The Redwood Stoa
Minutes from
A ugust 20, 2016, Saturday
Redwood Stoa Group Meeting
Met at Café Au Coquelet, University Avenue, Berkeley with a trip to Tilden Botanic Garden, Berkeley 10:30AM–1:30PM, the Weather: Partly Sunny Attendees: David, Simon, James, John This month’s theme: Fortitude Open discussion • How appropriate to be sitting in a redwood grove, talking about fortitude and perseverance • Seneca, Letter XLI ! “If ever you have come upon a grove that is full of ancient trees which have grown to an unusual height, shutting out a view of the sky by a veil of interweaved and intertwining branches, then the loftiness of the forest, the seclusion of the spot, and your marvel at the thick unbroken shade in the midst of the open spaces, will prove to you the presence of deity.” ! Gothic churches seem to evoke being in just such a grove of trees! ! The importance of communication and understanding • Nature as an extra-­‐human experience that encourages us to adopt new ideas ! Understanding flight of birds, the heights achieved by redwoods ! Majestic trees as the image of vitality, health, blessing, longevity ! Trees endure the world with poise, and live in communities • Zeno could have seen the oldest trees still in Humbolt County today! If he’d lived there of course • Should people be their own hero, guardian, sage, Hercules? ! Is it egotistical, or uplifting, to see yourself in such a role? ! A Norse hero tended to be either a ruthless barbarian, or a selfless protector of people ! Socrates as a Stoic hero by bringing reality to the table ! Joseph Campbell: The Hero is someone who goes out to another world to discover something, but also returns ! A Stoic hero cannot divorce themselves from the rest of the world • Buddhist meditation describes fortitude as not running away from your problems ! Meditation as a way to recharge by actually engaging with your extra-­‐human moment ! You cannot fail at meditation, at practicing to engage, as long as you actually do it ! Changing your focus from more external concerns to your internal state • Becoming aware after the First Movement is through meditation, through gaining perspective ! Epictetus: “…if you think that only your own belongs to you, and that what is another's is indeed another's, no one will ever put compulsion or hindrance on you, you will blame no one, you will accuse no one, you will do nothing against your will, no one will harm you, you will have no enemy, for no harm can touch you.” The Redwood Stoa
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Perfect practice makes perfect ! Learning the moves, in martial arts and sports, is important to bypass internal debate and simply perform the act ! Developing good habits, and intuition, from practice Your current methods are a marathon ! A balance between fortitude of endurance and fortitude of engagement ! Meditation, coupled with activity; basal ganglia, and prefrontal cortex ! If you don’t train your mind, the mind will train itself for you; which is how superstitions are formed Reason as being imperfect, and people as being not always reasonable Meditation helps you re-­‐enfranchise reason ! Emotions are like our habits, a developed response ! Feeling anger when you are engaged in something, sadness when you cannot engage Beautiful people as intimately attractive versus works of art ! The inherent attraction to beautiful people ! Epictetus, 2.18: “To-­‐day when I saw a handsome person, I did not say to myself, ‘I wish I could lie with her,’ and ‘Happy is her husband’; for he who says this says, ‘Happy is her adulterer also.’” It is a comfort to know that these natural places we are in were not designed to get us to buy a coke! Basic, innate impulses cannot be removed, but can be reassessed with a new judgment or perspective ! You can change whether or not you “like” a thing through practice by consciously making positive or negative associations ! Basic shapes can evoke innate feelings, like product shapes and packaging that hijack such associations in order to boost sales (even Darwin experienced sexual associations once at the sight of certain trees) Fortitude in physical activity ! Training to rehearse persistence ! Transforming into a healthier person ! Fortitude in academic activity as well ! Persistence overcomes the ego in training Reports and Announcements: • The Stoic Fellowship — Globally Connected – Locally Engaged • http://www.stoicfellowship.com/ • Mission, Vision, Values, and Grand Aspirations document has made great progress. • Working to help develop a Stoa in Athens and one in Rome. ! John is a member of an international group with a philosophical component, which he can clue in and on the development of a Roman Stoa. • StoicCon – “Get your StoicCon” on October 15th will be hosted by the NY Stoic group. The Redwood Stoa
! https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/stoicon/ • September will be our third anniversary! • Meeting in San Francisco, at the Golden Gate Park’s Horticultural Library, followed by Greek food. • Date TBD (17th or 18th); check the Meetup page. • Game night! • Date TBD by Simon, probably at 7pm, in Panera by the Fremont BART station. • Stoic Introduction brochure by James and David. • Draft passed out! • It is a document to give to new or interested members. Announcement of upcoming community service opportunities and events: • Help Restore Huckleberry Park – Oakland Hills 9:30AM Saturday September 10th @ 6934 Skyline Blvd. • Little Basin park work exchange; trail maintenance for free camping & meal (November 2016); for more information contact James! Goals: Group goals achieved— • We met! • We created group introduction brochure! • We brought material for discussion! Personal goals achieved— • James ran a half mile! • David has been riding his bike all the way to work! Next Month’s Meeting: • Next meeting will be in San Francisco (Golden Gate Park Horticultural Library; See Meetup page) • Next month’s theme: Reflection Join the Redwood Stoa! Now you can become an official member of the Redwood Stoa by adding your name through the following web form: https://redwoodstoa.wordpress.com/join-­‐the-­‐redwood-­‐stoa/ It’s pleasant to do and will help the group effectively plan future events! redwoodstoa.wordpress.com
meetup.com/the-Redwood-Stoa/