Hello Dear Friend!
The purpose here at The Holistic Stoic is to teach the art of ‘living for your life’ (and thereby others’) through Holistic and Stoic practices. A self-actualized You is the best way to show up for the world.
A Holistic Stoic believes that taking care of your whole self is paramount to then live out your place in the world helping others, through your unique ways. A Holistic Stoic believes that if nothing else, you can control how you feel about your life situation and make efforts to overcome any obstacle.
It is liberating to accept that in many ways that your holistic well-being deserves to be top priority in your life. Everyone’s priority should be to tend to their needs so they can better tend to others’. I think of it as a win-win. We improve the world by first improving ourselves. Healing for you means healing for the world… I live by the motto for me, for we. What is truly good and just for you must be good and just for the world since you are part of it!
Where Stoicism comes into the picture is a framework to help make sense of the impact of world events in your life (you know, existing). Despite what you cannot control, you can definitely control your inner self, your spirit and emotions. I believe you can also greatly influence your life. By learning how to best honor yourself, you will actually be empowered to better help others. Because really, how can a sick, tired, ineffective You best show up for your family and circle?
My journey toward holistic practices and Stoic philosophy began in 2016. While living in a high-stress high-deadline environment (who isn’t?) and not taking care of my body, I suffered many digestive issues, skin issues, a concussion, fatigue, hives, panic attacks, and flu twice in one season. Those were just the physical body ailments that others may have noticed.
Also, I was not caring for myself mentally and spiritually. In big ways, I was neglecting all core areas of my person! I did not know how to explain my frustrations, but I was grasping at whatever explanations were most comfortable… i.e. blaming others and painting myself as a victim! (That way I’m not to blame for any of my misfortunes, right?). I could say ‘just the world against me today’, and get on with my mostly miserable mindset.
Thankfully, this all changed when I took a course called “Creating a Sustainable World”. This course taught me that to truly heal a problem and create lasting harmony, you need to address all parts of the whole. It was clear that I was not doing that in my life. A healthy environment is only healthy when the lands, seas, and skies all flourish on a deep level and not superficially. So too, my body could only heal if I started addressing all causes of my issues not just the symptoms. That discovery evolved into my search for a more holistic life.
Feeling curious and ready to learn more, I got on the bandwagon of podcast junkies (anyone else?) - consuming any and every topic. On one podcast I heard a guest speak on Stoicism, a philosophy originating in Ancient Greece and Rome. It is a belief system that truly complimented my idea of a holistic life. For example, the Stoic concept of Sympatheia is that ‘all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an affinity for each other’ — holistic much?!. Stoicism guided me to view events and items more objectively, lessening my extreme emotional attachment to certain ideas and things. This helped me acknowledge that my sickness wasn’t a personal attack against me, but an issue in my life to be overcome not obsessed-over.
As a person is always healing and changing, not all these issues are gone from me and others have even arisen. But now with a system, with a framework of which to adapt, respond, and create my inner and sometimes outer environments, I am much more resilient as problems arise in my life.
After feeling the rush of freedom from knowing that I am in control of my actions and what I get out of this life, I created The Holistic Stoic to share my continuous journey with others. In line with Sympatheia, I truly believe we improve the world by first improving ourselves. Healing yourself means healing a part of the world… for me, for we.
This is not a site to push an agenda or force a way of thinking. Rather, it is a space to offer thoughts you might not have yet encountered. It is for us who are open to taking ownership of our own life and open to exploring what methods, products, services, and mindsets help us to live a good and just life for ourselves and others (btw '“others” includes every person on this earth.. because Sympatheia). Together we will explore what Stoics got totally right, maybe wrong, other belief systems, how to be a better steward of the earth, and definitely less heavy topics such as good books (get yo'self a GoodReads account if you don't have yet!!), holistic purchases, delicious foods, and people who are living Holi-Stoic values.
Holistic Stoics are in pursuit of a virtuous life worth living (and writing about!). Please join! Review some articles to find an area that is relevant to you (being holistic, I cover all topics so something should stick out to you!). Let me know your thoughts in a comment! I suggest starting with this article for a deeper dive on Holistic and Stoic basics.
Have a Holi-Stoic day!
Warmly, The Holistic Stoic
