Discourse 26: Premeditato Malorum

The Scaffolding of Cope

“The man who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive”

-Seneca

                It is often said that stoicism does not have a place in Christianity or that they are fundamentally incompatible. Although upon closer inspection one will find there is significant overlap in their respective praxis and that there are indeed many stoic Christians. Additionally, upon even further examination, one can come to understand that stoicism is not so much a belief but a process to deal with our temporal mortal reality, which aids us as we endeavor to live above our circumstances. The pain of life is inevitable (and serves a purpose) as was discussed in Discourse 5.4 and 5.5.  But there is more.

What I am going to present here is not to be implied as a first step for the neophyte, rather this is a technique that should only be applied by those who have begun the process of building themselves whole and who have to a degree found command of their own mind and emotions.  The concept of building  was discussed at great length in both Discourse 4 and 5 as it relates to building yourself as an individual, as a spouse, and as a follower of Christ.

To be clear, one does not necessarily need to follow the good shepherd to find value in this strategy or with stoicism as a whole. However, unless one has been initiated into certain elements of Christianity, some things will undoubtedly not resonate. Even some who claim to have begun walking the path will not understand as they are not yet prepared for what it is. I have previous been both.

Such people would be the ones to ask an alchemist how it is that the philosopher’s stone interacts with lead in such a way that it transmutes into a completely different substance. Naturally the esotericist would respond that “engaging with the surface level meaning of the text is a trap meant to distract those unworthy of accessing the true teaching.” Likewise, the surface is often like a step on Wittgenstein’s ladder, once used it is discarded, becoming nonsense in the process.

The mysteries of Christianity are also designed in such a way that they cannot be accessed by the neophyte until they are initiated into a particular epistemology. Most people remain on the surface without polishing the philosopher’s stone, and it is that decision to remain ignorant that grants them the title of being unworthy, not because they do not belong to a particular group or have certain immutable characteristics, but because they have yet to develop the eyes to see or the ears to hear. The gate is opened with humility… and choice.

With all of that said, the technique of Premeditatio Malorum, which is Latin for “premeditation of evils”, is where an individual prepares for the worst by visualizing all of the potential problems and contemplating possible actions and outcomes. It could be as simple as allocating extra time during a trip to compensate for delays or as significant as pondering a world altering loss or a significant change of circumstances. This essay will focus on the latter. Beyond the metaphysic implications that I will get to, the goals of this strategy are to develop resilience and fortitude in the face of the changing seasons of life.

“Rehearse them in your mind: exile, torture, war, shipwreck. All the terms of our human lot should be before our eye.”

-Seneca the Younger

However, as mentioned, this is not the first step in building our ability to cope and handle adversity. If attempted prematurely one will find themselves in mental quicksand without the ability to escape easily. In doing so, one will come to understand what Nietzsche meant when he said “When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you”. We want to command our thoughts, not get lost in them.

So, before venturing into the simulacra of worst-case scenarios, we must properly frame our thoughts and emotions towards them.

The first step for the neophyte is to understand the dichotomy of control and to have the ability to exercise it. The dichotomy of control states that events can be compartmentalized into two distinct boxes. The first being things that we can control such as our desires, emotions, judgements, interpretations as well as any externally directed will. We alone are responsible for all of the aforementioned, as they are things that we must come to master in order for us to be deliberate and intentional with the constitution of our own being. Otherwise, we are reduced to a mere beast, a slave to our impulses and improper reasoning. (As well as being highly susceptible to social engineering) The second box includes all of the things that we cannot control, which is a vast majority of phenomenon in this world. This box includes the consequences of our actions, external events, other people’s actions and opinions, and to a large degree our health and reputation. Of course, we can influence many phenomena that are not within our direct control by our actions, but we must learn to relinquish the need to have dominion over them by recognizing our own limitations.

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

-Epictetus

Once a person has managed to approach mastery of the things they can control with the understanding of the things they cannot, they can then look to engage in building what remains of what I call the scaffolding of cope, premeditatio malorum. 

Before moving on with that point, which is the primary topic of this essay, I want to mention that I have not forgotten the metaphysical aspect of our reality nor the role that the divine plays with our respective fates. As I move forward, I will build the concepts together, but to be very clear (which should be if one has read my previous discourse) I place my faith and trust in God. I understand that even the things that I state we can control and master… are but a mere illusion. Yet, while I trust God, we cannot be foolish and walk into traffic thinking the divine will intervene and keep us unscathed. Likewise, we cannot go through life passively and think that our philosophers stone… and our soul… will be anything other than lead without assistance of our directed will. And a bit of grace. As it is said, we are both marble and sculpture… but while God provided the rock from which we build, we must pick up the chisel ourselves. God desires us to be builders as we are all carpenters. Michelangelo understood what it is I speak of.

