Your body should be the instrument of your rational soul. Your rational soul should never be the instrument of your body.

There is only one way to happiness, and let this rule be ready both in the morning and during the day and by night: the rule is not to look towards things which are out of the power of our will, to think that nothing is our own, to give up all things to the Divinity, to Fortune; to make them the superintendents of these things, whom Zeus also has made so; for a man to observe that only which is his own, that which cannot be hindered; and when we read, to refer our reading to this only, and our writing and our listening.

Epictetus, Discourses Book 4

You will therefore say that in the nature of Zeus there is the soul of a king, as well as a king's reason, in virtue of this power displayed by the cause, while paying tribute for other fine qualities in the other divinities, in conformity with the names by which they like to be addressed. ... Do not think that we have engaged in an idle discussion here, Protarchus, for it comes as a support for the thinkers of old who held the view that reason is forever the ruler over the universe.

Plato, Philebus 30d

The Epitaph of Seikilos, the only complete piece of Ancient Greek music we have.

Then are you surprised if they pity you, and are you vexed? But they are not vexed if you pity them. Why? Because they are convinced that they have that which is good, and you are not convinced. For this reason you are not satisfied with your own, but you desire that which they have: but they are satisfied with their own, and do not desire what you have: since if you were really convinced, that with respect to what is good, it is you who are the possessor of it and that they have missed it, you would not even have thought of what they say about you.

Epictetus, Discourses 4.6

May we all live to see the dawning of a new Golden Age in our lifetimes, a new era in which peace, truth, justice and Dharma become instantiated in the world. It is only through the manifestation of such a spiritual civilization that we will witness the end of suffering and the beginning of true joy for all sentient beings. Evam Bhavatu. May it be so.

For it’s a difficult thing, Callicles, and one that merits much praise, to live your whole life justly when you’ve found yourself having ample freedom to do what’s unjust.

Plato, Gorgias 526a

In addition to prayer and offerings to the Gods and your ancestors, here are some beneficial practices to lead a truly philosophical life. Remember, "philosophy" literally means "love of wisdom," and so to lead a philosophical life is to live a wise, blessed life according to true spiritual principles. These practices are a mixture of Stoic, Pythagorean, and Platonic wisdom.

1. Every morning, remind yourself that your body will die one day, and that you don't know when that day will come. This will help you to keep things in their proper perspective and prevent you from overvaluing trivialities or getting swept away by events.
2. Every morning, tell yourself that you may encounter rude, stupid, unlikable, or evil people, and that all sorts of unfortunate things could occur. If you do meet such people or these unfortunate things do happen, you will not be surprised and you will be better prepared to deal with them serenely and reasonably. And to each of those possibilities, tell yourself that you cannot control others, that they behave badly out of ignorance, that you can control your own attitudes and beliefs, and that, no matter what happens - death of loved ones, loss of money, whatever -, the only way you can lose your virtue and piety is if you fail to maintain them. And virtue and piety are the most important possessions you will ever own.
3. Every evening before you go to sleep, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Did I do anything today that I shouldn't have done?
2. Was there anything that I should have done, but didn't do?
3. Which of my vices did I resist today?
4. In what ways did I improve myself today?
For each point, acknowledge the truth fully: do not make excuses, do not blame others, do not rationalize, do not worry about what others did wrong. If you did something wrong, commit to not doing it again. If you did something good, commit to continue doing it. If you injured someone in any way, commit to making it up to them as soon as you can.
4. Study true philosophy and, more importantly, practice it. Remember that your mission is to imitate the Divine to the best of your ability. The more you order yourself in imitation of the order of divine reality, the closer you will be to achieving that goal.
5. Contemplate the true nature of reality. Look deeply into yourself and understand your true essence. Contemplate the Gods. As Plotinus wrote, "Just shut your eyes, and change your way of looking, and wake up."

Plato’s famous allegory of the cave is at once a picture of the structure of reality and a roadmap.

In it, people are chained in the cave since childhood and forced to watch as shadows play on the wall in front of them. They know nothing else. The shadows are caused by objects behind the prisoners that pass before a fire. Some way behind the fire lies the mouth of the cave which leads out into the sunlight.

First, you must free yourself from your chains and turn around to see the objects and the fire.

Second, you must realize that there is more beyond the fire and continue on towards the mouth of the cave.

Third, you must ascend into the sunlight. It will take time for your eyes to adjust.

Fourth, once you have some understanding of the reality you now perceive, you must descend back into the cave, bringing your new understanding with you. You must live in the world, but unchained.

Fifth, you must return to the light outside the cave, but this time, with stronger eyes, you can see the Sun itself.

