AndrewBrunelle.com

We all accumulate clutter from frivolous purchases, like that new GPS navigator that is more trouble than it is worth.  But many of us don’t know what to do with all of the clutter around us.  I know that sometimes I look at what has accumulated and am suprised because I had no idea how fast clutter could creep up on me.  But clutter is not a positive in any way.  A cluttered life causes a lot of stress.  Visual clutter can be very distracting.  So what can we do to rid ourselves of clutter?

Ask yourself one question:  Have I used this item in the past year?  If the answer is no, it is a safe bet you can either throw it out or give it away.

Break your emotional attachment to sentimental items:  If you want, you can take a picture of it and store it on your computer.  Sure, that Raggedy Ann doll may have priceless memories attached to it, but does that truly justify keeping it around when you could photograph it digitally and put it on your computer?

Realize how nice the uncluttered look looks:  When everytyhing is in its place, then you can finally relax and not swayed by cumbersome distractions like having socks all over your bedroom floor.  Think of the inner peace you will experience once your house is in complete order.

Escape materialism:  Every time you buy a new item, you need to find a place to put it.  And since most things people buy become a burden, I encourage you to make sure that each item you buy is something that you will use on a regular basis, like a blender or a desk.  Go for quality and not the best deal because if you skimp on the price now, it will come back to bite you in the end.

Learn to enjoy the minimalist look:  The old adage that “Less is more” applies here.  Sure, you may not have as much, but the things you do have mean more to you because you’ve consciously chosen them.  Each item has a specific value attached to it and this makes them all invaluable.

When it doubt, throw it out (or give it away).

I guess decluttering is becoming quite a big field lately, due to all the things we all accumulate over time.  My advice is to go about it in small chunks, decluttering each room or part of a room day by day.  If it takes you a month, it takes you a month.  But in one month, you will have an organized house that has way more space than it did before for new things you wish to bring in that will actually mean something to you.

When you go with the gentle flow of the stream, your life flows easily and you get what you want through almost no direct action other than simple tasks and good luck.  But when you start paddling upstream, everything seems to be a struggle.  But I’ve come to realize that almost nothing we all want is upstream.  And even when we do achieve one of those upstream goals, it will not be as we expected and we will want more.  But society measures us for how far we can go upstream.  Every trophy or plaque we have on our wall demonstrates a time when we went upstream.  It is simply a diversion of who we are supposed to be.  Going upstream may get you some respect in the real world, but it is just another distraction from you going downstream to your purpose.  Even if the downstream path has some hard work, it will not feel as such, but feel like joyful self-expression.  Going downstream is simply being yourself.  And it is much more authentic to be yourself than to be someone else.

It may not be easier to be yourself, but it is defintely more joyful.  When you allow yourself to be, it opens up parts of you that can only exist when you are allowing this phenomenon to happen.  It is like tapping into a higher part of yourself, or as the new age people call it, your Higher Self.  Creative name, no?  It is almost as if you have wisdom you cannot possibly fathom ever learning in the real world, but it is inside of you somewhere and moving downstream only allows you to uncover more of it and use it to greater express yourself fully.  It is almost as if you are a conduit passing messages from a spiritual realm.  Many creative people call this state flow.  And I think they’re onto something.  Flowing is much less tiring than paddlling.  When you flow, you are simply along for the ride and any creativitybecomes effortless.  But when you are paddling upstream, you need to fight for everything you have and it is often most unpleasant.  This is why, most times, I choose to go downstream.

I often wondered how so many people could have created so many beautiful things in the world.  Be it writing or artwork, I’ll be willing to bet that most of these people were in the flow state when they created their masterpieces.  But they learned to harness the flow and use it to their advantage on a regular basis as to create many works of art that we still admire today.   All we need to do to harness this amazing ability is to do the same.  We need to stop paddling upstream and start harnessing downstream.  We just need to stop paddling and allow ourselves to go on our life’s path.  Maybe some of us are stuck behind a rock and we need help getting around it.  And some of us are attached to the praise we get for going upstream.  But all of that pales in comparison to truly following our life’s path, completely surrendering ourselves to it.  We need to just allow it into our lives.  It is definitely somewhere inside of us and we just need to find it.

