Archive for April, 2008

Decluttering

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

We all accumulate clutter from frivolous purchases, like that new GPS navigator that is more trouble than it is worth.  But many of us don’t know what to do with all of the clutter around us.  I know that sometimes I look at what has accumulated and am suprised because I had no idea how fast clutter could creep up on me.  But clutter is not a positive in any way.  A cluttered life causes a lot of stress.  Visual clutter can be very distracting.  So what can we do to rid ourselves of clutter?

Ask yourself one question:  Have I used this item in the past year?  If the answer is no, it is a safe bet you can either throw it out or give it away.

Break your emotional attachment to sentimental items:  If you want, you can take a picture of it and store it on your computer.  Sure, that Raggedy Ann doll may have priceless memories attached to it, but does that truly justify keeping it around when you could photograph it digitally and put it on your computer?

Realize how nice the uncluttered look looks:  When everytyhing is in its place, then you can finally relax and not swayed by cumbersome distractions like having socks all over your bedroom floor.  Think of the inner peace you will experience once your house is in complete order.

Escape materialism:  Every time you buy a new item, you need to find a place to put it.  And since most things people buy become a burden, I encourage you to make sure that each item you buy is something that you will use on a regular basis, like a blender or a desk.  Go for quality and not the best deal because if you skimp on the price now, it will come back to bite you in the end.

Learn to enjoy the minimalist look:  The old adage that “Less is more” applies here.  Sure, you may not have as much, but the things you do have mean more to you because you’ve consciously chosen them.  Each item has a specific value attached to it and this makes them all invaluable.

When it doubt, throw it out (or give it away).

I guess decluttering is becoming quite a big field lately, due to all the things we all accumulate over time.  My advice is to go about it in small chunks, decluttering each room or part of a room day by day.  If it takes you a month, it takes you a month.  But in one month, you will have an organized house that has way more space than it did before for new things you wish to bring in that will actually mean something to you.

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The Minimalist’s Guide to Supermarket Club Cards

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

I recently streamlined all my supermarket club cards onto a single small piece of paper. I did it with the help of a new website known as JustOneClubCard.com. I taped the piece of paper to the back of my Jimi Wallet and now I don’t need to have all those cards cluttering up my key ring. The only store I believe that is not featured on the website to create a barcode is Blockbuster. Therefore, it is the only card I have left on my key ring. Of course, many stores let you use your phone number, but not all of them. The ones that do that are in my area don’t even warrant having any barcode with me because I always have the option of remembering one simple number.

Since I work in a grocery store, I see some of the most cluttered key rings in existence. Some of the people who have these cluttered monstrocities look like they could be dungeon masters. I currently only frequent four stores right now, so I do not need more than that many cards, but for those of you who frequent more than eight stores, you may need to print out multiple cards from the website linked above.

I just thought I would mention this tidbit of information today because if you are looking for more room in your wallet or on your key ring, it is vital for you to check out that website and see how well you can streamline your card clutter.

Edit:  This post was originally scheduled for earlier this month but I could not seem to find a camera to show how the whole setup is for my keyring.  Possibly in the future I will find our digital camera and take picture of the whole setup.

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Confessions of a Coffee Drinker

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Caffeine saved my life. No lie. When I wasn’t feeling so good after my brain cancer scare, coffee got me back on my feet again. I went to numerous doctors and finally when I went to a neuro-opthamologist, she suggested I drink lots of water and some caffeine and I will start feeling better. I was skeptical at first and since my lifelong pursuit of health had me eschewing caffeine for the majority of my life, I took it one step at a time. I started drinking one Starbucks DoubleShot Espesso drink every day and saw improved results when it came to my headaches and impaired eye movements. But it did not work on its own. I also needed tons of water along with the caffeine. But that was of no consequence because caffeine is a natural diuretic, which means it forces water out of your body. So I kept myself from dehydrating while at the same time keeping myself feeling great. Sure, caffeine is addictive and I try to limit myself when I am feeling good, but if I am having an off day, I go for the best energy drink I know of to this day.

