1. A Note from Shawn

There is a growing awareness taking hold of a concept that started making it big in the 1970s: Voluntary Simplicity. Many folks wrote off the sentiments in this movement as too extreme or austere for their liking (remember we were just entering the extravagant, me-oriented ‘80s). Now, with this whole economy-as-the-Titanic concept striking fear across the U.S., this idea of doing more with less is resurging.

Unfortunately, it’s being referred to as Discretionary Thrift, which, as far as I’m concerned, may very well be the worst name ever applied to a decent concept that I have ever heard.

It’s another way of saying, “stick with what’s important and drop the rest” which sounds suspiciously similar to the mission of the publication you are currently reading—although Lance probably would have fired himself as my editor if I’d tried to use a term like Discretionary Thrift.

Besides it being about as boring and unsexy as a burlap bag, it completely ignores the very reason we (of the not-so-secret Simplification Journey Society) are doing all that we do—which is, for a quick refresher, to clear the way for that fantastically wonderful being that is you. We simplify, then systemize, in order to make space for and express your inner richness that is ready to bubble through and grace the world with its fantastical-ness. Where in heaven’s name does that fit into “Discretionary Thrift”?!?! Good gawd!

Well, that certainly didn’t help introduce the fabulous concepts bubbling forth in this issue of The Simplifier. Passion doth take over. Well, I’m going to go reread the article and tip to get back to home base and settle down. Whew! Good thing I knew what to do about that one  =)

Enjoy,

Shawn Tuttle
Head Simplifier, Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

2. Our Featured Quote

“For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Article: Returning to Home Base

by Shawn Tuttle

For over five years now, I’ve been on a dedicated simplifying journey. Along the way, there have been tons of questions about what it really means to simplify. Just getting rid of stuff isn’t enough. Reducing your number of responsibilities isn’t enough. Working less isn’t enough. Spending more time with family isn’t enough. Taking more time for self isn’t enough. Et cetera.

The answer teased me mercilessly—close enough to feel, yet always out of reach. Until recently. To sum it up in two words: home base. It’s an awesome concept for the simplifying journey. Here’s a slice of my story that I hope will make your journey a little easier. No worksheets, checklists, or "how to"s in this article; just sit back, relax and enjoy the discovery.

It began almost 15 years ago. I’d been living with my boyfriend for a while, and I kept having this thought that I wanted a room of my own, that I needed my own space. My boyfriend didn’t understand what I was asking for. Did I want to be able to shut the door and lock him out? Was I trying to get away from him? Not exactly… Well then what did I mean? I couldn’t articulate the feeling behind the thought, and so I let it go.

The relationship didn’t last, but the desire for my own space did. It took years for me to understand what that yearning was really for…

It’s like creating a dream room at home. The furniture is luscious. The lighting perfect. The colors delicious. The ambience rich. It’s a room in which you feel safe, undisturbed, and relaxed. This room feels like you, comfortable and content.

What I didn’t understand back then with the beau was that this space wasn’t a physical room in the house. It’s internal. Some call it sacred space. I’ve come to call it home base. It’s where I go for guidance in challenging situations, to refuel, lick wounds, regroup the troops…It’s an awful lot like a home base in the Army or Marines, except the commanding officer is you (and there’s hopefully a lot less shouting).

Home base is the place inside of you where you will always get just what you need–even if you don’t consciously know what that is. Since we tend to be very "do" and "go" oriented, what we usually need is a reprieve from our hectic life, and this is what we get when we sink into the home base space.

However, I’ve recently had an unfamiliar situation with my own home base experience that caused me to reconsider what the purpose of it is.

The last several years have been an active exploration of my own simplification practice–what to get rid of, what to keep, and how to manage it. Schedule, stuff, responsibilities, relationships—everything. I pared down so much that I realized lately I was at risk of actually feeling bored–a completely preposterous possibility! Considering how much there is to do in the world, how many interesting things there are to learn and explore, I’ve never understood how anyone could ever be bored. Could one actually simplify too much?!?

Simplifying is a process, and for most of us with too much of everything, it’s likely to be a long process. Just as one big rain won’t fill up a depleted reservoir, one day of rest cannot possibly give relief for years of hectic living. Even though I had been clearing out everything from my life that didn’t support me, I still needed time to really rest and rejuvenate.

