Each quarter, Stoic leaders from around the world share updates from their local Stoicism communities.
Since their first meeting on August 25, 2022 the Ames (Iowa) Stoics has grown to include 12 members. They meet bi-weekly to discuss Stoic Philosophy and help each other grow in Wisdom.
Ever since its inception a few months ago, our group has gained 28 members, of which about 10 regularly participate in its ‘Breakfast with Seneca’ events, where we get together for breakfast and discuss a chapter in David Fideler’s excellent book Breakfast with Seneca. A new, more demanding set of discussion groups called ‘Studying the Stoic Path’ grounded in John Sellars’ Stoicism is commencing on the 30th, beginning with ‘The Stoic System’. It’s heartening to see the amount of interest in Stoicism as a way of life even in a relatively small regional area such as this one.
After COVID we are primarily an online group due to new members living outside Copenhagen. It works for now and we have seen new members joining and old members drifting out the group. All in all a steady group of around 5-6 people. Lately some less experienced people have joined which will give the group the excuse to revisit some of the more fundamental topics within the Stoic teaching. This will be a great opportunity for the entire group.
We meet monthly for philosophical discussions in a restaurant/café or we go for small hikes. There are around 6 attendees per meeting. We might switch to other formats during winter or when restrictions should be more strict again. Due to our presence on meetup, there are often new faces and attendees with international backgrounds.
From our humble beginnings in 2017, we are now in our sixth year of this fantastical journey. This summer I got to visit Rome. A truly remarkable experience for me (and the family) where the confluence of history, architecture, food, and philosophy came together in a very special way. I took it all in - slowly, a must see for me was the famous Marcus Aurelius statue on horseback ( at the Capitoline Museum), and it didn’t disappoint me, a fantastic work of art. We had our annual picnic / BBQ event, at a beautiful archery range in Oakland CA. Stoicon-X planning is in progress, we’re very excited to meet regional leaders and newcomers. A presentation I’ve been working on, finally has come together and has gotten good reviews so far. Recently presented to the Ontario Stoics (thanks Chris S.). Would love to present to other groups “My Stoic Journey - Gerry Castellino” - feel free to reach out to the Fremont Stoics for further details.
We keep hosting online events open to a global audience at https://www.meetup.com/global-agora/. Among recent highlights, a conversation on the nature and practice of spiritual exercises and an intensive seminar on Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. Coming up, we will keep hosting monthly live “Philosophy as a Way of Life” podcasts as well as another intensive seminar, this time on Socrates seen by Xenophon. Join us!
After a brief pause due to time restrictions, we started a new monthly online meeting called Stoics Anonymous, in which participants can share and discuss their own experience in using Stoic techniques and teachings in their daily lives. Also, on 10th September we hosted our second Stoicon-X as an in-person event. After a keynote presented by the philosophical practitioner Harry Wolf (Zurich, Switzerland) on Stoic philosophy as a modern art of living, the participants were given the opportunity to delve deeper into main Stoic precepts through reading and discussing selected text passages by Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Compared to 2021 the number of attendants has just about doubled, and we are looking forward to hosting a follow-up next year.
Our small trio (with sometimes another straggler) has been meeting in person roughly once a month at a beautiful library sort of equi-distant from the regulars. We've been discussing an episode per session from the Good Fortune podcast from Matt Van Natta.
Manchester Stoics have continued to meet online, we are currently discussing articles from the excellent Stoicism Today Selected Writings Volume 3.
