Marcus Aurelius says “Nowhere you can go is more peaceful, more free of interruptions,

than your own soul.

Retreat to consult your own soul and then return to face what awaits you.”

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD and is considered as the last of

the Five Good Emperors.

During his time, he constructed a series of autobiographical writings known as the Meditations,

in which he constantly advocated for finding stillness in life and while his meditations

regularly speak of the importance of waking up early and seizing the day, he also stressed

the importance of taking time to retreat into oneself and find stillness.

Thanks to his journalling, we have a fair idea of what his evening routine would have

looked like and in this video we will be diving into 7 different things Marcus Aurelius would

have done in his evenings and how we can follow or adapt that routine to our modern day lives.

1.

Eliminate external Stimuli Marcus Aurelius says, “It is in your power

to retire into yourself whenever you choose.”

It is known that Marcus Aurelius used his evenings to disconnect.

While he is particularly known for his philosophy advising us to live everyday like it could

be your last, he also believed in taking time to find retreat within his own mind in order

to renew himself.

He did this in an effort to cleanse himself from stress or negative feelings by disconnecting

from external stimuli and finding value in looking inward.

External stimuli are changes outside the body, or knowledge that is passed to us through

our senses.

Today we face constant external stimuli especially when engaging with people and technology and

in order to meet the superfluous demands of our modern day society, we overcommit and

our days have become jam-packed with tasks, to-dos, meetings, emails, and deadlines.

We have lost our freedom and our peace of mind and even if we work hard to create a

work-life balance, it’s inevitable that we come home feeling exhausted, overworked,

and stressed.

Our evening routine then typically involves catching up with social media, watching television,

or trying to answer those last minute emails.

We need to cut down on these stimuli and declutter our brain.

Hence your evening routine should be time you spend with yourself.

This probably means eliminating many of the night time activities you’ve gotten used

to and replacing them with new ones that will actually help you disconnect and focus on

yourself.

It means putting your technology to bed at least half an hour before you go to bed yourself,

and instead seek stillness.

This can be as simple as a 5 minute guided meditation such as a body scan or breathing

exercise.

Mindfulness meditations help to slow down an overactive mind and tune into your physical

body.

This type of meditation can serve as a retreat within ourselves and the impact of incorporating

this into an evening routine can be incredibly beneficial.

Meditation is known to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and also significantly improve sleep.

Your bedtime routine should be a vacation from the busy world and a retreat into your

peaceful self.

While indulging in binge watching shows, playing video games, catching up with friends, or

scrolling through social media may feel like taking a personal break these activities aren’t

actually helping you achieve stillness.

In fact, they are distracting you from finding it, and while sleep is important, it’s often

not enough to restore you after a busy day.

The ultimate relaxing evening routine actually needs to contain something that allows your

mind to switch off.

2.

Get some physical Exercise Marcus Aurelius tells us “It is a shame

for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable”

Even though Marcus Aurelius lived nearly two thousand years ago, he understood the importance

of physical exercise.

He believed that a healthy mind cannot exist without a healthy body.

Stoics believed that even a simple fitness routine can teach us virtuous life skills

such as perseverance, self-improvement, discipline, overcoming challenges, and building self-confidence.

They understood it was more important to exercise to achieve these skills of self-mastery, rather

than for the sake of external approval.

Despite what the media might have us believe, Stoics knew even then that trying to have

‘beach-ready bod’ just to show off rarely leads to true happiness.

We often skip our workout session with excuses like "I'm too tired."

"I have a big meeting tomorrow, so I don't want to be sore."

oh ah "I'm so stressed at work I can't even think about exercise".

While most of us dread exercising for various reasons, it has too many amazing physical

and mental health benefits to ignore it as a part of your routine completely.

Any form of exercise routine - whether you play a sport or go to the gym is good for

you as it releases a flood of feel-good brain chemicals — known as endorphins — that

reduce your stress levels and boost your mood and if you work out in evenings, it can even

help you fall asleep faster, leaving you feeling refreshed and ready to take on the next day.

You can also incorporate the concept of having a quick mind-cleansing evening walk outside

and while walking, notice the air and the environment that surrounds you.

Let your mind shift from ruminating thoughts of the day to observing the night sky you

walk under.

By gently moving your body, and taking in the beauty of the nature around you will help

you clear your head from a busy day and prepare you for a good night’s rest.

We should exercise to lead a better life in accordance with Nature – that is, keeping

our bodies ready for when we need them and keeping them in good working condition.

