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The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

Jon Brooks
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You've read the books. You know what Marcus Aurelius would do. But when life gets hard, the philosophy disappears. This podcast is for people who want to close the gap between knowing Stoicism and actually living it. New episodes every Monday.

  1. 15 HR AGO

    "Remove Desire Entirely" — What Epictetus Actually Meant

    Go deeper in the Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com --- You read that line in the Discourses and your brain goes straight to cravings. Appetites. The stuff you're ashamed of. But that's not what Epictetus meant — and the real meaning is more useful than any advice about willpower. In this episode I break down the Greek word orexis, explain why it has nothing to do with food or your phone, and walk through the three levels most people get stuck on: the demand, the indifference, and the preference with reservation. Only one of them is Stoicism. I also share a personal story about driving to pick up my son on a difficult morning — and how I caught myself staking my entire peace on outcomes I couldn't control. Includes a practical exercise you can try today: one question to ask yourself the next time a plan falls through.

    10 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Marcus Aurelius Morning Meditation: Face The Day With Stoic Calm

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co ──── You know the feeling — the alarm goes off and the day is already rushing at you. The emails, the conversations you're not ready for, the low-grade dread of what might go wrong. Marcus Aurelius knew it too. Every morning, before the weight of an empire landed on him, he sat quietly and rehearsed what was coming — the difficult people, the setbacks, the tests of character. Not with anxiety. With calm preparation. And something shifted. This guided morning meditation follows his method. You'll walk through the day ahead with honest curiosity, rehearse your response to the hard moments before they arrive, and choose a single word — one quality — to carry as your anchor when things go sideways. No forced positivity. No wishful thinking. Just the same preparation a Roman Emperor used to face each day with steady clarity.

    9 min

  3. 24 FEB

    Stoic Indifferents Explained: How to Want Without Suffering

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- If only virtue is good, why does anything else matter?  Why go to the gym, build a career, or plan for the future? This is the question that confused me for about a year of reading Stoic texts — and the answer is one of the most useful distinctions in the entire philosophy. In this episode I walk through two ancient Greek concepts — axia eklektikē (selective value) and apaxia (disvalue) — that explain how Stoics can prefer things without being wrecked by them. You'll learn why "indifferent" doesn't mean "don't care," how to tell the difference between rational preference and emotional attachment, and a simple question you can ask yourself today when anxiety creeps in. If you've ever wondered how Stoicism avoids becoming cold or directionless, this is the episode.

    10 min

  4. 16 FEB

    Own What's Yours: The Dichotomy of Control (From The Vault)

    This episode is a full lesson from one of the premium courses inside The Stoic Vault — my membership community for people who practise Stoicism, not just read about it. The lesson comes from the course Stoic Morning Routine: Start Calm and Strong. It covers the dichotomy of control — the single most useful idea in Stoic philosophy, and the one that changes everything when it actually lands. You'll take one real concern from your day and sort it into two columns: what's mine and what isn't. Outcomes, other people's reactions, delays — not mine. Preparation, breath, tone, when I choose to begin — mine. Then you'll pick one controllable action that matters today and state it clearly. This isn't theory. You'll feel the difference in the body when you stop carrying what was never yours. If this resonates, the full course and 9 others are inside The Stoic Vault, alongside guided meditations, weekly practices, live coaching, and a quiet community of 100+ members doing the work. Join at stoicvault.com

    14 min

  5. 2 FEB

    The Stoic Vault: What I Built and Why

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- About two years ago, I hit a wall. I'd been teaching Stoicism for years. Writing about it. Making podcasts about it. And I was still losing my temper. Still spiraling over emails. Still lying awake replaying conversations. I knew the philosophy cold. And I couldn't apply it when it mattered. That's when I started asking: what would actually help me? Not more books. Not more content. Something with structure. Accountability. Personal guidance. A quiet place to train. I couldn't find it. So I built it. In this episode, I'm introducing The Stoic Vault—a training ground for people who've read the books but struggle to apply them. I'll walk you through what's inside, who it's for, and how to join as a founding member. Learn more: stoicvault.com

    10 min

  6. 29 JAN

    What the Stoics Actually Meant by Practice

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- Epictetus didn't write books. He ran a school where students lived for years, practicing responses to insults, hardship, and loss. Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations as a daily training regimen—the same ideas, over and over, drilling them into his reflexes. Seneca reviewed his day every single night for decades. The Stoics weren't building a library. They were building a gymnasium for the soul. Somewhere along the way, we forgot this. We turned philosophy into content to consume. We read about the exercises instead of doing them. In this episode, I explore what Stoic training actually looked like, why our modern approach would baffle the ancients, and what practice looks like in daily life—not in theory, but in the specific exercises you can start today. Plus: I've been working on something to make this kind of structured practice easier. I'll share more soon.

    12 min

  7. 27 JAN

    The Gap Between Knowing Stoicism and Living It

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- A few months ago, I was in a conversation that started to go sideways. I could feel the tension rising—the tightening in my chest, my voice getting sharper. I knew exactly what was happening. I've studied this. I've taught this. I know what Marcus Aurelius would say. And in that moment, it was like I'd never read a word of Stoicism.  If you've spent any time with this philosophy, you've probably had your own version of this experience. The email lands and you spiral. The criticism stings and you're devastated. Someone cuts you off and you react exactly the way Epictetus said not to. This is the gap between knowing and doing—and it's the central challenge of practicing philosophy.  In this episode, I explore why the philosophy disappears when we need it most, what Seneca confessed about this exact problem 2,000 years ago, and why more reading isn't the answer. Spoiler: the Stoics weren't building a library. They were building a gymnasium for the soul.  In this episode: The moment I knew exactly what to do—and didn't do it Why intellectual understanding is not the same as embodied skill What Seneca admitted about knowing vs. practicing The difference between studying Stoicism and training as a Stoic A reflection question to sit with after listening

    11 min

  8. 23 JAN

    Release the Day: 20-Minute Deep Sleep Body Scan

    Start here: If you want to build a consistent Stoic practice — not just listen to one — I made a free 7-day challenge. One short audio lesson per day, one practice to try. No fluff. stoicchallenge.co --- A 15 minute, Yoga Nidra–inspired sleep meditation designed to help your body soften and your mind quiet. We’ll move through a slow, systematic relaxation from head to toe, then drift into a gentle “safe floating” visualization—before fading into spacious silence to support deep sleep. A subtle Stoic thread runs underneath: release what cannot be changed, and return to the only place you ever rest—this moment.

    15 min
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About

You've read the books. You know what Marcus Aurelius would do. But when life gets hard, the philosophy disappears. This podcast is for people who want to close the gap between knowing Stoicism and actually living it. New episodes every Monday.

Information

  • Creator
    Jon Brooks
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    207
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks
  • Show Website
    The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks
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