Affirmation to Release Negative Thoughts, Day 2: "The Path to Happiness with the Stoics" meditation series
Daily Meditation Podcast
Mary Meckley
4.1 ā¢ 1.5K Ratings
šļø 1 December 2025
ā±ļø 15 minutes
šļø Recording | iTunes | RSS
š§¾ļø Download transcript
Summary
Following yesterday's focus on external control, Day 2 guides us into the most powerful territory of all: our Inner Commentary. Negative tendenciesālike impatience, self-criticism, or resentmentāare rarely caused by the event itself, but rather by the instantaneous, faulty judgment we place upon that event.
ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES
Welcome to "The Path to Happiness with the Stoics."
Welcome to a new journey on the Daily Meditation Podcast. This week, we are walking The Path to Happiness with the Stoics.
When we think of "Stoicism," we often imagine a stiff upper lip or the suppression of emotion. But the ancient Stoicsāthinkers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetusāwere actually in pursuit of profound joy. They didn't seek the fleeting happiness of a sugar rush or a new purchase; they sought Eudaimonia (flourishing) and Ataraxia (unshakable tranquility).
This is day 2 of a 7-day meditation series, "The Path to Happiness with the Stoics,"Ā episodes 1164-1170.
Prepare to shift your perspective. Happiness is not something you chase; it is something you practice.
YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE:Ā "The Control Test"
This week, your challenge is to apply the "Control Test" to every moment of friction or anxiety you encounter. Whenever you feel stress rising, pause immediately and ask yourself: "Is this 100% within my control?" If the answer is no, practice visualizing yourself physically dropping the weight of that outcome, redirecting your energy solely toward your own attitude and response.
THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEYĀ
SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS
Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me atĀ [email protected]Ā or better yet -- direct message me onĀ https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!Ā
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All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email toĀ [email protected].
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All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email toĀ [email protected].Let go of repetitive negative thoughts.
The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig.
Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is episode 1,165. Welcome to the Daily Meditation Podcast. I'm Mary Meckley and I share a different |
| 0:11.1 | meditation technique every day here on the podcast. And I honor you for giving yourself this time to slow down and connect to the best part of who you are. |
| 0:30.9 | And in today's episode, you're going to be guided using a meditation technique called an affirmation. |
| 0:44.2 | An affirmation is a positive statement you repeat to yourself to help you focus your thoughts. |
| 0:54.0 | And this is important because you are going to think of something, |
| 1:01.2 | so you may as well train your thoughts to support you the way you want them to. |
| 1:10.6 | And so often the case is that we don't really focus our thoughts. |
| 1:18.8 | We can even let our thoughts drift over to someone else's agenda, |
| 1:26.4 | to where someone will say something to us and get us involved |
| 1:30.5 | in a conversation and you may feel like pretty soon you are thinking just like that person. |
| 1:41.2 | In fact, there's a popular saying that's worth repeating that you are the sum of the five people |
| 1:53.3 | you spend most of your time with. |
| 1:56.9 | You start to think the way they do. |
| 1:59.0 | You start to act the way they do. You start to act the way they do. |
| 2:01.5 | You may even start to dress or adopt habits like those five people who you most often spend your time with. |
| 2:12.1 | So think of your thoughts as programming yourself in a certain way. |
| 2:24.9 | So as you continue with this week's series, our series is all about the path to inner happiness with wisdom from the |
| 2:38.5 | ancient Stoics. And I'll be comparing stoicism to meditation because I think the two intertwine beautifully. So the ancient Stoics and the two I'm focusing on primarily |
| 3:00.1 | in this series are Stoics you may have heard about and they're making a comeback these days, you could say. And that is Marcus |
| 3:13.4 | Aurelius, a former Roman emperor, and Seneca, who was actually a teacher of the infamous Nero. |
| 3:26.2 | That was before Nero became really corrupt. |
| 3:30.3 | But Seneca was a philosopher in his time, |
... |
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