Seneca The Younger was a philosopher who held
an important position in the Roman Empire, and is one of the major contributors to the
ancient philosophy of Stoicism. Seneca once exchanged letters with his friend
Serenus, on how to free the mind from anxiety and worry in a Stoic way. This dialogue is now called De Tranquillitate
Animi which is Latin for On The Tranquility Of The Mind. Seneca’s words are not only geared towards
caring less; they also point out what we should care about in order to achieve tranquility. This video presents you Seneca’s suggestions
for calming the mind, so Serenus can become a bit more serene. First off all, I want to thank two new Patreon
supporters for helping me out. Thank you Gage and thank you Kevin. I appreciate your support. Also, I want to thank Vinita Singh for his
generous PayPal donation. So, one day, Serenus wrote a letter to his
friend Seneca, explaining the mental disturbances he suffers from during his day-to-day activities. He asks Seneca to relieve him from his trouble and, thus, Seneca wrote back a letter containing his advice. From this advice I’ve drawn 7 suggestions
for achieving tranquility. Here we go. #1: Don't rely on hope Seneca observed that many people are preoccupied
with the future and, therefore, their minds are hardly in the present moment. They are filled with desires and directed
to fulfilling these desires. They create an image on how the future should
work out for them, but when it doesn’t, they’re wretched. Such people are not only structurally dissatisfied
and plagued by boredom; they also rely entirely on hope. I quote Seneca: They strive to attain their prayers by every
means, they teach and force themselves to do dishonorable and difficult things, and,
when their effort is without reward, they are tortured by the fruitless disgrace and
grieve, not because they wished for what was wrong, but because they wished in vain. End quote. I’d say that Amor Fati - the practice of
embracing fate - is a great antidote for those who rely on hope. Pursuing goals - no matter if they’re long
term of short term goals - while embracing whatever the results may be, helps to focus
on the present moment instead of worrying about the outcome and being disappointed when
the future doesn’t bring what we hoped for. #2: Be of service Surprisingly for some perhaps, Stoicism doesn’t
encourage people to close themselves off from society. Instead, we should participate in humankind
in a way that fits us and benefits others. By putting ourselves to practice and helping
our fellow human beings we kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, we put our minds at work by being
busy with a certain task, and secondly, we are being useful to others which generates
a sense of social connection... which just feels great. Although I must admit that current society
is way different than society back then, I think that ‘being of service’ all boils
down to taking a good look at ourselves, making an inventory of our skills, and see how we
use them to benefit others. Me, for example, I’d be a lousy construction
worker and I’m bad at understanding technical stuff. On the other hand, I have a keen interest
in philosophy and I know how to create a video. That I’m able to use these skills to benefit
other people gives my life meaning. Deriving meaning from your service - no matter
what you do - is a road to fulfilment. How does this lead to a calm mind? Well, because we are focussed on our task,
we are less likely to be distracted by things that don’t matter to us. For example, I notice that when I’m fully
immersed in creating these videos, there’s no room to worry about what’s on the news
or what the negative people in my life said in the past. Why should I? I’m doing something with the purpose of
entertaining and benefiting others; striving for excellence in work is only possible when
living in the present moment. #3: Choose your friends wisely Seneca wrote and I quote: Nothing, however, gives the mind so much pleasure
as fond and faithful friendship. What a blessing it is to have those to whose
waiting hearts every secret may be committed with safety, whose knowledge of you you fear
less than your knowledge of yourself, whose conversation soothes your anxiety, whose opinion
assists your decision, whose cheerfulness scatters your sorrow, the very sight of whom
gives you joy! End quote. Friends can be a great addition to your life,
but we should be wise about selecting the right friends to keep us company. Some friendships simply revolve around negativity
or are downright toxic. And, as we know, moods are contagious. A true friend may be loyal and friendly, but when
this friend is always upset and takes great pleasure in complaining about everything and
- basically - does harm by their contact, it’s better to avoid that person according to Seneca. Instead, we might want to choose people that
