The Stoic Handbook with Jon Brooks

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Start your day with a simple gratitude meditation rooted in ancient Stoic wisdom. In just 10 minutes, you'll practice three gratitudes, shift your mindset from lack to abundance, and set yourself up for a day of noticing what's right—not just what's wrong. Inspired by Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, this guided meditation helps you see clearly what you already have, before the day's demands take over. Perfect for mornings when you want to feel grounded, grateful, and ready.

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Start your day with the most powerful Stoic distinction: what is up to you, and what is not.
In this 6-minute guided morning practice, you’ll gently identify a current worry, feel where it lives in your body, and release everything outside your control. Through clear teaching, visualization, and a simple daily intention, you’ll cultivate calm agency and resilience—no matter what the day brings.
Perfect for anyone who wakes up with racing thoughts, anxiety about outcomes, or a desire to respond rather than react. Epictetus’ timeless wisdom, delivered in a modern, practical way.
Return daily to strengthen the habit.

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Martijn Schirp and I have known each other for nearly a decade. He first reached out after reading a meditation article I posted on Reddit—a message that changed my life and eventually led to us co-founding HighExistence and running transformational retreats together in Costa Rica.
Since then, Martijn has lived several lifetimes: professional poker player who finished 102nd at the World Series of Poker, a crisis of meaning in Vegas that led him to a Buddhist monastery in Nepal, and then co-founding Synthesis—one of the first legal psilocybin retreat centers in the world, which partnered with Imperial College London and was called the "gold standard" of psychedelic retreats.
Then it collapsed. In 2023, Synthesis went bankrupt, leaving hundreds of students and employees in limbo. Martijn got physically ill from the stress and spent years recovering—volunteering on a farm in Portugal, working with the soil, reconnecting with his teachers.
Now he's back with something new: Upāyosis and "A Path Between Worlds"—a 12-month program that weaves Buddhist contemplative training with intentional psychedelic practice. It's the first time we've spoken in depth in years, and I was struck by how different he seems. As he told me: "I don't have to seek anymore. I think I've found it. Now it's more a question of deepening."
In this conversation, we discuss:
The intergenerational trauma he discovered through ayahuasca (tracing back to his grandfather in a German orphanage during WWII)
Why he believes "the container is the medicine"
What actually went wrong at Synthesis—and what he learned
The Buddhist answer to whether psychedelics violate the Fifth Precept
Why peak experiences aren't enough—and what "altered traits" require
Animism, ecodelics, and our ethical relationship to non-human beings
Why spiritual friendship is "the whole of the path"
What his new 12-month program actually involves
I'm joining this program myself—not just as an endorsement, but because I've seen how thoroughly Martijn creates things, and I want to deepen my own practice. If you're someone who's had meaningful psychedelic experiences but feels stuck, or you're a meditator curious about how these paths might converge, this conversation is for you.
Learn more: upayosis.com
Contact Martijn here.

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Do you experience overwhelming stress because you must handle numerous tasks while feeling like your time supply is insufficient? The episode presents ancient Stoic teachings that help listeners eliminate distractions to concentrate on essential things.
We'll explore:
Your limited existence brings you freedom instead of creating sadness.
Marcus Aurelius presents a basic inquiry which helps people stay focused on what matters.
The Dichotomy of Control: how to stop worrying about things you can't change
The experience of discomfort serves as an indicator which shows you are working on important tasks.
You can start your focus recovery by taking one essential step during the current day.
The episode draws its knowledge from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus to teach people about performing essential tasks.

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What if the secret to gratitude isn't positive thinking—but imagining loss?
In this 12-minute guided meditation, I'll walk you through an ancient Stoic practice called praemeditatio malorum—the premeditation of adversity. Used by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, this technique trains you to appreciate what you have before it's gone.
We'll imagine a vivid scenario: a sudden accident that changes everything. Not to be morbid, but to wake you up to the fragility and preciousness of your life right now—your health, your freedom, your relationships, the simple ability to walk across a room.
This practice will help you:
Cultivate deep, felt gratitude (not just intellectual appreciation)
Prepare mentally for life's inevitable challenges
Reduce anxiety by rehearsing resilience
Break free from hedonic adaptation and wanting more
As Epictetus said: "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
Find a quiet space. Close your eyes. And let's practice together.