Self-sufficient Lifestyle For Enlightenment

[egoless]

Enlightenment work is the path of heroes as Leo once said. It is definitely not the easy one and requires serious dedication and thirst for knowledge. Modern lifestyle is definitely not suited for this path. 9-5 jobs, fast paced life, social networks, consumer era... What should real truth seekers do? Time is the most valuable resource we could have. We need to design lifestyle which will be loaded with free time but at the same time will help us to survive. After some contemplation I have came up with several strategies to establish truly self-sufficient lifestyle:

1) Become minimalist. That means say no to every consumer products which is no essential for you. No luxury items. Only items which are essential for your survival and functionality. learn how to do your own haircut. In my opinion buzz cut is the most optimal hairstyle for this matter. If you implement all these changes you will minimize your living expenses. This in return will minimize your required income to survive.

2) Invest in one place. Find a good place with lots of nearby resources and stop moving around. One in the nature is perfect and at the same time close to some city.

3) Invest in sustainable energy. sources like solar panels and wind energy.

4) Learn farming and fishing. If you manage to find a house near river fishing would be perfect. Maybe get small rabbit farm and several chickens. Learn how to cultivate vegetables. Farming will be essential for you to create self-sustained lifestyle in a long run.

5) Choose freelancing career and become extremely good at it. This will enable you to generate some money in the case of necessity. If you manage to establish self-sustained lifestyle Money becomes almost irrelevant to you. But still... you need bare minimum in case of urgency and unlucky times.

P.S. I'm not saying that this kind of lifestyle is suitable for everyone but it's certainly something I would be interested in. Share your thoughts on this topic! 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by egoless

[Martin123]

@egoless I totally get your concern, however let me suggest to you a perspective that I hold, and has been quite transformative, and has turned any conflicts I had with my life, into the greatest benefit I could ever ask for.
What about, we looked at our lives, instead of "how to shift this to be more spiritual" from a perspective grounded in the eternal Truth of existence.

Everything is god, and my life, is a play of form, only designed, to bring forth my highest destiny. Everything is here to help me to achieve my highest potential, for it is created from the same one that is the God that I am. My desires, and my wellbeing, is the universes highest desire. So instead of trying to get life to give me the things that I think that I want, we asked "What does life want from me, so my and life's desires, can become one." What does the 9-5 job want from me? What does the addiction that is the same god that I am, teach me in every moment? What does the heart-break, that I do not enjoy, bring forth in me, so it can be healed, for my highest destiny, as the god that I am, for the wellbeing of all.

Doesn't that make more sense?

[egoless]

1 minute ago, Martin123 said:

@egoless I totally get your concern, however let me suggest to you a perspective that I hold, and has been quite transformative, and has turned any conflicts I had with my life, into the greatest benefit I could ever ask for.
What about, we looked at our lives, instead of "how to shift this to be more spiritual" from a perspective grounded in the eternal Truth of existence.

Everything is god, and my life, is a play of form, only designed, to bring forth my highest destiny. Everything is here to help me to achieve my highest potential, for it is created from the same one that is the God that I am. My desires, and my wellbeing, is the universes highest desire. So instead of trying to get life to give me the things that I think that I want, we asked "What does life want from me, so my and life's desires, can become one." What does the 9-5 job want from me? What does the addiction that is the same god that I am, teach me in every moment? What does the heart-break, that I do not enjoy, bring forth in me, so it can be healed, for my highest destiny, as the god that I am, for the wellbeing of all.

Doesn't that make more sense?

I got your point but let me further explain mine. In my opinion seeking life purpose before Enlightenment is risky way of doing it. It may be the false one and one which your ego is seeking to fulfill its desires. On the other hand if you are "lucky" enough and get Enlightened your life purpose will come to you naturally. What about maintaining this lifestyle until you get full knowledge of your True self? Then you will do what's needed to achieve your highest potential and it will come naturally to you - because that's who you are in reality. At least that's my opinion.

[Martin123]

@egoless Also I am not encouraging you not to go in the direction of things that feel good to you. Yet the things we try to escape and stay away from are the same One we are! :-) 

All the unconscious people... God

All the mainstream nonsense... God

All the quite disgusting fast-food... God

All the nonsense in the News... God

OMG the garbage in politics... God

Yet it is worth mentioning that all the things you mentioned (Minimalism, sustainable energy, freelancing...) is the One god as well, and yet if we try to access these things, that might or might not resonate with each of us, in a stage of our journey we are not ready for, it can only lead to another relapse. 

(I wrote this before you replied to me, let me engage that as well :p)

2 minutes ago, egoless said:

life purpose

God

2 minutes ago, egoless said:

the false one and one which your ego is seeking

God

 

3 minutes ago, egoless said:

fulfill its desires

God

3 minutes ago, egoless said:

ull knowledge of your True self?