Whatever brings  you the most joy, you must do.  And if you cannot fathom a way to earn a living doing so, just leave that up to the universe.  If there is a will, there is a way.  Why not make the most of our time here by exploring our deepest passions and immersing ourselves in the most abundant state of self-expression known to man?  And this may seem difficult from the outside, but on the inside looking out, it is such a joy to create that it does not even feel like the drudgery of work, but more like the joy of play.  And if a good percentage of the world can get into this state of joyous creation, just imagine how amazing we could make this world.  All it takes is the belief that is is possible.  Good luck.

Whenever I find myself watching an extended marathon of Law and Order: SVU or South Park, there comes a point where I think to myself, “What the hell am I doing here?  Haven’t I seen enough television for one day, possibly even one month?”  The same thing happens when I get caught up reading a blog for hours, even days.  I devour the archives in a gluttonous manner, without even receiving much value from it, due to the fact it all  blends together anyway.  Reading four hundred posts is the equivalent of at least 800 hours of work for these bloggers and I get through it in a day?  I guess you could call me a blog junkie.  I’m out here just looking for my next fix.  Where is the next blog that can take up some of all this free time I have?  Or the next television show that acts like a drug who just happens to be having marathons running every weekend?

All these activities are distractions from what we are truly supposed to be doing with our lives.  It is an utter disconnect to veg out in front of the television with the intent of watching one show and then proceeding to watch until you fall asleep listening to the newest infomercial.  And we all seek out distractions.  There has to be something to help us forget about how badly we’re getting screwed by the system.  There has to be something to laugh about after getting audited by the IRS.  There has to be something I can buy to feel better about myself after my current breakup.  There has to be a movie out there that will make me feel happy.  This is the mindset that allows the entertainment industry to keep growing.

I remember someone who said, “People will do almost anything to avoid facing themselves.”  I forget where I read that, but it makes a lot of sense to me.  From observation of people (including myself), I find that this theory is true.  People in need of constant entertainment, constant activity.  Now I know why people freak out when the power goes out.  After lighting candles, what will we do with ourselves?  “I can’t have a real face-to-face conversation unless it is about one of my new toys or my favorite television show.”  I think what has happened is we’ve lost our identities to an extent and we define ourselves through external possessions and through groupthink.  We all want to  be part of some group, some conglomerate who will tell us how to think, tell us what to do, what not to do.  We are starting to become everyone but ourselves.

And I think this realization scares the life out of some of us, so we can never really face it.  We always have to define ourselves by something external.  We need distractions to keep ourselves from hearing the truth about our situation.  But by doing this, we neglect our internal self.  We are stuck in the ego or persona phase and we never delve into our true self.  Perhaps it is because we do not accept ourselves fully and need to hide certain parts of it, even from our own egos.  So we turn on this personality, the persona, where it is like we are playing a part in a play.  And when we get home and the mask comes off, we need something to distract us from getting to know ourselves.  And I believe all the entertainment industries know this and exploit us for their ever-increasing profits.  But this isn’t about them.

The solution to this problem is self-acceptance.  If we accept ourselves fully for who we are and not who we wish to be, then we may make some progress.  If we start creating our entertainment instead of watching it on a screen, then maybe there will be some hope for us.  If we start embracing our unique self instead of falling victim to groupthink, then there may be some hope for us yet.  As for me, I’m going to go see what is on TV.

