Personal Actions

Return to Connections Page


 There are two categories of resources here: Books, and Articles, Organizations and Websites

Books

Boldt, Laurence G., Zen And The Art Of Making A Living; A Practical Guide To Creative Career Design.

First published in 1991, Zen and the Art of Making a Living is the life-changing book that helped revolutionize the career planning field by offering a new vision of work. This new edition has been updated throughout with up-to-the-minute contact information and hundreds of new biographical resources.

Bond, Annie Berthold, Clean And Green

In a remarkably easy-to-use format, Berthold-Bond tells how to clean effectively using simple, natural ingredients such a baking soda, Borax, lemon juice, vegetable oil and vinegar. She makes a convincing argument that cleaning with natural products can be handier, cheaper and just as effective as the alternative.

Brill, Hal, Jack Brill, and Cliff Feigenbaum  Investing with Your Values: Making Money and Making a Difference.

Now you can do good and do well at the same time. Most of us would prefer to invest in companies that share the same values that we do--if only we could outpace the S&P 500 at the same time. Now that goal has become more than an ephemeral New Year's resolution. In fact, investing that reflects investors' values today is both possible and profitable. "Socially responsible investing," or SRI, once largely dismissed as a novelty for the politically correct, is now considered a smart and lucrative way for anyone to make money.  

Chopra, Deepak,  Creating Affluence

This book explores the full meaning of "wealth consciousness" with clear and simple wisdom. According to the author, "Affluence includes money but is not just money. It is the abundance, the flow, the generosity of the universe, where every desire we have must come true, because inherent in having the desire are the mechanics for its fulfillment."  

Dacyczyn, Amy, The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift As a Viable Alternative Lifestyle. 

 This collection of the best of Dacyczyn's popular newsletter presents all-new advice and tips, culled from all the  years of The Tightwad Gazette. A tireless advocate of "voluntary simplicity, " Dacyczyn offers lessons in advanced "tightwaddery, " such as how to cut back APR interest points on credit cards, strategies for comparing food bills, guides to saving on the cost of college, and the secrets of yard sales and store bargains.   

Dominguez, Joe and Robin, Vicki,    Your Money or Your Life. 

 Your Money or Your Life hit the market just as the workers of America were discovering the void in the center of their post-'80s consumer-driven values. The book's premise is based on life force: we drain it in order to earn more so that we can consume more. The authors' nine-step process shows how to frame personal finances in a whole new context. For example, every purchase can be measured on a scale of life force: when grocery shopping, consider how much of your life force it took to earn the money for a gourmet brand of jam. Will the pleasure it brings match or exceed that life force? If not, put it back on the shelf  

Elgin, Duane Voluntary Simplicity:  Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich 

Voluntary Simplicity is not a book about living in poverty; it is a book about living with balance. It illuminates the pattern of changes that an increasing number of Americans are making in their everyday lives -- adjustments in day-to-day living that are an active,  positive response to the complex dilemmas of our time. By choosing lives of great simplicity, people have the power to develop more satisfying and soulful ways of living, and the power to change the world.  

Everett, Melissa, Making A Living While Making A Difference

This completely revised second edition updates the rapidly expanding career opportunities in socially responsible and green business, industry, commerce, and non-profits. Professional career counselor Melissa Everett guides the reader through a 10-step program for career development that stresses personal fulfillment, integrity, and contribution. Unlike traditional career guides that focus on defining skill areas.  It  focuses on personal, social, and environmental values as the driving force for career decisions. Expanded and updated self-assessments, exercises, and visualizations point the reader toward defining their personal area of commitment.  

Fassel, Diane,  Working Ourselves to Death

Details the differences between hard work and work addiction and charts a proven path to change and recovery for those suffering  from the perfectionism and isolation of the ""respectable"" addiction--workaholism  

Fogler, Michael, Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook

Un-Jobbing (or simple living) is--at its core--about self-determination: it's about the freedom and flexibility to do and to be what one truly wants to do and to be. A great many people in our society are spending the bulk of their waking hours and the bulk of their able-bodied years on Earth doing something which they don't care all that much about, something which may be environmentally damaging, and something which is leaving them with little time to live in the way that they truly are drawn to live. What a waste; and what an injustice!  

Lapppe, Frances Moore, Diet for a Small Planet

This is the book that started a revolution in the way that Americans eat. Today, vegetarianism and "the politics of food" is at the center of a growing environmental movement that also encompasses animal rightists and recyclers. This 20th anniversary edition of an ecological classic features a substantive new introduction where Lappe stresses how her philosophy remains valid--that food is the central issue through which to understand world politics.  

Luhrs, Janet,  The Simple Living Guide 

Whether you are looking at small solutions for cutting down the stress in your life or taking the big leap toward the simpler life, this book can be your guide. Janet Luhrs, the nationally recognized founder and editor of the Simple Living Journal, brings together strategies, inspiration, resources, and real-life profiles of people who have slowed down, overcome obstacles, and created richer lives.  

Roth, Larry, The Simple Life

An ever-growing segment of society is saying no to the conspicuous consumption and wastefulness that is destroying our planet,  our pocketbooks, and our peace of mind. This lively collection of essays explains this grass-roots movement-and shows how we too  can avoid the vicious cycle of debt and stress that lies at the end of advertising's lure

Sinetar, Marsha,  Build The Life You Want, Create The Work You Love and Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics

The author's "spirituality" of entrepreneuring amounts to a popular Confucianism for twenty-first-century capitalism. She defines spirituality  as an embrace of roles necessitated by one's position within a social and economic system that has taken on a covertly religious significance. Spirituality is a matter of embracing who one is and being where one is in the context of an economic system that is  market driven and incapable of generating enough "jobs" in a conventional sense to go around.  

