The Program
The Program
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Why Stoicism?
Why Stoicism?
Our crazy modern world, from how we learn in school to how we go to work - usually misses the most important questions in life.
The Stoics investigated deeply the question of what it means to live a truly good life, and to discover a wellbeing that was beyond the whims of the world. By doing so, the Stoics offered a way of understanding our lives as humans, from navigating everyday difficulties and stresses - to what is truly meaningful to pursue, and how best to spend our time.
Unfortunately, Stoicism is one of the most misunderstood philosophies in modern day. If you go to a place like YouTube, Google, or TikTok and type in "Stoicism," you're likely to hear information that has very little to do with the ancient tradition of Stoicism, despite using the name.
Here at Stoic Guidance we're interested in studying the ancient tradition of Stoicism as a deep and comprehensive framework to help us live well, in alignment with what is good and truly helpful.
Stoic understanding offers us not only practical wisdom for our daily lives, but how to deeply orient and engage with life.
Students in the Stoic Guidance program will learn from the Stoic tradition on many levels, guided by a 1:1 mentor.
Stoic Guidance
Stoic Guidance
In the ancient Stoic world, Stoic teachers taught students personally. While today we're left to pour over the Stoic texts that remain to us from history, the ancient schools themselves were schools. Places where people interested in living a true and virtuous life came, and learned from another human being, face to face... and often in an intimate apprentice-mentor relationship.
This is quite different from how many of us try to self-learn today, piecing together texts, books, and youtube videos.
When we learn in isolation, we might pick up all kinds of little errors, and veer off the tracks in how we understand and apply that understanding in weird ways. We might need specific support or encouragement - or even benefit from having certain errors pointed out to us directly.
Stoic Guidance is a project that offers interested students the opportunity to work 1:1 with a mentor to get this kind of support, guidance, and instruction.
Students who are yearning to feel the Stoic tradition with a little more substance, and to make it a little more real in their lives will feel right at home in this program.
Students have the option of selecting a mentor, or letting one be selected for them.
Once accepted into the program, the student and mentor will agree upon a commitment (1-6 months) and how meetings will occur (a combination of phone, zoom, chat, and email).
The program structure and attention from your mentor is here to support you with whatever is happening in your life. This isn't only a guide to learn about Stoicism - this is a life-line, and access to wisdom during difficultly and growing periods.
The program includes a core curriculum, where students will learn core Stoic principles and concepts, and about the Stoic tradition in a holistic way.
The program allows for each mentor to bring their own flavor and style. You can read more about individual mentors below.
There are a limited number of slots each period, and students are encouraged to make room in their lives for how the learnings in the program may want to enter their life more fully.
About the Mentors
About the Mentors
Alexander Maatje: Having a background in Business Administration, Alexander Maatje was first leisurely introduced to philosophy in early 2020. As a result of this, Stoicism came up on the radar later that year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stoicism brought many answers about how to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, how to view such drastic events, and even how to thrive. Alexander quickly began to notice how Stoicism also offered much more; Stoicism is not just a philosophy that can be useful during rough times, but gives a framework on how to live a fulfilling life in general and get the best out of life, even when things are going well.
Alexander now wants to share what he learned, not just based on the knowledge he gained over the last four years alone, but also on practice; the experiences that were the result of actively putting Stoicism to the test.
Taylor Share: Taylor's approach to Stoicism emphasizes embodiment and deeply understanding teachings in our lived lives. Taylor runs a project called Embodied Stoicism, which offers a vision of the Stoic path centered around genuine depth and actualization... a departure from a purely intellectual focus that is common in modern times.
He has studied and trained with many contemplative traditions and great teachers for over a decade, from Buddhist, to yogic, to modern somatic and therapeutic training, and more. He incorporates a wide range of inner work in his approach.
Taylor first picked up Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) in high school, and has felt a connection with the Stoic tradition throughout his life.
Tim Strackbein: Tim has spent a lifetime learning how to be in the moment and reclaim his ability to choose what he does in the here and now. The main tools he uses to do this are Stoicism, the Internal Family Systems model of therapy, and his understanding of systems from approximately 20 years spent doing IT, most recently as a DevOps engineer. He has a blog where he talks about using these tools to play the game of life, and to more consciously and rationally choose how we play our turns: Lifeasaboardgame.com. His passion is helping people improve their own systems, and in turn using that help to further understand himself and what makes him tick.
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