I believe the key is to stop our chronic dependence on the system.  We are like addicts, because we hate the current civilization, yet we are unable to live without it.  It is the only way of life we know.  And many of us remain blissfully and purposefully ignorant of its un-sustainability.  We depend on the people in charge to solve all the big problems for us.  We depend on them to build our roads and get our food into the markets.  And we pay them handsomely for their effort, whether or not their effort is for the greater good.  And we accept the fact that if any major collapse were to happen, we would not be able to sustain our life the way it is.  We also accept that if civilization collapsed, very few of us would survive.  We remain subservient to a system simply out of fear of our own demise.  We take jobs that destroy the ecosystem because our only other alternative is to starve to death.  Of course, I am simply talking about those who have no special skills that can be marketed by corporations and television companies who market materialistic lifestyles to an unsuspecting public who think they are relaxing in front of a tube that is passively sending them more and more advertisements that market useless junk, both food and material.  And we use this diversion from reality to feel like we are part of some American dream, like the people who are living it up on the screen.  And yet, we fail to realize how we are being brainwashed to fear the outside world and buy more stuff, especially prescription medications and lousy food.  We are taught from and early age that any health problem can be treated with a pill and that this is the only way.  But it does not stop there.  Living in a totalitarian government knows know bounds.  We are fed lies upon lies to the point we don’t even know what is real anymore.  We are conditioned to believe that the government will look out for our best interest, when all they are really doing is answering to richer and more powerful people who will probably have them killed if they do not comply.  Our rights are stripped from us at every bend, for the sake of ‘security” and defending our country.  And the thing that bothers me the most is we are the only species on this planet that do this.  I believe, wholeheartedly, that we are too smart for out own good.  And this causes problems.  But in the same light, we are also too dumb for our own good, destroying ecosystems without the comprehension to understand what damage we are doing.  But that doesn’t stop us, does it?

I am sorry for the rant, but I feel it was warranted.  Now, I know our society is doomed and I accept that.  I just want to raise awareness to some people, the people who will also see the warning signs and help to create the new paradigm.  I’ve been reading many blogs that are anti-civilization and they have such merit and such clarity in how this all happened and why we are so pathologically imprisoned in a system we hate which we cannot live without.  I encourage you to check out a couple of blogs.  One is called How to Save the World, while the other is basically a whole website devoted to dropping out of civilization and living with joy.  His name is Ran Prieur.  He is a very smart man.  Check out his essays and Zines.

But I want to stress I do not blame anyone in this occurrence.  At least no one alive today.  They are just following the scripts of their ancestors throughout history.  They are just doing what they feel is right from their context.  I am sure they are not aware of the extent of the damage they are causing, because from their high-up domineering perspective, they are doing nothing but fulfilling their duty to society.  They are just mimicking behavior from past role models.  I say we will need a monumental paradigm shift to change things, and I am an optimistic guy, so I feel it is going to happen, but probably by necessity.  Only when all other options are exhausted will be learn to live in harmony with nature.

I believe there will be a way out, but right now I do not feel that we possess the consciousness on a mass scale to do this today or in the next few decades.  But it will come.  I am sure of it.

People are as wealthy as the amount of value they give back to society.  We all give something to society (unless you are a bum) and it is the amount of value and the quality of that value which will determine how much we are paid for it.  But it is not just about the money.  It is also about the fulfillment we get from contributing.  If someone is not contributing whatsoever and is not a narcissistic personality disorder, than they will feel unfulfilled and probably depressed.  Sure, some of us have the ability to give more while some feel that it is out of their element to give, give, give, without receiving something in return.  And I agree that one should not give until he or she has nothing left to give because that is nothing short of self-sacrifice.  So, in order to make a compromise, I say if one is to provide good value, then one should be paid accordingly for that value.  And whomever receives that value should feel no regret in paying the correct amount for this value.  I would not suggest a Value Meal from McDonald’s as something you would pay accordingly for.

Some people love to think that all rich people are evil or self-centered.  While this may be true for a large percentage of these people, I know of many who are not the narcissistic people we all picture them as.  They are the few that look at life as having a set of rules that they must follow in order to reach their goals.  Becoming wealthy is something positive as long as it is accomplished through positive means.  Or, for the Buddhist population, constructive rather than destructive means.  If you need to destroy another to attain wealth, it is not for the highest good of all.  But if you start your wealth quest with positive intentions and continue with those intentions throughout your endeavor, you are on the constructive path.  It is through our creative self-expression that we truly shine our best.  It is, indeed, by following our passions that we can create wealth beyond our wildest dreams.  And when we are truly in our element, we will be able to outperform most people who do not have your niche as a passion and will begin to create amazing value potential.

