The older meaning of philosophy, "love of wisdom," was meant to encourage the followers of any one given school of wisdom to put that wisdom into daily use. Cynicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism, and Neoplatonism all started with premises, but ultimately pushed their students to express the consequences of those premises in their daily lives. The word "ethics" originally meant the study and development of excellence in one's character. Ultimately, all of these things come down to one idea: daily practice.
There is daily practice in most successful philosophies. Buddhism's includes daily meditation, mindfulness in each act, the the mantras of no ego and no permanence. Islam has the adhan. Christiantiy has daily prayer, as well as The Contemplation of the Christ in all its stations. Stoicism, the longest-surviving of all the non-theistic (or perhaps pantheistic) philosophies, has its own, and I'm most familiar with those: the morning contemplation of one's place in the world and its affirmation of fate willing, I will accomplish the work the world has brought me; the evening contemplation of one's work, three times and contra fate, and how closely it aligned with your morning affirmation, the regular assessments of impermanence, value, mindfulness, and self-discipline. Stoicism, especially, has a tradtion of psychological self-care that I find both demanding and valuable.
Christianity, Buddhism, and Stoicism might seem wildly different, but underneath, at the personal level, they have their similarities, especially the counter-tribal varieties that most people find admirable. All three have comprehensive daily regimes that assist you in maintaining your mental health in the full face of the truly despairing state of human existence.
I have yet to see a book at a Pagan bookstore or hear of daily practice at a Pagan gathering that imposes the same sorts of self-discipline and self-care on pagan practitioners. Do Pagans have these sorts of teachings? Or are they attached, willy-nilly, from other philosophical bases?
There is daily practice in most successful philosophies. Buddhism's includes daily meditation, mindfulness in each act, the the mantras of no ego and no permanence. Islam has the adhan. Christiantiy has daily prayer, as well as The Contemplation of the Christ in all its stations. Stoicism, the longest-surviving of all the non-theistic (or perhaps pantheistic) philosophies, has its own, and I'm most familiar with those: the morning contemplation of one's place in the world and its affirmation of fate willing, I will accomplish the work the world has brought me; the evening contemplation of one's work, three times and contra fate, and how closely it aligned with your morning affirmation, the regular assessments of impermanence, value, mindfulness, and self-discipline. Stoicism, especially, has a tradtion of psychological self-care that I find both demanding and valuable.
Christianity, Buddhism, and Stoicism might seem wildly different, but underneath, at the personal level, they have their similarities, especially the counter-tribal varieties that most people find admirable. All three have comprehensive daily regimes that assist you in maintaining your mental health in the full face of the truly despairing state of human existence.
I have yet to see a book at a Pagan bookstore or hear of daily practice at a Pagan gathering that imposes the same sorts of self-discipline and self-care on pagan practitioners. Do Pagans have these sorts of teachings? Or are they attached, willy-nilly, from other philosophical bases?
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