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Kath, Jim, Gerry, Joe, Mark, Julie, Bob, Colin, Dave, Laura, Linda, Marcia, Lenny, Victoria, Roberto, Terry, Mary, Nancy, Shel, Ross and Mike welcomed Melissa, Tom, Joan and Seowa to their first meeting.

Mike opened the space with a brief round of introductions. The group then created the following list of discussion topics:

* Your Year In Review/New Years Resolutions Good or Bad Idea? (Colin & Jim)

* Car Sharing (Marcia)

* How To Deal With Holiday Excess (Shel)

* The Garden of Simplicity - 10 Approaches to Simplicity (Jim)

* "Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting", the power of feelings (Mike)

* Renewable Energy, Conservation, Efficiency (Jim)

• NAME TAGS
  Several folks have suggested using name tags. If you have a name tag, please begin bringing it to the meetings.
• VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY WESTERN SUBURBS Meetings...
  1st Wednesday of the month (next meeting is January 7, 2004)
  7-9:00pm
  Location varies => contact Kath at: KCamasto (at) sbcglobal (dot) net
• VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY NORTHWEST INDIANA Meetings...
  3rd Saturday of the month (next meeting is January 17, 2004)
  Munster Library, 8701 Calumet Avenue, Munster, IN
  For directions call, 219-836-8450 (Library)

TOPICS:

(*) CAR SHARING (Marcia)...
Most times Marcia finds public transportation (PT) is perfectly fine for commuting to work. There are situations however when getting to a work assignment by PT just doesn't work. Marcia has looked into I-Go! (Chicago car sharing program), but the $6/hour fee adds up to $60 for the occasion she needs a car. Are there other alternatives?

Suggestions included renting and calling I-Go! to let them know of her specific need => maybe another I-Go! member could use the car while Marcia is a work, thus reducing the overall cost. Maybe there are I-Go! members Marcia could link up with to share the overall cost. Asking neighbors, friends and the VS Chicago group about sharing a car/ride were other ideas from the discussion.

The group also noted taking a cab might not be as costly at it seems when compared to the overall costs of money and time when owing a car. Mike mentioned his total cost of buying, maintaining, insuring, fueling, parking, selling... one of their cars in the suburbs came to $34,000 (from 1985 to 2003, ~ $2000/year, ~ $0.17/mile). And Lenny noted Mike did a lot of the maintenance himself, so total costs would have been even higher. Tom said he's got his car expenses down to $1000/year by buying very dependable, low maintenance used vehicles. Roberto finds buying new and driving until "the wheels fall off" works well for him, unless "...someone hits you and totals your car -- it cost me $5000 to replace a totaled vehicle that insurance covered for only $2000". The point is to be aware of the total costs of owning, then compare that to renting occasionally or taking a cab.

If anyone in the VS Chicago group is interested in getting in contact with Marcia about sharing a car/ride, contact Mike at VSChicago@juno.com.

(*) HOLIDAY EXCESS (Shel)...
Always a great topic, and one that never seems to run out of ideas. Group discussion included strategies to eliminate extreme gifts, how to give just one gift, and why give just to give. Some folks prefer to give gifts as they find them and where they are appropriate for the person (not necessarily at appointed times like Christmas or birthdays).

A good idea for gift giving is to give people what they gave you => not the same gift, but take a note of what they gave you over the last few years. Most people tend to give what they would like to receive so you can filter out your own bias and make them happy.

(*) REVIEW of YEAR/RESOLUTIONS - GOOD/BAD IDEA? (Jim, and Colin/notes)...
Julie had hit some of her targets for the year but had missed some. Although she regretted this she saw that it was partly because her circumstances had changed and she had adapted to them. The group thought it was important to adapt and to rethink targets - too ambitious, etc. periodically, but know the difference between a reason and an excuse.

Dave resolved to start tracking his expenses this year and this has highlighted several key things for him. Year end can also be a good time to review credit card summary statements for where money went for those who do not track in more detail.

Cutting back spending following a new resolution can often lead to bounce back when you feel deprived. It is better to adjust your lifestyle rather than go for a crash diet type approach.

Kath felt uncomfortable with rigid goals and preferred general aims which allowed for other activities e.g. they had planned to refinance but their solar installation and selling their extra car were just good things that fitted. Several people felt that they wanted a "softer" word than resolution, target, goal, etc.

Dave sets monthly goals and achieves 80% of them. The other 20% is rolled into the next month. Some things never get done and should be dumped. We can do a "triage" on goals or tasks to determine which ones really matter, especially if time is limited.

