What is spiritual minimalism? A minimalist approach to life is a way to get the most out of life by reducing the unnecessary and unhealthy. There is no better time to be a spiritual minimalist. The spiritual benefits of minimalism may surprise you. Come and see for yourself.
When you have less of what burdens you, you have more time and room for the things that matter the most. Doesn’t that sound good?
Minimalism and Mental Health
Minimalism is a simple way of living with only essential things. We do the same with the spiritual aspect of life. This approach requires eliminating things that take up valuable space and time. This lifestyle gives you more time and resources to enjoy the things that matter.
You don’t just get rid of all your possessions—that is not healthy either. It means examining your relationship with things and even people. If you become a spiritual minimalist, you may find people in your life who have an unhealthy effect on you. All you need is courage.
The benefits are worth the effort. Here’s a short list of what it can do for you.
1) Reduce Stress associated with increased demands. Scientific research tells us there is a direct correlation between clutter and disorganization and the level of the stress hormone cortisol. (1)
Why should we care about cortisol levels? Simple, when these levels are elevated, you are at risk for various health issues such as depression, digestive problems, headaches and migraines, heart disease, sleeping disorders, weight gain, and cognitive impairment.
2) Increases focus and enjoyment in life. Feng Shui has been so popular for thousands of years because it works. (2) When we are in a well-organized and decluttered environment, we are calm and focused. It means we enjoy more of what we are doing.
Research shows (3) how simplifying the environment improves both focus and productivity. Clearing visual clutter helps us concentrate with less effort.
3) More Financial Resources. When you have fewer expenses, you have more freedom. You have more freedom to live without the need for a high-stress corporate career. You have more freedom to travel and be a “human being” instead of a “human doing.”
4) More free time because you have less to take care of. If you take minimalism and decluttering seriously, you will find you need less space, not more. Less truly is more.
5) Smaller carbon footprint. When you stop buying things you don’t need that end up being thrown away, you make less of an impact on the world.
The bottom line is that minimalism and mental health go hand-in-hand. The more you do, the more health benefits you reap.
What is Spiritual Minimalism to You?
If you take the minimalist approach to life, soon or later, you will find it has spiritual implications. Every item you remove gives you space—not space for other things, but space to enjoy those things that really matter.
The things we fail to have time for in our modern world are a time to meditate and time to contemplate. That’s too bad because these practices help recharge our physical and spiritual batteries.
It is the difference between what you need and what you want. To answer this question, you must determine your real needs versus the programming of the cultural narrative. It is hard to distinguish between these two because most people have been exposed to religious propaganda and programming.
A lot of people were indoctrinated into their religious beliefs as children. They did not make an informed decision to join a religion. They had no choice in the matter. For this group of people, their needs have been reprogrammed by the needs of the religion. In that case, they believe they must support their religion regardless of whatever facts or logic challenge it. So, they often require the help of someone to help guide them in the process of unpacking their religious baggage. We call this the unconventional approach to saving a believer. You can start the journey by asking what is spiritual minimalism.
If you can get someone to start asking questions about their beliefs and doing some independent research. In that case, you have a good chance of helping them overcome the self-hypnosis of religious indoctrination. If the answer is believing and supporting my religion, you know you have some unnecessary religious baggage to lose. This is where minimalism and mental health intersect. The more baggage you lose, the healthier your mental health will become.
What Are The Spiritual Benefits of Minimalism
Look at the lives of the greatest sages. You’ll see they practiced spiritual minimalism out of necessity. Yep. Their possessions comprised what they wore and not much else. Their greatest spiritual breakthroughs occurred in private, mostly in the wilderness. This philosophy is the opposite of everything Western theology commercialism stands for. (4)
When you are part of an organized religion, you spend the majority of your time indoors listening to others talk about the others who walked the path. It has become a place where you show off your socioeconomic status, not a place where you get the tools to walk your own path.
There is no better time to begin your own minimalist journey than now. It reminds us of the ancient adage, when is the best time to plant a tree? The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. It may take you a while to call yourself a spiritual minimalist, but the benefits of your decision are immediate.
1) One of the first spiritual benefits of minimalism is discovering that most of the things you spend much of your time on have little or no meaning. They are trappings of religiosity and commercialism. Once you see all the sacred books, temples, and churches as monuments to religious commercialism, then you are at a crossroads. You can make smart choices. Or ignore your new insight and go back to sleep.
2) If you decide to stay awake, you can eliminate those things that weigh you down physically and spiritually. This process can take some time and be uncomfortable. It helps if you have partners to keep you motivated and on track. Spiritual minimalism has some new roadblocks because of COVID—19.
3) Once you adopt this way of life, the spiritual benefits of minimalism will begin to manifest.
- You have more time and resources to spend on yourself instead of supporting a religion.
- Fewer spiritual things to worry about. No imaginary friends or enemies.
- Less stress and more joy and fulfillment. No more spiritual baggage of heaven and hell.
- It means you have a new level of freedom and spiritual autonomy. With freedom of thought, you can explore other methods of consciousness development and create your own spiritual path.
- A more healthy mindset is free of sectarian bias and prejudice. You may even become a freethinker or a volunteer supporting an important cause that helps humanity and the planet.
Learning to be a Spiritual Minimalist
1) The process starts with eliminating all things related to organized religion: no more sacred books, no more meetings, and no more identification with the false light of spirituality.
It’s hard because you’ve likely cultivated many relationships with those involved in the religion. Those who are truly your friends will stay in contact, while those who only use the relationship to support their beliefs will leave.
It is easy to spot this negative thinking. It culminates in sectarianism, bias, and racial and gender prejudice. If you have any of these biases and prejudices, you need to remove them and the source from your thinking.
All you need are tools to explore the inner world of your consciousness. Many of these tools are free on this website. You can find everything from beginning to advanced forms of meditation to Lucid dreaming, Shamanic Journey scripts, and Third-Eye Activation.
2) Assess your values in relation to materialism. Materialism focuses on the accumulation of things as a measure of socioeconomic status. The more you “buy into” this philosophy, the less you are likely to enjoy the things you acquire (5).
3) Assess your living space. Again, most Americans have houses much larger than they need, which means they spend unnecessary money on upkeep, heating, and cooling. The smaller house phenomenon is an extreme alternative, but many people who choose this route find they don’t miss all the extra room. It gives them more life choices because they aren’t tied to a huge mortgage.
Use decluttering to discover what you really use and enjoy. Give away clothes you can’t wear or don’t wear. Most Americans wear less than 20% of the clothes they own.
What is spiritual minimalism? It is all about making yourself a priority. Minimalism has its own challenges, but it is worth the effort to get beyond religion and commercialism. Remember, a spiritual minimalist does not carry around a belief system.
(1) For better or worse? Coregulation of couples’ cortisol levels and mood states.
(2) Feng Shui: A Comprehensive Review of its Effectiveness Based on Evaluation Studies.
(3) Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in the Human Visual Cortex.
(4) Minimalism: a step towards peaceful living.
(5) Against accumulation: lifestyle minimalism, de-growth, and the present post-ecological condition: