how to be aware in an unaware world

Tag: less is more

Less
I’ve been working on these Gratitude Manifestations, one of which was the gratitude for a job I greatly enjoy and challenges me, and well, it has come to fruition and filled my plate with a ton of work. I have now found the pace to get back into writing, and will continue to do so each day! If you enjoy my posts and would like to, you can support me over at buymeacoffee.com/mindfulnessand
“The best things in life aren’t things.“
This one isn’t so much a quote as it is a simple yet profound statement passed on for thousands of years. For the past few months I have begun to repeat this phrase in my day, and by way of repetition, also understand its meaning more and more.
The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things
I have found, over and over, that the purpose of life, at least as mine is concerned, includes people. The relationships and experiences spent with the ones I love, admire, and get to know, have strengthened this revelation.
Additionally, living with less has taught me to appreciate more. More time, more energy, more ideas, more travel, and more opportunities.
It’s when I break down the idea of possession that I find this truth: I don’t own a single thing (the posture of Stoicism).
Stoicism: You Don’t Own Anything.
Yes, you hear that right. Everything I had, have, and will ever have is borrowed. My car and everything in it is borrowed from resources of the Earth, from the air I breathe to the body I inhabit is borrowed for a few years and then returned to the Earth.
The Philosophy of Stoicism
We are but animated shells on this ride called life, and it’s this realization that helps me put it all in perspective and feel so grateful for these gifts. For this shared, human experience.
But why then do we hold ever so tightly onto the things (tangible and intangible) as if they will remain in our lives forever?
Because of a little unknown word called enculturation, which teaches us to desire and strive for the things and people we want so we can experience and “have” them for ourselves.
We are indoctrinated at a young age to think and act with enculturation, and it takes constant practice and mindfulness as an adult not to give in to it, and even then we still do.
This isn’t to say things don’t matter. Every post on this blog, this post, was typed on a laptop that I enjoy using, from a company that makes consumer goods I’m particularly attached to (I’ll let you guess which one).
But I remind myself often that these are things for my usage alone, and therefore, I shouldn’t get particularly attached to them.
Should I be robbed or lose these things, life will go on (quite literally). If we don’t remember to use things for their proper purposes, they can, over time, rob of us the truth that the best things in life aren’t things, but rather the people and experiences we have throughout our lives.
So, you probably asking by now, Josh, what are the damn 6 ways to live with less?
1. Take on the minimalism game – So every time I mention this challenge, people freak out and already give up. It’s not necessarily a challenge to become a minimalist, but rather minimize the clutter in your life! Just try it for a week at least!
2. Keep a box or bag in your room or common area to put things in that no longer serve a purpose in your life.
3. Go through your phone’s apps, photos, videos, and documents; deleting the things that you forgot were buried in there.
4. Also go through your computer’s apps, photos, videos, and documents; and save the things you want or need to the cloud.
5. This might sound counter-intuitive, but turn your phone (and computer) screens to monochrome, which will make your devices boring as shit, and you will be far less fixated on the stuff on them.
6. When we stare at screens much less than we stare at our friend’s faces, we begin to live with less, less of all that is advertised on our screens!
Consider today those closest to you. Spend time with them if you can, or just call them up and thank them for being in your life.
February 1, 2024
Consumerism
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
– Napoleon Hill
This quote is a stark reminder that the mind is one powerful tool. Bend it one way or another and it can do anything within the confines of modern physics.
For a personal example, I once set off to test and understand my level of discomfort and contentment by becoming a full-blown minimalist and living out of a backpack for at least one year.
Reflection
I reflected a good way into my minimalist self-discovery journey:
Over eight months and thousands of miles later, I now own under thirty items, including a great car that gets me all around this gorgeous country.
My next stop is Ecuador to visit a rekindled friendship from elementary school and explore the many volcanos, caves, and jungles that Ecuador offers.
After that, I will spend some time with dear family and friends in DC before jumping across the pond, as they say in England, to Portugal, and eventually all of southern Spain.
At each spare bedroom or couch, hostel dorm room, or campsite, I let go of something else. Whether it be an article of clothing or a gadget I barely use.