If you have ever been in the flow state, where the work you are creating almost seems like it is coming from a higher power, then you have found your passion.  I know, in the past, when I would write in this blog, I would often get to the point where my fingers just flowed and I wasn’t even conscious of what I was typing, but when I read it back, it was so beautiful that all I could think of was, “Who wrote this?  This couldn’t have been me.”  But then I saw the true power of passion and flow.  Wouldn’t it be great if we all could harness this all the time?  Where we not only are in our element, but are also doing so well that we create such beauty we cannot even comprehend it at first.  When I look at some of the great artists’ work, I am astounded at what amazing capabilities the human body and mind have.  We all possess this quality to a degree.  All we need to do is nurture it and we will also be able to create massive value on a global scale.

I am working very hard on getting myself in optimal health and prosperity so I can be a better contributor to this blog and to other endeavors that will allow us all to become more conscious. Raising your consciousness is about the most important thing you can accomplish in your lifetime. At least I believe this to be true for myself. It is very challenging to do this, but with a concerted effort, I believe it is possible for a mass shift in consciousness on a global or even universal level. I sense a mass awakening is upon us, be it in the next ten years or the next fifty years, I can sense it intuitively. Something big is going to happen, but I am not exactly sure what. The only thing I am sure of is that it will change the paradigm by which we currently live our lives.

I have a feeling like it could have something to do with the magical 2012 number that the Mayan calendar followed. They called 2012 the end of history. Whatever that means in their context, I am not aware. But in my context, I feel that it is a unique step in our consciousness development where we no longer have the need for history because of our newfound perspective. As I see many people awakening in our world, I am almost certain that when this transformation happens, circumstances will be infintely better than they are today because the people involved will be of a highly conscious nature. Everyone’s survival needs will be taken care of and everyone will be allowed to pursue their passions. Almost every act will become effortless because it is stemming from a source of joy. The world will finally become the remarkable place it was meant to be.

Utopia is not the right word, but it is the first word that comes to mind. There are those pessimistic people who say utopias can’t work and that people will revert back to their old ways. They often say something about human nature. But if and when we have this transformational shift into a higher state of being, this way of thinking in a pessimistic way will be forgotten. Life will be so spectacular that it will be increasingly difficult to even have a negative thought. We will all work together, collectively, to rid the planet of all wrongdoing and create what we all crave: inner peace and happiness. If we all work together, we can and will fix what is wrong and encourage what is right. Now, I know wrong and write are subjective terms, so let me use constructive and destructive instead. There will be more construction and less destruction. Eventually, there will be only construction. There will be positive reinforcement of this construction and all of us will create what this world really needs. And so on and so forth.

This is just a vision I have for the future. Words cannot adequately describe it, but I feel that we all need to have this vision in our own way and then collaborate on which version is optimal for our expansion. We might as well get prepared for this now because I have no doubt that it is coming, but the exact date of this profound event is not in my awareness. I am sure that, in time, it will be. I just ask that everyone drop all their doubts and fears about what living in a paradise would be like. If we can think it, we can create it–together. That is the true magic of human nature.

This is not going to be an overly extended post, but it is just a thought on how to control impulse spending and also how to spend less while attracting abundance. I recently bought these Moneybands from this great website, linked previously. They are very nice and keep both my money and my cards secure, so secure it is quite a challenge to get them out. This is the main reason I bought them. If you trap your money in a place where it is hard to get to, then you will be more reluctant to spend it. It even encloses all your credit and debit cards in the dead center of this pile of money so that there is no way that you could just put it on your card real quick. Now, when I carry it around, I am rather hesitant to make a purchase that would make my life so inconvenient as to take the rubber band off, sift through the bills for the right one, and then clumsily hand the bills to the cashier, while digging in my pocket for change. If I know I am going to be spending money for sure, I take the amount out of the trap and use that in another pocket so that if I overspend at all, I’ll need to go into the trap again.

Don’t get me wrong, spending money is a form of giving, but when you are spending on things you do not need and will probably not use, it helps to have a way to stop this impulse, or as Fight Club would call it, the Ikea nesting instinct. I had bought two Jimi wallets and a couple leather ones before I settled on these extremely inexpensive rubber bands. And if you want to go super low-tech, I recommend a celery rubber band. You know, the one that holds the celery together in the supermarket. It works almost as well as these longer-lasting rubber bands. But if you buy enough celery, you are probably better off just sticking with those.

