{"id":5868347,"date":"2011-03-10T05:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-03-10T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.californiapsychics.com\/?p=5868347"},"modified":"2013-01-24T12:44:18","modified_gmt":"2013-01-24T20:44:18","slug":"spring-clean-your-life-with-voluntary-simplicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.californiapsychics.com\/blog\/mind-body-spirit\/spring-clean-your-life-with-voluntary-simplicity.html","title":{"rendered":"Spring Clean Your Life With Voluntary Simplicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voluntary simplicity<\/strong><\/a> is not about being cheap or doing without. It\u2019s not even about getting rid of your TV and cars and becoming vegan. It\u2019s about living in balance, about reducing stress and clutter, clearing your mind, streamlining your priorities, creating a truly sustainable lifestyle and \u2013 above all! \u2013 thinking for yourself. In summary, voluntary simplicity is about reducing your dependence on money and discovering and making time for what\u2019s truly important to you.<\/p>\n

Although in the past decade the voluntary simplicity movement has taken on a green orientation<\/strong><\/a>, a green lifestyle is more a natural outgrowth of voluntary simplicity than a founding principle. In its most recent evolution, voluntary simplicity and the \u201ctriple bottom line\u201d (people, planet, profit \u2013 with a fourth, \u201cpurpose\u201d recently added) are even emerging as an important business model.<\/p>\n

The three books which launched the voluntary simplicity movement of the 90\u2019s \u2013 Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich<\/em> by Duane Elgin, Your Money or Your Life<\/em> by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, and Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy<\/em> by Sarah Ban Breathnach \u2013 all focused on the spiritual, emotional and financial benefits of simplicity.<\/p>\n

While the actual target of today\u2019s version of voluntary simplicity is what\u2019s called \u201caffluenza,\u201d or, simply put, addiction to consumerism \u2013 a life driven by the need to acquire more and more stuff \u2013 voluntary simplicity isn\u2019t about the right or wrong of a particular lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Instead, it\u2019s about cultivating awareness, and taking a look at whether your lifestyle is meeting your needs. You learn how to question cultural assumptions, re-vision your priorities, and make your own informed choices about how you choose to spend your time and money. As one website puts it, it\u2019s about \u201cnonconforming freely,\u201d thinking for yourself instead of being seduced by advertising and social pressure. And if you discover that acquiring stuff is what really makes you happy, then it\u2019s about doing just that.<\/p>\n

In Your Money or Your Life<\/em>, Dominguez and Robin painstakingly walk you through a complete re-orientation of your beliefs about time, money and what\u2019s possible in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

This clear, step-by-step book shows you how to rethink assumptions about, for example, the necessity of commuting, or whether that daily morning latte is actually how you want to spend your hard-earned dollars. It\u2019s all based on analyzing your actual income (paycheck minus job-related expenses like clothes, transport, vital jump-starting lattes, easily prepared, takeout or microwave meals, weekly sessions with a shrink, stress-reducing classes and medications, insurance, and job-dictated living choices). And it\u2019s based on understanding time is money and money is time, and applying that understanding<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to begin simplifying:<\/p>\n

1. Learn how. <\/strong>There are tons of great resources, books, videos and web sites. This is one case when time spent really will produce remarkable financial results, beginning immediately.<\/p>\n

2. Make time for things that matter. <\/strong>This involves more than getting rid of time wasters. To make time for what matters you have to have dug deeply enough into yourself to learn what really counts – for you! Once you\u2019ve discovered what you really want, uncluttered by what your family taught you or what you\u2019ve taken on by default just living an everyday life, then you can develop priorities that will unerringly help you make choices that lead to a better, more sustainable and more satisfying lifestyle.<\/p>\n

3. Learn to say \u201cno.\u201d <\/strong>Pause and think before taking on professional, social or financial obligations. Weigh them against your new values, and say no when it doesn\u2019t directly support your true goals.<\/p>\n

4. Master money rather than vice versa. <\/strong>Face it, we\u2019re ruled by debt and financial obligation. Wouldn\u2019t it be a relief to be able to make decisions without worrying about financial consequences?<\/p>\n

5. Have fun fooling the system.<\/strong> Believe it or not, once you\u2019ve collected the information and understand your true bottom line, living simply can be great fun. You can get a huge rush from scoring something you really want cheaply, or creating a way to do the job you really want to do (no matter how little it pays) and still live comfortably and happily.<\/p>\n

As you reduce the stressand clutter in your life, as your time to actually live and breathe deeply increases, you\u2019ll find yourself feeling happier and more bone-deep satisfied than you could possibly have imagined before you began this journey.<\/p>\n

What’s ahead for your <\/em>life path?<\/strong> Try a psychic reading. Call 1.800.573.4830<\/span> or choose your psychic now. <\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voluntary simplicity is the choice to check yourself from rushing forward on the greed cycle, by understanding that the more you get paid, the more responsibility you usually end up with, and the more your own personal life goes out the window. 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