3.

Review your day According to Marcus Aurelius, “Nothing has

such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all

that comes under thy observation in life.”

The Stoics believed that the two best times for reflection were in the morning and evening:

Prepare for the day ahead by journaling in the morning and reviewing the day that just

passed.

Marcus Aurelius wrote his meditations with the intention of reviewing his own daily life

and thoughts to achieve personal clarity.

He kept a constant eye on his daily actions and choices.

Stoics emphasized being mindful of your own actions and stressed the importance of taking

time at the end of each day to review what happened as a way to become more mindful in

general.

Stoics called this type of mindfulness ‘Attention’ which is meant to bring self-awareness to

your actions and whether they are aligned with your higher self.

Some stoics compared this type of daily self-reflection to pleading your case to a court.

You recall and judge your day through taking the time to self-examine your daily actions

and choices and then systematically review them.

This is not meant to be a judgmental practice, but instead a compassionate review that will

guide you into making better choices in the future.

You can incorporate this type of daily review in your evening routine by setting aside some

time before getting into bed to recall the day you just had.

Go through each moment of the day from the second you woke up to the moment you are in

now.

Meditate on the various choices and actions you made: What did you do well today?

What emotions did you experience?

What parts of your day brought you discomfort?

How can you learn from what happened to you today?

What did you not get done today that you wish you had?

Daily reflections serve a critical role in Stoic philosophy.

They help us prepare for the day ahead by noting what we wish we had gotten around to

today.

They are also key in assessing whether our daily actions are in line with the person

we actually want to be.

For example, while reviewing your day you may recall an event such as an unpleasant

interaction you had over a miscommunication while buying your morning coffee.

You’ll be able to identify how that one interaction left you feeling uneasy and annoyed.

You’ll be able to highlight the time you spent dwelling on the encounter and how it

impacted your mood throughout the morning.

You can take time to reflect on how you wish you’d handled the encounter differently

or how insignificant the interaction ended up being in your day overall.

Just by becoming aware of this event the next time you face a similar situation you can

approach it with heightened mindfulness.

Setting aside time at night to review your daily progress is an important step in leading

a Stoic lifestyle.

It may also serve you as a chance to catch up on your daily journaling if you were unable

to journal in the morning.

4.

Contemplate your personal sage In the words of Marcus Aurelius “Mastery

of reading and writing requires a master.

Still, more so life”

A sage is someone who is considered to be wise or experienced in a certain field, and

who is revered for their wisdom, judgment, and expertise.

For many people this is a role model.

Stoics spent time reflecting on their sages and whether their own actions were consistent

with those of their sage.

Marcus Aurelius considered the sage to be someone full of wisdom and knowledge.

His sage was Zeno, the founder of Stoic philosophy, and he would often ask himself ‘What would

Zeno do?’.

Contemplation of the sage should essentially be a period of time in the evening where you

reflect on your day, or the person you are, and ask yourself ‘What would your role model

do?’.

Your role model could be someone you know or maybe just a concept of an ideal person.

It is important to have a clear definition of this person so that you reflect on whether

your actions are in line with your role model.

As part of your evening routine take a few minutes to recall your role model and ask

yourself - Did you act as your role model would?

In what ways can you improve tomorrow so that your life is more in line with your role model?

What traits does your role model have that you saw in yourself today?

Incorporating a few minutes in your evening routine to consider the situations you experienced

today and whether you reacted as you believe your role model would have may boost your

awareness in your choices for tomorrow and make you a better person - the kind of person

you admire so deeply.

5.

Take a view from above In the words of Marcus Aurelius “Think of

substance in its entirety, of which you have the smallest of shares; and of time in its

entirety, of which a brief and momentary span has been assigned to you; and of the works

of destiny, and how very small is your part in them”

Marcus Aurelius advises us to contemplate life from ‘the point of view of the cosmos’

or to take ‘a view from above.’

A view from above means taking a zoomed out perspective of your life and looking at yourself

and your day as if you were watching from a third person's perspective to remove personal

emotions and anxieties.

It is known that in his evenings, Aurelius would reflect on his life from the point of

view of the cosmos to overcome his own limited personal perspective.

In today’s world, there’s a lot of “noise”.

Every time we step out the door we’re presented with advertising, marketing, news, opinion,

and distraction.

When we’re not at work, or with our family, we’re on our phone, or our radio is on,

or the TV is on, or on the computer.

All of this causes “Mental Burn out” It is difficult to find space to think, and breathe.

