Loving Kindness, Day 5: "The Path to Happiness with the Stoics" meditation series
Daily Meditation Podcast
Mary Meckley
4.1 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Be guided with deep connection, compassion, and boundless love. This transformative meditation series is designed to peel back the layers of guardedness and doubt, helping you cultivate a wellspring of Loving-Kindness—first for yourself, and then effortlessly for the world around you.
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 Stoics—thinkers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus—were 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 5 of a 7-day meditation series, "The Path to Happiness with the Stoics," episodes 1164-1170.
Prepare to shift your perspective. Happiness is not something you chase; it is something you practice.
YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: "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 JOURNEY
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 at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST
SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual.
SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support.
I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast!
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 to Mary@sipandom.com.
FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST
Each day's meditation techniques are shared at:
- sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/
- sip and om Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/
SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP
Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.
2-Week's Free Access on iOS
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 to Mary@sipandom.com.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 1,168. Welcome to the daily guided meditation. I welcome you back to our seven-part series we're exploring this week all about the path to happiness with the ancient wisdom of the Stoics. |
| 0:27.1 | And I'm sharing with you different quotes and insight from two Stoics you may be familiar |
| 0:35.6 | with if you are familiar with Stoicism. |
| 0:38.8 | And that is the ancient Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was emperor from 161 to 180 AD. |
| 0:53.8 | And also we're following along with the Roman philosopher Sinica. |
| 1:02.1 | He was also a statesman. |
| 1:06.9 | And he was born in 4 BC and he died in 65 AD. |
| 1:20.5 | So these were some sage leaders in the Stoic movement. |
| 1:30.3 | And Seneca is a little more complicated |
| 1:33.3 | because he didn't lead the most stoic type of life |
| 1:39.3 | until later in his life. |
| 1:52.1 | Then he started to follow and actually walk the talk of the Stoics a little more than he did earlier in his life. But Marcus Aurelius was well respected and well regarded throughout his lifetime as one of the |
| 2:04.1 | most important and best emperors of Rome during his time. |
| 2:09.8 | In fact, his book of meditations that he wrote was never intended to be published. |
| 2:16.2 | It was simply a type of a diary of reflections that he maintained. |
| 2:24.8 | And it was found later. And his writings and reflections offered so much wisdom that it became published and now it's a classic book. |
| 2:43.6 | So I want to share with you in today's episode a little bit about love. Love is perhaps the ultimate happiness and the |
| 2:59.0 | ultimate pain depending on how you are experiencing that love. In today's episode, I'll share with you a visualization you can do in your meditation |
| 3:15.6 | today as you focus on love. |
| 3:18.7 | And I'm Mary Meckley. |
| 3:20.5 | I share a different meditation technique every day here on this podcast. And as I mentioned, |
| 3:29.8 | the techniques are always focused on a theme. We explore in depth for a full week. And these are |
... |
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