What I discovered was that what I had mistaken for boredom was really surplus energy. I wasn’t bored, I was ready to do more. When I dove into my home base space, my spirit was saying, "OK, kiddo! Enough R&R, let’s go make some waves!" My reservoir is now finally refilled and the power station is ready for full speed ahead.

Being completely dedicated to a sustainable lifestyle in a way that I wasn’t before, my first response was a little hesitant: "OK, but not in a way that leads to wearing myself out again." There are a lot of options between 10 m.p.h. and 90 m.p.h., ya know? While I’ve been taking the key steps to prevent burn-out like setting up systems and delegating, growing a business is a new challenge for me. I’m forced to answer the question: "How can I grow and expand my business in a way that honors my values of a simplified life?"

A "simplified life" doesn’t mean no structure, it means just the right amount at the right time. Planning will keep me pointed in the right direction, home base will keep my values in the forefront. So while it’s still a place of peace and relaxation, home base is also a place of creativity, intuition, and richness.

Hugging close to this sweet place invites a richness of experience that weaves throughout all else. This richness is actually the unspoken sentiment that has provided the motivation to continue on this life journey to simplify!

The challenge thus becomes remaining in (or in touch with) home base while picking up the pace and taking on new challenges. Up until recently, reconnecting with home base was a once-a-day activity, during my meditation. I’m now learning how to bring home base from meditation into the rest of the day by taking time out whenever I observe stress starting to take over. I figure with practice, home base will be the default internal experience that provides the culture of all my activities—sweet!

Exploring the beauty and richness of your home base is a yummy experience. If that’s not enough, know that it’ll give you a break from craziness, motivation for simplifying, and guidance when needed. It’s all yours, there whenever you want, and still there even if it’s been years since you’ve made an appearance. The light is always on, your favorite chair always ready. Comfort is yours for the enjoying. Welcome home.

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

4. Your Simplification Tip

Taking time for yourself isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Since us human doings seem to need help remembering to be human beings, this week’s tip offers ideas to tip the balance in favor of being.

There are three situations in which you want to have easy access to your inner home base (**see article about home base above):

1. Maintaining your mental health.  Spending time daily in home base facilitates just about everything else  in your life. The primary key here is consistency.
2. Emergency management.  Knowing how to control your state of mind when you find yourself in a stressful or hectic situation helps you remain steady and decreases recovery time.
3. Preventative action. When you observe your state of being straying far from home base with a potentially stressful situation on  the horizon, and you can rein it in before getting all stressed out, this is an awesome victory.

Here’s an example for sliding into home base, based on my own practice of quiet time:
Maintenance: 20 minutes per day (perhaps 10 minutes for initial commitment)
Emergency: slow and deepen the breath (which is how I begin meditation every morning)
Preventative: 5-10 minutes whenever I realize I’m feeling off-base (I do this throughout the day)

Is quiet time the only way to slide into home base? Of course not! Walking, gardening, playing music, writing…oh geez, there are at least a gazillion ways.

The issue here is the type of brain engagement. For example, someone who has played the guitar for a couple of decades may find home base when playing, however someone in beginning lessons who is fretting over chords may get frustrated.

What I like about taking quiet time is that I can do it just about anywhere, anytime. You may have one, or several, to get back in the driver’s seat of your inner world. You just want to be sure to have methods in your toolkit that can be easily used as needed (since you won’t have your guitar with you all the time).

I advise to keep it simple—you want it to be an automatic response whenever you sense difficulty arising. Again, consistency. When you know what slides you into home base, use it. Often. Daily. Really. The results will astound you!

5. In The News

Compiled by Lance Brown

Roundup of Frugal Living Philosophies (Mash Up Media’s Money-Saving Blog)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/ntmlgv
My Google news alerts continue to overflow with stories connecting our national financial tumble to simplifying one’s life. The bottom line: if you’re going to be poor, you might as well do it with purpose. That’s called "frugality", which sounds much better than "poverty". It kind of sounds like "fruit". You like fruit don’t you? Well then you’ll love frugality! ;-)

Paralyzed by Your Possessions (U.S. News & World Report)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/ljtlgn
Back in the day, I used to cruise yard sales for things to put on furniture I wasn’t using. *And* I used to cruise for new furniture too. If there was empty space in the house, I wanted to fill it with shelves or a table, and then fill those shelves and tables. In the end, I was spending my days navigating my way through a maze of things I didn’t use, and ultimately no longer wanted to even look at. To make a long story short: eventually I gave almost all that stuff away, and I am much better off for having done so.

