The ability to endure pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint is stoicism. The modern man and woman has transformed their pain and hardship into a dense shield, in result they assassinate emotions character and empathy for others. In direct result we become more toxic to ourselves and the people around us, grooming ourselves for spiritual detriment. This can be good and bad, based upon how you view things and the tunnel vision you have to cure yourself with shadow work. The things that we are plagued by are in direct correlation with what we must master and conquer to grow spiritually. As a man stoicism is a major component of masculinity and the unspoken law of the male ecosystem. Some people are naturally strong mentally, spiritually, morally and emotionally but most are not. It reflects through our every day lives and relationships drastically.

It is important to realize that everything is not meant to be love and light twenty for seven. The shadow work journey is about exploring and coming to terms with some of the deepest and darkest parts of yourself. Learning how to balance your shadow self with love and light is the way to candidly facilitate on the healing journey. Balance is important because being to far on either side prevents and hinder you from doing the necessary work, to connect with your highest self. We must not be afraid of the dark, we must embrace it because it is important on this journey of self shadow work. Each person in this realm of reality is responsible for his or her own well-being, growth is not given but earned. The reward for consistency and patience is perfect timing.

The shadow work and effort we emit, propels us toward growth spiritually and mentally. One can not become the highest version of his or herself without making that conscious choice of doing the inner work. We are the light and darkness of the universe, tiny fragments of cosmic matter. We are the most intelligent creatures, yet we are the most ignorant to human psychology and anatomy. The grooming of the mental is fashion for the soul, we ascend through self awareness and accountability. Humans were created with emotions because it is what triggers us to ascend or descend on our journey in life. The greatest thing about being alive is we get a chance to experience every aspect of life. Life is about experiences, growth, failures and success.

The people who are heartless and lack emotions the most, are the people with the greatest traumatic past. Sometimes in relationships the ones we value and love the most, wound and mutilate us to our core. We gave them the ammunition to destroy us because we trusted them and never expected their mediocre actions. Narcissism is the driving force behind this, what a person do to you is purely a projection of how they feel inside. The traumatic issues at hand and the unresolved shadow work is what catapult narcissistic behavior. To some degree behind the vivid lens, we have all witnessed this in ourselves and others. If the mental is contaminated the ripple effect of issues are strongly present in the every day life. Nothing in life majority of the time is personal, it’s the suffering from within unmasked and projected in the 3D.

To experience joy you need pain and sunshine is not appreciated without darkness. The Stoics elaborated a detailed taxonomy of virtue, dividing virtue into four main types: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. To avoid unhappiness, frustration, and disappointment, we therefore, need to do two things: control those things that are within our power (namely our beliefs, judgments, desires, and attitudes) and be indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power (namely, things external to us). (William R. Connolly)

As modern-day stoic philosopher Massimo Pigliucci (b. 1959) describes the stoic philosophy:

“Briefly, their notion of morality is stern, involving a life in accordance with nature and controlled by virtue. It is an ascetic system, teaching perfect indifference (apathea) to everything external, for nothing external could be either good or evil. Hence to the Stoics both pain and pleasure, poverty and riches, sickness and health, were supposed to be equally unimportant.”

Eight stotic principles

• Nature: Nature is rational.
• Law of Reason: The universe is governed by the law of reason. Humans can’t actually escape its inexorable force, but they can, uniquely, follow the law deliberately.
• Virtue: A life led according to rational nature is virtuous.
• Wisdom: Wisdom is the the root virtue. From it spring the cardinal virtues: insight, bravery, self-control, and justice.
• Apathea: Since passion is irrational, life should be waged as a battle against it. Intense feeling should be avoided.
• Pleasure: Pleasure is neither good nor bad. It is only acceptable if it doesn’t interfere with the quest for virtue.
• Evil: Poverty, illness, and death are not evil.
• Duty: Virtue should be sought, not for the sake of pleasure, but for duty.

Gregory Standley

People who live a constant lie die from a slow death called truth!

Gregory Standley