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//WHEN I COULD MOMENTARILY SEPARATE


those that wear shoe leather on their feet, the whole world is then covered by shoe leather.” It’s a metaphor for the layers we put between ourselves and the natural world, separating us from this essential, life-giving connection. This is one of the reasons Joyce and I


MYSELF FROM THE WORK AND DISCOURAGEMENT, THERE WAS A CERTAIN FEELING OF FREEDOM, AND YES, SIMPLICITY.//


imagined Francis, in the early thirteenth century, walking everywhere in Italy and beyond, mostly barefoot, and often singing praises to God. I started singing too. It was wonderful! When I got home, Joyce said she


DETACHING FROM TECHNOLOGY I’m certainly not St. Francis, but I now had a rare opportunity, even for a little time, to be unplugged from the high-tech pace of the twenty-first century. When I could momentarily separate myself from the work and discouragement, there was a certain feeling of freedom, and yes, simplicity. I must confess, even walking the dogs


on beautiful trails I have built leading right out our door, I have my cell phone with me (at least it’s on airplane mode) to listen to music or an audiobook. I know better. Walking the dogs in nature could be an opportunity for reflection and silence, or listening to the natural sounds of the wind or the birds. So that’s the first thing I did (after cancelling my credit cards). I went for a long technology-free walk with the dogs. It was liberating! I


had texted our three grown children about my misfortune, and asked them to comfort me. They reminded her that they couldn’t text or phone me. She had forgotten. Texting especially has largely replaced phone calls in our lives, especially with our kids. So I walked two minutes down the hill to our daughter Rami’s little house, where I could visit with her in person.


THE GIFT OF SIMPLICITY Simplicity is a key to spiritual growth. Gandhi understood the secret of simplicity. The Shakers sang, “Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free. Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.” My partner Joyce has also written about clearing clutter as part of her spiritual retreat in Lightening up. There is stagnant energy in not-needed possessions that keep us from our freedom. Simplicity is being directly connected


to nature. The Native Americans understood this well. Haridas Baba, one of our early spiritual teachers, said, “For


must spend time outside, preferably in nature, every day. It’s also why I crave the wilderness. At least once a year, in addition to camping and river trips with Joyce, I go on my own form of vision quest, usually an extended trip on some remote river, where I typically don’t see another person for days at a time. Recent research is finally proving what we’ve intuitively known all along. In one study by cognitive psychologist, David Strayer, 22 psychology students scored 50 percent higher on creative problem-solving tasks after three days of wilderness backpacking. Doctors around the world are calling it ‘The Nature Cure.’ I just spent an hour waiting in line


at our local DMV to get a new driver’s licence. Over 90 percent of the people around me were glued to their smartphones. I probably would have been too, catching up with office work. But now all I could do was stand in line. It became a meditation for me. I was aware of my breathing. I started to notice the goodness and beauty of the many people in this busy place. Then I started singing. No, not out loud. Just very quietly to myself. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. But I was truly happy and at peace, enjoying my experiment of forced simplicity. l


Connect with other readers & comment on this article at www.livingnow.com.au


Joyce & Barry Vissell, a nurse/therapist and psychiatrist couple since 1964, are counselors near Santa Cruz, CA, who are


widely regarded as among the world’s top experts on conscious relationship and personal growth. They are the authors of The Shared Heart, Models of Love, Risk to Be Healed, The Heart’s Wisdom, Meant to Be, and A Mother’s Final Gift.


MARCH | APRIL 2018 21


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