Easter egg: In the full painting make note of the “cloud” God arrives in. It takes the shape of the human mind.

In this work, Gods finger is stretched to the maximum symbolizing its ambient ever waiting presence in our direction. Yet, Adams finger is not fully extended, meaning the decision to seek God belongs to man.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

-Jeremiah 29:13

I have often spoken about the importance of choice and how we often overlook this significant element of our free will. To choose a thing produces a particular alchemy in the aether, the least of which is not only an extension of our finger (our being) towards God, but perhaps the very development of our soul. To its fullest extent, a path through the narrow gate. The Kierkegaardian “Leap of Faith” is such a choice that extends deep into the aether.

“There is no soul. You are not born with a soul- the soul has to be created by great effort. And only very rare people have been able to create it.”

-          Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff

As a side note about developing the soul:

Whereas Gurdjieff interprets the soul as being without until it is developed, I interpret the soul as being something that is tightly bound and must be unfolded like a lotus flower. However, I agree with him that it is indeed something that takes great effort… through choice of our directed will. While I have spoken of this elsewhere, as it pertains to this essay this concept has to do with the optimal stress mentioned in Discourse 5.5 that is necessary for transmuting the problem of evil into a solution for the soul.

So, what does this have to do with the stoic concept of premeditatio malorum and how does this not conflict with Christian faith?

For the latter, while it is true that Christ died for our sins and suffered… (if one understands the layers of that concept) his suffering did not replace the suffering that we must endure, as it was a testimony for the path we must walk. This is because suffering is part of our necessary task here on earth, one of the ways that Adam extends his finger in the direction of God. To know of and overcome suffering is to arrive beyond the pain… and to know God. As long as premeditation remains grounded and does not drift into worry and despair, it can assist with reconciling the problem of evil with the will of God.

For the former, premeditatio malorum can act as a form of practice to not only hone our skill of faith, but to build our scaffolding of cope so that we may not only endure what this life has for us, but so we may also thrive above our circumstances in doing so.

After all, we were warned in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble. It is up to us to extend our finger and prepare for it.

“How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life.”

-Marcus Aurelius

To Aurelius, being mentally unprepared to contend with a situation was as obvious of a failure as watching a bodybuilder who has never lifted.

In order for muscles to gain strength they must first be broken, stressed to the point of adaption and growth, followed by endurance. When we know of our physical goals of the body, like a better mile time or a higher bench press, we can compel our muscles through simulation until we achieve our goal over time. Each simulation moves our physical form closer towards strength and resiliency, consequently making us more formidable to physical demands. This seems fairly axiomatic in the modern world as it relates to athletic performance, yet our mental form remains largely unprepared. Too often people do not attempt to compel their mind towards a goal.

For a long time, I could not fathom why in our culture we speak so often about mental health but do not hear about the techniques and exercises necessary to build a mentally fit form. On the one hand, I understand now that engineers do not wish for plebeians to have a sound body and mind as a general rule of thumb. We are kept in a state of mild fearful schizophrenia with minimal coping skills. However, whether it be a deliberate side effect or a helpful unintended one, (for power) our social reality that is mired in consumerism and instant gratification has produced individuals who would rather seek a short cut to the destination instead of taking the journey themselves. From metabolic issues like obesity to issues such as anxiety and generalized depression, there is always a pill to bridge the gap between our present state and our goal. All we have to do is pick it up from the pharmacy.

While I have previously gone on at length about how the managerial technique has captured our professional silos and builds desired consensus within them, the field of psychology has likewise not been exempted from this process. Instead of promulgating techniques to enhance and strengthen the mental form (which takes optimal stress), it seeks to jump the line straight to the goal as if one can merely imagine being faster than they currently are so they may compete with Olympic sprinters in the 100M dash.

Most psychologists tend to mostly focus on “creative visualization” (or manifesting to use the new age lingo) in building a positive and healthy mental state. However, this is like only working out your upper body while skipping leg day, there is going to not only be a grave imbalance, but a susceptible weakness that will make its presence known when one is called to stand. Like during a life crisis or a challenge to faith.

