This article is Part 2 of an introduction to Stoicism for trauma survivors. In an introduction to Aristotelian virtue ethics I posted recently, I said this: Tough times calls for tough people. Personal resilience begins with toughening our minds. See, in G's take on human biology, the mind supports the spine. A weak mind causes the spine to dissolve. My major concern with progressives is the mind-spine connection. Only hard work creates a tough mind. Our minds are plastic: life will mold it for you if you don't construct it through will, hard work, perseverance. It applies everywhere.
Part 1/3 is here: http://caucus99percent.com/content/stoicism-trauma-survivors-part-13

I’m a PTSD survivor, which is just one form of anxiety disorder. So many of us a trauma survivors. In fact, methinks life is trauma survival. One of the things that help keep my nose above water is Stoicism. I have compiled a summary of Stoic ethics for my own guidance. I share it here, hoping it may also help you a bit. It’s from my viewpoint as a trauma survivor, but it’s applicable to anyone anywhere
I used the thought of the greatest Roman Stoic, Epictetus, to help myself learn. This article will look at two of five questions:
1. What is the goal of life?
2: What is good?

Holee shit, Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton was some deep holy shit this time yesterday. She practically let rip with a Dean Scream and then some in NY on Thursday in front of live cameras...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC4Pvm6Oj4A]

Tough times calls for tough people. Personal resilience begins with toughening our minds. See, in G's take on human biology, the mind supports the spine. A weak mind causes the spine to dissolve. My major concern with progressives is the mind-spine connection. Only hard work creates a tough mind. Our minds are plastic: life will mold it for you if you don't construct it through will, hard work, perseverance. OK, there's work to do. First principle: modern ethics (along with all of modern philosophy) is bullshit. Classical times was tougher than our time. It produced tough-minded people. The classical world followed virtue-based ethics. I follow them. Below is a summary I did for myself of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. It explains the classical world's goal of life and I organized extracts of Aristotle's words into a coherent summary for my own use.

Here is an interesting Counterpunch article by Margaret Kidder, about the Faustian deal that many 33 states have made with the Hillary Victory Fund. Essentially, the state Democratic parties have made deals to funnel donations to the Hillary Victory Fund, which then distributes these monies as it sees fit. This multiplies the limit that an individual donor can make to a state party committee by the number of states signing on to the deal.

This is a top rescue from early 215. I offer this diary in the hope that it would help you conquer your anger. It comes from my own bitterly-fought journey through anger as a PTSD survivor. In 2006 I realized that I was razor-close to losing my family and probably my life, if I did not seek help. I was fortunate to be assigned a wonderful military psychologist. One of his first priorities was to teach me to conquer the anger that was consuming me. He helped me construct a personal anger thermometer, which is a tool in cognitive behavioural therapy. It saved my marriage, preserved my family, and helped me gain a foothold on the climb towards recovery. More below.

Roadside stand near Birmingham, Alabama by Walker Evans [public domain]
Created 31 December 1935

Morning, my dear friends. There is little to no need to give your money to crooked corporations in the household cleaning department. Their products are mostly poisonous and/or ineffective - and always overpriced to the gouging (sp? ah, who cares) max. We use natural cleaning products from recipes we've kifed everywhere over the years. Below are some of ours, and of the afore-mentioned kifees.) I hope you'll add some of your homemade cleaning recipes and products. And if you do the math on these recipes, you'll be a happy camper. Oh, and a more resilient camper too :=) You'll see, it's very progressive to kick the corporations in the teeth AND make yourself more free. It's much more productive than screaming about what's bad.

I so enjoyed the comments and great music that c99 folks posted on last weekend's Bread and Roses article. This weekend, let's have some fun with religion parody songs. It's been a helluva week and we could use a bit of a giggle. First off, Phil Ochs' classic definition of protest music. See below.

In Bridge of Ashes, Roger Zelazny, he posits that evolution on this planet, it has been produced and directed by extraterrestrials, who have deliberately nudged human beings into developing a technological culture that will inevitably render the earth unfit for human habitation. But will, and thereby, produce conditions that are just perfect, for these extraterrestrials. Who will then move in and comfortably settle down.