As such, I get to a place of intention, where what I own provides a real sense of purpose and is therefore deeply valued.
But even when something provides both those things now doesn’t mean it will provide it later. That’s when I let go.
What the mind of man can conceive and believe is incredible, and can be quite helpful and constructive.
Take harvesting for example: Farmers work day and night in the field, toiling with their hands and dragging their feet to produce a bountiful and abundant harvest. Through the process, the farmer grows proud of their work and because of it understands the earth and its provisions in great detail.
On the other hand, what the mind of man can conceive and believe is equally incredible, and can be greedy, gluttonous, and costly.
During the Industrial Revolution, man was working towards a future that was better and faster than the previous generation. This conception is called consumerism and it’s factually unsustainable.
Consumerism is both unsustainable for the planet and for human progress, it’s illogical and bewildering really.
And we are wasting such precious human talent on selling more and more and more junk.
I believe we have danced around the seriousness of consumerism for far too long just so we can lay in the comfortable piles of stuff a for little longer.
There is a tangible necessity to redefine capitalism so that it’s both beneficial for us and the planet.
How do we consciously consume without becoming overly dependent on products and their successors?
The company that immediately comes to mind is Apple. It’s a company that I have personally wasted money on my entire adult life.
Do I buy the newest iPhone? Do I upgrade to the newest AirPods? Do I wait until a newer version or do I buy it now?
The amount of time I spend contemplating Apple products and services is honestly ridiculous. My talent is wasted in rumination about a stupid new gadget or gizmo (as my dad calls them).
The fact is, Apple does make great products and services, but there is no need to upgrade every time a new version is released. Doing so costs so much hard-earned money, and more importantly, valuable time.
Apple is no different from any other company born out of capitalism, with majority shareholders, wealthy investors with lots of special interests, and a bottom line for unimpeded growth.
The questions we should be asking ourselves are:
“Does this product or service serve a purpose in my life right now?”
“Does this product or service work just fine in my life right now?”
If our answer is yes, then we can keep and use the product or service until it doesn’t serve a purpose in our lives anymore.
If our answer is no, then we can get creative, try a way to fix it, sell it, or give it to someone who would value it.
These two simple yet powerful questions remind us to come back to what matters, using our many products to fulfill us in some way, and then becoming resourceful in keeping our things in shape.
Another word for this is frugality: A prudent and sparing use or appropriation of anything.
In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as the tendency to acquire goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourceful use of already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer-term goal.
Encouragement
I know this all sounds daunting and difficult but it doesn’t need to be. All it takes is a little reflection, taking note of the things we own, and then deciding to keep them or not.
I encourage us to come back to the present moment, remembering that we already have everything we need to be happy and healthy.
And our capability to be happy and healthy is rooted in mindfulness.
Beyond this is desire, the wanting of the mind.
Remembering this will help alter our relationship with consumerism and clarify our needs.
Resources
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post, it is a rare gift these days.
Feel free to comment, like, and share it. You can also support me by Buying Me A Coffee. Thank you in advance!
October 2, 2023
Nutrition
I’ve heard it said before that good nutrition can be summed up in seven simple words: Eat real food, mostly vegetables, in moderation.
Mindfulness reminds us to pause and pay more attention to what we put in our bodies.
Try spending your meal away from any screens, books, or even calls to fully experience the simple act of eating. Focus on how the food tastes, how it looks, the texture, and quality as you eat.
Being more mindful about what, how much, and even when you eat and drink goes a long way. This is purposeful, passive consumption rather than an inexpressive, impassive one.
Mindful eating has the power to change the things you eat too, thus replacing common unhealthy items with more nutritional ones.
When we are distracted while we eat, there is a much greater chance that we notice less of the nutritional content of the food and therefore eat less nutritional items.
Below are a few nutrition tips and tricks that could further help out:
Moderation is Key
Alvise “Luigi” Cornaro, an Italian nobleman living in the early 15^th Century, lived to be 102 at a time when the average life expectancy was 35.
Cornaro was told by physicians early in his life to abandon overindulgence for strict moderation in the amount and type of food he ate.
