Author: Fausto DiCampo

Publisher:

Published: 2020-01-31

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13:

This is a book about mental discipline based on philosophy, primarily Stoicism, and meditation. Mental discipline as seen in the book consists of control of your thoughts and emotions. The entire process of training described in this book can be considered one of the ways of spiritual self-improvement and self-discovery. The topic is treated with beginners in mind. All the basic terms and concepts of practice are defined and explained for maximum clarity, while main points are repeated throughout the book.Philosophy servers as a framework or a basis for self improvement by forming a suitable mentality. Stoicism teaches us that we should live according to reason instead of living according to emotions and urges. It also teaches us there are things in life which we cannot change. It is futile to try changing them, so we should change ourselves instead to adapt, to become indifferent to such obstacles. Stoicism is all about perspective, so its practical use for life is to learn how to think in a stoic way which will change your inner state, your emotional state. The aim of stoic mentality is to face difficulty with rational indifference so that you can make better decisions and solve your problems. This is the start of developing mental discipline. It is described in the book along with suggestions on how to develop personal philosophy.The next step is meditation. It serves to discipline your thoughts and strengthen your will. The serious practice of meditation consists of mental exercises mostly done by focusing on a single object of thought (i.e. a visualization), or maintaining vacancy of mind. There are various exercises in the book ranging from beginner level to more advanced. As you focus on the visualization you strive to block all other thoughts unrelated to the exercise. The skill to block out unwanted thoughts can be used outside of meditation too. Emotions are influenced by thought process to a high degree, so if you remove a thought that causes irritation, irritation will be removed as well. So as meditation organizes your thoughts, you will be generally calmer and more focused. This mental state is suitable for general self control and changing your habits.The strongest and the most extreme possibility this book offers is self-hypnosis. Meditation naturally leads to a mental state of trance which makes it easier to imprint commands into your subconsciousness. With this skill you can cause a state of reduced intensity of emotions. In this state both emotions and urges are reduced, resulting in higher rationality. The intensity can be determined by training. It is possible to reduce emotions only slightly, or to a degree where they are near nonexistent, depending on preference. It's easier said than done. It takes time and training to become proficient. Along with stoic philosophy, this skill is used to form a passive resistance to outside influences. Simply put, you don't about things that are not important to you. It helps you free up your mental energy to spend it on more useful things, instead of agonizing about unchangeable facts and irrelevant people and their opinions. The extreme possibilities offered here are particularly useful to loners, but others can benefit from high level of control of their urges and emotions as well, which is a generally useful skill. Reduced intensity of urges make it significantly easier to change your habits, i.e. quit smoking, start exercising.The last part of mental discipline described in the book is willpower based emotion control. With the mental strength achieved through the exercises, you can find mechanisms in your mind to control emotions at will. Emotions become like an object that you can grasp and shape with your mental hand. At this state you can dissolve or create emotions at will resulting in a high level self control. All the mentioned techniques are just tools. How effective, useful, good, or bad are they depends on the use and skill.