The Art of Simplicity- How to Live More with Less by Dominique Loreau

L'art de la Simplicité - Dominique Loreau

Thus book taught me a lot, it taught me how to be organized . It taught me that simplicity can be chic, that simplicity IS chic. It gave me a compass for my personal style, gave me Rule of thumbs to follow when purchasing, wearing, and organizing my clothes. I knew my style better after reading this book.

Some Quotes that stuck with me;

▪ Simplicity offers the solution to so many problems

▪ Opulent luxury brings neither grace nor elegance. It imprisons and destroys the soul, while simplicity offers the solution to so many problems.

▪ Minimalism requires an ordered lifestyle and careful attention to detail

▪ Learn to eliminate quietly, carefully, but firmly and thoroughly

▪ Do not enrich your life with objects. Instead, enrich your body with sensations, your heart with feelings and your mind with principles.

CHAPTER 1◆ Introduction 

▪ Simplicity offers the solution to so many problems

▪ Little by little, I realized that, as I lightened my load, the things that were left seemed less and less vital

▪ And so I came to the unshakable, profound conviction that the less we have, the greater our sense of freedom, and the better we are able to thrive.

◆ 1. Material excess

▪ Opulent luxury brings neither grace nor elegance. It imprisons and destroys the soul, while simplicity offers the solution to so many problems.

▪ leaves us no time to devote to our bodies

◆ The burden of possessions

▪ To embrace minimalism we may need a degree of spiritual and intellectual baggage, rather than material possessions

▪ Minimalism requires an ordered lifestyle and careful attention to detail

▪ Learn to eliminate quietly, carefully, but firmly and thoroughly

▪ Do not enrich your life with objects. Instead, enrich your body with sensations, your heart with feelings and your mind with principles.

▪ Clearly, the only way to avoid being possessed by material things is to own nothing (or almost nothing) and, above all, to desire as little as possible. Accumulated possessions are a burden. Multiple, eclectic desires are also burdens

▪ We cannot be open and receptive if we have not made space first.

▪ An excess of things is invasive, overwhelming. It deflects our attention from the essentials. Our minds become cluttered, like an attic full of objects accumulated over time. We feel constrained, unable to move forward.

▪ Refusing to own too much brings a greater appreciation of the things that give us spiritual, emotional and intellectual pleasure.

▪ Sell things you no longer (or rarely) use. Once you’ve made space, savor the privilege of having nothing that may prove attractive to thieves, mites or jealous minds.

▪ And as everyone knows, throwing things overboard is the best way to stay afloat

◆ At home: say no to clutter

▪ Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.’

Le Corbusier

▪ A home furnished with nothing but a handful of beautiful, absolutely essential things is a haven of peace. Cherish it, clean it and inhabit it with care and respect – it is a protective shell for your greatest treasure: your own self.

▪ Comfort is an art, and without it, any attempt at decoration will be in vain.

▪ A room furnished with empty space draws in natural light and becomes filled with positive influences

▪ People who live in clean, empty spaces feel in control of their lives

▪ A MINIMAL HOME Make your home compact, comfortable, practical

▪ Never compromise; never hold on to useless things.

▪ The entrance to your home should be welcoming and bright, with flowers: the elements concentrated here will suffuse the rest of your interior

▪ Observing and understanding the foundations of life enables us to tune in and consciously incorporate universal laws into our existence, so that we are no longer swimming against the current.

▪ consciously At home: say no to clutter

▪ Ensure abundance and plenty by keeping your home well stocked with food and provisions, and storing them all in one place. Never allow supplies to run low – this will create a sense of hardship and need. Your fruit bowl should always be full, and your refrigerator free of wilting vegetables and three-day-old leftovers

▪ Fitted carpet or rugs are material ‘anchors’: they magnify basic, existential resources.

▪ Feng shui achieves maximum impact once we have identified our essential, inner being; when we live every moment of our lives in harmony with our innermost, profound nature, our true selves.

◆ Things: what should stay, and what should go?

