Minimalist Philosophy - Good Brain Posture

I've been reading about minimalism. I thought that this was a style thing - that people designed their homes to have a minimal amount of clutter ant that was about all there was to it. Beautiful homes with gorgeous built-ins and I liked the idea, but it seemed to involve a lot of money and the space looked large and barren. I thought you had to be rich to live that way!

Yes, well, this is not the way it is anymore (if it ever was). The new minimalism thinks SMALL! I wrote about Tiny Homes because they are cute, but also because they have style and fit the minimal pocketbook.

But as I read Everett Bogue's blog Far Beyond The Stars (which I can totally recommend to you as a good starting point if all this is new to you) I find that this way of life about more than having less stuff and living in a tiny house. It may have started back in the 70s when we were all spouting "less is more", but it has gone way beyond that now.

There are many things to think about when it comes to living small. Your house, your job, your transportation, the way you buy things, the way you eat, your health -all these things and more I probably haven't learned yet. So I think of it as an adventure. I need to be free from all the stuff and things. I need to see life again as the vital experience it is, not a burden. I want so much to embrace all the good ways of living I already know about.

Yesterday, I realized that each small task I do becomes a chore. I think this is related to my BRAIN POSTURE - the WAY my brain is aware, not just whether it is aware, but HOW it is aware of what I am doing. There are different kinds of attention. The kind of focused, clear attention that is receiving as much information about what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and what is going on around me is what I call GOOD BRAIN POSTURE. That good feeling you get when you sit up and take a deep breath and look around you - you can do this in your mind while you are working, or playing! You know when you have that going on by the way it feels - it feels as if you are being nurtured and fed! It feels like your brain is getting everything it needs. I think the only way to develop this GOOD BRAIN POSTURE is to make sure you consciously direct your mind to FEEL THAT WAY, as often as you can, no matter what you are doing.

This way you will be reinforcing the path in your brain to that place where you are clearly focused and doing things the best way you can with the minimum of effort. Or if you are not trying to actually DO something at the moment, you can be aware of your surroundings in a much free-er, clearer way. I am thinking this would be what I will call my minimalist brain - I'll be using more of my brain's ability, with a minimum of effort and a maximum of freedom. What we old hippies used to call opening up.

There are other people who are blogging and researching all of this, one is Tammy Strobel at ROWDY KITTENS where you can also download Tammy's short ebook free called Minimalist Health. It has the advice you can use to help yourself to a healthy minimalist lifestyle.

I think these two writers may have started some real effective change in my life and I am grateful. See if they don't inspire you also!

Next time I think I need to write about the fear that keeps us from opening up. The fear that makes us sarcastic and disparaging about anything like minimalism, the small movement, the 75 things movement, slow food, and a lot of other absolutely great ideas.

I need to come here more often!