Before you get knowledge of your True self? You mean God right??? The same God that is all of the above . :-) 

[egoless]

@Martin123 You are making it philosophical I am making it practical that's all I see

[Martin123]

@Shiva You could say that, and I understand that it might not take away the urgency of the matter. Yet if we look at it closer, ego is only fear disguised as practicality. :-) 
Im not saying don't be practical, I am saying the opposite. If you need a job to feed yourself, get a job. Yet how many times do we fear of not having enough to sustain ourselves, when in actuality we have always had enough. How many times are we consumed by fear of running out of resources, while still having enough in our bank-account.
If you've always had enough, and made it this far, what makes us think that we will not have enough in the future, unless we do these things called "practicalities", which is only our fear running our lives, disguised as "smart decisions".

And yet again, these smart decisions are only there to help us uncover the disguise the fear is wearing, to find abundance in every breath and every moment.

This is only how I approach my life. I know it works, because it works for me. But there is an infinite amount of perspectives, none of which are wrong. 

[egoless]

1 hour ago, Martin123 said:

@Shiva You could say that, and I understand that it might not take away the urgency of the matter. Yet if we look at it closer, ego is only fear disguised as practicality. :-) 
Im not saying don't be practical, I am saying the opposite. If you need a job to feed yourself, get a job. Yet how many times do we fear of not having enough to sustain ourselves, when in actuality we have always had enough. How many times are we consumed by fear of running out of resources, while still having enough in our bank-account.
If you've always had enough, and made it this far, what makes us think that we will not have enough in the future, unless we do these things called "practicalities", which is only our fear running our lives, disguised as "smart decisions".

And yet again, these smart decisions are only there to help us uncover the disguise the fear is wearing, to find abundance in every breath and every moment.

This is only how I approach my life. I know it works, because it works for me. But there is an infinite amount of perspectives, none of which are wrong. 

You are saying: "if you need a job to feed yourself, get a job". I am saying there is a better way to feed yourself and survive if you want more free time for self inquiry, meditation, contemplation, observation. That is also a choice... I am not saying this is the only correct choice but this is my choice and maybe someone's also. people living with 9-5 jobs are also part of reality.Most of them never meditate or self inquire and they are also part of reality. But those who want to do this work need more free time and need more efficient ways to sustain themselves.

Edited October 10, 2017 by egoless

[ajasatya]

@egoless do it!

less worries, lighter mind, healthier life!

[Martin123]

@egoless sounds like a great way to make empowered choices :).

[egoless]

1 minute ago, ajasatya said:

@egoless do it!

less worries, lighter mind, healthier life!

Currently I can't. I am still experimenting with my current life style. I am trying to finally find out if I am suited for mainstream type of living with 9-5 corporate job... But.. as time passes I am getting increasingly confident that this is not where I belong. I'll give it another year or two though.

[ajasatya]

Just now, egoless said:

Currently I can't. I am still experimenting with my current life style. I am trying to finally find out if I am suited for mainstream type of living with 9-5 corporate job... But.. as time passes I am getting increasingly confident that this is not where I belong. I'll give it another year or two though.

it's not just a matter of our liking/adaptation capabilities. it's a call from mother Earth. as Earth heals Itself, we will gradually enjoy a simpler and healthier lifestyle.

[egoless]

2 minutes ago, Shiva said:

Same here.

I generally agree with you. Just not on this point:

It is ultimately a question of personal preference but since you say you want to experiment with Life styles, I recommend traveling. I learned so much about what I really need in life and what is really important from living in a van in new zealand or hiking in the mountains in Burma for several days.

Yes I am in love with travelling as well. And I understand what you are saying perfectly well. But it is really really hard to sustain yourself while travelling. At least I don't have any sufficient experience in that. Currently I am studying abroad.

Edited October 10, 2017 by egoless

[egoless]

2 minutes ago, Shiva said:

Yes very true. But I don't necessarily mean that I would want to make a living while traveling. Actually I enjoy being somewhere I call home as much. I just want to have the opportunity to travel occasionally in the future, although I am a fan of a rather simple lifestyle. So in the end I don't want to be too minimalist. Traveling is expensive and I wouldn't want to miss it.

Yes travelling is expensive indeed! that's why I love freelancing careers so much they offer so much flexibility... Like youtuber, graphic designer, writer etc... but unfortunately I am in a business career. Can't find anything similar in my in my career yet.

[Azrael]

@egoless, I think that if you implement these things on the long-term YOU might have a good life (if you want that stuff). But keep in mind that it has nothing to do with enlightenment. One of the realizations I had after my awakening that shocked me for a good 1-2 months daily is: Well, you still gotta do shit with your time. That was so shocking because after the awakening all the mental-masturbation, all the analysis, all the thoughts about myself and spirituality just fell away. And this was a big chunk of my daily thoughts. So, expect to have radical shifts of perspective on these topics with time. None of them might be "it" and none of them will work for everyone, but just go with how it comes.

For me personally, I have a long-term plan that I work out. I know that after my studies I wanna move to North America (maybe Vancouver or an American City that is similar), live their, have my own programming project, build a family at some point and have an relaxed life. And that will be fine for me. Another person might want something completely different and that's fine, too.

[Lauritz]

I planned to do something similar. But my plan involves becoming financially independent first. That means having saved up enough so that the returns of the investments can cover whatever little is left that I want to buy with money.

