41: What the Stoics Teach Us About Recovery | Marcus Aurelius and the Meditations

How can the teachings of the Stoics help us overcome porn addiction?

Stoicism is a moral philosophy for how to live a good life. Sometimes we make the mistake of believing stoicism is all about being serious and having no emotion. Being “stoic”, right? This has little to do with what Stoicism actually is. 

We also make the assumption that stoicism, as a philosophy, is irreligious. But this is not the case. 

If you’re not familiar with the Stoics, they were philosophers during the age of the Roman Empire. They believed that by observing and being aware of thoughts and emotions, and acting according to reason, we can discontinue allowing earthly passions to rule us, and become masters over our minds, committing ourselves to a life of service to our fellow men. 

In essence, we could describe pornography addiction recovery this same way: To become an observer of our thoughts and emotions, to master our mind, and to have a life of meaning and service replace the draw of worldly pleasures. 

Today, we’re going to focus on some teachings from my man, Marcus Aurelius, one of the original stoics, and the Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 A.D. 

If you haven’t read Marcus Aurelius' journal - The Meditations - I highly recommend it. That’s where I’ve pulled today’s teachings from. I hope they help you stop watching porn and get sober for both yourself and family.

When we are caught up in addiction, we can feel like a slave to our body’s earthly passions. Marcus Aurelius taught men to live a life founded on serving - which is in essence the opposite of addiction. Addiction is focused on self; recovery is focused on others and God. Not that addicts are selfish, but just that we may have some bad habits of focusing on ourselves too much, which fuels our addiction to porn. When in porn recovery, we are working to replace some of our self-centered habits with ‘others-centered’ and God-centered habits. I’m constantly working on this everyday myself, and need reminders all the time. 

Hope these teachings help you quit porn, my friend. 

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