September
2006
In this issue...
- What have you got to lose? Letting go of materialism.
- Holistic Local - from
inspiration to fruition. By Andy Metcalfe.
- This month's exploration
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Teleclasses and personal coaching
News and Events
There are
still spaces on this month’s teleclass course “How
to Step off the Treadmill” which kicks off
on the 14th September. If you’d like to take
part, please sign up on my website. If you’d
prefer to pay by cheque rather than paypal, then
email me for details on how
to do this. For further details on the course, click
here.
The Centre for Personalised Education
are holding their annual conference on 14th and 15th
October in Toddington,
Gloucestershire. It will be about “Recycling schools” and
further details can be found on their
website.
1. What
have you got to lose? Letting go of materialism.
Materialism, or the “joy of ownership” seems
to be valued in our society above other, simpler, more
wholesome forms of happiness such as that experienced
by spending time with loved ones, cooking a nourishing
meal or witnessing a glorious sunset. This has become
part of our conditioning and we have wound up believing
that if we can only attain a particular level of material
wealth then that will give us happiness, security and
more leisure time.
This conditioning is composed of a set of beliefs which
we live by and which we use to support the choices we
make everyday. This article describes those unhelpful
materialistic beliefs and suggests some new sustainable
ones with which to replace them.
Let me give you some examples of how this works in practice:
Materialist belief number
1: “My own initiative
is not good enough and I don’t have the time to
think through tasks.”
When we hold this belief we think that we have to own
specialist items and time saving gadgets. As a consequence
of this we buy many items for many different tasks. A
more sustainable solution is to use one item for many
tasks. E.g. in the kitchen, one high quality kitchen
knife will replace a lot of specialist cutting and slicing
gadgets. This might well involve us spending more time
on food preparation, although there will probably be
some time saved on washing up!
Replacement Sustainable Beliefs:
•
I can distinguish between what is a genuine specialist
task and what isn’t.
• I have the initiative to solve problems cost effectively
and without being seduced by the latest gadgetry.
• I know my own strengths and weaknesses.
• I am discerning and spend money wisely.
• I am slowing down my life in order to live more sustainably.
So, I have more time to spend on tasks that are important
to me.
Materialist Belief number
2: “I
must stay up-to-date in order to gain the approval
of others.”
When we hold this belief we are
slaves to fashion and new technology. The idea of fashion
as something of importance
is constructed by those businesses whose motive, above
everything else, is to make money. We are led to believe
that making a good impression with others is dependant
on us owning the latest model (car, computer, cell-phone,
fitted kitchen…).
Replacement Sustainable Beliefs:
• I am free to choose when
and whether to spend money.
• I use my financial energy to express my authenticity
and to support those businesses that are in alignment
with my values.
Materialistic Belief number 3: “I can only love
myself if I look good and own the right things.”
This, I think, is a misunderstanding of what it is to
be authentic. Genuine authenticity leads to us finding
true happiness from within rather than seeking temporary
relief from suffering from external items (or indeed
other people). For example, fashions in clothing change
traditionally with the seasons. It is not necessary for
most of us to buy new clothes every season or indeed
every year. What is more sustainable is to recycle unwanted
or worn out clothes when necessary and replace with the
same number or fewer items. We can celebrate our individuality
and style by being creative in how we combine and use
the items in our wardrobe rather than continually extending
the range of clothes we own.
Replacement Sustainable Beliefs:
• I love myself unconditionally
and my radiant appearance reflects that.
• I own what is just enough for me.
• I know what it is to be authentic and spend my money
in alignment with that.
• I look wonderful when I wear what is right for me, regardless
of fashion.
• Real beauty radiates from within.
Materialistic Belief number
4: “I
need to own certain things in order to feel secure.”
Perhaps it’s a watch, so you can always keep an
eye on the time, or perhaps for you it’s a dog
if you live alone or a car if you are not confident in
relying on public transport. We are each of us different
in how important security is to us and what makes us
feel secure.
What if we didn’t have that
item that we believe is so essential?
I used to own health insurance,
mainly because it was given to me as part of my employment
package when I was
an employee. On reviewing the situation when I became
self-employed, I realised that I had been using the health
insurance as a prop and an excuse for not paying sufficient
attention to maintaining my health and looking after
myself. So, I decided to take back the responsibility
for my health and instead opted to spend the money on
dietary supplements plus guidance and support for my
wellbeing through coaching and complementary therapy.
Replacement Sustainable Beliefs:
• I take responsibility
for my own feelings of security.
• I am aware of my fears.
