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No kidding. Dealt with pitches for 'mindfulness' as a practicing stoic for years. "Dude, you should check out mindfulness. You'd really be into it." Nope. As

No kidding. Dealt with pitches for 'mindfulness' as a practicing stoic for years. "Dude, you should check out mindfulness. You'd really be into it." Nope. As best I could ever tell, mindfulness was a pop-psych pastiche of various bits of Buddhism, Daoism, and Stoicism designed to sell self-help books and consulting hours. I can't speak for Buddhism and I've heard that the Daodejing appears cryptic now because the body of contemporary Chinese literature it frequently alludes to has been largely lost to history. But the surviving late stoic works are surprisingly accessible, even in stilted translations, making it much easier to see through attempts to repackage old ideas and make a quick buck.

mattmanser 8y ago
They're pretty clear in the article that it does work. But it's been over-hyped.
emmanuel_1234 8y ago
Hoping to peak your interest, Stoicisim and Buddhism are a lot similar than they seem. The way I see it, Buddhism talks a lot about the idea of "mind workout" (meditation) to be able to draw conclusion (insights), whereas Stoicism uses only discourse and logic. The conclusions are roughly the same though, for example the emphasis on equanimity, happiness and virtues in both philosophy. In practice, and to draw a shitty analogy: using logic, you know you shouldn't eat that cupcake because it's 800kcal. You can also curb your sugar addiction so you don't feel so hungry for cupcakes. That being said I agree with you: "mindfulness" in isolation is just a buzzword, which is what this article is trying to say.
- sfRattan 8y ago
  I've looked into Buddhism generally and come to the conclusion that, while it provides about as useful a framework for living well as Stoicism, it's a more complete religious system than I'm interested in. I don't want to treat Buddhism like a buffet and then call myself a Buddhist. Stoic physics, for a contrasting example, are taken literally by no one and can be safely left out of the daily practice of Stoicism (though pneuma and logos are often useful as metaphors).
thomasfromcdnjs 8y ago
Don't think you deserve the downvotes though you do come off snarky =D But I always reply the same way to people who preach mindfulness and meditation to me. I've independently studied the stoics, the east etc etc for years. And always made my time for "vita contemplativa" which doesn't necessarily mean sitting down trying to escape thought. I am generally much more grounded than anyone even telling me to do it. Highly recommend these two scholarly volumes about Eastern philosophy -> https://www.amazon.com/History-Chinese-Philosophy-Vol-Philosophers/dp/0691020213 https://www.amazon.com/History-Chinese-Philosophy-Vol-Philos... Can't find the matching references, but he speaks of meditation actually beginning as a walking ritual. There is also a chapter on the Taoist's who found mindfulness through being drunk aha Edit: Also obligatory Nietzche quote -> "Thoughts that come with doves' footsteps guide the world"
- sfRattan 8y ago
  Thanks for the recommendation. A more thorough investigation of Chinese history, philosophy, and literature is on my list of long term reading goals. From what I understand already, we have lost a large amount of literature from the same period as Laozi, but we have surviving later commentaries on that literature and on the Daodejing (which give some context).

mattmanser 8y ago

They're pretty clear in the article that it does work. But it's been over-hyped.

emmanuel_1234 8y ago

Hoping to peak your interest, Stoicisim and Buddhism are a lot similar than they seem. The way I see it, Buddhism talks a lot about the idea of "mind workout" (meditation) to be able to draw conclusion (insights), whereas Stoicism uses only discourse and logic. The conclusions are roughly the same though, for example the emphasis on equanimity, happiness and virtues in both philosophy. In practice, and to draw a shitty analogy: using logic, you know you shouldn't eat that cupcake because it's 800kcal. You can also curb your sugar addiction so you don't feel so hungry for cupcakes. That being said I agree with you: "mindfulness" in isolation is just a buzzword, which is what this article is trying to say.

sfRattan 8y ago
I've looked into Buddhism generally and come to the conclusion that, while it provides about as useful a framework for living well as Stoicism, it's a more complete religious system than I'm interested in. I don't want to treat Buddhism like a buffet and then call myself a Buddhist. Stoic physics, for a contrasting example, are taken literally by no one and can be safely left out of the daily practice of Stoicism (though pneuma and logos are often useful as metaphors).

thomasfromcdnjs 8y ago

Don't think you deserve the downvotes though you do come off snarky =D But I always reply the same way to people who preach mindfulness and meditation to me. I've independently studied the stoics, the east etc etc for years. And always made my time for "vita contemplativa" which doesn't necessarily mean sitting down trying to escape thought. I am generally much more grounded than anyone even telling me to do it. Highly recommend these two scholarly volumes about Eastern philosophy -> https://www.amazon.com/History-Chinese-Philosophy-Vol-Philosophers/dp/0691020213 https://www.amazon.com/History-Chinese-Philosophy-Vol-Philos... Can't find the matching references, but he speaks of meditation actually beginning as a walking ritual. There is also a chapter on the Taoist's who found mindfulness through being drunk aha Edit: Also obligatory Nietzche quote -> "Thoughts that come with doves' footsteps guide the world"

sfRattan 8y ago
Thanks for the recommendation. A more thorough investigation of Chinese history, philosophy, and literature is on my list of long term reading goals. From what I understand already, we have lost a large amount of literature from the same period as Laozi, but we have surviving later commentaries on that literature and on the Daodejing (which give some context).