Dealing With Distractions (ADVANCE)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/mm75ho
I was going to introduce this article by discussing my recent headlong foray into Twitter, and how managing that foray is becoming a major challenge for me. But as I started typing, my cat laid his foot on my keyboard and grabbed my mouse-hand. Time to eat lunch. Where’s my Twitter at? Oh, cute kitty. Hmm, I have new e-mail. Oh yeah–lunch. Now what was I saying?

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Introduced by Lance Brown

It’s been nearly 60 days since our last blog wrap-up; if you haven’t been keeping up during that time, you’re about to experience that glorious natural phenomenon known as The Second Chance. Congratulations!

Allowing the Right to Write
http://projectsimplify.com/tips-tricks-ideas/tips-to-simplify/allowing-the-right-to-write/
Writer’s block notwithstanding, this is truly the biggest obstacle between writers and writing. Shawn’s taking it on.

Did I Leave Something in Boulder?
http://projectsimplify.com/musings/did-i-leave-something-in-boulder/
On vacation in Colorado, Shawn explores escaping email engagement.

It’s Not That Bad
http://projectsimplify.com/musings/its-not-that-bad/
Discussing comparative good-onomics.

Experimenting With Letting it be Easy
http://projectsimplify.com/musings/hawaiin-turtle/
Getting to the heart of the core of the meat of the matter, and then not sweating it.

Knowing when not to make decisions
http://projectsimplify.com/musings/knowing-when-not-to-make-decisions/
"Bad mindset leads to bad decisions." And with decisions being kind of important and all…

What you really want to be doing
http://projectsimplify.com/musings/what-you-really-want-to-be-doing/
It’s probably a tie between "I can’t" and "I don’t have time" when it comes to which lie people tell themselves more. But you can "flip the script", as the kids are saying (in like 2006 probably).

I’d like to be Bill’s friend
http://projectsimplify.com/gratitude/id-like-to-be-bills-friend/
Shawn gets deeply inspired and reveals revelations relating to the Sweet Spot and the Natural Professional. A proverbial "must read". (I’m not into telling people what to do–even if they really really should do it. Hint, hint. OK, fine, it’s an order. Just go read it already. ;-))

I can’t post all the entries here; there are more nuggets of bloy* at the Project Simplify blog!

*bloy = blog joy (spread the word)

7. Keep Smiling

Introduced by Lance Brown

I find it hard to come up with snarky rhetoric to introduce the Secret Society of Happy People, because their idea is so obviously brilliant that it speaks for itself. Not just the organization name, but their initiatives too: HappyThon 09 and the 10th Annual Happiness Happens Month. (<–August, by the way.)

Personally, it makes me really happy just to think that someone thought of those things. Both kinds of happy – laughing/chuckly happy, and inspired/joyful happy. But what’s that you say? There are more kinds of happiness than that? Turns out you’re right—in fact, the Secret Society has identified 31 Types of Happiness:

Frankly, I think it’s a shame that these folks have to do their business in secret. Just because they are clearly deluded—what with seeing happiness everywhere, and all these reasons to be happy and types of happiness, etc.—doesn’t mean they should have to conduct their sordid happiness affairs alone and in the dark (i.e., on their bright shiny website and multi-faceted social media presence.)

I suggest that we welcome these so-called "Happy People", and at the very least play along with their odd customs of smiling and laughing just because it feels good. And maybe we can even look into this whole 31 types of happiness notion. Surely there can’t be that many…but it would be pretty cool if there was, eh?

URLs:

The Secret Society of Happy People: http://www.sohp.com/
Happython 09: http://www.sohp.com/happython.php
Happiness Happens Month: http://www.sohp.com/happymonth.php
31 Types of Happiness: http://www.sohp.com/thirty-one_types_of_happiness.php

Thanks for reading!