Posts Tagged ‘simple life’

How much belongings do you need?

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

I am realising that I really would like to posses as minimum things as possible.

Articles from my favorite sources are supporting me with fresh reminders:

How much belongings do you need, why is there limit for your belongings – explanation to the rules for life

limit your belongings to what you can carry on your body

and what you need to do your work serving God

posses as much property of land as you can personally handle

own as much housing as you and your family can live in at one time

never loan money to others,

if you have more than you need for the next few days or weeks,

share it with those in need

share all your material belongings that you have in excess

of what you actually use and need these days and weeks with those in need

10 Essentials

If I have the 8 items above, I’m very happy: jeans & t-shirt, water & fruit, a book and a notebook, a walk in nature. You don’t need consumerism to be very happy — in fact, I’d argue that life is better without it.

I see that it’s not enough to stop consuming, buying new things, but that I also need to de-clutter, clean my environment – put the old stuff away.

Learn to reduce the amount of stuff carried on in life. Dump or give away or sell whatever has been useless to you for the past many months or maximum past one year. The more stuff you discard or abandon for others, the less burden you feel and the more you enjoy mobility and flexibility in life.

There are numerous examples of paring down — I whittle down my clothing collection, for example, on a regular basis. I will look at a room and remove unnecessary objects. I’ll clear out programs on my computer I don’t use.

There’s also deep meaning in following words – I never thought about it like this:

Leaving stuff behind, means you surrender your liability and responsibility to those who have to care on your behalf for your stuff. That may take their freedom to die when needed or to move on in their own life as needed to progress. You alone are liable and responsible for your own property and belongings! NO night guard, no body guard, no bank or parents or relatives ever have a true duty to care for your belongings while you are away.

It means to me, not to make problems, rubbish to others.. not leaving rubbish behind me – I can see, it really prohibits freedom of people that have to deal with this rubbish – we are really responsible for all our stuff we use or leave.

I can give you more inspired examples from my most admired persons – Ohsawa’s (macrobiotic founder) opinions on the life of Gandhi (he admired him very much), Ohsawa’s comments about Gandhi’s vows – it is written from the perspective of Herman Aihara (Ohsawa’s student) in his book Kaleidoscope.

The vow of non-stealing: Ohsawa used to say to us that it is stealing if we posses extra clothes, houses, or even foods more than we need; we stole them even if we think we paid their cost. For example, if we eat an apple every day we are stealing another’s apple because apples are not produced enough to supply the earth’s whole population. The same is true for animal foods. The rich pay a high price for meats and the poor can’t buy them. We do not consider this stealing, but in Gandhi’s sense this is so.

The vow of nonpossession: One of the macrobiotic principles Ohsawa taught was to live with only absolutely necessary things.

What then do I need 8hr money earning jobs for?
There’s so much fun with the free time I have and so much freedom without all the things around :)

For more inspiration, you can read my older article on the same topic:
Peace Pilgrim – Living the Simple Life

Peace Pilgrim – Living the Simple Life

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Peace Pilgrim
I have find out about Peace Pilgrim today. Some thoughts from the website:

I have walked 25,000 miles as a penniless pilgrim. I own only what I wear and what I carry in my small pockets. I belong to no organization. I have said that I will walk until given shelter and fast until given food, remaining a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace. And I can truthfully tell you that without ever asking for anything, I have been supplied with everything needed for my journey, which shows you how good people really are.

1. Purification of the bodily temple.
Are you free from all bad habits? In your diet do you stress the vital foods – the fruits, whole grains, vegetables and nuts? Do you get to bed early and get enough sleep? Do you get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and contact with nature? If you can answer “Yes” to all of these questions, you have gone a long way toward purification of the bodily temple.

I know enough about food to nourish my body properly, and I have excellent health. I enjoy food, but I eat to live. I do not live to eat, and I know when to stop eating. I am not enslaved by food.

Steps Toward Inner Peace by Peace Pilgrim

———-

As I put on my simple clothing one day after a swim in a clear mountain lake I thought of those who have closets full of clothes to take care of, and who carry heavy luggage with them when they travel. I wondered how people would want to so burden themselves, and I felt wonderfully free. This is me and all my possessions. Think of how free I am! If I want to travel, I just stand up and walk away. There is nothing to tie me down.

