Can someone embrace a lifestyle without changing philosophies ?

K

Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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No I am not thinking of becoming a warrior monk traipsing through the countryside with my wooden sword avenging desperate widows . Although......

Is it possible to become more Spartan in ones approach to life ?
I do not necessarily mean to become more severe . I speak more of the choices made in what I allow to surround me . I do not wish to live in a cell on a cot . I do wish to be less restricted by my choices in life .

This is certainly an unclear and perhaps even a slightly ambiguous question/statement . I need more input to be able to clarify my position .
I will give you an example of the choices I have made to further myself .
I am giving up my bedroom in order to have a small workshop . Its going to be Futon city in the living room from now on . Not exactly the biggest sacrfice in the world . Sacrifice is not my objective so much as a by product of what I wish to accomplish .
 
It's not only possible to make one's lifestyle more spartan, it sometimes becomes necessary. :cool:
 
It sounds like you are listening to your heart, and your heart is telling you to change a few things.

I am changing my lifestyle as a result of a major philosophical/spiritual shift, but I don't think it has to go that route by any means.

Change what needs changing IMO:) :thumbup:
 
You see I like my philosophy and of course it evolves along with myself . Its not popular among mainstream society and I,ve learned to adapt to that as well . I guess what I am looking for is alternatives . I know some aboriginal societies have a warrior class within them and at fifty years old in one month along with related issues I don,t think it is exactly what I am looking for . I do want to explore options that perhaps demand a change of lifestyle to go along with the types of goals I wish to accomplish . I am a writer and an archer . I wish to become an accomplished and published writer . I want to learn as much as I can about archery as a means to promote it and my lifestyle . The more I make myself the less I have to buy . The more spartan my lifestyle is the more I may travel to tournaments and gatherings . I,m telling you this as a way of showing what I want and need to do .
 
Seems to me that if you didn't make some sacrifices along the way you wouldn't appreciate the good things in life quite as much.

I remember High School. Kids with cars given to them beat the heck out of 'em, drove like maniacs, and tore them apart within a year or two. The kids that had to work all summer long and after school to buy a beat up old truck or something usually seemed to keep it in high repair. Analogy is wierd as hell I know, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

Off to take my meds!;)
 
I agree, change is good, and simple is better.

Personally, I have a pretty simple lifestyle. I don't make nearly as much money as most of my friends do (especially now that I'm back in school, but even before ...) but I have always been able to have the things that I want and need.

Exchanging a bedroom for shop space? That's great! I'd say, just make sure to keep a balance in your life between work, rest, play, etc...

If you give up your bedroom sanctuary to work space and find you aren't getting a good nights sleep ... then your productivity and enthusiasm for the whole thing will diminish and you may start to doubt yourself. Obviously that's not the desired effect!

What kind of shop? Wood shop? Metal shop? Barber shop? ;) :D


~ B
 
Kevin the grey said:
Its going to be Futon city in the living room ...
Click to expand...

I made this choice (hard bed on the floor) in my early teens and haven't changed much. It may seem spartan but I can lay down on just about any floor and go to sleep, whereas someone used to a soft bed usually can't. After I got married I had to appear civilized, so I started sleeping on a bed but I put a piece of plywood over the matress or futon on my side.

It's funny, but I think that those who seek after comfort find the whole world becomes uncomfortable as their standards of comfort consider to increase, and those who seek out hardship find the whole world becomes more comfortable to them.
 
Kevin the grey said:
I know some aboriginal societies have a warrior class within them and at fifty years old in one month along with related issues I don,t think it is exactly what I am looking for .
Click to expand...

When I'm fifty, I'm moving into a rest home. I'll be young enough to be in the warrior class there. :) :rolleyes: ;)

I reckon it's all from your point of view. Spartan living for the sake of calling yourself a "Spartan" is kind of goofy. Spartan living out of necessity or for cutting out decadence is good.
 
Through my studies of philosophy I have learned much and take from them ideas that I otherwise would never had thought off. With those ideas combined with some of my own additions and interpretations I have developed my own philosophy... expect the book in the next ten years... I keep putting off writing it.
 
First I'm glad this is the topic...I thought this might be some kind of "coming out" thread

Spartan to me is an attempt to be proud when you have little, but to discard in order to be spartan still sounds like an image and that is a form of surrender.
 