Our attention is being captured by apps, games, videos, and shows and the fact that our attention

is often on other things, makes it more difficult for us to work through our problems, anxieties,

stresses and commitments.

To help with this, this Stoic exercise of taking a view from above can be used to lessen

the burden of our problems as it shifts our perspective to a level high above ourselves.

You can start by spending some quiet time in the evening looking at your immediate surroundings

and your body, your home and the people you live with.

We start to think about what they feel, how we relate to one another, what problems, hopes,

and fears they might have.

Then zoom out to see your own city, and how everyone who lives around you has a unique

life that you know nothing about, they have hopes, dreams and fears just like you.

Then zoom out to view your country, then further, broadening your perspective to the entire

planet, considering all the people on Earth, all of our lives spread across countries,

social classes, races and cultures.

Think about what hardships some of the worst-off people are going through.

You can keep zooming out to the solar system, the universe and to the entirety of existence.

When we look at ourselves from above, we see ourselves not as individuals, disconnected

from the things around us, but as part of a greater whole - A participant in everything

around us.

Looking at ourselves from the outside helps us to see ourselves and our concerns more

objectively.

When we distance ourselves from the worries, anxieties, and problems we face, we can see

them more clearly, less emotionally, and have a better chance of understanding their causes

and solutions.

It becomes easier to see things in context.

If you are feeling down because someone insulted you, try this exercise.

It is far easier to overcome the emotional hurdles we experience when we put things into

perspective.

Bickering and minor disagreements seem silly in comparison.

Many of our problems can dissolve when we hold them up to the problems of others, or

the vastness of space.

6.

Spend time with family Marcus Aurelius tells us “The longest-lived

and those who will die soonest lose the same thing.

The present is all that they can give up, since that is all you have, and what you do

not have, you cannot lose.”

For Marcus Aurelius, as the day came to a close, it was time to be around family.

Marcus clearly loved his children and his wife dearly.

Even though he was important, famous and extremely busy, he didn’t ignore them.

He would tuck his children into bed at night and kiss them, he would say quietly to himself,

“Don’t rush this.

This might be the last time you do this.

It’s not guaranteed that either of you will make it through the night.”

He loved them.

He cherished this thing in front of him, which really was the most important thing in his

life, and then he said goodnight.

He would repeatedly do this - for as long as he was fortunate enough to live.

Stoics used the contemplation of death as a practice by which to remind themselves of

the impermanence of life.

Nurse Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who focused on caring for the terminally-ill,

said that one of the most common regrets of a dying person is they wished they had spent

more time with their family.

Her patients often complained about missing out on their children's youth and their partner's

companionship.

Because of the demands of modern life, families are spending a little over half an hour of

quality time together during the week and even when families do get together as many

as seven in ten parents say the time is spent in silence in front of the TV because they

are busy reading, playing computer games or simply too tired to talk.

Like Stoics, if we regularly contemplate our death, remind ourselves that there will be

a day where we or our kids won't wake up to enjoy the beautiful chaos of life, we will

start making some changes to spend more time with family, and often tell our children or

our family that we love them.

Family time is an essential factor that helps to create strong bonds, love, connections,

and relationships among the family members.

Spending quality time with family helps in coping with challenges, instilling a feeling

of security, inculcating family values and filling children with confidence.

7.

Prepare for mornings

Marcus Aurelius says, “In your actions, don't procrastinate.”

Marcus Aurelius strongly advocated the importance of waking up early each morning.

He did this to create a morning routine that would take the most advantage of every living

moment.

Therefore, sleeping was meant to be a restorative experience and not a time to overindulge in

laziness.

A morning routine was essential to Aurelius, however part of this morning routine started

even before the morning as he prepared for the next day the night before.

Stoics often prepared for their day by setting aside time in the morning to rehearse their

days.

They did this through considering what they wanted to achieve that day, preparing for

different possible outcomes, and reflecting on themselves.

These types of reflections were done by many Stoics in the morning and as well in the evening.

To start, you can prepare the night before to make waking up as easy as possible.

This may mean laying out your clothes for the next day, packing your bag for work, or

having a clear morning routine you stick to.

This also means going to bed at a reasonable time so that you get a good 6-8 hours of sleep.

Not only is this beneficial for your health, it will make waking up a more pleasant experience.

Preparing for tomorrow during your evening routine will not only help you with your morning

routine, it can reduce anxiety about the tasks that lay ahead of you when waking up.

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Thanks so much for watching.