I have this app called The Stoic, and every day it delivers a quote to my phone from one of the Greek Stoic philosophers. The Stoics were something like hardcore Zen practitioners of their day. Their main goal was to stay unfazed and calm of mind regardless of what was happening at any given moment. Hence: Stoic.

This weekend, the app sent me this quote from the Philosopher Emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose Meditations are perhaps the best known collection of Stoic writings:

Note: You must have images turned on in your email provider to be able to see the above image. 

[Image description: A plaster-appearing bust of the Greek Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His words appear at the bottom of the image, saying, “Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil.”]

I found it to be pretty hilarious that this guy’s words have been pored over by seekers of wisdom and calm since the year 167, and this was what he thinks we should say when we get up in the morning?

I even posted a screenshot from the app on Facebook with a note from me that said: “Marcus Aurelius was great at a lot of things, but writing morning affirmations was apparently not on that list.” 

One of my students asked: “Doesn’t this just make him a realist?”

And I replied: 

“Maybe… but that’s not what affirmations are for.”

See, my beef with the old Emperor was based on how powerful our morning affirmations actually are. It might sound woo, but whether you know it or not… whether you intend it or not, you probably are affirming something to thyself in the morning. 

And I say you should make the most of that powerful moment and the power of your words.

Now… you may not identify as someone who “does” affirmations. Maybe you’re doing unintentional affirmations, running over your to-do list in your mind, affirming your excitement and anticipation… or your irritation and dread, in advance. 

Or maybe you’re affirming that you didn’t get enough sleep or you’d rather stay in bed than do whatever you’ve gotta do. 

Maybe you’re just like old Marcus Aurelius and you’re like “ugh gotta go to work and deal with these busybodies, unsocial, arrogant, ignorant people.”

Or maybe you’re one of those who actually does affirmations with intention. You lie in bed or look in the mirror or sit on your meditation cushion and take a minute to affirm  — to tune yourself to the channel of —how you want to feel, be and live that day. 

And … it works.

Affirmations are a powerful Spiritual Strategy for calibrating your emotions and setting an intention for how you want your day to unfold. 

Affirmations are your best, daily opportunity to place the cosmic order for exactly what you want and exactly how you want to feel. This is true whether you are affirming what you want or what you do not want. 

Please catch this principle: Affirmations work whether you are affirming what you want or what you do not want. 

Either way, you’re calling it in. 

So with his (hilariously negative) affirmation, Marcus Aurelius was essentially placing an order for busy-bodies, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious and unsocial folk to come right on into his experience. 

I prefer Louise Hay’s people order of “I only work with people I love and who love me.” or “I’m in love with everyone and everyone is in love with me.”

Realistic? Maybe not. But realism is observation. And affirmations are a tool for creation. 

Catch this principle, too: Realism is observation. Affirmations are a tool for creation. 

When you use them consistently and intentionally, affirmations start to rewire the automatic scarcity and negativity thinking of your Inner Critic.

If nothing else, affirmations are self-hypnosis, meaning that when you consistently affirm empowered and expansive intentions for your day, you’re simply less likely to notice, focus on or get hooked into the daily dramas, busy-bodies and unwanted experiences of life. 

When I posted that Marcus Aurelius quote on the socials, one friend asked: “How would you reword it, Tara? Something about being patient & compassionate towards others?”

I replied: 

I’m big on not calibrating how I feel and the day I want to have based on what others are doing. So I would rewrite the quote like this:

Begin the morning by saying to thyself: I give thanks for this perfect day and its perfect unfolding. 

I give thanks that the Divine, genius plan for my Life now comes to pass. 

I release all Resistance to any element or stage of that plan. 

I open my arms wide to receive everything this universe has for me, including avalanches of abundance, which now flow to me under grace, over calm seas and in perfect, surprising and delightful ways.

Every person is a golden link in the chain of my highest good. 

All is well in my world. 

Yeah, I’d affirm something like that.

Head up + heart out,
 

P.S.: I’ve created a little hit list of 7 Affirmations to Soothe Your Inner Critic, which you can download here. It’s free. 

P.P.S.: The truth is, I have gleaned great wisdom and inspiration for equanimity in the face of life’s waves from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius over the years. 

Last time I opened them up, I saw this and made a mental note to find an excuse to share it with you:

“Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, seashores, and mountains; and you, too, are wont to desire such things very much. But…it is in your power whenever you choose to retire into yourself. For there is no retreat that is quieter or freer from trouble than a man’s own soul, especially when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in perfect tranquillity; and tranquillity is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind. Constantly then give to yourself this retreat, and renew yourself.”

Give to yourself a retreat. Constantly. And be renewed.

Tara-Nicholle Kirke, MA, Esq.
Founder + CEO of SoulTour

@taranicholle on FB | TW | IG | LI

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