I like to revisit books I have read in the past. Recently, I picked back up the Inner Citadel which is a deep dive into the spiritual exercises of Marcus Aurelius. If you haven’t read it I would strongly recommend it as it outlines Marcus’s practice of journaling on the three disciplines as outlined in the Discourses of Epictetus.
For those unfamiliar or just starting out, in the Discourses Epictetus starts in the first paragraph on what is known as the Dichotomy of Control. Essentially this is the dividing line between what is up to a Stoic and what is not. This is a cornerstone of Stoic practice. What is also laid out in Discourses 1 is the first mention of the three disciplines of Stoic practice, namely assent, action and desire. These are all listed as things “in our power” or “up to us” depending on the translation. The rest of the Discourses are filled with Epictetus putting these three disciplines on display and attempting to teach his pupils how to implement them. They are what bind all of the spiritual practices that we as Stoics use to alter the color of our souls. Each practice focuses on a different discipline. Amor Fati, for example, is used to focus our discipline of desire, while the view from above is about altering our judgments or assent. In short each exercise ties back to one of the disciplines, helping us to become better Stoics.
With gratitude and respect,
Todd, Derrick, Kathryn