I can make coffee a healthy drink if I limit the cream and sugar intake. If I go to a gourmet coffee shop like Starbucks, the sugary, creamy drinks may tempt me, but I always stick with good old fashioned regular coffee. And I use only raw sugar in very small quantities (i.e. half a teaspoon for 10 oz.). I use occasional cream, but only enough to make the coffee taste unlike swill. It is a very dark brown. I might switch over to Silk soymilk creamer in the near future. I brew my coffee at home not because it will save me money, but because I control what is in the coffee. If I wish to make a frozen coffee drink in my Magic Bullet, all I have to do is put excactly what I need into the mix and nothing else. Raw cream and raw sugar are a big part of this magic drink I am accustomed to make every now and then. It will be great for this upcoming summer.

But I do prefer just a regular cup of joe. It is a nice pick-me-up, but I never do it to excess. About 12-15 oz. a day is all I can truly take because I don’t do it every day anymore and overdosing on caffeine makes you feel terrible. A wonderful lift can turn into the worst crash you’ve ever seen.

I shouldn’t ramble to long about this as the caffeine is really starting to get to my head now. I hadn’t had any real caffeine for a few days before today and I think I am seeing God now. And I thought only hardcore addicts got that far. Well, I’ll be back writing soon and I hope my loyal readers are still with me. I’ve been experiencing writers block lately and I need some inspiration.

Side Note: One fascinating practice I’ve been looking into is called breatharianism. Look forward to a post about that in the near future. It is the equivalent of spiritual and physical perfection where no more food or drink is needed. It seems out of the box, but then again, isn’t the box getting too crowded? Don’t worry because I am in no way going to try this any time soon because of the obvious health risks. But it is definitely worth studying because it is yet another weird little quirk I can add to my resume.

Thanks guys for reading.

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Going With the Flow

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

When you go with the gentle flow of the stream, your life flows easily and you get what you want through almost no direct action other than simple tasks and good luck.  But when you start paddling upstream, everything seems to be a struggle.  But I’ve come to realize that almost nothing we all want is upstream.  And even when we do achieve one of those upstream goals, it will not be as we expected and we will want more.  But society measures us for how far we can go upstream.  Every trophy or plaque we have on our wall demonstrates a time when we went upstream.  It is simply a diversion of who we are supposed to be.  Going upstream may get you some respect in the real world, but it is just another distraction from you going downstream to your purpose.  Even if the downstream path has some hard work, it will not feel as such, but feel like joyful self-expression.  Going downstream is simply being yourself.  And it is much more authentic to be yourself than to be someone else.

It may not be easier to be yourself, but it is defintely more joyful.  When you allow yourself to be, it opens up parts of you that can only exist when you are allowing this phenomenon to happen.  It is like tapping into a higher part of yourself, or as the new age people call it, your Higher Self.  Creative name, no?  It is almost as if you have wisdom you cannot possibly fathom ever learning in the real world, but it is inside of you somewhere and moving downstream only allows you to uncover more of it and use it to greater express yourself fully.  It is almost as if you are a conduit passing messages from a spiritual realm.  Many creative people call this state flow.  And I think they’re onto something.  Flowing is much less tiring than paddlling.  When you flow, you are simply along for the ride and any creativitybecomes effortless.  But when you are paddling upstream, you need to fight for everything you have and it is often most unpleasant.  This is why, most times, I choose to go downstream.

I often wondered how so many people could have created so many beautiful things in the world.  Be it writing or artwork, I’ll be willing to bet that most of these people were in the flow state when they created their masterpieces.  But they learned to harness the flow and use it to their advantage on a regular basis as to create many works of art that we still admire today.   All we need to do to harness this amazing ability is to do the same.  We need to stop paddling upstream and start harnessing downstream.  We just need to stop paddling and allow ourselves to go on our life’s path.  Maybe some of us are stuck behind a rock and we need help getting around it.  And some of us are attached to the praise we get for going upstream.  But all of that pales in comparison to truly following our life’s path, completely surrendering ourselves to it.  We need to just allow it into our lives.  It is definitely somewhere inside of us and we just need to find it.

Whatever brings  you the most joy, you must do.  And if you cannot fathom a way to earn a living doing so, just leave that up to the universe.  If there is a will, there is a way.  Why not make the most of our time here by exploring our deepest passions and immersing ourselves in the most abundant state of self-expression known to man?  And this may seem difficult from the outside, but on the inside looking out, it is such a joy to create that it does not even feel like the drudgery of work, but more like the joy of play.  And if a good percentage of the world can get into this state of joyous creation, just imagine how amazing we could make this world.  All it takes is the belief that is is possible.  Good luck.

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