I love that definition of meditation and 30 years of practice have finally gotten me to the point of moments of that acceptance. It's freeing and joyous.

How about "drink nothing but water for . . .(pick a difficult time period."

i like "buy nothing" for a year.. will study more of that :-) great post!

I have been reading your blog for a while n the last two posts are my fav... i wish i could meet u in person... i am such a fan of your writing. thank you so much.

I just found your delightful and entertaining blog from an artist friend who sent me to the Artist Survival Guide. Thank you! I also just ordered your book! I'm a fan!

"Say nothing today" comes to mind. But I'd have a hard time with that one. I wonder why? It might be nice to have a day of silence - a day when I could really focus on the sights and sounds around me. I could carry around a little tablet and a pen and scribble down my reactions.

The thought of removing one of my senses turns the flutter into a knot in the middle of my belly.

You really have a way with words.

As one who is similarly conflicted, I love that you inspired me to consider the possibilities of really letting what is be.

Love the many comments here--much food for thought.

I'd highly recommend Tom Hodgekinson.

The "buy nothing" year will extend itself...after time you are changed. You live simply for so long, you don't remember what it's like to be a consumer.

"10. no media month. (whew)"

Blogging is a medium, and so is internet.
So if we don't read a post from you for a month, then it's working =)

btw, I will be buying more of your Tear Up This Book—it's a great bday gift for my daughters' friends and cousins that are girls from ages 6-9.

great list.
we did a couple of buy nothing years (aside from food, shelter, tuition) ending just 1.5 years ago. it was difficult, but *so* rewarding, my sweetie was in grad school (we quit our jobs to move to the bay area). it was planned for a year...so we stopped buying and started saving everything we could for a year while we were both working, sold our stuff and lived for the first two years of grad school on the savings from that one year. about a year and a half ago i finally cobbled together enough income sources for us to not draw from that savings any longer. now all that "extra" income is going into our house fund. we are very proud of having done this with no student loans, no credit card debt. we continue to be debt free for more than 7 years now. all of you who are wistful about that buy nothing year. you can do it. give yourself a little grace. i had to have a cup of coffee with friends at a cafe occasionally, i had a couple of thrift store sprees ($5 limit), even during those couple of "buy nothing years" -- that was still within my boundaries.
blessings.

hi keri!!
you HAVE to try and read "how to be free" and "how to be idle" both by tom hodgkinson. he is a british journalist who has written for various newspapers and is the editor and co-founder of The Idler magazine. he TOTALLY believes in pulling back from all the business and commercialism of today, living a simpler life....and writes about alot of the stuff you mentioned in your post. i got the books in the uk--but maybe you can get hold of them where you are? if not...and you'd like to read them, let me know and i'll get hold of them for you!
take care
liz xx

You are a brave, strong soul.

Buy nothing?

Avoid media??

"Speak with accent week" will be hilarious!

Let us know how it turns out.

You inspire me.

I love the idea of buying nothing. I just recently read this article online about a group of people who challenged themselves not to purchase anything new for an entire year - with the exceptions of food and certain other items. I found the idea and the article very thought provoking....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/17/AR2006121701122.html

I might try it too... but perhaps for only a week or a month.
thanks for the inspiring posts!

Buy nothing year appeals to me the most. I love reading about people who do things like that, it thrills me a little. I'm not planning to try it yet, I just enjoy the idea of it.

i love your experiments. i did one several years ago that has become an annual tradition: i celebrate an independence day. it's my own holiday during which i remind myself that i really am entirely free to do whatever i want to do. over the years i have done everything from spend ridiculous amounts of money, to walk out of work in the middle of the day (without fibbing why), to extending the length of the celebration from one day to four days, to taking a train to another state just to wander around. the most interesting years came later though, when i realized that i am usually just as happy to do what i USUALLY do. that i do most of the things that i normally for good reasons that i enjoy. anyway, this comment is too long. i just wanted to share. (thank you for sharing as always!) nowadays, lent is my period for personal experiments like these.

i love your list of life experiments. I get obsessed with them as well. My most recent favourite that I think I might try is cooking all my own food from scratch for a while--having big sacks of flour and sugar, some eggs, fresh vegetables etc. i think it would be a creative outlet and rewarding to eat and i'd learn to appreciate time and process. I get so excited just thinking about it. If you think of any more experiments let us know!

This sentence, this one right here...

"So this concept of not doing anything kind of shakes me up in the way that a large carnival ride might, terror mixed with pure exhilaration and daring in equal parts. I don't know whether to run screaming or to jump right in with both feet."

...describes that feeling with exact and beautiful perfection. Good job.

Buy nothing year would be great but it would be a tad difficult considering most people have to eat, and unless you live somewhere you can raise/grow your own food...it would sort of be impossible.
And I suppose I already have one sense removed - I have no sense of smell.

I love this! I got chills reading this post. Much food for thought here.

contemplating your list doesn't make me feel fluttery, it makes me feel peaceful. it's funny, i like to improve things too, and i think it's to get things running efficiently and creatively enough to get to the moment, as it is. it's incredibly relaxing to realize i may be already there.

~ the give things away year is calling to me most right now.

"as it is" probably means just that... things the way they are... in motion, not frozen in time...flowing with life...not fighting the nature of physics. I don't think it means standing still and holding our breath so nothing happens or changes. It is perfectly natural and meditative to flow with your own mind, exploring and expresssing your personal experience in life...
surrendering to what is right for you... for the moment... which actually is where we are right now... you are already there

I appreciate these words today. I am attempting to "do nothing" in some very hard circumstances because I have realized it is my only option. It goes against everything in my being to not help/act/move/initiate/push. But sometimes we must step back. It is difficult to realize in some situations the only power we have is to do nothing.

I love your last two posts especially, Keri. My favorite moment was when you talked about accepting what is. I think that is what's going on anyway, whether we consciously participate in that awareness or not. It was a big year for me. I dropped the whole good vs. evil concept and embraced more of God in all things, even within the strengthening of evil. It's been quite a ride.

make a *list* of things NOT to do!!! that would be my exact, reflexive response to the terrifying suggestion of becoming a human being, not a human doing.

laughing near you, love. ;-) i make lists like a baby fingers the satin corner of a safety blanket...I love reading yours, and I loved discovering that you have roots in my island home.

I saw a commercial for Good Morning America earlier today. Tomorrow they are doing a piece titled "Go Without Week" or something to that affect. They have people that will go w/o things we think we need like cell phone, computer, make-up (that's the deal breaker for me), etc. Your list just made me think of that!

i like these ideas for ways to live life a bit differently. i'm trying to do the last one, and make this a year of giving things away. good luck as you walk barefoot, speak with accents, and learn to let go!

While I read your blog, I've never posted until today. Your thoughts decribed me too well. I think I should meditate more. I like to use meditation as planning time. Life is full of challenges that need to be tackeled. The thought of accepting a moment seems impossible today. Yet, I can see the potential that some problems could be solved in a way that is beyond my imagination. Thanks for the thought provoking post.

happy new year.

i wish you lived closer. because if you did i would insist you come to tea.

xo

So..

The real challenge is not to fulfill all those goals,
but to break them.