are, as far as possible, free from selfish desires and vices. In other words: people that uplift you rather
than burden you with their misery. So, how does this calm the mind? Well, a good and positive friend will not
burden you with negativity and actually assist you in achieving happiness. By avoiding negative friends, their toxic
behavior will not affect your inner peace. #4: Don’t engage in useless affairs Seneca writes about how some people live their
lives aimlessly, and spend their times going from place to place like ants crawl through
bushes from twig to twig. I think we can see this happening a lot in
today’s day and age with more distractions than ever before. We go from our smartphone to our laptop, from
Facebook to Instagram, and when we’re halfway a YouTube video we’re already bored and
looking another one. The key is to focus on a certain task and
let all our effort be directed towards that task, and only deviate from it when something
important gets in our way. When I’m working, for example, I usually
put my phone in flight mode and turn off social media. Also, I make a list of goals I want to accomplish
the next day, the night before. This way, my tasks are clear and there’s
no need to think about anything other than those tasks, which tremendously reduces worry
and, thus, calms the mind. At the end of the day, it all boils down to
attention. The ability to pay attention makes the difference
between mediocrity and excellence. #5: Don’t depend on opinions of others When we act like we are expected to act all
the time we’re not living in accordance with our own inherent nature. Many people, however, are constantly putting
up a facade, because they’re expected to act in a certain way because of their surrounding. Seneca give the example of a funeral, on which
people may perceive it disgraceful not to weep when everyone is doing it. In such a case, we are expected to fake our
grief if we, in reality don’t have the inherent desire to weep, but we only do so to not to
be seen as a disgrace. Seneca wrote and I quote: This evil of depending on the opinion of others
has become so deeply implanted that even grief, the most natural thing in the world, becomes
now a matter of pretence. End quote. When we depend on the opinions of others we
aren’t free. It takes courage to free ourselves from this
bondage, but when we do we are truly brave, because we taken off of our masks and show
us to the world in our purest form. Yes, we will be open to ridicule, but isn’t
it’s better to be ridiculed because of who we truly are, than tortured by perpetual pretence? #6: Balance solitude and being in crowds Seneca wrote that we should embrace both solitude
and being in crowds. Solitude gives us the opportunity to retire
in ourselves, and will make us long for company. Being in company will makes us long for being
alone. The one relieves the other, and that’s why
the two things must be combined. Stoicism doesn’t encourage being a hermit,
but still does put emphasis on solitary activities like journaling and forms of meditation. I’d say that solitude charges the battery
to be in crowds and calms the mind after being around people, while being in crowds connects
us to our fellow human beings, bringing joy and laughter. Socializing can be a great cure to relieve
our minds from solitary ruminations. When I had a job at the bank, I enjoyed being
around people while longing for a quiet evening alone at the same time. In my current situation, being self-employed,
I habitually work in crowded places like the public library or the university campus, just
to be around people and experiencing a sense of connection. Also, I do attend parties and social gatherings,
even though I find them tiresome. So, when I come home, I enjoy my solitude
even more. #7: Give the mind some relaxation Now, this is a tricky one. At least, the method that Seneca proposes. Seneca argues that the mind needs relaxation
from time to time, and recommends washing away our sorrows and setting it free by the
consumption of wine. Now, with my past experiences with alcohol,
I do agree that alcohol does a great job in making us merrier and forgetting ours sorrows. Seneca does advocate moderation though, but
today we know that for some people moderation just isn’t an option, because they drink
to get drunk. Didn’t Seneca also say that drunkenness
is voluntary madness? Now, I do agree that we should relax our minds
from time to time, and for the people that don’t want to intoxicate themselves for
it, there are other ways to find relief, that didn’t exist back then. How ‘bout going to the cinema once in a
while? Or playing a video game? Nevertheless, I still think that one of the
best things one can do to achieve tranquility is some form of meditation. So, these are 7 suggestions by Seneca for
tranquility. Thank you for watching.