▪ Adapting your lifestyle to this end brings serenity and peace of mind. You will gain what few possess: an open, receptive state of mind

▪ Remain alert and ready to face the unexpected

▪ DON’T SUFFER YOUR POSSESSIONS, CHOOSE THEM

▪ seashells are so much more beautiful in isolation!

▪ ‘The key to loving how you live is in knowing what it is you truly love.’ ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

▪ Living permanently with objects we dislike makes us apathetic and miserable. When objects irritate us (consciously or otherwise), they provoke toxic hormonal secretions

▪ Promise yourself to keep only the things you love. The rest is meaningless. Don’t let your world become filled by the past, or by objects you find mediocre.

▪ Own only a small number of things, either artisan-made or mass-produced, but be careful to select them as extensions of yourself: objects are our servants, not our masters

▪ If you want to see fine tableware, eat at a chic restaurant from time to time

▪ If you can’t yet afford the sofa of your dreams, save for it little by little until you can. But don’t buy a cheap substitute while you wait. You may find yourself becoming accustomed to it, at your cost!

▪ It is better to live with high aspirations than mediocre realities

▪ A quality object will embellish its surroundings with grace and elegance.

▪ THE ART OF HARMONIZING

▪ Simplicity means creating harmony among very few objects,

▪ Purely decorative objects can make a room feel static, frozen, lifeless

▪ Minimalism leaves space for the imagination, creativity and change

◆ Your wardrobe: simplicity with style

▪ STYLE AND SIMPLICITY ‘When a girl feels that she’s perfectly groomed and dressed she can forget that part of her. That’s charm. The more parts of yourself you can afford to forget the more charm you have.’

▪ True personal style says ‘no’ to the eccentricities of fashion. It is the perfect marriage of what we wear and what we are.

▪ Fashion changes, but style endures

▪ A woman’s style should become plainer and simpler with age. Style creates presence; the true value of quality is the serenity it confers

▪ The ideal: wear your own reality, not clothes

▪ As for color: beige, gray, white and (of course) black are all you need

▪ The smart way to vary your wardrobe is to limit your palette: two or three different shades suffice, enlivened with careful touches of bold color

▪ Clothes that are too tight or too loose-fitting are never elegant.

▪ Make your wardrobe a haven of well-ordered peace

▪ A well-dressed woman shows taste but also intelligence, wit and audacity.

▪ Stay true to one distinctive style: if you strive to look like too many other people, you may lose sight of yourself. Know yourself, and your style will follow naturally.

▪ the image you communicate right now is the sum of every detail of your daily life

▪ Your clothes express what you are, what you want to be, your imagination, your determination, your standards, your politics, your dreams and your way of life. They speak volumes about you, before you say a word.

▪ When we dress our body to reflect our inner soul, we feel an immediate sense of harmony. Our clothes can be our friends, or our enemies. They can show us off to our best advantage, protect us, or communicate a false image of ourselves

▪ Sort through your wardrobe: keep only the things you really love

▪ Throw out items that don’t suit you, or are old, anything you’ve scarcely worn, for whatever reason (or none). You’ll be casting off all those pipe dreams and wrongheaded purchases

▪ With the ideal outfit, you’ll leave home in the morning feeling light-footed and good-humored:

▪ Good clothes and careful makeup radiate positive energy. A woman should pay attention, above all, to her health, her beauty and her finances

▪ Self-confidence is achieved at the expense of a little time spent on personal grooming and self-esteem.

▪ Buying a really good bag is a wise investment.

▪ Have just one bag, but know how to use it elegantly at all times

◆ Time: waste less, make the most of more

▪ People often become miserable or depressed because they have nothing to do

▪ Learn how to spend an entire day at home reading poetry, cooking, burning incense, drinking a glass of fine wine, watching the moon.

▪ taking time to stop, sit and contemplate our experiences and identity is the highest form of activity

▪ Mindfulness opens the doors to immense reserves of creativity, intelligence, determination and wisdom

▪ We should strive to give the smallest tasks our full and complete attention. We should strive for complete focus in everything we do,

▪ we must get on with life, it behooves us to do so with good grace, and to accomplish our tasks without question.

