Follow the script to meditate at daybreak.

This is based on the audio files shared by Stoicism Today, read by Donald Robertson who is also the author of the book called “Stoicism and the Art of Happiness“, which includes a lot of Stoic exercises.

Just grab your coffee-mug and sit upright with dignity, on a chair or on a cushion on the floor.  No special meditation-posture or props needed.

Morning Meditation

1. Find a quiet time and place to meditate at the start of each day.
2. Contemplate the cosmos and your place within it.
   1. Witness the sun rising. If you can not, then picture it in your imagination. Contemplate the start of the day from this cosmological perspective.
   2. Contemplate the vastness of time and space. (Some ideas here)
3. Imagine you are entering a festival. It’s going to be rough and noisy but you can also enjoy the spectacle. Also, it all must end one day.
4. Plan your day ahead, calmly and with practical wisdom.
   1. Think of the day ahead and the tasks you face.
   2. What would you like to achieve, fate permitting?
   3. Plan at least one specific activity that you can engage in, that will allow you to live more consistently in accord with your core values, and be the person you want to be in life.
5. Accept with equanimity that your plans may be thwarted.
   1. Most important is how you deal with life, not the external events that happen to you.
   2. Imagine the worst setbacks and rehearse indifference.
   3. Accept that everything can go wrong.
   4. Remind yourself of the importance of your attitude, whether you are successful or not.
6. Rehearse responding to adversity with as much wisdom and virtue as possible.
7. Remind yourself to be mindful of what is up to you and what is beyond your control.
8. Ask yourself: “What inner resources has the nature given me to cope with these events?”
9. Ask yourself: “What would the Sage do?”
   1. A Sage is a person with wisdom, courage and virtue. A Hero.
   2. Who is a Sage for you? Who do you admire for their strength and character?
   3. What would a Sage do, faced with your challenges?
   4. What could you learn from their example in preparing for the day ahead?

See also

VASTNESS OF TIME
http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/08/putting-time-in-perspective.html

VASTNESS OF SPACE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeFID9SeWj4

Sources

http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2013/11/24/audio-recordings-for-stoic-week-2014/

http://modernstoicism.com/audio-downloads/