#8 Stoic practice: meditate on nature and the cosmos

This series of articles is my feedback on A Handbook for New Stoics, a book on the practice of Stoicism, by Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez. For one year, every week, I will experience the Stoic practices proposed by the handbook and I will share with you my weekly review. This will provide you with an overview of the different Stoic exercises and the benefits (or not) they can offer you.

💬 The quote (Marcus Aurelius)

The Pythagoreans bid us every morning lift our eyes to heaven, to meditate upon the heavenly bodies pursuing their everlasting round — their order, their purity, their nakedness. For no star wears a veil.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.27

🔥 Practice: observing nature and our place in the universe

This week, we first had to think about different ways of meditating on nature, for example: observing the sunrise, taking a walk in the forest, etc. We were free to invent our own practices, as long as they remained linked to nature and consisted of observing nature and reflecting on our place within it.

Here are the practices I identified for myself:

• Monday: Observe nature from the window, as soon as you wake up (5–10 minutes)