Having listened to his doctors, Cornaro writes what changed in a journal entry:
I accustomed myself to the habit of never fully satisfying my appetite, either with eating or drinking — always leaving the table well able to take more. In this, I acted according to the proverb: “Not to satiate one’s self with food is the science of health.”
Moderation extends life expectancy by up-regulating autophagy, which is another way of saying it accelerates the body’s natural process of removing the cellular debris that causes disease.
A variant of this is intermittent fasting, which consists of periodically fasting for 16-24 hours.
Cornaro wrote that each person should experiment for themself which foods and drinks and in what quantities agreed with him or her.
Maybe moderation can work for your lifestyle, maybe not, but it never hurts to try, as Coronado puts it, “leaving the table well able to take more”.
Collagen
Collagen is a unique, sticky, fibrous protein that prevents the skin, joints, and organs from sagging, collagen is mostly found in skin, bones, cartilage, and fascia (a tissue that surrounds muscles).
Consuming a large amount of collagen has numerous benefits:
– Increases our skin’s elasticity levels, contributing to that famous “younger looking skin” especially in women.
– Improves joint function
– Enhances muscle size, strength, and control, especially in men.
– Protects the liver from the effects of alcohol.
Collagen can be consumed in two ways: by slow-simmering an animal’s carcass, eating any meat cartilage, or the more popular way of drinking hydrolyzed collagen powder.
Either way is effective and supplies the body with a good amount of collagen. I personally take 2 tablespoons of collagen powder with 4 tablespoons of protein powder each morning.
Anti-inflammatory Foods
This consists of a diet rich in vegetables — especially dark-colored greens like broccoli and cabbage — as well as Omega 3 rich foods like fish, egg yolks, and grass-fed meats.
It also consists of specific spices and herbs that on am ounce-per-ounce basis are very potent compared with other foods, for example:
– Just half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon has as many antioxidants as half a cup of blueberries!
– And just half a teaspoon of dried oregano has the antioxidant power of 3 cups of raw spinach!
The three famous inflammation crushers include:
– Turmeric: Turmeric is an essential spice, add it to salad dressings, meat or fish marinades, or a cup of warm tea. Take it with black pepper to increase its bioavailability.
– Cayenne Pepper: Cayenne Pepper, which contains capsaicin, a compound responsible for the spice’s spicy taste. Make sure to add spices only after the food is fully cooked and ready to eat as the spice will lose its potency when added during cooking.
– Ginger: Ginger is a spice that’s been used for hundreds of years to pacify sore muscles, throats, aches and fatigue. Add it to a warm cup of tea, chew on ginger candy, or just eat it raw if that’s your thing.
Many foods incite inflammation and many chronic diseases result from inflammation. Keeping inflammation in check allows us to achieve optimal functioning, immunity, energy, and mental clarity.
Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 is a very important vitamin that activates a protein called MGP or Matrix Gla Protein. MGP essentially helps our body absorb calcium from the foods we eat and then move that calcium from our bloodstream into our bones. MGP is found in a number of body tissues and is present in our bones, cartilage, heart, and kidney.
Vitamin K2 also helps keep our arteries flexible for proper blood flow and supports that blood flow to the brain. Vitamin K2 is found in high amounts in foods like egg yolks and full-fat cheese as well as D3+K2 Supplements.
Vitamin Q
Vitamin Q, otherwise known as Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 is a component found in every cell in the human body. Our body naturally produces it and uses it to provide the energy our cells need for growth.
CoQ10 also seems to lower cholesterol levels by acting as an antioxidant, removing harmful molecules from the body.
After taking a CoQ10 supplement found at any local drug store, the body feels lighter and will be able to handle more damage.
Macadamia Nuts
Macadamia nuts and the oil it produces have a high concentration of monounsaturated fats and oleic acid that also help promote HDL Cholesterol.
Coconut Oil
Lastly, coconut oil is another incredible way to maintain weight. It’s antimicrobial, antihistamine, and antidiabetic. It’s also a way healthier way to fry food.
Research was taken from naturalhealthresponse.com and the book Secrets of Underground Medicine by Health Sense Publishing
Five more things on Nutrition:
Thank you so much for reading this post. Your time and attention are a rare gift. If you enjoyed this post or more reading, you can consider Buying Me A Coffee.
September 11, 2023