In theory (early retirement extreme) this should be possible with 5 years of working a moderately high paying job if you are living in a western country. 

But after 1,5 years I could no longer stand my job which I got after graduating university and I switched to a lower paying but more enjoyable gardening job. So it might take longer but I still have that as a long term goal. 

And after that having a place to live and a garden to grow most of my food is also the plan. And the savings to pay for the essential expenses. So I can focus most of my time on pursuing enlightenment and other personal interests in a relaxed way. 

[Pelin]

@egoless I've been trying to live a minimalist lifestyle for 3 years, and actually I came across Leo's channel through his Lifestyle Minimalism video. I think mindfulness and minimalism go hand in hand.

I still work a day job (teaching) but I'm moving abroad next February. I'm not sure if I can find a job there straight away, but I've gone debt free and also saved a lot of money (together with my husband). So I'll be fine for a few months, even a year but I'll probably want to work even as a part-time barista or something like that, not for the money, but to get to know the country and make some friends.

I started a blog about minimalism a year ago, and just started putting ads there but I don't think it will pay much. Blogging is going out of style and vlogging is becoming more common. But I think writing is a part of my life, and I'm not ready to put myself out there in a video, yet. 

Sustainable energy, farming and fishing are not available to me at the moment, but I'd definitely like a lifestyle which encourages both minimalism and ecology.

[krazzer]

On 10-10-2017 at 1:31 PM, egoless said:

Enlightenment work is the path of heroes as Leo once said. It is definitely not the easy one and requires serious dedication and thirst for knowledge. Modern lifestyle is definitely not suited for this path. 9-5 jobs, fast paced life, social networks, consumer era... What should real truth seekers do? Time is the most valuable resource we could have. We need to design lifestyle which will be loaded with free time but at the same time will help us to survive. After some contemplation I have came up with several strategies to establish truly self-sufficient lifestyle:

1) Become minimalist. That means say no to every consumer products which is no essential for you. No luxury items. Only items which are essential for your survival and functionality. learn how to do your own haircut. In my opinion buzz cut is the most optimal hairstyle for this matter. If you implement all these changes you will minimize your living expenses. This in return will minimize your required income to survive.

2) Invest in one place. Find a good place with lots of nearby resources and stop moving around. One in the nature is perfect and at the same time close to some city.

3) Invest in sustainable energy. sources like solar panels and wind energy.

4) Learn farming and fishing. If you manage to find a house near river fishing would be perfect. Maybe get small rabbit farm and several chickens. Learn how to cultivate vegetables. Farming will be essential for you to create self-sustained lifestyle in a long run.

5) Choose freelancing career and become extremely good at it. This will enable you to generate some money in the case of necessity. If you manage to establish self-sustained lifestyle Money becomes almost irrelevant to you. But still... you need bare minimum in case of urgency and unlucky times.

@egolessI am working towards that lifestyle for the last 5 years.

I gradually became minimalist. And I quit my job last year, now I'm freelancing. So I can check off point 1 & 5.

When I have saved enough money in the future (not getting any mortgages anymore!) I will buy a big land somewhere, build a house. It will be in nature as much as possible, and with enough solar panels for power. Also I will grow my own food and chickens. Maybe add some aquaponics. So that would be point 2, 3 and 4.

But also, i'm doing consciousness work for the last 5 years. And an important thing i've learned is that everything is good as it is now. My current living place is in the middle of a busy city, with lots of noise and bad air, and no room for farming. But I'm ok with that. If I die here, I'm ok with that.

But being ok with something doesn't mean no action. 

The trick is to accept life as it is right now 100%, yet still move yourself to a better life.

 

[egoless]

1 hour ago, krazzer said:

@egolessI am working towards that lifestyle for the last 5 years.

I gradually became minimalist. And I quit my job last year, now I'm freelancing. So I can check off point 1 & 5.

When I have saved enough money in the future (not getting any mortgages anymore!) I will buy a big land somewhere, build a house. It will be in nature as much as possible, and with enough solar panels for power. Also I will grow my own food and chickens. Maybe add some aquaponics. So that would be point 2, 3 and 4.

But also, i'm doing consciousness work for the last 5 years. And an important thing i've learned is that everything is good as it is now. My current living place is in the middle of a busy city, with lots of noise and bad air, and no room for farming. But I'm ok with that. If I die here, I'm ok with that.

But being ok with something doesn't mean no action. 

The trick is to accept life as it is right now 100%, yet still move yourself to a better life.

 

The hardest part for me is to find a way to transition my finance career into freelancing. I am thinking about digital marketing but I have 0 experience in that.

[krazzer]

@egoless what percentage of your income can you save each month? A financial buffer helps a lot when trying to transition from a job to freelance.

Do you work fulltime? Maybe you can go to 3 or 4 days and spend the other days freelancing, or doing research.

[egoless]

45 minutes ago, krazzer said:

@egoless what percentage of your income can you save each month? A financial buffer helps a lot when trying to transition from a job to freelance.

Do you work fulltime? Maybe you can go to 3 or 4 days and spend the other days freelancing, or doing research.

I am studying currently. I am doing Master's degree