Stoic Evening Ritual For Deep Sleep & Gratitude

Unwind from daily stress with this guided Stoic evening practice, blending ancient wisdom to ease anxiety and cultivate gratitude. Discover how Marcus Aurelius' reflections on impermanence can quiet overthinking, promoting restful sleep and inner peace. This session includes gentle breathing for anxiety relief, a gratitude scan to release negatives, and Stoic affirmations for emotional resilience. Ideal for bedtime routines, it helps you process the day mindfully, fostering better sleep quality and morning clarity. Whether you're battling insomnia or seeking nightly calm, these tools transform evenings into opportunities for growth and serenity. Practice daily to build unbreakable equanimity—perfect for beginners or seasoned Stoics.

Transcript

So it's the end of the day Recognize that whatever has happened is now out of your control It's done,

Cannot be reversed You cannot change the past How you reflect on your day and learn from it however is definitely within your control How wonderful is it that we are not doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes What a gift that we can use the material that life gives us and actually grow stronger from it even if it's painful and difficult Let's review our day As you reflect on the following questions try to bring as much attention and imagery to mind as possible First we will focus only on the things you did well Really zoom in on the good things that you did Afterwards and only afterwards we can look at the things you could have improved So scan through your day for examples of things you did well Things you can compliment yourself for,

Things you can feel proud of In what ways did you handle temptations well?

If your mind starts criticizing you right now let it go and try and zoom in on the things you did well What did you do today that was courageous or brave?

Big or small?

How did you do well in social situations?

How did you exemplify integrity,

Honesty,

Benevolence?

How did you handle chaos well?

Many of us are imbalanced when it comes to reflecting on our own behavior Some of us we have a grandiose self-image and we zoom in only on the things we did well and ignore our faults Some of us only zoom in on the things we did badly and ignore the things that we did well Both of these views are problematic As you continue with this type of training the aim is to develop a balanced perspective A rational reasonable view of things you did well and things that you could improve So now let's switch to the things that you could have improved In what ways did your temptations get the better of you today?

Did your fear consume you at all?

Make you make unwise decisions?

How did you act improperly in social situations?

Did you get overwhelmed at all?

What happened?

Stoics felt anxiety,

Fear,

Anger,

Sadness just like the rest of us If you get upset by the fact that you didn't do things perfectly today realize that the reason this exercise was created by stoics was so that they could improve for tomorrow Even the greatest stoics of all time saw problems with the way they behaved as they reflected on their day This is perfectly normal What's important is that we look at tomorrow and make a commitment to be better So what is the single lesson?

Just one lesson you can take with you into tomorrow You don't need more than one Just one Create a strong intention Imagine yourself tomorrow struggling to practice the intention you set for yourself What obstacles come up?

How do you handle them?

It doesn't have to be easy But if you can cope with adversity that's an amazing step forward Promise yourself now that you will commit to this intention tomorrow Whatever happens You've done great work today I'll see you back in the morning

Reviews

My Dear Jon Brooks ➖

Recently stumbling through the titles, I came upon your “Stoic’s guide to difficult relationships and dangerous people” (ad-libbing the title) and I was intrigued to learn more. It has emerged that the president of our Home Owners Association (HOA) may have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Early on, she let me know her dislike of me by directing the General Manager taking actions against me. We have had five GMs in 5 years time.

She leaves breadcrumbs as you describe in your lessons, and I do have an inquisitive and investigative persona.

The detective in me has found astonishing breaches of laws, such as a RICO scam that raised our property insurance premiums by $100,000 annually (to be repaid by everyone to the HOA in 10% higher monthly payments) , while simultaneously lowering the construction replacement cost by $8 Million Dollars.

My real anguish with the HOA stems from them charging their attorney invoices to my HOA account without due process. This amounts to a “taking of property without due process” in violation of The Constitution 5th and 14th Amendments.

I have taken the whole course the first day, and revisited many times.

I did a search, as one does, partly because I want to pay it forward and reward you for your life-changing counsel, and partly to find more vocal guidance from you. My hunt was well-rewarded to find more titles, and to Zelle you some coin.

🙏🏼

Back to my story, it appears that the deliberations are heading toward court. I am aligning with legal counsel, and I have mental health support every other week with a licensed social worker.

I am using an 🅰️ℹ️ app for my iPhone called otter that is helping me write this five year story.

My focus in writing ✍🏼 you is to get some general ideas to take actions to keep this legal process moving forward in a stately, dignified way — yet not veer into the ditch of making things worse.

Parenthetically, your voice resonates with me.

Thanks, Jon, a worthwhile perspective for day’s end.
Donna

I find it helpful to review the day. Thank you. 🌸🌺

Awesome...

Great evening practise! Thank you 🙏

I’ve been looking for this end of day meditation using Stoic principles. I found this to be very valuable. Thank you.

Really appreciate this practice in the evening . Thank you.

Nicely done. I've always had a tough time setting intentions, you have helped me take them and break them up into good sized bits! Much Gratitude

I had no idea ! How important it is to understand and deal with Anger. So easy for some of us to serpresss it and that is not healthy Jon you have nailed the understanding of anger in apositive language

I like the idea of taking just a few minutes at the end of the day to review what I did well and what I could improve upon.

Thanks Jon really enjoyed this thought provoking practice such a great opportunity to reflect and learn thank you for your sharing your hard work and insight into Stoicism. I’m really enjoying your teaching.🙏

Fantastic end to the day, true to the Stoic philosophy and guidance!

Excellent way to appreciate each day and to make them become better on our own, yet with inspiration too.
Thank you for the perspective.

My new go-to for reflecting and learning where to improve on my next day. Much thanks.

Great pacing - a balanced guided meditation that’s a go to for when I recapitulate my day

Wonderfully balanced view of the day. Surprising insights that will help create a better tomorrow.
Thank you!🙏🏼

Really enjoyed this. More stoic inspired meditations, please!

Just Amazing. Thank you for the stoic theme. I wish there were more of these.