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Voluntary Simplicity

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Voluntary Simplicity 'practicing mindfulness. in the act of consuming. is the basic act of social justice' --Thich Nhat ... Janis Joplin in Me and Bobby McGee ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Voluntary Simplicity


1
Voluntary Simplicitypracticing mindfulnessin
the act of consuming is the basic act of social
justice
  • --Thich Nhat Hanh

2
living simply
  • simple living is about living an examined life
  • determine what is important, or enough for you
  • let go of the rest
  • It is not about living in poverty (involuntary
    or self-inflicted)

3
living mindfully
  • a manner of living that is
  • outwardly simple
  • inwardly rich
  • --Duane Elgin

4
simple living taught practiced by
  • Jesus, Gandhi and other spiritual leaders
  • Native Americans indigenous cultures
    self-worth not determined by possessions
  • Puritans, Quakers, Amish valued frugality and
    self-reliance
  • Thoreau naturalistic vision at Walden Pond
  • Emerson plain living and high thinking

5
why live simply?
  • your reasons for choosing voluntary simplicity
    can be deeply personal and/or global
  • realization that there is more to life
  • seeking personal freedom
  • for political or social justice
  • concern for the environment
  • to achieve spiritual growth
  • for emotional and/or physical health
  • as a challenge

6
is that all there is? Peggy Lee
  • consider the impact of your consumption on your
    sense of purpose and happiness
  • whoever dies with the most toys is still dead
    what would you really like to do between now and
    then
  • would simplifying your life allow you to pursue
    your dreams?
  • when look at your credit card statements from a
    year ago, how much of the stuff you are still
    paying for is still worth what it really cost
    you?

7
freedoms just another word for nothing left to
lose Janis Joplin in Me and Bobby McGee
  • consider the impact of your consumption on your
    personal freedom
  • you dont need marketing propagandists to tell
    you what you want and need you can decide for
    yourself whats important
  • keeping up with the Joneses is a game with no
    winners
  • is maintaining your lifestyle preventing you from
    saying or doing what you really want to say or do?

8
the less you possess, the less you are
possessed Jeeni
  • conspicuous consumption is designed to make you a
    wage slave -- to spend your entire life working
    at something you dont like to pay for stuff you
    dont really want slavery is but the owning
    of labor and carries with it the care of the
    laborers, whilecapital shall control labor by
    controlling wagesby controlling the money The
    Hazard Circular, 1862
  • corporations are entities without heart or soul,
    with profit as their the singular purpose.
  • corporations are not democratic, they are
    feudalistic
  • our best defense is to starve the beast

9
live simply so others may simply live Gandhi
  • consider the impact of your consumption on our
    democracy and the people of the world
  • Living simply is a powerful lifestyle response to
    social injustices
  • consuming less is an act of sharing, an act of
    human solidarity.
  • voluntary simplicity could be the model for a
    major transformation in the goals and values of
    the United States and the global community in the
    coming decades

10
living sustainably
  • consider the impact of your consumption on the
    earth, and particularly on global warming and our
    limited energy resources
  • western consumption habits are not sustainable,
    and certainly not universalizable
  • consider the ethics of consumption and
    reevaluate the good life
  • simple living is critical to achieving a
    sustainable future for human civilization

11
a sense of balance between the material and
non-material aspects of living
  • consider the impact of your consumption on your
    spiritual growth
  • spiritual teachers Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tse, St.
    Francis of Assisi taught that true happiness
    cannot be found in material things, but rather in
    unselfishness and love for other people
  • voluntary simplicity can facilitate a deeper
    awareness of the spiritual dimension of being

12
restore emotional physical health
  • consider the impact of your consumption on your
    quality of life
  • freedom to do what you want with your life
  • spend less time acquiring things and more time
    acquiring experiences, insights, and
    relationships
  • get more involved in your community because you
    can make the time to do it
  • gain control of your life

13
the compact a challenge
  • a group committed to a 12-month flight from the
    consumer grid (year 2009).
  • the Compact has several aims
  • to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract
    the negative global environmental and
    socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer
    culture and to support local businesses, farms,
    etc. -- a step that, inherits the Mayflower
    Compact.
  • to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in
    trash Compact-er).
  • to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

