The cast ballots every little thing, virtually every little thing. Virginny every little thing is feeding the agree, however, that without everybody welcome to the minimalist podcast or we discuss what it means to live a meaningful life with less money, miss joshua fields milburn than on ryan, academia, and together we are the minimalist, were here with malice, burma. I everybody anti K. Comin is here what it is to get the rest, our team in the studio as well coming up today on this free pub,

a minimal episode, we're talking to a listener bout, some news, media clutter that they have in their lives and the cluttering some of, information clutter that they are struggling we also have an outstanding lightning round. Mr tip and added value Take me for you. You can check out the full two and a half hour maximal edition of episode. Three sixty six, where we answer four times the questions and we dive deep in the several simple living segments that private pod cast episode. is out right now it patriarch dot com, slash the minimalist. Your support keeps our podcast an u to channel one hundred percent advertisements free because advertisements sock let's start with our colleague jean give a question or comment for our show give us a call for zero. six to one nine, seventy three, nine or email a voice, a memo to podcast at the minimalist stockholm or first question two days from

I'll try and go a patron subscriber in the? U k them when talking about things and addictive apps, I find the news move problem uk and as soon as I read about the threat of nuclear war or of our energy supplies being cut off, Anxiety goes through the roof and stays right up there for days, but I also seek this news. It's like I obsessive each at the need for these stories I was the same with kobe in any such disasters threat not sure whether I'm trying to get as much information as possible to protect myself somehow. Yet it's really doing the opposite course We know that the only news worth knowing is that which affects my major community and family sure some of these things would certainly threatened, but maybe we better off, not knowing I don't understand why stop. Looking, I block new sites on a regular basis and always end up on blocking them is literally like a drug decay. You know it's fascinating about them,

I realise this over the last few years ever since we had you on the pipe ass. You did a political clutter episode years ago, we brought in was about David the twenty twenty elections civically we had the cute liquors special. We had our kill. Iverson was ear, Jamie kill, seeing you me and ryan when we all had this conversation about how the political landscape. In a lot of it was about news, media clutter and when I realized in preparation for that episode and have carried it with me ever since is that the news is not we designed to inform is designed to get your attention to attract your attention, and I want to say that information is not inherently good or bad. It certainly not arduous and I think that's the problem. The Jos running into here is well, I'm just check

with the media. I tell storytellers self, so I can be more form and that will then equal, I'm a more virtuous, more noble version of myself, but I think that's not inherently true is written. Joe is figuring out here is this is increasing my anxiety, its increasing my stress, its an creases, my discontent and guess what of course. It is because that was designed to do, which is designed to make you feel away so that you continue to tune in to whatever channel is making. You feel those feelings. Helen drug in no way do yeah, I'm. She said it is just as addicting not draw a right and an that's. That's on that. That's not by accident right like that's engineered, it's not as if the information is just being put out their neutrally like hey, we just cause

dinner, random set of stories and we're gonna put the story out there and you decide what's important, take a look at like now like they are taking headlines. They are picking the stories based on, what's most likely to get the engagement by, you're, not just ass money online near the day kind of complaining about all the negative on on our social media I was like yeah, but you are tweeting about the negativity arson Familiar right, I'm not saying that you're wrong for doing that, but that's engagement, and whether you engage out of love or hate, registration or joy. It still engagement. Your stillman sent the system to give you more that. So, if someone says like here's, a great de martin in another person says dean. Martin is a total idiot and we don't care about the one that says here's a great day. Martin quote: we don't care about that. We want the one that says the Martin's an idiot, so we can fight over it. right and so thing that we engage. We get more of and their studying us man like

Ah, you get a reaction out of that stuff right people always say. I want more positive news. Why you gotta share me that share with me the negative? Stop it's because you don't! You don't engage that new fall. Asleep! when they give you that no you actually do Want the positive news, I'm here yeah does an illicit the reaction of the looking. For I mean it's invoke, dammit and that's this its information disguised as entertainment, I'm, so its entertainment disguised as information, Yes, it's it's supposed to be informing us right we're pretending as though we're getting something out of it, but who are really getting out of it is the stress things? piety the things it does to do it, which is bring our attention away from whatever is important to us and to the things it is important to them. Yet I mean we ve. if it were going and doing a good thing and were looking, for the world in the universe, stand up on current events, but it's really it's pacification, it

