A few years back my husband, Gibbs, and I began the process of simplifying our lives. We’d finally started to realize that we weren’t going to be able to do everything we’d been trying to do. So we sat down and figured out what we could do and, more importantly, decided what we really wanted to do. Then we started, through simplifying, to arrange our lives so we would have the time and energy to do those things that really mattered to us and, for the most part, to let go of all the rest.
We got rid of the clutter in our lives, moved out of our big house into a small condominium, and began what turned out to be a delightful and liberating adventure, which I wrote about in my book, Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter.
That process concentrated mostly on the external, or outer areas of our lives, such as our household, our finances, our careers, our social lives, and many of the routines of our general lifestyle. The things we did to simplify went a long way toward contributing to happier, healthier, more satisfying lives for both of us. In the bargain, we freed up somewhere between twenty and thirty hours each week to do the things we really wanted to do.
Simplifying the outer aspects of my life gave me the opportunity to discover that there were many areas of my inner life that I could simplify as well.
I began to see that there were old conflicts I could now resolve, limiting habit patterns I could change, and new routines I could establish.
I felt that by starting to look within I could simplify my life even more—and increase my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being in the process.
And so I began to explore ways to establish inner simplicity.
What exactly is inner simplicity? I’ve found there is no single answer to that question. It means different things to different people.
For me, inner simplicity means tuning in to what, in my opinion, is the best this world has to offer, such as the love of family and friends, the wonders of nature, and the serenity and clarity that come from silence and quiet contemplation.
It means getting in touch with our creativity and latching on to synchronicity, and figuring out what we need to do to heal ourselves of the things that ail us.
For me, inner simplicity means creating joy in our lives, and remembering to stay connected with that joy every moment of the day.
It means meeting life’s challenges, conquering our fears, and letting go of the hurt and the traumas that keep us from being the best we can be.
Inner simplicity means getting rid of the extraneous things—such as worry and anger and judgment—that get in the way of having peace and tranquility in our lives.
It means exploring other levels of consciousness—both the known and the unknown, because I’ve found that by expanding those levels we can enhance our awareness of how best to live the life we do know.
It also means connecting with a power that is larger than ourselves, whether we think of it as God, a supreme being, or simply the energy of the universe. For some of us, inner simplicity means finding a middle ground between the excesses of our outer lives in recent years and the impracticality for most of us of moving to Walden Pond. And so it also means creating an appropriate balance between our inner and our outer lives.
When I thought about it, I realized that my search for inner simplicity had actually started many years ago when I reached the age of reason, which for me was eighteen. It was then I first began to question the beliefs of my childhood (#45).
I spent the next fifteen years exploring various avenues of inner growth, including numerous attempts at learning to meditate (#98), searching for my teacher (#36), working with affirmations (#28) and visualizations (#29), experimenting with diet (#78), studying yoga (#96), practicing deep breathing techniques (#96), exploring various levels of consciousness (#97), and doing lots and lots of reading (#16).
Then, in the mid-seventies, I hopped on the fast track and, for the next fifteen years, with the exception of a couple of forays into the interior regions, left the major part of my inner search on the back burner.
Then, when I’d made significant inroads in simplifying my outer life in the early nineties, and had gotten rid of a lot of the material clutter, the complexities, and the time demands that one collects along the way, I finally came back to taking another look at my inner life.
It was then I began to see that one of my primary motivations for simplifying my life had been to find the time to go within and nourish my soul.
And so I started with some of the things outlined in Chapter Six, such as spending time in solitude, learning to do nothing, tuning in to my intuition, and experimenting with various types of meditation. I wrote about these in Simplify Your Life, and I’ve expanded on them here, based on what I’ve learned since then.
As I continued, I began working seriously on what I think of as the hard stuff, which I’ve included in Chapter Four, such as forgiveness, letting go of anger, figuring out my big issue, and getting rid of thoughts that burn.
I tried to balance the heaviness of these things with the more lighthearted aspects of listening to subliminal tapes, casting the runes, chanting, dancing, and creating joy in my life, which I’ve included in Chapters Five and Six.
And I’ve continued to find ways to simplify my life, and keep it simple.
Frequently, people who are intrigued by the idea of simplifying but haven’t quite gotten to the point of starting to do it yet, ask me, “What do you do with all the time you have now that you’ve simplified your life?”
Inner Simplicity provides some answers to that question. The things outlined in this book are, to some extent, the things I’ve been exploring since I simplified my outer life and have had the time to go within and connect with my inner self.
Obviously, the items included in Inner Simplicity are not all-inclusive. There are an unlimited number of other things one can do to achieve inner simplicity. And what appeals to one person may not appeal to the next.
It might be helpful to think of Inner Simplicity as a smorgasbord. It includes a variety of things to think about, experiment with, enjoy, reject, pursue, use, take with you, leave behind, or save for another time. There’s no hurry, no deadline, no schedule. You can take all the time you need.
Establishing inner simplicity in your life will provide unlimited possibilities for personal growth. It will help you get in touch with how you want to live your life, and give you boundless energy to do it. It will help clear your head and give you a sense of direction and purpose you haven’t had before. It will enhance your ability to love yourself and others, and help you create genuine pleasure in every moment of the day. It will give you a new zest for your life and new hope that things can be right in the world.
I urge you to approach inner simplicity as an exciting adventure, a delightful odyssey, a glorious pilgrimage, a wondrous search, a personal exploration, a natural unfolding, and a spiritual quest that has the potential to fill your heart, expand your mind, and lift your soul to new dimensions.