The Self-Sufficient Mind

[Flytyer24]

I was in some very deep thought last night like I tend to do on occasion. I was pondering the stresses in life and realized any stress or troubles I have is purely because of my reaction to them.

I enjoy reading philosophy, history, and self-improvement books. I do occasionally indulge in some fluff. But I geuss what I am getting at is how to you guys hone your mind. Obviously most of us have a different outlook than the norm. Meaning we are already breaking the status qou of materialism and keeping up with the joneses by trying to be more self-sufficient.

What do you do to strengthen the mind?

Do you try and broaden you knowledge? How So? (beyond suficientself.com)

Have you always had this mindset or have your experiences led you to realize there is more important things in this world than what we can buy?

I am the type of person that truly needs to use sound logic to reason out my beliefs. I have studied other belief systems and religons and believe all have me a better person. That being said the journey never ends.

So why? Money? Peace of Mind? A simpler way? Knowledge?

Thanks for you candid responses.

 

[Beekissed]

I was in some very deep thought last night like I tend to do on occasion. I was pondering the stresses in life and realized any stress or troubles I have is purely because of my reaction to them.

I enjoy reading philosophy, history, and self-improvement books. I do occasionally indulge in some fluff. But I geuss what I am getting at is how to you guys hone your mind. Obviously most of us have a different outlook than the norm. Meaning we are already breaking the status qou of materialism and keeping up with the joneses by trying to be more self-sufficient.

What do you do to strengthen the mind? Examine myself, others, the state of the world, the scriptures and my own faith patterns.

Do you try and broaden you knowledge? Yes.How So? Read, read, observe, read, observe, read and then do...put things into practice so that I can either store it as good to know or discard it as not worthy. (beyond suficientself.com)

Have you always had this mindset or have your experiences led you to realize there is more important things in this world than what we can buy? Sort of always had the mindset that money didn't buy happiness, no matter how much you had or what you bought with it. Then experience through life confirmed it. Yes, money can help with surface problems that are happening immediately and that is just the world in which we live....but the deeper problems such as souls, relationships, self knowledge, etc., can't be improved by money or materialistic gain.

I am the type of person that truly needs to use sound logic to reason out my beliefs. I have studied other belief systems and religons and believe all have me a better person. That being said the journey never ends.

So why? Money? Peace of Mind? A simpler way? Knowledge? All of these things but mostly peace of mind and knowledge.

Thanks for you candid responses.

 

[Flytyer24]

Can I ask you about you faith patterns?

What made you choose your spiritual/religoius path?

Have you had deep thought on your own beliefs? Why you believe what you believe?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

To strengthen the mind -- reading. I don't have much time for that now, with a toddler, but that is what brings me back to focusing on why I am doing what I am doing and how I can do it better, whether that is practical ways of doing various odd jobs better, or the way I think about what I'm experiencing. Without time to reference key books, it is easier to get lost and that can spiral into negative emotions. I have noticed that as much as I try to practice keeping a calm head or an organized mind that it is invaluable to have certain things written down, either for motivation, for information, or peace of mind.

I read a lot about gardening. I love to read about other people's homesteading adventures (it helps me keep perspective). Sometimes I read one particular book when my world is crashing in around me and I feel lost.

My Senior (in highschool) quote (we all had to pick one) was "Forget the Jonses." I think I have always tended toward doing my own thing. I have always valued thrift, although I have had times in my life when I have not been very careful with my money. I've never been ambitious. I have always just wanted to have a decent quality of life and not hurt anyone or anything in the process. Simple things in life fulfill me and I know that money and careers, etc. just get in the way of those simple quiet moments of reflection that make life worth living (IMO).

 

[Beekissed]

Can I ask you about you faith patterns? Yes

What made you choose your spiritual/religoius path? The first church I was taken to as a youngster was a Baptist church. Since then I have attended many non-denominational and Baptist churches, so I guess that was the start of a seed that grew. I found that many preachers will teach their own take on the scriptures and they vary from church to church.

Finally, I had to realize that if one wanted to glean the truth from it all, it had to come directly from the Bible and the understanding that God provided for me of His word. Couple that with life experiences, observing the terrain along my own walk of faith and growing relationship with God, and I now have a deeply rooted faith in God, in His Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I no longer doubt that what the Bible says is truth and it no longer confuses me when I read it....I guess I see it now through different eyes or read it with a different heart. I know now about that lyric "I was blind but now I see"...it was exactly like that for me.

Have you had deep thought on your own beliefs? Every day. Why you believe what you believe? Because the empty place in my heart was God-shaped and now it is full. I feel the truth in that with every breath that I take.

I guess this chapter in the Bible would best describe how I feel about my own beliefs:

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1O Lord, you have searched me

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O Lord.

5You hem me inbehind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths,a you are there.

9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,

12even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mothers womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

17How precious tob me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake,

I am still with you.

19If only you would slay the wicked, O God!

Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

21Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord,

and abhor those who rise up against you?

