Naked Living: Saying Goodbye to Our Old Stuff

Take a moment to imagine this scenario: You have eliminated all emotional bandaids from your existence. You are no longer avoiding real life or distracting yourself from feeling your emotions. Wow. Whoa. Wait a minute here. I don't do that, you might say. Well, let's take a closer peek, shall we?

What might this new life look like?

Probably something like this:

No more relax-me alcohol. (Yes, this includes wine and craft beers.)

No more soothing cigarettes.

No more junk/comfort food. (Even the organic and/or gluten-free kind.)

No more pick-me-up daily coffees. (Even the organic and Fair Trade kind.)

No more recreational drugs. (Even the organic, homegrown kind.

No more prescription drugs. (There are definitely alternatives to nearly all of them.)

No more television. Get rid of that thing!

No more video games. (Including apps.)

No more overly-obsessive activities. (Exercise, sex, work, shopping...and on and on.)

No more self-sabotage. Tough one.

No more drag-you-down hold-you-back relationships. 

(No. More. Facebook? I'm still working on minimizing that one...and keeping myself limited and to the point when I am on there!)

Boring, right?! 

But just wait...

This new life might also look something like this:

Just feeling happy. Even joyful!

Lots of amazing friends!

Socializing as yourself. Just plain old you. No more masks.

A clear and healthy mind.

Just facing your issues. Then forgiving everyone involved. Including yourself.

A clean, strong, and well-functioning body.

Communicating your needs and feelings clearly.

A strong sense of spirituality.

Pleasant (or even awesome) relations with family members. 

Time to prepare amazing, nourishing, healthy food.

A loving and supportive partner. (If you desire to meet one.)

Lots of time in nature.

Time to partake in your passions and follow your heart.

This is a lot like what our lives look like right now. It may sound boring to some but to us, it feels anything but that. It feels like a gigantic blessing. Everysingleday. You can live this way. Just make the choice. It's all in your hands. No more excuses.

How and why did I choose this way of living? 

Mostly out of self love and respect, I believe. Also, I have a strong desire to love others the same way that I love myself. To accept people for who they truly are underneath it all. Beautiful spirits. To truly know people for who they are on a soul level. To know the truth of how it feels to be a human without any adulterations. 

Has it been challenging? 

You bet! It's been super challenging, at times. I have done everything on the first list (except smoke a cigarette. I haven't done that.) But all the others have been challenges and obstacles that I have overcome. Some more than once. Some still creep in from time to time. Like snacks! Who doesn't love a good ol' cookie or some chips?!

I went to a liquor store today to find some empty boxes. When I walked in, all I saw was colorful flashing signs and clever, artsy labels that were reminiscent of a toy store, or candy shop, but for adults. Promotions and gimmicks like free beer cozies or tee shirts. I am often baffled by the collective consent of our world. "Drink alcohol friends! Everyone does it. Wine is classy!" Numb your pain. Forget your worries. Pretend that your marriage is just fine. What debt? Cool dudes slam back a cold one after work. Let loose. Forget life. Relax a little. Blend with the crowd. Alcohol is just one small example of this insane collective consent that our society calls reality. 

With those empty cardboard boxes, we are once again paring down our material possessions. I have shed my personal stuff twice before almost completely. Once in 2004, at age 21 when I moved to Alberta from Pennsylvania. All I took on the flight was a small carry-on sized suitcase. My mom shipped me some memorabilia a few years later. You know, some photos and such.

Then again in 2011, at age 29, when my partner of 8 years and I separated, I only took with me a car, a bed and pillow, a yoga mat, a bike and some clothes. That's all. Not a nic-nac or painting or fridge magnet. What are they for really? Memories? That's why we were gifted a memory as human beings. To collect and learn and remember the past but live in the present.

Stuff is one more thing that keeps us all weighed down. Energetically, mentally and physically. It's so easy to accumulate things. It's often much tougher to become unattached from them. We sifted (again) through a pile of totes of stuff that we had just sorted through six months ago before we left to travel. So we have decided this will be the final sifting as long as we are a "mobile wellness team". We do not want the invisible energetic tethers to our heap of belongings pulling at us from around the globe. 

There are often many emotions attached to a lot of stuff. So it forced us to feel these emotions, smile and/or cry, and move onward. After 3+ hours of sorting dishes, clothing and various household items (about 3/4 of our total stuff) we both laid down in bed and felt a mountain of totes lighter while drifting away into dreamtime.

We are on day four of a liquid fast of mostly herbal teas (some cacao drinks) and coconut water. Cleansing our insides and our outsides simultaneously feels amazing. Realigning our bodies, minds and spirits after a long journey. And now we begin to prepare ourselves for the next phase of the One World Wellness road tour.

It Starts with ONE

A revolution begins when one person stands up for what they believe is right and true, then others join in to stand up together for change.  There has been a major revolution happening over the last few decades and it's growing exponentially.  It's called....permaculture. 

"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single production system." - Bill Mollison

The green thumbs are joining forces to save the world, one garden at a time. I took my permaculture design course (PDC) in 2009, on Orcas Island, Washington, when some good friends were more or less reborn after learning the permaculture ways. I wanted to know what all the excitement was about. For a whole month, I was immersed in permaculture living, breathing, speaking and eating. My way of existing in everyday life was changed forever. In a very good way.

I recently completed the book The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. It was written in the 1970's in Japan. This man was way ahead (some might arguably say behind) of the times. I believe that Mr. Fukuoka was the father of the permaculture movement, before it was even called permaculture.  His philosophy was simple: Do less to nature and it will take care of itself. He believed that once humans disturb nature to try to control its functions, it starts a cycle of destruction that is very difficult to repair. 