Many people wanted to declutter but again this often works best if done as part of your lifestyle eg Julie uses the 5 a day challenge where you have to remove 5 pieces of clutter every day. Others keep a thrift store donation pile to add decluttering stuff to.

Several people are breaking out and doing new things . Not necessarily linked to the New Year but they are reinventing their lives regardless of any goals that they set.

Resolutions can be continual and change along the way as we get more aligned with our real values. We can do both money , and time tracking to gather data and then use this to set new resolutions /targets. Once a year is probably too coarse an adjustment and is often too loaded.

(*) "EXCUSE ME, YOUR LIFE IS WAITING" (Mike)...
This is a book about,"...the astonishing power of feelings". Author Lynn Grabhorn says she's found a way to make the Law of Attraction work every time => "...feeeel what you want". This is an extension to the idea of what you think about expands. Think about what you don't want all the time, and that's exactly what shows up in your life.

Grabhorn says it's the emotion we attach to our thoughts that speeds the process of attraction. Think about something you really want and think about the emotional feeling of actually getting what you want. You want to be out of debt? Ask yourself, "Why?" "So I can pay my bills." Ask why again, "So I can feel better". Why? "Because I hate being uptight." Why? "Because it makes me feel bad." (Getting close.) "So how would you rather feel?" "Free! I want to feel free!" Feeling "Free!" is the feeling Grabhorn says to experience, and to add to your want. And experience this for 16 seconds, as many times a day as you can.

Why 16 seconds? Grabhorn says that's the usual amount of time one spends thinking about AND feeling what they don't want, what they fear. So turn it around, think about what you want AND attach a credible feeling to that thought. Hold it in your mind for 16 seconds and let your body experience the feeling.

Good group discussion followed => pros/cons to Grabhorn's approach, getting close to your purpose, how to not be afraid to pursue a "calling"/strong instinct, another book - "Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway", recognizing something different then you expected... Linda noted when you have a clear picture of what you want, you recognize it when it comes your way, even if it wasn't exactly what you thought. Like a grocery or shopping list, you create the list, look at it in the store, then find the item on the shelf. And sometimes the item you need isn't there, BUT you discover something else that will work just fine or even better.

(*) RENEWABLE ENERGY (Jim/notes)...
We primarily discussed two common forms of "harvesting" renewable energy: solar thermal (sun to heat) and solar photovoltaic (sun to electricity). Jim Camasto described a solar thermal system that he recently installed on his home in Naperville: Four 4'x10' thermal panels, one 120gal tank, heat exchanger, piping, and pumps collect sunlight to heat 90% of the home's hot water usage (over the year) and supplement space heating by as much as 30-40%. A new high-efficiency gas furnace (which provides the majority of space heating) was paid for with a $5000 rebate available in Illinois for installing the solar system! Collecting solar energy in for heating purposes is cost efficient already, with payback periods in typically around 7-10 years, and sooner as the cost of gas (or use) increases. What's the payback period for your existing heating system? As long as you're heating your home and hot water, its infinite...

Also discussed were ways to minimize your energy consumption: through efficient appliances, fluorescent lights, conservation, insulation, efficient windows and weatherproofing. These measures get the most "bang for the buck", and should always be considered first. Further more, they allow for a smaller (and less expensive) solar system to be utilized or retrofitted.

We discussed "passive" solar collection, the preferred method of harvesting solar thermal energy, which eliminates "active" collectors, pumps, and storage tanks. Sunlight passes through southern facing windows to heat a "thermal mass" (concrete floors are common) within a well-insulated shell. Passive collection (and natural daylighting) is best integrated into the structure during its initial construction. Virtually any building materials can be utilized -from conventional, to exotic, or uncommon (strawbale, rammed earth), but building orientation and is key. Often the entire heating system can be eliminated, or just a small supplemental (or backup) stove is required.

Photovoltaics harvest the sun to generate electricity, most commonly with panels (or unique roofing materials). These systems can be "inter tied" to the grid (in Illinois, with a meter that runs in both directions) and avoid the cost and maintenance of a battery storage bank. However, those independent minded folks my wish for a battery storage bank, so that the may functions during power outages. Collecting solar energy for electricity is not yet cost efficient (in terms of "payback period") for most people in Illinois.

