Stoic Spiritual Exercises

Author Elen Buzare has an essay called Stoic Spiritual Exercises, published in 2010. She also seems to have another version, published later, and available on Amazon. I don't know if it is a revised or expanded version. 

In a section called "Attempts of reconstruction of Stoic meditation", she describes the same water analogy being used by both Buddhists and Epictetus with regard to being aware of sensory input, thoughts, and impressions on the mind. The most famous Buddhist temple in this country is called, roughly translated, "Impressions-on-the-Surface-of-Water Temple". 

The mind is like a still lake or pond. When there is a blue sky above it, it reflects a blue sky. When there are clouds above it, it reflects clouds. When you lean over it and look down into it, it reflects you. The lake reflects (i.e., as the mind notices and observes in a detached way) everything that passes over it, but it does not hold them or cling to them when they go. When they come, they come. When they go, they go. The mind returns to its prior absence of input.

Buzare recommends Vipassana meditation. This is the most basic form of Buddhist meditation. There are other kinds, such as one pointed concentration and Zen meditation. Vipissana is noticing anything that passes through the mind. This is accomplished by anchoring one part of the mind on something steady--the breath (counting the breath as it goes in and out according to a variety of simple counting formulas, such as 1 in 2 out.. 1.  1 in 2 out.. 2.  1 in 2 out 3.. or 1 in 2 out, 3 in 4 out, etc.) Then, having anchored one part of the mind on the breath, simply noticing and observing anything that passes through the rest of the mind, without taking part in it; observing without judgment any thoughts, reactions to external sounds, and so on, that come and go. It is hard not to follow the thoughts and get caught up in the juggernaut thought train, but this is the purpose of anchoring that one part of the mind on the breath, and when one does recognize that one is following a thought, one simply returns to the anchor of counting the breath, without self-judgment for having gotten distracted.