My favorite parts of this book were the philosophies that he had on life in general, not just the parts about growing food. I closed the book feeling refreshed and inspired and more aware. I want to share a few of my favorite excerpts instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

"The path that leads to right awareness involves living each day straightforwardly and growing and eating wholesome, natural food."

"Produce grown in an unnatural way satisfies people's fleeting desires but weakens the human body and alters the body chemistry so that it is dependant upon such foods. When this happens, vitamin supplements and medicines become necessary. This situation only creates hardships for the farmer and suffering for the consumer."

"Human life is not sustained by its own power. Nature gives birth to human beings and keeps them alive. This is the relation in which people stand to nature. Food is a gift from Heaven. People do not create foods from nature; Heaven bestows them."

"When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."

"If economic growth rises from 5% to 10%, is happiness going to double? What's wrong with a growth rate of 0%? Isn't this a rather stable kind of economics? Could there be anything better than living simply and taking it easy?"

"Originally human beings had no purpose. Now, dreaming up some purpose or other, they struggle away trying to find the meaning of life. It is a one-man wrestling match....From the time they enter nursery school, people's sorrows begin. The human being was a happy creature, but he created a hard world and now struggles trying to break out of it."

"Other animals fight but do not make war. If you say that making war, which depends upon ideas of strong and weak, is humanity's special "privilege," then life is a farce. Not knowing this farce to be a farce- there lies the human tragedy."

"Let us say that the key to peace lies close to the earth." - Masanobu Fukuoka 1913-2008

More Power...but not the kind you think.

Last night, reading by headlamp, I could hardly put down a new-to-me book that a friend recently recommended. It's called Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, PH.D... and it's amazing. In a nutshell, it is about recognizing emotional and spiritual patterns in ourselves and learning how to correct them to avoid/heal illness and disease.
First thing this morning, I did a quick exercise inspired by the first few chapters. She talked about how we each give up personal power over a lifetime of everyday experiences, and how each of us can learn to regain our personal power to boost health and wellness. Here's what I came up with:

Things that Self-Empower Me
Exercise
Creativity
Nature
Reading books
Helping others with love
Staying informed
Growing my food
Learning new things
Listening to my intuition
Doing what feels right
Healthy cooking & eating
Honesty and clear communication
Surrounding myself with loving people

Conversely, here are the things that I find DEPLETE my Personal Power:
Fearfulness (this is a broad topic, amazing the subtle things we all fear)
Believing and/or sharing false information
Exposing myself to negative energy (people and situations)
Not respecting my body (ie. consuming foods that are not supporting my wellness)
Not speaking up about injustices or fallacies in our world
Undervaluing myself

This exercise was similar to the "Things That I LOVE" exercise, but also made me reflect on the things that I allow myself and others to do or say that are depleting my Personal Power.  I am certainly intrigued by my lists and hope to dig a little deeper to discover more.  I hope that this will be useful to some of you also.

It's SO interesting what humans will say and do to each other to steal each others personal power. Children learn this at a very young age through observation of the adults in their lives.  In Gary Zukav's life-changing book, Spiritual Partnership, he likens all human relationships as being like two weights on an old-fashioned scale.  We should all be working to keep the scales balanced, which means we don't see ourselves as "above" anyone else, and at the same time we don't undervalue ourselves and see others as "above" us. I also recall a passage in another book that was referring to the auras, or energy fields, around any two people interacting, and that there is a visual vacuum-like effect when one person is stealing power from another.  In the ideal human interaction, each person will be expanding the personal power of the other so that no one walks away drained or inferior.  Think about that the next time you speak to a stranger on the phone, stand at the checkout counter or have a flare up of road rage. Turn your thoughts around and give a little. It won't hurt you, and it could mean a whole lot to someone else.

"We all share a type of physical body that becomes ill or heals for the same reasons. We also share emotional and psychological crises common to the human experience. Everyone fears abandonment, loss and betrayal; anger is as toxic within a Jewish body as it is within a Christian or Hindu body; and we are all drawn to LOVE. When it comes to the health of our spirits and our bodies, we have NO differences." - Caroline Myss, PH.D.

Expand your world. One page at a time.

I LOVE coming across a book that feels like it was written just for me. Below, I have listed a few books that have been fun, educational and inspirational for me in my search for greater meaning in the world. I have added amazon.com links just in case you are super excited to read these.  I must add, however, that I prefer to borrow books from friends or libraries or purchase them second hand. Saves a tree and keeps your home less cluttered!

Farmacology by Daphne Miller, MD

A wonderful librarian friend handed me this newly published book a few weeks ago. It's been so fun to read and has confirmed (again) that traveling from farm to farm, both learning and sharing ideas, is what calls to me. Great read!

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0089LOISW

Walk Out Walk On by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze 

This one is inspirational and reminds me of how much having a sense of community is crucial to my happiness, and to most of us, since we are a tribal species! http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1605097314/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

You Can Buy Happiness (and it's Cheap) by Tammy Strobel

Last Christmas, a friend regifted this book to us. This is an awesome, fun read that inspired us to ditch our STUFF and live small and light in a motorhome. If you are on the fence about downsizing, she might just convince you too!

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1608680835

Folks, This Ain't Normal by Joel Salatin

Joel is a hilarious and brilliant farmer from Virginia, whom we were fortunate to see at a lecture in Calgary last spring. We bought this book that night and I laughed  so hard reading it. It's full of thoughts and ideas that made me shake my head and say "everything is wrong with modern agriculture!!!" One more confirmation that alternative methods of food production are not an option but an extremely urgent issue. You will love it!

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0892968206

Hope one or more of these will change your life's direction for the better like they have for us.  :)