ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how Stoicism places considerable emphasis on being grounded in the present moment. This aspect of Stoicism was largely overlooked by the founders of CBT but then subsequently reintroduced by third-wave therapies, although drawing on Buddhism rather than Stoicism. The Stoic concept of prosoche or attention to one’s ruling faculty is compared to modern notions of “mindfulness” found in third-wave CBT, which are derived from Buddhism. The Stoic concept of “purification” of the mind by “separating” our judgements from external events is compared to the concept of “cognitive distancing” in modern CBT, and “verbal defusion” in third-wave behaviour therapy. Stoic meditation on the here and now is linked to the concept of impermanence of material things, including the contemplation of one’s own mortality. The revised edition of this chapter goes into more detail concerning the relationship between Stoic mindfulness of the here and now and similar concepts and practises found in third-wave CBT.