• I can distinguish between what I really need to feel
secure and what I want to own as a substitute for taking
responsibility for myself.
We can learn a great deal from examining our intentions
behind when and how we spend our money. When we are
at peace with that, it becomes easy to let go of materialism
and have nothing to lose.
2.
Holistic Local - from inspiration to fruition. By Andy
Metcalfe.
Holistic Local is an online social networking and business
directory for people who are interested in living a more
natural, holistic and spiritual life. Since launching
in June 2005 it has grown to well over 5000 members worldwide.
Andy Metcalfe explains how it all came about:
“I first had the inspiration
for Holistic Local around Christmas 2004 when I was
becoming frustrated
by my lack of friends who were interested in the same
subjects as I was, such as spirituality, metaphysics
and holistic living.
I’ve been deeply interested in spirituality since
I was about 19 years old when I started reading books
like The Celestine Prophesy and Carlos Castaneda’s
Don Juan series. In 2003 and 2004 I took part in shamanic
workshops in Brazil where I met many amazing people who
became great friends but it was so frustrating that they
all lived in different parts of the world and on arriving
back home I would miss the great conversations about
the subjects I loved.
I live close to Leeds which is
the UK’s fourth
largest city but for all its size and number of people,
there’s a surprising lack of events or places to
go where I can connect with like-minded people. However,
I’ve no doubt that there are lots of people like
me wondering how they’re ever going to connect
with like-minded people. And I’ve no doubt that
this is happening in many towns and cities all over the
world.
So it was this frustration that
proved to be the main inspiration behind the birth
of Holistic Local. I thought
wouldn’t it be great if there was a place on the
internet where I could easily connect with like-minded
people from both around the world and my own backyard.
Having the inspiration is one
thing, but turning it into a reality is quite another.
That’s a much
longer story than space will allow here, but to tell
it briefly, it involved some great synchronicities that
meant the right people came to me at the right time.
Certainly none of this would have been possible if I
had not met Jason who is an amazing computer programmer
and the wizard behind all the technical stuff. Jason
popped into my life at just the right time and so did
Nick who has also played an essential role by providing
necessary financial backing and business expertise.
The time between my inspiration and the original Holistic
Local site being launched was just six months. We launched
in June 2005, initially just as business directory for
holistic, green and conscious businesses. However, it
was always our intention to eventually open the site
up to the public which we did a year later in June 2006
and this is the site you see now.
We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved
(I still have to pinch myself sometimes!) and already
I’m connecting with some amazing like-minded people
who are becoming close friends.
So if you’re interested in living a more natural
life and if you’d like to connect with lots of
other wonderful people who feel the same way, I invite
you to join our little party.”
© Andy Metcalfe www.holisticlocal.co.uk
3. This
month’s exploration.
Where is your weakspot when it comes to spending money?
In what ways would downshifting or living more sustainably
be easier if you were to let go of it?
4. Quotes
of the month.
“To attain
knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom,
remove things every day.”
Lao Tzu
“Western laziness consists of cramming our lives
with compulsive activity, so that there is no time
at all to confront the real issues.”
Sogyal Rinpoche.
5. Want
to comment or contribute?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter
or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact
me by email.
6. Teleclasses
and personal coaching..
“How to step off the treadmill”
A series of three teleclasses, each one hour long, exploring
the elements of downshifting, the reality of living a
sustainable lifestyle in a consumer driven society and
how to motivate ourselves to make the switch.
A teleclass is a straightforward,
low cost and sustainable way of taking part in a group
learning session. It’s
like a conference telephone call.Each participant is
supplied with a phone number to call at the appointed
time. When you call, you will be welcomed to a virtual
classroom where you can listen to the class leader present
the teleclass material and you can participate by asking
or answering questions if you wish. So it’s just like
being in a real classroom or workshop setting except
that you can take part in the comfort of your own home
without having to travel anywhere!
To view the current teleclass schedule, click here.
Personal Coaching
One-to-one coaching can help you:
• let go of your old, stressful
way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved
way of living.
• deal with fears surrounding financial responsibilities, your relationships
with others and other consequences of making a major life change.
• improve your health, wellbeing and spiritual life.
• further your personal growth.
• achieve balance, clarity and peace.
You can view further details on personal coaching here.
7. In next
month's newsletter.
From “Earning a Living” to “Living
your Dream”. Finding Your Ideal Vocation.
Gaian Leadership. By Stephen Powell.
And more…
8. Subscriptions
and privacy policy
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Have a fruitful
month!
Sally
Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach
+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/
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