22I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

[moolie]

Lol, not sure my response will help anyone else, but I follow two main principles in life beyond what the Bible says:

Have nothing in your house (I change that to life) that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful -- William Morris

Be sure to take time to LIVE life, rather than just worrying and watching it go by/down the drain -- my Dad

I read voraciously, both the useful and the fluff ("useful" = mostly non-fiction and "fluff" = mostly sci-fi in my case). I try new things, go for lots of walks, work hard, play hard, try different foods and ways of cooking, spend meaningful time with my family and friends, and take chances. Don't eat too much, or watch too much tv. Follow the golden rule. Don't take myself too seriously. Don't judge others. There's a list of "things I learned in Kindergarten" out there somewhere that is a beautiful summation of a life well-lived...

All of this keeps the mind sharp, especially trying new things--taking a different route to a familiar place, trying a new skill or hobby, pushing myself harder at the things I do regularly.

 

[moolie]

Lol, not sure my response will help anyone else, but I follow two main principles in life beyond what the Bible says:

Have nothing in your house (I change that to life) that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful -- William Morris

Be sure to take time to LIVE life, rather than just worrying and watching it go by/down the drain -- my Dad

I read voraciously, both the useful and the fluff ("useful" = mostly non-fiction and "fluff" = mostly sci-fi in my case). I try new things, go for lots of walks, work hard, play hard, try different foods and ways of cooking, spend meaningful time with my family and friends, and take chances. Don't eat too much, or watch too much tv. Follow the golden rule. Don't take myself too seriously. Don't judge others. There's a list of "things I learned in Kindergarten" out there somewhere that is a beautiful summation of a life well-lived...

All of this keeps the mind sharp, especially trying new things--taking a different route to a familiar place, trying a new skill or hobby, pushing myself harder at the things I do regularly.

Found it here:

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

(a guide for Global Leadership)

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum. See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/ ]

 

[Marianne]

Being SS is so much a part of my life, that when I do otherwise, I'm very aware of it.

But there still are plenty of moments that I sigh, you know, you get tired of explaining, justifying, etc and just let them think you're somewhat whacky.

My fav youtube inspiration lately is MichiganSnowPony, Things Sheeple Say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlX3_QbLSS8

 

[moolie]

I don't (personally) ever run into any of the "explaining, justifying, etc." or anything she says on that video. It makes me sad whenever I read on this forum that so many of you have unsupportive friends and family around you, looking or talking down on your lifestyle choices. Seriously, whose business is it anyway?

Everyone I know thinks it's cool that we start our own garden plants from seed in the dead of winter, grow a garden, have less lawn to take care of, built our own greenhouse, cook everything from scratch, do all of our own DIY around the house, grind wheat we buy in bulk and bake all of our own bread, make our own yogurt, can and freeze our own veggie and fruit harvest plus extra from the farmer's market, pick/glean berries, bring home fruit from the Okanagan when we've been out visiting family etc.

No one other than family knows about our emergency preps because that's personal, but we probably have a few friends who might think that's crazy--but I bet all of my Girl Guide and outdoorsy/camping friends would just take it in stride because the Girl Guide motto is "be prepared". I bet no one really knows just how much of a "pantry" we have in terms of stored food in various closets, but again--that's personal.

But maybe I come from a crazy family. We all grew up poor and doing for ourselves, children and grandchildren of immigrants who had to work really hard to make a go of it in a new country. Living sustainably and self-sufficiently was just plain old living, so it still is.

And friends--most of my friends have a "thing" that they do: quilting, cooking, pottery etc. So growing a food garden and cooking/baking from scratch and canning is right up their alley.

Today was "carrot thinning" day in the garden at my house. My kids, 15 and 16 yo girls, are going to tell me that I'm their favourite person in the world tonight at dinner. Because they "get it" too, and they LOVE baby carrots

 

[Hinotori]

Most of my family never quit doing self sufficient things. I'm just doing what my mom, grandma, and great grandma did.

Being prepared for times with out power (which runs most of their wells) was just a given for most people I grew up with. There was a big wind storm in January of 1991 that knocked a lot of people off the grid for a couple weeks. Everyone took it in stride and just went on with life.

We lived by a big Dam, a nuclear power plant/waste dump, and an Army chemical munitions depot in the ring of fire. During the 80s we had drills in school for what to do in case of nuclear attack, meltdown at the nuke plant, accidental release of sarin and mustard gas, and earthquake.

Yeah, I'm cynical about disaster not happening. There's always something that goes wrong some day. So you prepare best you can for that day. No one in my family thinks it's odd we disaster prep. One of my brothers also does.

Now my favorite thing to do now is give food for christmas. Everyone got smoked pork chops last year. This year I think we're going to buy a couple locker pigs and split the meat up. There is enough struggling going on with bills in the family and we don't have kids to add to our bills. They won't take much help, but offers of food are always gratefully accepted and we all have deep freezers.