There are currently several movements that defend a more calmed way of living. Every moment should be lived intensely in order catch its full essence. The main premise of these lifestyles lies in the simplicity of being, rather than in the desire for wealth.

From Create&Share we want to share with you our modest selection of tips to simplify our lives and get rid of everything that subjugates us.

1. Turn off the TV

Start by selecting the content that you watch. In the Internet you can find almost everything for free. Mainstream media only broadcast the contents that are profitable for the current system, but Internet is free.  What do you want to know? Just make a brief research and decide what you want to watch, listen to or read. You can even attend free courses or become a self-taught person. Internet is the beginning of the telepathic age: it allows us to connect almost immeditely with people living at the other end of the planet. Let’s use it for our own sake!. 

2. Where does my money end up?

Take responsibility of your own consumption of products and services. Currently, it is very easy to find out where your money ends up. If you don’t know it, it means that you never wanted to know it. Maybe it is time to have a look at the ethics underlying our expenses.

3. Get rid of useless belongings

It’s been years since you last used them but you still believe that they may be necessary at a certain point. Get rid of them; it will feel like defeating the fear to lose. Carefully observe your space and be honest. There are plenty of things that you are just hoarding. If it’s useless, why are you keeping it?

4. Ride a bike

The feeling of freedom that you experience riding a bike is unique. It’s better than walking and less tiring than jogging.

5. Play an instrument

Art helps us express our emotions, one of the most important unfinished businesses of the current social education. Expressing ourselves does not only help us with our inner healing; it is also inspiring and elevates our consciousness. In his book, “How to be free”, Tom Hodgkinson encourages us to learn to play the ukelele. It seems that it is extremely easy to handle and, on top of that, is quite amusing.

6. Come verdura

It is not the typical clichè, this time it is urgent. The meat industry is under the control of big corporations that are devastating the planet. The documentary film Food Inc. (click here to watch it) offers a great overview of the current situation. We should start reconsidering our nutritional habits. Otherwise we won’t be able to change the rules of the game; a game in which more than half of today’s  young individuals will end up suffering from diabetes if we don’t start taking appropriate measures. It is not a joke, we have to raise our awareness.

7. Laugh

Recent studies in the field of human relationships have found that (positive and negative) emotions are contagious and spread from one person to all the individuals that are around him/her. It seems clear that we all want joy in our lifes. It has been demonstrated that the best way to create such an environment is by means of laughing. When you burst out laughing, you can get rid of stress, anxiety and depression. Laugh also rejuvenates, lowers the cholesterol levels, benefits the lose of weight and provides relief for pain, insomnia and respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Pity attracts pity, which is death; love attracts love, which is laugh. Let’s be honest, who wants to be unhappy? Start laughing and spread your joy all around the world!

8. Meditate

Even if it sounds too mystical, the benefits of meditation have already been proven and empirically demonstrated: mental transformations and thought processing become more organised, the immune system gains strength and the physiological functions become more efficient and balanced, the aging processes slow down, the stress symptoms disappear, the regenerative energies start functioning, creativity is powerfully stimulated… Meditation is very useful to stop identifying ourselves with our thoughts; the thoughts are the creators of our reality. Wheter we are happy or not depends on the quality of our thoughts. Someone who meditates every day is used to recognise the thoughts that flood his/her mind and to foresee the effects that these generate. When a thought is harmful, the person who meditates has many options to erase it from the mind immediately. It’s all about practising every day!

9. Do not wear masks

Showing something you are not is terrible. If you don’t love yourself, don’t expect the others to be thrilled with your unnatural performances. Wearing a mask that shows a fake reality creates an inner conflict. In fact, one of the main reasons for developing a disease is an imbalance between mind, heart and action. Someone who says something that he/she does not think, has many chances to get lost in the dessert of fear; fear to be what he/she really is.

10. The others are not the problem

Looking outside and spending your time criticising and insulting the other is quite easy: first of all, we do not feel responsible for our own miseries; and, secondly, we assume that we are perfect and this hinders the change we all need. Gandhi was well aware of what he was saying when he quoted these beautiful words: “be the change you wish to see in the world”. Yes, the world is full of terrible things, but until you have banned from your inside all your terrible things, it seems that you have no right to demand anything from anyone.

11. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do

Learn to be assertive. A NO in time can avoid many problems. There is always a hidden message: if someone doesn’t say no, we undertand that he/she is asserting.  Think of all the things you do throughout the day because you have, not because you wish to. Make a list if you need to. How can this list disappear? The answer is quite simple: just don’t do all those things.

12. Don’t get angry

What is the purpose of being angry? If you have learnt that by getting angry you can solve a problem, at least be honest: the other pay attention to you because they are scared.

13. Give thanks

“Thank you”, “good morning”, “please”… These polite expressions have something magical, something that attracts kindness and collaboration. Now is the time to share; union is the only behaviour that can save us from the disasters that seem to lie ahead.

14. Don’t take anything for granted

What we believe to be a proven truth today, were yesterday crazy ideas. We should not fool ourselves, we cannot know the truth. However, we may know one of the expressions of the truth: the beauty that surrounds us.

15. Be a kid again

Remember how it felt like as a child, enjoy everything around you as if it was the first time you are seeing or experiencing it. When you are surrounded by magic, fear seems to be an adult matter. Who wants to live with fear? Who wants to be an adult?

16. Don’t worry

As Shantideva said: “If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.”