▪ We should not fear the future. We should fear the many moments we let slip here and now. The answer is simple: develop our ability to focus, and reject nonessential, ‘parasitical’ thoughts. The only thing that matters is what you are doing now, in the present. Take things slowly, and focus on the moment. The ability to influence the quality of the moment in hand is one of our most precious gifts.

▪ Thinking ahead is vital, even while focusing on the present.

▪ Montaigne said that a life lived to the fullest is a life enriched and nourished by ritual

▪ Take a nap when you can, even five minutes at your desk

▪ Live life at a slower pace, working less. Refuse to take on extra hours, or work part time if you are able.

▪ Avoid routine. If you drink coffee, try tea. Vary your journey to work.

▪ Own little. Schedule your housework. Buy all of your shopping in one session, once a week. Keep your desktop free of paperwork, except for immediate, ongoing tasks

◆ Money: your servant, not your master

▪ Money is a force: a force that structures our lives, whether we want it to or not. Healthy circulation is a sign of a healthy body

▪ Money is energy in reserve. Being satisfied with little is one of the best ways to retain that energy.

▪ Waste means thinking you’ve got a bargain, then regretting your purchase. It means buying a cheap sweater that loses its color or shrinks the first time it’s washed, or a poor-quality mattress that hurts your back

▪ Never be financially dependent on others, and never enter the vicious circle of borrowing and debt

▪ Never spend more than you earn, and save a little each month

▪ Disorder means we often end up owning the same thing twice, cluttering our space for no reason.

▪ ECONOMIZE: EXERCISE RESTRAINT, AND ASSESS YOUR TRUE NEEDS

▪ We should apply the same principles to our possessions: our household appliances, clothes and objects. We live with so much excess that we find it hard to contemplate the alternativ

◆ Beauty is a need

▪ Zen philosophy is wary of art objects and the signed imprint of an artist on a work. It requires a man to be neither master nor slave of things and others, nor a slave to himself and his emotions, principles or desires. In Zen, beauty is a state of non-preoccupation, of liberation from all things. Once this state has been achieved, everything becomes beautiful. It is a state of mind, the acceptance of the inevitable, the appreciation of the cosmic order, material poverty and spiritual wealth

▪ Japanese people have always embraced minimalism – but a form of minimalism of which beauty is an intrinsic part.

▪ Zen liberates us from confusion in all its forms, even material or physical disorder. Zen teaches us that the simpler we are, the stronger we become.

▪ As human beings, we need more beauty than we realize, or may seem reasonable. Our soul needs beauty just as our body needs air, water and food. Without beauty, we become sad, depressed, sometimes even deranged.

▪ Style and beauty help us to progress, and surpass ourselves.

▪ In Japan, beautiful deportment and gestures express the perfect balance between intent and effort

◆ ‘Less for more’ order and cleanliness

▪ ‘Order is the shape upon which beauty depends.’

Pearl Buck

▪ Never accept anything you don’t want.

▪ Get rid of anything you haven’t used at least once in the past year.

▪ Adopt a personal mantra: I want only essential things

▪ Ask yourself: why do I keep that?

◆ Part II: Body

▪ Taking care of your body means setting it free.

◆ Finding your own image

▪ A woman is attractive because she feels attractive

▪ Practice letting go of negative emotions as lightly and easily as possible: they cannot touch you. This is the best way to preserve your vital resources, and far more effective than a luxury body cream

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◆ Finding your own image

▪ Try to remain neutral, quietly detached and uninvolved: you will feel more serene, and look more beautiful.

▪ Style is not limited to your clothes, or your physique; it’s an outer sign of inner intelligence.

▪ If you fail to take care of your body, you will fall victim to its shortcomings

▪ We have a duty to maintain a clean, well-groomed appearance. No one needs to be ‘born beautiful’, we can all make ourselves more attractive by keeping to a few simple rules, cultivating self-awareness and making a conscious choice not to abuse our bodies

▪ The desire to be physically pleasing is not superficial – it’s a question of respect. Beauty is not always heaven-sent. It’s a discipline, and mankind has pursued it since the dawn of time. Physical beauty depends largely on health and self-confidence.

