Multiconstruct

For the fourth week of spiritual exercises I completed last week I focused on Temperance. Stoics associated temperance with logic which got me to thinking.  I am a longtime substance use disorder counselor and a lot of recovery work is rooted in learning to be honest: “I made a searching and fearless inventory”.

The discipline of assent is catching ourselves from making value judgements about things outside of our control. We learn that the only good is moral good. When an event happens it is only a terrible thing if we decide it is.

This honest assessment of reality is a path to freedom and living without fear. Dropping our inner deception allows us to grow in our ability to control our desires. We train ourselves to focus on what is in our own power and this allows us to do things we want to do and not do the things that we don’t want to do.

When we feel good about ourselves because we are taking right action then we are less susceptible to falling into unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Research backs up the stoic approach. Mindfulness work is an important part of treatment and recovery. Self discovery allows us to look at ourselves and see what the drivers of our self defeating behaviors may be.

I made a Facebook reel talking about Temperance which will work until 2/26/26 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BpDGBd8GK/

For the spiritual exercises I switched my coffee to black and was mostly vegetarian. I monitored my portion size and steered clear of fast food. I refrained from alcohol with the exception of a couple of drinks with a friend as I’ve been a bit under socialized. I also maintained my other exercises of physical exercise, daily justice work, and study and meditation.

It was a successful 28 days which has helped me focus and make concrete improvements. I plan to do them again in two years.