To simplify our lives doesn't mean to become simple. I live under a vow of simplicity, but I do not live a simple life. Indeed, I live a very comprehensive and sophisticated life. It is a philosophical mindset. It really means to pare down largely in terms of possessions, or quality of possession, from consumer abundance to your own culture of quieting space.

Please contact me to discuss simplifying your life or aspects of your life. Counseling is available in person, through the phone and email.

I am also available to speak to groups on simplification.

Often with the inspiration and "knowing" that we are in the midst of a personal growth transition, we begin to feel the need for "simplification." Our lives, homes, environment seem to have too much in them. Rather than a bringing us an ease of relaxation and centering, what is inside us and surrounds us is distracting and disquieting. Sometimes our environment creates or attracts negativity for us. Our lives appear to us as cluttered with things or ideas or unresolved situations that disturb our tranquility, make us anxious or tired and lethargic, lacking energy for all the good pursuits of life. We may perhaps even worldly when we want to feel centered in philosophy or spirit.

What is it in your home and office and other environments that can be given away or responsibly disposed? And in so doing cultivates a feeling of quietude and centeredness. Of being a "human being" on earth, rather than a victim of consumerism or too much nostalgia. Simplification reaches into the decor of your home, the material and color of the walls, the nature of your garden or yard, the quality of possessions you want to keep. It is a look and feel that creates a philosophical consciousness, a sense that I am more than my mind and body, that I live by a credo of warm giving and a wise sense of detachment.

To simplify is not to create a temple or church in your home or office, but to create a personal sanctuary of the space you occupy. This could involve selecting certain possessions and ways of thinking to dispose of, and bringing in others that are more harmonious. It is as elementary as the approach to housekeeping. How do you approach housekeeping as a means of simplicity and spiritual living?

To simplify is also to reach into ourselves psychologically and psychically and determine what it is that is fogging our minds or making us too reactive with anger or fear, or other inhibiting emotions. Do we feel we are "thinking" too much, and not "intuiting" or "sensing" enough? This is part of the way of simplification. It reaches into what we read, or watch, or witness.