May
2009
In this issue...
- Voluntary
Simplicity in a Nutshell.
- Your exploration this month.
- From the Blog...
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Personal coaching
1. Voluntary
Simplicity in a Nutshell
“To live more
simply is to live more purposefully and with a
minimum of
needless distraction.” Duane
Elgin
1. Reducing materialism. Voluntary simplicity is not
the same as austerity. Rather, it is about living with
less so as to free ourselves from the burdens of materialism.(
i.e. Everything we own needs some maintenance, time
and money to be spent on it.)
2. Being authentic. Voluntary Simplicity is about finding
a way of life that is more in keeping with what we authentically
value, rather than what we believe will win the approval
of others, through ownership or status for example. This
involves being in touch with our values and purpose and
organising our lives around this, whilst minimising the
intrusion of distractions.
3. Balanced, Purposeful Work. We can work simply and with purpose by being employed
in work that’s meaningful
for us, offers us some autonomy and that’s in balance
with the rest of our lives. This is most likely to result
in high self-esteem and self-respect.
4. Relationship and Community. Voluntary simplicity
stresses relationship and community, consideration for
others and for the consequences of our actions.
5. Descriminating Between Scarcity
and Abundance. To live in voluntary simplicity we need
to know the difference
between what is scarce in life and what is abundant.
For example, scarcity of external material resources – oil,
top soil for growing food, woodland, metals and minerals
are the result of living unsustainably. Yet there is
an abundance of love, friendship, caring, joy and happiness
potentially available to us as these come from within.
6. Interconnection. Simplicity
is one of the conditions for an understanding of our
interconnectedness with all
things. Realising our interconnectedness can lead to
contentment and meaning in life.
7. Healthy psyche. Voluntary simplicity leads to clearness
of vision and a sense of freedom with less complexity
and clutter. Making life less complicated leads to fewer
decisions needing to be made and so less emotional stress.
Touching the world ever more lightly by progressively
releasing habitual patterns of thinking and behaving
helps to make life feel light and spacious.
8. Cultivating new sources of
motivation. Increase our
exposure to inspirational material for living more simply
or mix with others who are already doing it. Reduce our
exposure to advertisements, materialistic values and
bad news. This also has the advantage of decreasing mindless
distractions such as low quality TV programmes which
deflect our energy from more satisfying tasks.
9. Express simplicity in everyday
activities. Eat simply,
work simply, dress simply, slow down, unitask. Use discrimination
in deciding how many and which gadgets to own. A few
are genuine labour saving devices. Many are not and merely
add to the burden of possessions. Decide which these
are for you.
10. Be happy with having enough - Learning how to “touch
and go”. To not hold on but to allow each moment
to arise with newness and freshness. Live more simply
so that others may simply live. For a minority, mostly
in the Western world, we have been spared the “drudgery” of
manual work that previous generations faced, but it has
been at the cost of the wellbeing of ourselves and those
in the third world. Our labour saving devices have also
saved us from the physical exercise that our bodies need
to stay healthy. Those who currently live in poverty
would have more opportunities to enjoy the fruits of
simple living, rather than endure the hardships of deprivation,
if voluntary simplicity were practiced more by the privileged.
11. Influencing changes in society. To make it easier
for more of us to live more simply, the structure of
society would need to change too. We can use our influence
wherever we can to help these changes come into effect.
E.g. localisation of production and supply, sharing of
resources such as transport, land, machinery and skills.
12. Quiet Mind and Open Heart. Cultivate Consciousness – present
moment awareness. Acting mindfully and with awareness
of our intention. Finding time each day for quiet reflection
or meditation.
Refs:
Voluntary Simplicity. Duane Elgin
The Simple Living Guide. Janet Luhrs
The Lilypad List. Marian Van Eyk MacCain.
Choosing Simplicity. Linda Breen Pierce.
The Value of Voluntary Simplicity. Richard Gregg.
2. Your
exploration this month.
How important is simplicity to you?
How does this currently manifest in your life?
3. From
the Blog...
How Do We Create a Life Sustaining Society?
Whilst some will debate which
technologies, which political leaders, which alternative
energy sources are best placed
to save us, the underlying truth seems to be that we
will first need to change how we see and think and relate.
But how? And what sort of changes are needed?… (more)
The Girl Who Stopped the World for 5 Minutes.
A stunning video of something
extraordinary that happened at the UN Earth Summit
in Brazil in 1992...(more)
4. Quotes
of the month.
“Perfection
is reached, not when there is nothing more to add,
but when there is nothing more to take away.”
Antoine
de Saint-Exupéry
“He who owns little
is little owned.”
Henry David
Thoreau
“Nothing
is enough to the man for whom enough is too little.”
Epicurous
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. 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
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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/
7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset.
BA5 2HX. UK. |