▪ Assert your presence through your personal conduct. Find the seated posture that suits you best: your pride and self-esteem will grow

▪ concentrate on the simple act of being

▪ Release the tension from your face, and it will vanish inside, too

▪ PERFECT YOUR ACTIONS ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’

Aristotle

▪ We reveal ourselves to others through our actions. Find the gestures and attitudes that suit you best. Find strength and repose in beautiful manners. A dignified posture when sitting is an affirmation of inner freedom and harmony

▪ When the body masters its own form, the spirit is free to accomplish more.

▪ The body should be considered not as a ‘mass’ but as an ensemble of expressive gestures and attitudes. More than ‘objective’ beauty, a person’s facial expressions and movement are what make them pleasant to look at.

▪ Everyone should try to find the most natural, appropriate gestures for them, the most harmonious way to use their body

▪ Beauty lies in the texture and tone of the skin, in properly exercised, supple muscles, a slim silhouette, a greater delicacy of gesture, fluidity of movement and a dignified posture

▪ to speak more correctly, and to regulate our flow of words.

▪ Everything can be practiced and refined

▪ When an action is repeated, it becomes anchored deep inside us.

◆ Freeing the body: sleep and other treatments

▪ ‘Well-groomed people are the real beauties. It doesn’t matter what they’re wearing or who they’re with or how much their jewelry costs or how much their clothes cost or how perfect their makeup is:

▪ Self-assured women with a strong presence are always perfectly groomed

◆ Skin, hair and nails

▪ Loving your skin while you care for it is like talking to a plant when it’s watered: the result will be more beautiful

▪ expensive soap, lotions or creams are unnecessary

◆ No more impurities

▪ a system loaded with toxins cannot function correctly

◆ Fitness without the gym

▪ Our quality of life depends on how attentive we are to our actions, thoughts and choices. T

▪ Yoga, in particular, enhances beauty – and not only physical beauty. Yoga generates a unique light, charisma and aura all its own.

▪ A yogi channels the entire universe and transmits it as positive energy

▪ Through discipline, the practitioner achieves release from material comforts and physical laziness, and attains a state of perfect tranquillity

▪ Avoid tedium by transforming ordinary tasks into rituals. Everything can be accomplished with aesthetic flair, even chores.

▪ Try to focus on your activity to the exclusion of all else, engage in it conscientiously, see it through to completion. Don’t hurry, and don’t think about anything else. Be content to partake of this activity, here and now. Rediscover the riches inherent in actions or gestures that have become a part of your very being; bring to them the same freshness and enthusiasm as you did the very first time.

▪ Practice focusing your concentration on all that you are. Strive continually to surpass yourself, to do things better than eve

▪ The best way to ensure your everyday gestures remain supple and ‘fluent’ is to own only things that are beautiful and useful. They are our source of grace. Act slowly and gracefully, but practice swiftness, too.

◆ Eating too much

▪ ‘The worst disease is scorn of one’s own body.’ ~ Montaigne

◆ Mealtimes: simple quality

▪ the wooden bowl symbolizes poverty and frugality. It is a quiet statement of opposition to the excesses and opulence of Western society,

◆ How to be hungry

▪ alcohol, like tobacco, hardens the blood vessels, accelerating the aging process.

▪ a teaspoon of apple vinegar, and a teaspoon of honey each morning in a glass of hot or ice-cold water. The vinegar is said to eliminate excess proteins, and has all the properties of fresh apples. It can dissolve toxins trapped in our joints, contribute potassium and help the body stay supple.

▪ Having to explain what you’re doing to people who are not aware of these techniques, and who may doubt their effectiveness, will dilute your energy

◆ Part III: Mind

▪ Seneca urges us to protect the self, to arm it, respect it, honor it and take ownership of it; to keep it within our sight, and to organize our lives around it

▪ Genuine self-knowledge, he maintains, is the greatest, and the only legitimate, lasting, unshakable source of joy: ‘most powerful is he who has himself in his own power’

◆ A purer spirit

▪ Feelings of rebellion, fear, jealousy, frustration, hatred and resentment are mentally and physically self-destructive

▪ A life lived without cultivating an awareness of who we truly are leads to self-deterioration and destruction.