And I have to say that this has helped me monitor my spending significantly. But if I really want something, and I mean really want it, I will go through the painstaking process of removing my money from this trap and fumbling around for the exact change. Sure, using a debit or credit card is so much easier, and that is the problem. I hope someday we go back to gold, so that way, in order to purchase something of great value, we would need a pickup truck. Anyway, just a thought I was having while not buying a tempting item. I hope you got something out of this. If not, I’ll have another article soon.

I have become the “mad declutterer.” When I am done, I have no idea what I will have left. The further I go down this road, the better I feel about it. Most of this stuff is going to the garbage can, but books go to the library and clothes get dumped in the donation pile. The less I have, the lighter I am. Getting rid of books I will never read or movies I will never watch again is a liberating feeling. Those things no longer own me. I own me.

I am going to start writing shorter blog entries because I feel like being too wordy is just a waste of time for myself and my readers. When I do stand-up comedy, the less words the better, so I believe I can splice that theory into my blog. I want to create a style of blogging that is short, sweet, and gets right to the point. No wandering around the center. No segues. Just cold, hard truths that I believe. Excess is thrown out the window. Less is more. More is less. You get the idea.

I am also going through what I would call a mental decluttering. I am letting go of the past and embracing the present. I am optimistic about the future and am getting to where I need to be. And this is a comforting feeling. Focusing on my goals is what is most important to me. Getting done what needs to get done is a top priority. I need to spend my days perfecting my life and living to the fullest extent. Wait, no I don’t. I can’t stand those petty overachiever types. Those Type A personalities. I am a more intuitive guy. I do what feels right. And right now it feels right to end this blog entry. Good bye.

I was watching comedian Bill Hicks yesterday and he was at the end of his act this particular time and he was saying something like, “Does my act have a point?” He got around to explaining the point to his act, saying that life is like a ride that we get on, thinking it will be fun, but some people forget that what they are on is only a ride and get too attached to what they have acquired. But it’s okay, because it’s just a ride. Or you could view it as a game, like Steve Pavlina did. You can check his archives for Life: The Ultimate Game. I believe the whole message here is not to take life so seriously. See it as a form of entertainment. Detach yourself from any outcomes and just enjoy the ride. Be happy.

When you are playing a game, you are usually not overly attached to the outcome because it is just a game. And when you are on a ride, isn’t your sole purpose to have fun? Then why does having fun feel so good? Why is joy everythhing we search for? Why does everyone strive to be happy? Because we know that our natural state is joy and right now, the majority of us are not experiencing this joy. We know that we were happy before and we wish to be happy again. I find my joy in small pleasures, the everyday things that many people overlook. I don’t need a big party or lots of gifts at Christmas. What brings me joy are things like nature and a good idea. I realize our stay is not permanent here and I am taking the time to enjoy life in my own way. There is no one way to joy. Our lives are all so different and joy comes in many forms. For me, just the fact that I am still alive brings me some joy every day. Gratitude works wonders towards joy.

Right now, my minimalist quest is bringing me joy as well. I make it into a game most days. “What could I possibly get rid of today that is not in line with who I want to be?” The result is that I do so much more work on accomplishing this goal, and it doesn’t even feel like work. I think of ways to eliminate clutter and the ideas keep flowing. I am not attached to organization, I just enjoy doing it. And no, I do not have OCD. But you can joke that I do if you must. I’m also not so attached to minimalism. I just practice it as of now. It is a game I play now, but maybe not forever.

This ride has so many twists and turns that makes it worth riding in the first place. There is no predictability and you could be thrown off the ride at any time. But that’s why I think people ride it. It is called dangerous fun. We all know our time here is limited and if we spend our whole lives in fear of the unknown, how will we ever know anything? Education diminishes fear. If we spend all our time fearful of what might happen if we do this or do that, what kind of a life is that? What will you have left at the end but memories of you sitting in your house, pondering your darkest fears? At least do something. Write something. Read something. Enjoy the ride while it lasts. The carnival is moving out of town soon and the ride will have to relocate to someone else. Make the best of your time in your own way and live as though joy is your ultimate goal.

This was just an experiment I tried while bored and looking for a way to pass the time. It is just a collection of small sayings that, at the time, I thought were interesting. Here they are:

All these are copyrighted by me, so enjoy them at your own risk.