Urbanska, Wanda and Levering, Frank,   Simple Living  

This book is charming in every respect. Levering and Urbanska are highly intelligent, thoughtful individuals who made one decision that completely changed their lives: they traded in their hectic L.A. lifestyle for a quiet existence managing a family-owned orchard in a remote corner of Virginia. Along the way they learned to appreciate the value of frugality, family ties, caring for the environment, volunteering, and community activism.  

Zelinski, Ernie J., The Joy Of Not Working

An odd mix of amateur psychology and self-help is offered by this engineer happily and creatively unemployed for 14 years. His clear-as-a-bell message is that making the most of leisure involves knowing yourself inside and outside of work. And that, for most overworked and undersatisfied Americans, amounts to an overwhelming task. To some extent, Zelinski tames the process with a combination of humor, cartoons, quotes from the famous (and the not so), fan mail excerpts, and a host of exercises to try.  

Return to Connections Page

Articles, Organizations and Websites

American Consumer Credit Counseling, Inc

When expenses and monthly debts become more than you can handle, financial pressures can start to build from creditors. Salaries sometimes can be attached or other legal action taken. In most cases the results cause stress for over-burdened individuals, merchants, creditors and even employers. If you find your self in this situation, you should know that help is readily available.  

Awakening Earth's Hot Links

Duane Elgin offers an extraordinary collection of links to other sites dealing with Voluntary Simplicity.  

Center for the New American Dream

Provides a number of resources that people participating in the satellite workshop might be interested in, including a monthly inspirational email, "Step by Step" (www.newdream.org/monthly/; bi-monthly online conversations on different aspects of sustainable consumption that foster idea sharing, community, collective behavior change and personal transformation www.newdream.org/discuss/); and a news service (to be launched later this fall) which will provide free re-printable articles written by leading thinkers to community newsletters nationwide.  

Co-op America: green, responsible, sustainable, just consumer products, investment, business.  

Great site with information on how to save money, plan, invest and shop smarter:  practical guides and tips for your family and the planet,   Building or starting businesses that do well by doing good ,Guide to Socially Responsible Investing, Making your Own Money, and Investment Strategies  

"Easy Does It:  A Guide to Resources and Programs for Sustainable Living." 

We live in a culture that encourages everyone to believe that life has no limits. Can we work, spend, and consume with no limits and still be in balance? Is more always better? The Center for a New American Dream has identified seven educational programs that can be used by individuals or small groups. Each program has a unique focus and methods. The guide is structured to provide concise summaries, goals, and contact information for each program.  It is meant to help you reflect on your life choices and to support your efforts to live in balance with your work, family, and the planet ($5 each/$3.50 for members).

FI Associates  A site   Full Of Resources For People Working With The Program In Your Money Or Your Life

The Garden  

This site is an extensive collection of links and connections to organizations promoting simplicity.  

The GreenMoney Journal

West 608 Glass Avenue, Spokane, WA 99205, 509/328.1741  This journal promotes the awareness of socially and environmentally responsible business, investing and consumer resources. Our goal is to educate and empower individuals and businesses to make informed financial decisions through aligning their corporate and financial principles.

National Center of Financial Education

The non-profit education organization dedicated to helping people do a better job of spending, saving, investing, insuring, and planning for their financial future so as not to be entirely dependent upon Social Security or Medicare.  

National Foundation Of Consumer Credit/Consumer Credit Counseling Services The National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC) is a network of 1450 non-profit agencies that provide money management education, confidential budget, credit, and debt counseling, and debt repayment plans for both individuals and families.
The New Road Map Foundation The "headquarters" for work around Your Money or Your Life -- a great resource for people who are using this YMOYL approach to simplify their life.

"Seeds of Peace"

Published by the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, PO Box 19, Mahadathai Post Office, Bangkok 10206. Thailand.  Distribution is by Suksit Siam 113 Fuangnakhorn Road, Bangkok 10200.  Fax [66-2] 222-5188.  Suggestion Donation for three issues is $20.

Simple Living Network 

The Simple Living Network is the penultimate site for simplicity.  It hosts and supports a wide variety of efforts – from the New Road Map Foundation to the Journal of Simple Living and offers many of the books, as well as a range of other resources offered in this index.  

"Simplify the Holidays"

The Center for a New American Dream is pleased to provide the brochure Simplify the Holidays, offering practical tips for having a holiday with more joy and less stuff. Their hope is that this guide will help you reduce stress and increase your personal fulfillment during this holiday season ($2 each/$1.40 for members. Easy Does It and Simplify the Holidays can be ordered from the Center's secure on-line bookstore at https://secure.crest.org/clients/newdream/bookstore-online.html, by phone (toll-free), at 877 68 DREAM or to order by mail send payment to the Center for a New American Dream, 6930 Carroll Ave.,Suite 900, Tacoma Park, MD 20912.  For more information, visit their website at www.newdream.org.

Sustainable Living Network

The Sustainable Living Network is an informal affiliation of people in the United States and around the world who seek to deepen their understanding and practice of sustainable living.  

Return to Connections Page



home | the book | speaking schedule | thoughts along the way | the big picture | an invitation | connections | FAQ
Catalyst Conversations

Would you like to join our Announcement List? We'll send you periodic updates about this site and things that are happening in the world of Cultural Creatives.

Website Problems : webmaster@culturalcreatives.org

Developed by
BigMindMedia
and New Stories