If something is not under our control, we can recognise it as such and decide that it’s fine as it is. The mindful application of these two building blocks is enough to release us from the anxieties that beset us daily. So let’s consider this second lesson in detail; it’s a truly magnificent thought. Epictetus is saying that we should only concern

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Already for most humans, the only respite they find from their own minds is to occasionally revert to a level of consciousness below thought. Everyone does that every night during sleep. But this also happens to some extent through sex, alcohol, and other drugs that suppress excessive mind activity. If it weren’t for alcohol, tranquilizers, antidep

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