Finally, many people "go solar" for a variety of important reasons beyond cost savings. Common incentives are: minimizing environmental impact, energy footprint, pollution & waste with "green" energy (clean, safe, renewable, decentralized, un-monopolized, war-free energy), independence and security, and setting an example for others.

Please feel free to contact Jim Camasto (JCamasto at sbcglobal dot net) for anything regarding Renewable Energy in Illinois (questions, info, photos, resources, tours).

(*) GARDEN OF SIMPLICITY (Jim/notes)...
(printed in Natural Life Magazine Nov/Dec 2003)
Simplicity of living is not a new idea. It has deep roots in history and finds expression in all of the world's wisdom traditions. More than two thousand years ago, in the same historical period that Christians were saying "Give me neither poverty nor wealth," (Proverbs 30:8), the Taoists were asserting "He who knows he has enough is rich" (Lao Tzu), Plato and Aristotle were proclaiming the importance of the "golden mean" of a path through life with neither excess nor deficit, and the Buddhists were encouraging a "middle way" between poverty and mindless accumulation. Clearly, the simple life is not a new social invention. What is new are the radically changing ecological, social and psycho-spiritual circumstances of the modern world.

The push toward simpler ways of living was clearly described in 1992 when over 1,600 of the world's senior scientists, including a majority of the living Nobel laureates in the sciences, signed an unprecedented "Warning to Humanity." In this historic statement, they declared that, "human beings and the natural world are on a collision course... that may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know." They concluded that: "A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated. "Roughly a decade later came a related warning from 100 Nobel Prize winners who said, "The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem not from the irrational acts of states or individuals but from the legitimate demands of the world's dispossessed." As these two warnings by the world's elder scientists indicate, powerful adversity trends (such as global climate change, the depletion of key resources such as water and cheap oil, a burgeoning population, and a growing gap between the rich and poor) are converging into a whole-systems crisis, creating the possibility of an evolutionary crash within this generation. If we are to create instead an evolutionary bounce or leap forward, it will surely include a shift toward simpler, more sustainable and satisfying ways of living.

Although the pushes toward simpler ways of living are strong, the pulls toward this way of life seem equally compelling. Most people are not choosing to live more simply from a feeling of sacrifice; rather, they are seeking deeper sources of satisfaction than are being offered by a high stress, consumption-obsessed society. To illustrate, while real incomes doubled in the U.S. in the past generation, the percentage of the population reporting they are very happy has remained unchanged (roughly one-third) and, at the same time, divorce rates have doubled and teen suicide rates have tripled. A whole generation has tasted the fruits of an affluent society and has discovered that money does not buy happiness. In the search for satisfaction, millions of people are not only "downshifting" or pulling back from the rat race, they are also "upshifting" or moving ahead into a life that is, though materially more modest, rich with family, friends, community, creative work in the world and a soulful connection with the universe.

In response to the unique pushes and pulls of modem conditions, in the United States and a dozen or so other "postmodern" nations, a trend toward simpler living has evolved from a fringe movement in the 1960s to a respected part of the mainstream culture in the 2000s. Now glossy magazines tout the' simple life from the newsstands, while it has become a popular theme on major television talk shows. Surveys show a distinct subpopulation - conservatively estimated at 10 percent of the U.S. adult population or 20 million people - is pioneering a way of life that is outwardly more sustainable and inwardly more spiritual.

Importantly, the simple life is not simple. Many diverse expressions of simplicity of living are flowering in response to the challenges and opportunities of our times. To present a more realistic picture of the scope and expression of this way of life for today's complex world, here are ten different approaches that I see thriving in a "garden of simplicity". Although there is overlap among them, each expression of simplicity seems sufficiently distinct to warrant a separate category. So there would be no favoritism in listing, they are placed in alphabetical order based on the brief name I associated with each.

