Stoic Vipassana Noting Meditation on Becoming Your Best Self: A Script

By Betty Bassett

Allow your eyes to close and settle into a relaxing meditation posture or if it's more comfortable for you, keep your eyes open with a soft gaze on the floor.

And just spend a moment here to connect, with the intention of getting to where you are.

Bring your consciousness into the present moment and appreciate the sensation of the body sitting in a chair cushion. Observe the points of contact where your feet can be felt on the floor or tucked up beneath you.

Feel the body's weight as it sits here.

Feel the sensation of the clothes on your body.

Allow your eyes to close and settle into a relaxing meditation posture or if it's more comfortable then keep your eyes open with a soft gaze on the floor and just linger a moment here to connect, with the intention of getting to where you are.

Notice the sounds around you and notice your mental state just listening for any noises. 

If a mental state, such as anxiety exists, it makes it more difficult for the mind to judge what is right or wrong, good or bad. Without judgment simply be aware of where you are.   Practice focusing on your breath for a few minutes. Select a location on the body where you can most naturally feel the sensations of breathing.

Marcus Aurelius, the stoic philosopher said to always bear in mind that our lives could come to an end at any moment so allow that idea to guide you and to influence the things you do, say, and think.  Life can be brief and achievements can be quickly forgotten.  Losing your thoughts in concerns, losing yourself from the present moment is wasting your life away.  In meditation you are finding the present moment and focusing on your breath.  In doing this you fortify your resolve to face difficulties of life without trepidation.

Feel your body as it moves with each breath  as it rises and falls.  Feel your lungs expanding and contracting.

In the game of life you want life to go your way.  Whether it does or it doesn't, doesn't matter.  All that you truly have is the present moment so bring your focus on one part of your body to feel your breath.  Find your attention and place it on where the body is breathing, paying  attention to how it feels to breathe from the start of the inhale to the end of the exhale.

When your mind wanders, then bring it back to the present.  Become aware of your thoughts and then return to your breath.

Stoicism believes that you can either want  nothing bad to ever happen to you or you can get to a point where you can enjoy the challenge of knowing that things will go  wrong.  When you arise in the morning, look at the challenges that lay before you for the day and see it as something you get to do rather than something you have to do.  See those obstacles for what they are: a chance to get better, to grow, to improve and gain wisdom.  

A different person might get knocked out from the fight but regardless of how hard the difficulty that lay before you, just imagine that the difficulty was selected for you and it is within your power to choose to overcome it.  The power of visualization is an essential element of success and if you don't believe that you can do it, if you don't believe that it's not possible then you have no chance of winning. If, on the other hand, you believe that  you have a chance then there is a higher probability of success.  That's all there is to it.

Stoic meditation is not an escape from the hardships of life.  Stoic meditation fortifies your spirit with inner strength to withstand and endure the vicissitudes of life.  If your mind wanders while meditating, bring it back into the present moment. Let go of the past or the future by focusing on your breath. Find your center, your focus by returning to the breath as many times as necessary.