Sixth, you must return to the prisoners and help them escape.

And so one must become a man first, and then a god. The civic virtues make a man good, while the sciences leading up to divine virtue make him a god. Small matters precede in orderly sequence great matters for those who make the ascent.

Hierocles of Alexandria, Commentary on the Pythagorean Golden Verses, Proem

Only he knows how to pay honour [to divinities] who does not confuse the worth of those being honoured and who renders above all himself as a sacrifice, crafting his own soul into a divine sculpture and making his own intellect a temple for the reception of the divine light.

Hierocles of Alexandria, Commentary on the Pythagorean Golden Verses

Piety is defined as doing what is appropriate regarding the Gods. And what it is appropriate to do with regard to the Gods is honor them.

But to properly honor them you must understand that the Gods exist according to rank and that you must honor them in their proper rank ("Only he knows how to pay honor who does not confuse the worth of those being honored").

And second you must realize that the greatest sacrifice you can make is of yourself - to make yourself sacred in honor of the Gods is the highest piety.

Philosophy, in its true sense, is premised on the idea that the most valuable sacrifice you are capable of making is of yourself.

This is essentially the meaning of Socrates’ statement in the Phaedo that philosophy is preparation for death. Socrates is not advocating suicide (he explicitly rejects suicide as impious) nor is he suggesting that life is bad. But you must sacrifice the lower elements of yourself: your addiction to pleasure and comfort, your fears and anxieties.

To make yourself sacred means to become like the Gods, and that can only be accomplished by sacrificing the ungodly in yourself.

The world is throughout filled with deity; and on this account is according to the whole of itself the image of the intelligible Gods.

Proclus, Theology of Plato, Book VII Chapter 1

[You] should demand your own way in your prayers only if your wishes are supported by your rational judgment - and this, a rational outlook, should be the object of the prayers and efforts of us all, states and individuals alike.

Plato, Laws 687e

By what collected intuition can we perceive a nature exalted above intellect itself? We answer, that this can only be accomplished by something resident in our souls as much as possible similar to the first; for we possess in our inmost recesses something of this exalted nature; or rather, there is not anything endued with a power of participating this first god in which he does not abide.

Plotinus, Enneads III:viii:9

1. The universe is in a constant state of becoming.
2. Everything that is in a process of becoming must have a cause for its becoming.
3. It is impossible for one and the same thing to cause itself to become.
4. Therefore, something beyond the universe causes it to become.

Compare with Timaeus 28a - 29b.

Among desires, some are natural
and necessary, some are natural
and unnecessary, and some are
unnatural and unnecessary
(arising instead from groundless
opinion).

Among natural desires, those that
do not bring pain when
unfulfilled and that require
intense exertion arise
from groundless opinion; and such
desires fail to be stamped out not
by nature but because of the
groundless opinions of
humankind.

Epicurus, Principal Doctrines 29 - 30

I have often spoken here of the Stoic and Pythagorean technique of nightly self-examination. It is a very powerful meditation practice. However, many people will sometimes honestly struggle to think of things they did wrong or need to improve. “I’m usually a good person.” That is probably true, but use the following as one of your metrics, as it is objective.

Sometimes it will be obvious that you did something wrong, but when it isn’t, remind yourself of every time during the day that you worried about, or got angry about, or got sad about something you cannot control. Unless you are enlightened, there will usually be at least one or two things, even if they were relatively minor. Maybe it’s politics, maybe it’s your reputation, maybe it’s a family member or significant other, maybe it’s work, maybe it’s finances - whatever it is, acknowledge that you are trying to control something that you cannot control. You can only control your own thoughts, motivations, desires, and aversions.

As Epictetus says, “Practice, then, from the very beginning to say to every disagreeable impression, ‘You’re an impression and not at all what you appear to be.’ Then examine it and test it by these rules that you possess, and first and foremost by this one, whether the impression relates to those things that are within our power, or those that aren’t within our power; and if it relates to anything that isn’t within our power, be ready to reply, ‘That’s nothing to me.’”

[The soul] must be immortal, both because it knows the Gods (and nothing mortal knows what is immortal), it looks down upon human affairs as though it stood outside them, and like an unbodied thing, it is affected in the opposite way to the body. For while the body is young and fine, the soul blunders, but as the body grows old it attains its highest power. Again,
every good soul uses mind; but no body can produce mind: for how should that which is without mind produce mind? Again, while the soul uses the body as an instrument, it is not in it; just as the engineer is not in his engines (although many engines move without being touched by any one). And if the soul is often made to err by the body, that is not surprising. For the arts cannot perform their work when their instruments are spoilt.

Sallust, On the Gods and the World VIII