To add depth to this point, I have discussed elsewhere that “happiness” and a “positive disposition” is not a default state of the human mind. Our involuntary cognition is designed as a predictive apparatus, where ideas and thoughts populate without our directed will. (for those who have internal dialog) While sometimes these can indeed be positive, such as an answer to a problem, much of the time these intrusive thoughts are negative especially if one is without a history of repetitive mental conditioning of their own thoughts. While many of these thoughts simply need to be managed within our headspace, the predictive intent of them is to act as a form of survival mechanism that keeps us skeptical about our environment and our role within it. Point being, it is unreasonable for us to think that our mind space can be permanently set to a state of bliss, that being only possible artificially through a medicated Soma or perpetual distraction. (To those who comprehend, this is an example of the perpetual temptation and sin that we must endure and overcome daily as they are products of our own mind.)

Modern science has conditioned us to believe that if we are not constantly experiencing some form of eudaimonia there must be something wrong with us. This is where the problem with the strategy of positive or “creative” visualization comes into play.

Achieving a state of Eudaimonia beyond the briefest of spells, which Aristotle considered the highest human good, cannot come into being by merely manifesting it. Not only are we perpetually contending with our biological worry box (our brains) and its intrusive thoughts – we are dealing with the real world that will inevitably provide us with pain and suffering. None of this is to imply that positive visualization is not important or useful, just that it is not useful to you if today is squat day and you have weak legs. Weak legs in this case symbolizes our inability to cope and move beyond the pain due to lack of exercise. It must be complimented with other mental strategies so one may develop a fit mental form.

 As mentioned, the initial strategy is to develop mental muscle memory regarding the dichotomy of control, which should be present during any mental deliberation. The premeditation of evil is an advanced strategy for preparing our mental form for the struggles ahead that can assist us in getting to where we need to be, beyond the pain.

There are many ways we already do this. Life insurance. Self defense classes. Air bags. All of which were answers to the questions of “what if?” We do these things to reduce stress as we feel it makes us more prepared to handle those events. It would not be prudent to begin discussion of vehicular safety in media res an automobile crash. In only makes sense to exercise ourselves mentally for the same reasons, this is wisdom that dates deep into antiquity.

“Nothing happens to the wise man against his expectation, nor do all things turn out for him as he wished but as he reckoned- and above all he reckoned that something could block his plans”

-Epictetus

Yet… only a small percentage of psychologists recommend negative visualizations in cognitive behavioral therapy. Since we know there will be troubles in this life, we must not only visualize the good beyond that pain, but we must train ourselves to endure it and in doing so we provide ourselves with the proper balance needed to move forward. Aesop’s fable, “The Boar and the Fox” provides timeless wisdom regarding the necessary resilience we must build in life. There is always the next fight.

The technique alters and resets our paradigm so we can see clearly what we currently have in our lives, in effect reducing our hubris of taking things for granted. Beyond the metaphysical implications such as honing our skill of faith, properly exercised negative visualizations have been shown to not only drastically reduce stress and build confidence, but it diminishes complacency and provides an individual with a healthy perspective that fosters gratitude and humility.

For me - while this technique on its lowest level has to do with avoidance (such as leaving early for work to avoid being late due to unexpected traffic issues) , the advanced technique is more like a mental scrimmage against the unavoidable -  that builds confidence, both in my ability to cope with the inevitable suffering of life as well as giving me an opportunity to reinforce my confidence and trust in God. When I am in a mental scrimmage that I cannot win, I train myself to surrender my will to the circumstances based upon the dichotomy of control. I give it to God knowing that no matter what, everything that I know including my very soul... is in its hands. I am training to trust like Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son.  I discussed this technique in Discourse 5 as it relates to my battle with the demon of Acedia, where I advocated for a healthy daily dose of Memento mori.  

“Let fate find us prepared and active. Here is the great soul- the one who surrenders to Fate. The opposite is the weak and degenerate one, who struggles with and has a poor regard for the order of the world, and seeks to correct the faults of the gods rather than their own.”

-Seneca the Younger

Life after all is not a dance, but a wrestling match. We must prepare ourselves for the bout and not find ourselves shocked at its arrival. Perhaps along the way we learn to extend our finger, unfold our soul… and follow the good shepherd through the gate.

The struggle is the way forward. Choose to fight and only surrender to God what is his alone.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

-Ephesians 6:12