In these difficult times we try to continue our studies. In the summer I interviewed John Sellars, you can watch it on our channel in English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J31WuKa2Xfk. Now we are reading with a small group the seventh book of Diogenes Laertius, dedicated to the early Stoics, in ancient Greek. Also, I'm getting ready to host Stoicon-X. For a number of reasons, I was unable to organize a full-fledged event with several lecturers, so I will speak alone with the material that we discussed at the Laertius reading seminar. Our main site is now here https://t.me/porticusmoscouiensis
Our Stoa is lively and active, with 16 in-person bi-weekly meetings since its foundation, in January 2022. Ca. 50 people participated so far, out of which 20 came more than once and 14 people are regulars. Discussions are open and without a pre-ordered topic, and are about Stoicism as a way of life, the role of free will and how to master emotions. Our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/munichstoics
The Nashville Stoics meet-up continues to meet twice a month for a theory discussion and a practice group. In addition to the study of Stoicism we are developing a community of like minded individuals. If that sounds like something you are interested in please check us out at: https://www.meetup.com/nashville-stoics/
The New York City Stoics are continuing our 2022 theme of studying the philosophies that influenced Stoicism. Our October meeting covered Cynicism, and November we’ll be exploring Megarian and Dialectic philosophies. Our main meetings our online, and you can join us from anywhere in the world: https://www.meetup.com/New-York-City-Stoics/
The Ogembo Stoic Center is now nearly 6 months old. It's located in the Nyanza region of our country. It started with 6 people but has since grown to 28 very committed young tucks! We meet thrice a week to explore Stoicism and engage in community development. We recently acquired a small plot and we plan to mobilize resources to put a structure which will act as our regional office. This will reduce the burden of members making contributions for hiring halls thrice a week. Our football team is also in need of playing kits and other equipment to help us carry out our activities well. Being a new group which is committed to changing lives and putting smiles on peoples faces,we would like to get some funding from well wishers in The Stoic Fellowship and across the globe to help us support our activities. Our group is mainly focused on building talents for the youths so funds will be utilized in buying kits, balls, and other items for our team. This will help our young tucks who normally engage in drug use and abuse to have something meaningful to do hence uplifting their lives. These and other more programs will literally change lives. Thank you The Stoic Fellowship board and members from across the globe for your kindness and your willingness to support our Stoic center. We salute you from Kenya!
Our membership has passed 2100 from Florida and around the world. The reason for higher numbers are the DIALOGUES, which start each meeting. StoicDan and 1-2 other people talk about the topic for the week, and then discussion follows. These dialogues are more engaging than a simple introduction. StoicDan’s recent dialogue partners include: Joe in Philadelphia, Jim in Tampa, Denise in South Carolina, Tim in Minnesota, Ellen in New Orleans, and Scott in Orlando. Info: https://www.meetup.com/orlando-stoics/
We have been going for just on four years and were glad to find that we are no longer the only Stoa in Africa. We extend our best wishes to our Stoic friends in Kenya. We are looking into having a Stoicon-X in November. We were pleasantly surprised to win the PanStoa Quiz and thank the Stoic Fellowship for our mascot, Ollie the Elephant!
Remembered our founding at an in-person meeting in SF a couple of weeks ago - Redwood was started nine years ago in September of 2013. Our monthly meetings continue without a break, normally on-line, but this October we plan one among the redwoods, face-to-face. Regards to all our colleagues internationally.
Stoics in Himalaya and it’s members in touch virtually. As the autumn is full of local festivals in the valley and across Nepal. We are gearing up to learn and practice Stoicism. The group is growing in FB as well : https://www.facebook.com/groups/5619233931449009 A new event has been planned ( In person) for the 15th October. More exciting and engaging learning experience is in the pipeline.
A small group of practicing Stoics, who meet once a month to discuss the ideas of the ancient Stoics. We are currently reading “On the shortness of life” by Seneca. All are invited to attend. Info: https://www.meetup.com/stoics/
Hosted by StoicDan and Edin, this group has 2 meetings per month. One is a discussion on a Friday night at Panera Cafe near USF (2 hour). The other meeting is a walking meditation on the Causeway Bridge on a Sunday afternoon (1 hour). Both meetings are free and open to the public. Info: https://www.meetup.com/tampa-stoics/
The Trondheim Stoics aim to meet physically about once a month, and had a very good first meeting this semester. We moved our main group back to Facebook, where meetings and discussions can take place. We are planning to participate in a digital Norway Stoics meeting related to Stoicon. https://www.facebook.com/groups/trondheimstoics
Since August, we have been holding online meetings of our group. We discussed passions in Stoicism and read parts of Seneca´s Medea from the point of view of Rage as a paradigmatic passion for the Stoics. For those interested in taking part in our meetings (in the Portuguese language), please send a message to [email protected]