14
how to live simply
  • mindful living

15
the mindful consumer
  • conscious consumption does not mean shopping for
    the cheapest stuff.
  • recycle reuse
  • buy second-hand at thrift stores garage sales
  • dont buy it make it or do without
  • avoid big-box stores
  • look for energy efficient biodegradable
  • choose hand crafted, durable, esthetically
    enduring over mass-produced items

Is it worth x hours of work to buy this? If youd
rather spend those x hours doing something else,
instead of earning funds for the purchase, dont
buy it, because time is better than money.
16
mindful eating
  • buy foods in bulk use your own containers
  • shop at farmers markets and farm stands
  • subscribe to a CSA
  • buy organic whenever possible
  • eat vegetarian
  • buy locally grown food in season
  • compost kitchen scraps and grow your own a
    vegetable garden or participate in a community
    garden
  • pack a lunch avoid fast-food restaurants

Learn to cook simple meals and go back to whole
grains and legumes that can be purchased in bulk.
Dont pay for packaging and advertising.
17
mindful finances
  • live below your means, keep a budget
  • get out of debt
  • be creative in how you earn money earn money
    doing odd jobs, strive to be self-employed
  • pursue work that is meaningful to you, rather
    than what earns the most money
  • dont support businesses that promote war,
    destroy the environment or abuse human rights
    dont work for them, dont invest in them, dont
    buy from them

18
mindful home
  • get rid of all excess clutter and unnecessary
    possessions.
  • live in the smallest possible space. Figure up
    all the square footage in your home being used
    for storage of your stuff and then realize that
    you are paying a monthly premium in utilities,
    rent and mortgage payments just to keep a roof
    over it all.
  • use less electricity, water, plastic
  • open the windows and use a fan instead of an air
    conditioner

Each thing owned takes a measure of spirit from
the owner and when you give it away, a full
measure of spirit and power is returned to the
givers body. Black Elk
19
mindful commuting
  • consider living without a car, or if your family
    has more than one car go down to one
    fuel-efficient car that you use only when
    necessary.
  • take public transportation whenever possible
  • ride a bike or walk
  • car pool rideshare

20
mindful independence
  • seek to be more self-determining and less
    dependent upon large, complex institutions
    whether in the private or public sector
  • seek to become more self-sufficient
  • grow your own
  • make your own
  • do without,

This aspect of voluntary simplicity is inspiring
coalitions between the right and left -- where
neither support the further intrusion of big
institutions into their lives, but rather wish
for greater local self-determination.
21
mindful about our environment
  • a sense of ecological awareness which
    acknowledges the interconnectedness and
    interdependence of people and resources is
    central to voluntary simplicity.
  • ecological awareness prompts recognition that our
    earth is indeed limited, with all that implies
  • conservation of physical resources
  • reduction of environmental pollution
  • maintenance of the beauty and integrity of the
    natural environment

22
mindful global citizenship
  • expand your vision outward with a sense of social
    responsibility and worldly involvement to what
    otherwise could be a self-centered way of life
  • a willingness to share resources with those who
    are disadvantaged
  • a sense of global citizenship with commensurate
    adjustments in lifestyle and political
    commitments
  • a preference for living where there is ready
    access to nature
  • a desire to foster human and institutional
    diversity

Practice sarvodaya -- not wanting what the least
of the inhabitants of this earth cannot have.
23
mindful personal growth
  • clearing away external clutter leaves you freer
    to explore the "inner life"
  • simple living sweeps away impediments to inner
    growth
  • free yourself of the overwhelming externals so as
    to provide the space in which to grow -- both
    psychologically and spiritually

"Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself and
in surpassing itself if all it does is maintain
itself, then living is only not dying. --Simone
de Beauvoir
24
"To live in small ways as if each day were
sacred, may be as important as trying to
change our institutions and laws without the
change in daily behavior, there will be no
energy for the bigger issues, Because we simply
won't care." --Cecile Andrews, 1997
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