▪ Concentrate your mind on the conviction that only good things will come, and be careful to ‘watch’ your thoughts, so that you may direct them to things that are right, excellent and reasonable

▪ Your inner thoughts are reflected in every aspect of your appearance and conduct.

▪ Energy flows from your thoughts: they are the origin of your attitude to life.

▪ You are responsible for your own existence. The world you create around you is its reflection.

▪ Health is a question of attitude. Living well means never letting go of the very best of yourself, deep down inside.

▪ The way you think and express yourself conditions your physical conduct, your posture and your well-being (or lack of it). You will only grow strong if you know how to lead a peaceful, balanced existence.

▪ The followers of Wu Wei believed that the best phase of existence begins when we have cleared our minds of useless thoughts

▪ True self-esteem comes when we master our self-image as the pathway to liberation

▪ Don’t tackle or ‘treat’ your problems: rise above them. Focusing on a problem keeps it alive and prevents you from moving on.

▪ The more we focus on things we don’t want to think about, the more power they will have over us

▪ Let the question rest, and settle, like still water. Soon, something magical will take place in your subconscious.

▪ When we obsess about a problem, or something that irritates us, we forget the wonders and possibilities of life. We see only what is lacking, the injustice,

▪ anxiety is the result of uncertainty

▪ negativity is the result of low energy and self-esteem

◆ Self-control: all in the mind

▪ living a balanced lifestyle, showing good sense and respect for the environment. Our ambitions and principles are the pillars of our existence. Without them, we lack direction and feel lost.

◆ Mindfulness and meditation

▪ Only let the troubled waters be calm, and the sun and moon will be reflected on the surface of your being.

▪ From time to time, set your own image aside and revisit the sensation of being someone completely new

▪ The Zen Buddhist master Deshimaru said that thoughts should be allowed to float like clouds in the sky

▪ Meditation enhances blood circulation and memory.

▪ QUIET MORNINGS ‘I decided to … have no special attitude of mind whatsoever … it seemed that I threw myself away as well, for quite suddenly the weight of my own body disappeared. I felt that I owned nothing, not even a self, and that nothing owned me. The whole world became as transparent and unobstructed as my own mind.’ ~ Alan Watts

▪ ‘Stop talking and thinking: there will be nothing you cannot understand.’ ~ Buddhist proverb

◆ Simplify your contacts

▪ ‘Only the perfect man can live among his peers without accepting their prejudices. He adapts to them without losing his personality. He learns nothing from them and recognizes their aspirations without making them his own.’ ~ Zhuang Zhou

▪ Break off sterile relationships. End relationships that give you no support. In love, never be the slave of the person you desire. Avoid people of little intelligence. Better not to spend time with them, than to criticize them

▪ Intolerant, uncomprehending people can prevent us from growing and moving forward. Slowly but surely diminish their importance in your life. And don’t waste another minute thinking about people you don’t like.

◆ Out and about

▪ When you compromise your dreams or values for another person, you lose a little of yourself and your strength

▪ Don’t be the person everyone expects you to be – be the person you want to be. Know precisely and firmly the things you want and do not want in your life. Be independent. Have the courage to say ‘no’ with a smile, and with no excuses.

▪ avoid financial transactions with your friends if you don’t want to cloud your friendship

▪ Practice your own strict economy of nonessential words and gestures in the presence of others

▪ Take a deep breath before speaking. You will be shown more attention and respect. Let others speak freely. Let them finish what they have to say.

▪ Talking too much drains our energy and deprives our words of weight.

▪ The more we speak, the more distanced we become from others and ourselves

▪ Avoid metaphysical and religious discussions

▪ Self-control is essential for good relationships with others. Avoid parading your knowledge and expertise or posing as a fount of philosophical wisdom

◆ Altruism and solitude

▪ Altruism and solitude TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, TO CARE BETTER FOR OTHERS

▪ People who expect nothing, regret nothing and have nothing to lose are to be admired.