BruiseLeee said:
When I'm fifty, I'm moving into a rest home. I'll be young enough to be in the warrior class there. :) :rolleyes: ;)


Ouch!

Easy on the fifty stuff, Bub!

I'll run you over with my big bad truck!
Click to expand...
 
Lifestyle and philosophy are not necessarily related segments of life.

You know the answer already. You are going to sleep on a futon. Not really a "lifestyle" change.

If you don't do what you want to do when you can do it, when can it be done?

Enjoy.
 
Now if you sell all of your stuff and live off the land for a while, that would be worthy of the term lifestyle change.

But hang onto a few bucks so you can still afford to stop by an internet cafe and let us know how it is working out.
 
Aren't you rather changing philosophies and then chaning your lifestyle accordingly?

Anyway you put it, it can be done.

Not exactly about Spartan stuff, but you might enjoy reading 'Zen in the martial arts'. I forgot the author though, and cant check since I've lend it to a friend of mine. Lot's of interesting stuff to consider in that book though.

Keno
 
Try living with only solar electricity and without running water and indoor plumbing like some of the people I know. That is a real lifestyle change.
 
No I am not thinking of becoming a warrior monk traipsing through the countryside with my wooden sword avenging desperate widows . Although......

Is it possible to become more Spartan in ones approach to life ?
I do not necessarily mean to become more severe . I speak more of the choices made in what I allow to surround me . I do not wish to live in a cell on a cot . I do wish to be less restricted by my choices in life .

This is certainly an unclear and perhaps even a slightly ambiguous question/statement . I need more input to be able to clarify my position .
I will give you an example of the choices I have made to further myself .
I am giving up my bedroom in order to have a small workshop . Its going to be Futon city in the living room from now on . Not exactly the biggest sacrfice in the world . Sacrifice is not my objective so much as a by product of what I wish to accomplish .

Congratulations!!
Sounds like you are on your road.

Still your mind and listen to your Spirit.
The exciting feeling is a good clue you are on the right track.

Fear not, want not:p

Coyote Crosses
 
.

Congratulations!!
Sounds like you are on your road.

Still your mind and listen to your Spirit.
The exciting feeling is a good clue you are on the right track.

Fear not, want not:p

Coyote Crosses[/QUOTE]

REPLY : Thanks . I think you and MauiRob sais it best with a couple of others voicing similar views .

As I said living like a monk in a cell is not my goal . I think a paring down of non-essentials is what is called for . I also wish to embrace a change of lifestyle that would accomplish this by perhaps giving myself a different perspective or viewpoint .
Like Hollowdweller said the life I am living has a lot more than the basics .
In the past I have lived where if the fire went out you woke up and made another.
It was so cold the leech field froze . It was a good experience for a city dweller to not have indoor or outdoor plumbing ! It did indeed let me appreciate the little things in life .
I,m not trying to live in hardship for its own sake . There are enough people living in misery for me to want to play at it . I am just hoping for a little input on different lifestyles or social make-ups that allow people to focus on their goals .
 
Well city dweller like me may soon have to take the plunge into the the unknown path of a more spartan way of life as you may have suggested. That path is dark and unrevealing that a mortal like me has nothing but deep sincere doubt and uneasiness to downright fear of what lies ahead of our path.

Metamophesis is good. But lots of butterflies just didn't get out of that cocoon alive.
 
richardallen said:
Aren't you rather changing philosophies and then chaning your lifestyle accordingly?

Anyway you put it, it can be done.

Not exactly about Spartan stuff, but you might enjoy reading 'Zen in the martial arts'. I forgot the author though, and cant check since I've lend it to a friend of mine. Lot's of interesting stuff to consider in that book though.

Keno
Click to expand...

Richard I just finished a book about Zen in archery . Some aspects are easier to absorb than others and it is just a book after all . I,ll try to scare up a copy of that book .

On a separate note someone mentioned that I had already changed my philosophy and was chnging my lifestyle to reflect it . I agree in that our philosophies evolve with our experience . It may be that I am just using "philosophy" for point of view or role in society . As in "Today is a good day to die" sounds very philosophical to me . At least that is how I approach such things o another it can be much more literal .
 
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