1. Choiceful Simplicity: Simplicity means choosing our path through life consciously, deliberately and of our own accord. As a path that emphasizes freedom, a choiceful simplicity also means staying focused, diving deep and not being distracted by consumer culture. It means consciously organizing our lives so that we give our "true gifts" to the world - which is to give the essence of ourselves. As Emerson said, "The only true gift is a portion of yourself."
2. Commercial Simplicity: Simplicity means there is a rapidly growing market for healthy and sustainable products and services of all kinds - from home building materials and energy systems to foods. When the need for a sustainable infrastructure in developing nations is combined with the need to retrofit and redesign the homes, cities, workplaces and transportation systems of "developed" nations, then it is clear that an enormous expansion of highly purposeful economic activity will unfold with a shift toward sustainability.
3. Compassionate Simplicity: Simplicity means to feel such a sense of kinship with others that we "choose to live simply so that others may simply live". A compassionate simplicity means feeling a bond with the community of life and drawn toward a path of reconciliation - with other species and future generations as well as, for example, between those with great differences of wealth and opportunity. A compassionate simplicity is a path of cooperation and fairness that seeks a future of mutually assured development for all.
4. Ecological Simplicity: Simplicity means to choose ways of living that touch the Earth more lightly and that reduce our ecological footprint. An ecological simplicity appreciates our deep interconnection with the web of life and is mobilized by threats to its well being (such as climate change, species extinction, and resource depletion). It also fosters "natural capitalism" or economic practices that value the importance of natural eco-systems and healthy people for a productive economy, from local to global.
5. Elegant Simplicity: Simplicity means that the way we live our lives represents a work of unfolding artistry. As Gandhi said, "My life is my message." In this spirit, an elegant simplicity is an understated, organic aesthetic that contrasts with the excess of consumerist lifestyles. Drawing from influences ranging from Zen to the Quakers, it celebrates natural materials and clean, functional expressions, such as are found in many of the hand-made arts and crafts from this community.
6. Frugal Simplicity: Simplicity means that, by cutting back on spending that is not truly serving our lives, and by practicing skillful management of our personal finances, we can achieve greater financial independence. Frugality and careful financial management bring increased financial freedom and the opportunity to more consciously choose our path through life. Living with less also decreases the impact of our consumption upon the Earth and frees resources for others.
7. Natural Simplicity: Simplicity means to remember our deep roots in the natural world. It means to experience our connection with the ecology of life in which we are immersed and to balance our experience of the human-created environments with time in nature. It also means to celebrate the experience of living through the miracle of the Earth's seasons. A natural simplicity feels a deep reverence for the community of life on Earth and accepts that the non-human realms of plants and animals have their dignity and rights as well the human.
8. Political Simplicity: Simplicity means organizing our collective lives in ways that enable us to live more lightly and sustainably on the Earth which, in turn, involves changes in nearly every area of public life - from transportation and education to the design of our homes, cities and workplaces. The politics of simplicity is also a media politics as the mass media are the primary vehicle for reinforcing - or transforming - the mass consciousness of consumerism. Political simplicity is a politics of conversations and community that builds from local, face-to-face connections to networks of relationships emerging around the world through the enabling power of television and the Internet.
9. Soulful Simplicity: Simplicity means to approach life as a meditation and to cultivate our experience of intimate connection with all that exists. A spiritual presence infuses the world and, by living simply, we can more directly awaken to the living universe that surrounds and sustains us, moment by moment. Soulful simplicity is more concerned with consciously tasting life in its unadorned richness than with a particular standard or manner of material living. In cultivating a soulful connection with life, we tend to look beyond surface appearances and bring our interior aliveness into relationships of all kinds.
10. Uncluttered Simplicity: Simplicity means taking charge of a life that is too busy, too stressed and too fragmented. An uncluttered simplicity means cutting back on trivial distractions, both material and non-material, and focusing on the essentials-whatever those may be for each of our unique lives. As Thoreau said, "Our life is frittered away by detail ... Simplify, simplify." Or, as Plato wrote, "In order to seek one's own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life."

As these ten approaches illustrate, the growing culture of simplicity contains a flourishing garden of expressions whose great diversity - and intertwined unity - are creating a resilient and hardy ecology of learning about how to live more sustainable and meaningful lives. As with other ecosystems, it is the diversity of expressions that fosters flexibility, adaptability and resilience. Because there are so many pathways of great relevance into the garden of simplicity, this cultural movement appears to have enormous potential to grow - particularly if it is nurtured and cultivated in the mass media as a legitimate, creative and promising life-path for the future.

Our evolutionary intelligence is now being tested. The choices made within this generation will reverberate into the deep future. Although human societies have confronted major hurdles throughout history, the challenges of our era are genuinely unique. Never before have so many people have been called upon to make such sweeping changes in so little time. Never before has the entire human family been entrusted with the task of working together to imagine and then consciously build a sustainable, just and compassionate future. Seeds growing for the past generation in the garden of simplicity are now blossoming into the springtime of their relevance for the Earth. May the garden thrive.

We closed the meeting space and vacated the building by 11:50pm. We adjourned to Laura's home for a wonderful vegetarian potluck lunch, conversation and community (and the party may still be going on!).
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