▪ Whatever you do, don’t try to change other people. This will only complicate your life, drain your energy and leave you feeling helpless and frustrated.

▪ The only way to influence others is by example: behave in such a way that they will seek to emulate your lifestyle, your attitudes, your ideas

▪ If you seek to defend your position, you will simply be wasting your energy.

▪ Maintaining your integrity requires detachment. You have no need to aspire to be like others, or to be different from them

▪ Our greatest gift to other people is to behave in such a way that they aspire to become simpler and more spontaneous themselve

▪ Offering practical help to others is a good thing, but helping them to think for themselves is far more important.

▪ We are impoverished by our belief that happiness comes with material possessions. Impoverished when we allow ourselves to be influenced by advertising. Impoverished when we allow ourselves to be caught up in the relentless machinery of competitiveness. Impoverished when we cannot free ourselves to live simpler lives. Impoverished when we attach labels to everything, even to generosity itself.

▪ Being alone is not a choice, it is our original condition. We are all alone, deep down inside. Solitude can be difficult for a person who is unused to it but, over time, it becomes a precious commodity. Physical solitude is not to be feared, but spiritual solitude is. If we feel alone in our heart, how can we truly experience contact with others,

▪ Appreciate solitude. Consider it a privilege, not an ordeal. It is a gift from heaven, and the essential condition for self-advancement, the consideration of serious topics, or effective work. Moments of solitude enable us to plant seeds that will grow and flourish in unknown, still-undiscovered phases of life

▪ Living alone is an art to be learned and cultivated. There are so many things we can accomplish in silence and solitude! Meditating, reading, dreaming, imagining, creating, taking care of ourselves.

◆ Be ready to change

▪ Successful’ people (great job, beautiful family…) never doubt their own ability to obtain the things they aspire to

▪ Success is rooted in the mind, and finds expression in the material world, never the other way around. To obtain prosperity, you must first create it in your own min

▪ Provided we keep an open mind and are receptive, we can make use of all the intelligence lying untapped in the spheres of our subconscious mind

▪ Choose to obtain the things you dream of, or your fears will be realized instead

▪ Identify the problem clearly. Ask your subconscious to find a solution and relax in the certainty that everything will turn out for the best. If

▪ Your own words have the power to cleanse your spirit of false ideas, and to instill right ideas in their place

▪ If we imagine an experience with sufficient intensity, a whole range of involuntary reactions will be set in motion, conforming precisely to what we have ‘foreseen’ in our mind’s eye.

▪ Loving yourself is the way to happiness. Accept yourself, and you will be freed from anxious thoughts about what others think of you. Respect your dreams, follow your desires. THE

▪ The more we polish and shape ourselves, the more we sparkle and the more others are attracted to what they see. Apply yourself to the pursuit of perfection: it is the key to long life.

▪ DAY COMMIT TO YOUR GOALS Even if you only fulfill six tasks out of ten, congratulate yourself. We should all do a little more each day – even for five minutes – to bring us closer to our dreams: make

▪ A person who depends on others to get what he or she wants is a beggar

▪ Speak to the things that are not within your power: tell them that they are nothing to you

◆ Reading and writing

▪ Read in peace and quiet, without music, coffee or biscuits. After a chapter or a few pages, close the book and think about what you have read

▪ Practice knowing and expressing exactly what it is you want

▪ If we do not define exactly where we are, how can we choose to take another direction and move on

▪ Don’t spend your money on new material possessions, spend it on learning instead. Knowledge is the one thing that can never be taken away. It’s an investment whose value can only grow.

◆ Exercises and discipline

▪ An exercise is only beneficial if it is undertaken in a positive, pleasant and fruitful way. Then and only then will it be experienced as a need, and repeated regularly.

▪ First thing each morning, set the program for your day. Remember the overall aim of everything you do. Tell yourself that you are journeying towards your own perfection. Each new day is a step up in your life.

▪ But avoid straying into narcissism.

