gap between knowing and doing—and it's the central challenge of practicing philosophy.

In this episode, I explore why the philosophy disappears when we need it most, what Seneca confessed about this exact problem 2,000 years ago, and why more reading isn't the answer. Spoiler: the Stoics weren't building a library. They were building a gymnasium for the soul.

In this episode:

• The moment I knew exactly what to do—and didn't do it
• Why intellectual understanding is not the same as embodied skill
• What Seneca admitted about knowing vs. practicing
• The difference between studying Stoicism and training as a Stoic
• A reflection question to sit with after listening

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A 15 minute, Yoga Nidra–inspired sleep meditation designed to help your body soften and your mind quiet. We’ll move through a slow, systematic relaxation from head to toe, then drift into a gentle “safe floating” visualization—before fading into spacious silence to support deep sleep.

A subtle Stoic thread runs underneath: release what cannot be changed, and return to the only place you ever rest—this moment.