* Blogmanac | Living Well, Living Deeply
From Lisa:
Creating A Simple, More Enriching Vision of Success
by Bruce Elkin, Natural Life
“There’s a couple of hazards in Voluntary Simplicity.
One is arrogance. Another is success (artistic, commercial,
personal) which leads to temptations which lead back again
to Involuntary Complexity.”
~ Stewart Brand, creator of The Whole Earth Catalog,
in the Co-Evolution Quarterly, Summer 1977
WHILE BROWSING THE BEST SELLERS in my local bookstore recently, I was shocked to find tomes on money and success displayed alongside guides for simplifying your life and enriching your spirit. How-to-be-happy titles sat next to treatises on saving-the-earth.
“What kinds of people,” I asked my bookseller, “buy these different kinds of books?”
“The same people,” she said, smiling sweetly. I must have looked perplexed, because she leaned forward, touched me gently on the arm and said, “There’s a convergence of interests, dear, a kind of shared vision is emerging.” I thanked her and left wondering if she was right.
Researcher Paul Ray thinks so. He claims 24 percent of adult Americans are “Cultural Creatives” interested in psychology, spirituality and self-actualization. Most are strong advocates of sustainability and simpler lifestyles. Ray says this group could herald the birth of an “Integral Culture” – a synthesis of modern and traditional values and practices. However, he warns, “Our future is not ordained.”
Though the possibility of an Integral Culture is exciting, Ray rightly urges caution. It’s too easy to assume “the transformation” is happening just because we read and talk about it. We’ve heard predictions like these before. A 1977 report, Voluntary Simplicity, documented similar findings to Ray’s and predicted that, by 2000, there could be 90 million Americans practicing voluntary simplicity.
Instead, we got the eighties.
What happened? Why did we tell pollsters one thing then do another?
Continue reading
[The "Cultural Creatives" are a fascinating anthropological/sociological field of study that I find exciting. Those who choose to leave the rat race to pursue what they enjoy, stay-at-home dads, activists for peace, human rights, civil rights and the environment and many others all are examples of cultural creatives. Many live simplistic lifestyles by choice, others had a little help from the economy. Regardless, they (we) are here to stay and our numbers are growing. If we could just get to know each other--what a powerful activist and lobbying force we would be! Let's work together to create a network among us, shall we? Email Pip , Nora or myself with any ideas you may have to facilitate connecting--perhaps we could arrange for "meet-ups" as is proving successful for the progressive U.S. presidential candidates, Dean and Kucinich. Awaiting your reply, -v]
From Lisa:
Creating A Simple, More Enriching Vision of Success
by Bruce Elkin, Natural Life
“There’s a couple of hazards in Voluntary Simplicity.
One is arrogance. Another is success (artistic, commercial,
personal) which leads to temptations which lead back again
to Involuntary Complexity.”
~ Stewart Brand, creator of The Whole Earth Catalog,
in the Co-Evolution Quarterly, Summer 1977
WHILE BROWSING THE BEST SELLERS in my local bookstore recently, I was shocked to find tomes on money and success displayed alongside guides for simplifying your life and enriching your spirit. How-to-be-happy titles sat next to treatises on saving-the-earth.
“What kinds of people,” I asked my bookseller, “buy these different kinds of books?”
“The same people,” she said, smiling sweetly. I must have looked perplexed, because she leaned forward, touched me gently on the arm and said, “There’s a convergence of interests, dear, a kind of shared vision is emerging.” I thanked her and left wondering if she was right.
Researcher Paul Ray thinks so. He claims 24 percent of adult Americans are “Cultural Creatives” interested in psychology, spirituality and self-actualization. Most are strong advocates of sustainability and simpler lifestyles. Ray says this group could herald the birth of an “Integral Culture” – a synthesis of modern and traditional values and practices. However, he warns, “Our future is not ordained.”
Though the possibility of an Integral Culture is exciting, Ray rightly urges caution. It’s too easy to assume “the transformation” is happening just because we read and talk about it. We’ve heard predictions like these before. A 1977 report, Voluntary Simplicity, documented similar findings to Ray’s and predicted that, by 2000, there could be 90 million Americans practicing voluntary simplicity.
Instead, we got the eighties.
What happened? Why did we tell pollsters one thing then do another?
Continue reading
[The "Cultural Creatives" are a fascinating anthropological/sociological field of study that I find exciting. Those who choose to leave the rat race to pursue what they enjoy, stay-at-home dads, activists for peace, human rights, civil rights and the environment and many others all are examples of cultural creatives. Many live simplistic lifestyles by choice, others had a little help from the economy. Regardless, they (we) are here to stay and our numbers are growing. If we could just get to know each other--what a powerful activist and lobbying force we would be! Let's work together to create a network among us, shall we? Email Pip , Nora or myself with any ideas you may have to facilitate connecting--perhaps we could arrange for "meet-ups" as is proving successful for the progressive U.S. presidential candidates, Dean and Kucinich. Awaiting your reply, -v]
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