One outfit of clothing is enough. That’s all I’ve owned since my pilgrimage started in 1953. And I take good care of my things. I can always find a wash basin in a public restroom or a nearby stream to wash my clothes, and drying them is even easier: I just put them on and let the energy from the sun evaporate any dampness.

Living the Simple Life

Macrobiotic day log – 08/04/11

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

7:00 get up
9:00 – 9:15 stretching
9:15 – 9:45 freshly pressure cooked 50% rice + 50% emmer grain, boiled carrot and parsley, chewed 50-100x, proper sitting with straight spine (you can feel the full stomach much quicker in the straight position, when sitting hunched you will usually overeat, but the straight spine has many other positive effects ofcourse)
11:50 – 12:30 the same
4km bike trip to the forest, bare foot training chi kung and eye stretching (Bate’s method)
15:15 – 16:15 same grains, boiled cabbage with miso and wild plants (herbs)
17:45 small cup of freshly cooked red beans with kombu (1 hour 40 mins – soaked overnight)
19:25 – 21:00 same grains; boiled carrot; oil fried bread with 3 day pickles + shoyu + little water; white flour pastas + barley malt; almonds + barley malt; kuzu+shoyu drink to compensate my yin overtake

Listening to a new music (to me) The Bouncing Souls – very speedy funny style. I am dancing all over the flat till midnight :) I have also started to get interested in the natural house building processes. I want to learn some techniques how to build simple cheape houses. I am very interested in the traditional Japanese building techniques, but it will be really hard to get to know someone who can really make old tatamis and old Japanese houses. But after watching samurai DVD series I fell in love with their houses simplicity and effectivity. I have also read, that Tatami does smell very nicely, because it’s made from the rice straw – imagine sleeping in the straw and the beatiful smell. I am thinking about trying to make my own tatami from the writings I have read about it. It will be just for fun, at least the smell of fresh strow will be there :)
I got also offer to live or spend some time in the Russia beginning alternative village (according to the Anastasia dreams). There are people of Czechs, Russia and Srbia and their main aim is Love in the Nature – what could be better. Yeah, one thing is missing from our macrobiotic view – they are mostly vegetarians, but still eating sugar and other more extreme yin/yang energies. They would be much more connected with the Nature line if implementing macrobiotic lifestyle (eating habits). I the past I was finding big problems with living in such a community where people are not eating macrobiotics. But the more I chew and more I am humble, I can imagine living anywhere, as long as I could cook my macrobiotic meal there and be happy with some small personal space (house).
I am on the crossroads in my Life now. I have many great options what to do and where to move now. One is the Russia village, another is Holland Kushi Institute, another is macrobiotic community in the sounce France and another new one is to work as a Security man in the UK. The last one is not spiritual, it’s just simple money making opportunity. The job is very easy, good for meditative people, because all you do is walk and watch at some places like supermarkets, construction places etc. And the earning is nice for this simple job – it’s 6 pounds per hour. The living costs there would be 200 – 400. So with the 10 hour shift, the real net income would be from 800 – 1000, which is quite nice if you consider the type of the job. I feel I will need money in the future to start my living in the nature, to build my simple cheap house (cob, wood, bamboo – i don’t know yet) and to buy the land place, or I can use our land that my mother inherited, but I don’t see it as the perfect dream place, it would be the last option. I don’t need too much money for the house, I imagine maximum of $35.000 to get me builded nice low energy natural house. But still I need these money at least. I am not sure which path to choose now, but I feel I don’t need the money now and I will concentrate on experiences and money will come somehow later. My new dream, growing inside me and completely strange to my computer professional life is to be “Natural House builder”. To learn some techniques (my dream one is Traditional Japanese Houses) and to get better and better, to study, to travel and learn from other people and work hard in the sunny nature, not inside some building while sitting before computer. It’s my BIG dream now. I am more moving from the computer and closed buildings to the outside Nature beautiful world and feeling very happy there, something I have never felt before. It all began with my intensive rice chewing and humble asking the Nature for my new life direction. And since then (3 months before), I started to really live and my life changed by a big amount – complete 180 degree turn for somebody who was used to sit before computer and earn money with building spammy SEO sites.
Thank you mother Nature for everything :)

Hunza People Apricot