▪ Many people have money, but live impoverished lives

▪ for Meister Eckhart, as for Buddhists, the true causes of human misery are acquisitiveness, a hunger for possessions, and an insatiable ego.

▪ A person with few possessions is not impoverished, but a person who constantly desires more is.

▪ We should all deprive ourselves of ‘luxuries’ from time to time, in order not to suffer if fate robs us of everything one day.

▪ Practice poverty so that you will not fear it: if you’re in the habit of drinking only the finest quality arabica, try instant coffee once a week.

▪ Be wary of virtue and organized religion, especially if it appears fundamentally lifeless and formal. We do not need to be part of a community to live with compassion and humility

▪ In ancient Japan, hermits practiced lives of simplicity and poverty that were celebrated as art forms, living in modest homes, eating little, owning little, barely going out in society

▪ the true definition of wastefulness is having things we do not enjoy or use. When we have too much, we overlook so many opportunities.

▪ Simplicity requires balance. It means measuring the extent of our appreciation of the material world, and taking effective advantage of the happiness available to us. It means making wise use of our money, time and possessions.

▪ We can achieve our goals by focusing on the essential, the beautiful, on perfection.

▪ Our primary concern should always be a more profound recognition of our inner self, yet we waste time and precious energy accumulating objects and possessions, and seeking pleasure in food, drink and exciting experiences

▪ If we want to journey far, we must start out quietly and pace ourselves, or we will exhaust our reserves

◆ Economize your energy

▪ Each individual is the projection of a host of different expressions and activities. Each of us is activated by the quality of the matter from which we are made. But matter is driven by the mind.

▪ In China, Taoism uses qi to attain higher levels of physical and spiritual energy. We know that our state of mind can alter the way our bodies function and look. Hence we know, too, that change is possible if we desire it powerfully enough. To make change happen, we must summon and concentrate our psychic energy.

▪ Don’t think of someone as a body, but as a current of living energy.’ ~ Mishima

▪ Reach out to the things that bring you satisfaction, personal enrichment and liberation

▪ If we define clearly what we want, and why we want it, we can listen to the small inner voice that is our guide. This is why thinking and dreaming about the things we desire is good for us.

▪ For this, our body must be in peak condition – it is the mind’s ally in the effort to access greater reserves of energy

▪ SAVE YOUR ENERGY An overworked mind is associated with an unhealthy body. If you do not live simply and frugally, if you do not keep your body supple and stress-free, if you fail to respect others, or the natural world, your health will suffer. You will find it difficult to control your anxiety and lead a happy, contented life

▪ Ideas that do not become deeply held convictions will have no impact

▪ the absence of disease depends on our degree of psychic awareness, and the balance we strive to maintain.

▪ QI AND ENTHUSIASM Discard negative thoughts and concentrate your energies on what you truly want to be or have

▪ Do not cultivate a taste for sorrowful things, he wrote, even if they are beautiful.

▪ Enthusiasm is an emotion that spurs us into action. It is a powerful energy form, to be cultivated with dedication

▪ The transformation of the body is essential if it is to be purified and its essence preserved.

▪ Dead’ foods lead to death. Too much food blocks our energy.

◆ In conclusion

▪ Setting out for an unknown destination, with no ties or obligations, minimal luggage, and the world at your feet is a joy!

▪ Laughter relaxes and unlines the face, helping emotions of all kinds to rise to the surface. People who laugh are seldom ill.

▪ Happiness depends on the smallest of things: we should never give up trying to be free, modest, pleasant and sociable.

▪ Accept the inevitable with grace, and tell yourself that the experience will be helpful, somehow. Avoid whatever can be avoided, and face the rest steadfastly and patiently

▪ A failure to accept life as it is prevents us from growing and moving on

▪ Take one step, then another, but don’t look too far ahead, or too far behind

▪ The more an individual’s life is filled with spirituality, the better they will know how to live in the present moment, and the more fully they will live in their own body

 Dominique Loreau - L'art de la Simplicité_ How to Live More with Less-St. Martin's Publishing Group (2017).epub