It is an actual research and- I'm not trying to discredit certain things that you know maybe someday does want to look up and look at a bill. That's gonna get passed, or I mean the others. Do some exceptions out there, but if you go to dinner and I can't fox news- dakar bright barter- whatever it is there goal is not too I give you information. Their goal is to really saw you advertisements and they do that through this information that either gets you really upset. I mean You're looking to headlines what, as the drudge report which can of aggregates everything, do I mean the headlines. You're, just its click bait, lemming click big before the internet, it was, it was news headlines and yeah it's very easy for us to react, and we get motivated to react when we are angry when were sad, mamore upset, but yes, to the new say noses. I everything was nice today and

you're so and so help zones or across the street and got them groceries I we would get up we'll get off that pretty quick and we also wouldn't be tweeting about that yeah. Look as a boring. You move meter thing. They gets my blood pressure operator and is the reason that we, gal scary movies. Are we seek out action? Thrillers is because we are seeking to entertain them they're in those it says. We know that we're seeking out entertainment, we get really confused by the news media clutter because it purports to be one thing and oh, it's virtuous information right. Okay, it's information, but information doesn't presuppose virtue. And we can inflate the two. Oh I'm being a good citizen on being a good person by staying, informed information is worth next thing. We were meeting last week and I hate ideas.

ideas are the worst thing. I've been here's wiser people always come to me with ideas all right and there never willing to actually execute on those ideas to actual eyes those ideas it just hey. Here's some work for you to do Josh. I have an idea here you go and its I. Oh, your ideas, actual work worth less than nothing it's taking up my time now. What do I? Why is this coming up in this conversation, about news, media clutter? Will because news media is the same thing. It's worth less than nothing in most instances, because I can give you more information. Your problem is not access to information you have more access to information than anyone in his you have more access to information than any king from several hundred you, ago any pharaoh. You have way more information, and yet of was talking to professor sean about this earlier today, we're more

miserable than ever. What do I mean by that were suffering more were suffering from things that we don't need to suffer from right like destroyed a nuclear war. It's like if someone launch it launches a nuke. I mean what What does the information that it's coming? What is I do for you right? I mean like you know, other gash shortages are, I think, about the band. And how I read about the toilet paper shortage, so I may luckily, like I, you know I hadda sink in some washcloth fibre attributes open air. We freaked out of deliberate, so I d, like glass, we're toilet paper, but also the blue one on hoarded toilet paper, it's like didn't really get them and boy I saw em I've seen like pictures of people trying to return there hoarded toilet paper like shortly after the pandemic, andrea and its one his customer services like now like that's your. were now yet

So I don't know how I don't know. Helps us to have a heads up on things: leg nuclear war or a aura of fuel shortage of whatever may be. If anything, it just kind of causes panic, and sometimes it's good to focus on things that make you feel bad. But that's, given the present precept vision that you can actually do something about it, but we're focusing on things that both make us feel bad and that we can't do anything about right now, not only that, even if you can't do anything about it and you just want to be informed, that does it mean There's no boundary around. How much information is enough like how I'll. Do you need to be informed two hours of listen about the possibilities of nuclear war five hours? You know I want to read something from Terence Mckenna, who has a very beautiful

you took clip car, create your own roadshow, where I think he kind of gives directions for a way out. He says this: we have to create culture, don't watch tv, don't read magazines, only don't even listen to npr create your own wreck roadshow. The nexus of some time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe. And if your worrying about Michael Jackson or bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered. Giving it all away to I icons, icon which are maintained by an electron. media, so that you want to dress like acts or have lips like why this is shit brained. This kind of thinking that is all cultural diversion and what is real, is you and your friends and your associations, your

eyes, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears, and we are told no we're unimportant- were peripheral. Get it We get a job, get this get at that and then you're a player. You don't want to even play that game You want to reclaim you're mine and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a. I have baked moron, swimming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the boat means of a dying world. The reason we're so addicted to scrolling to gossip two new story. two things that are dragging us down is because, if we are honest with ourselves, were compensating for the total absence of thrill an adventure and positive drama in our own lives near. We need some drama. We need challenges, we need difficulties to overcome. We need a mission, we need a purpose. We need something that gets us out of bed and makes us feel alive and when we don't have that we go seeking it

the entertainment industry, we go seeking it online and arguments and so on, and so it's not good enough to say. I'm just gonna stop watching this stuff, I'm gonna stop consuming the have you got to ask? What am I going to start doing instead in order to get that it, you're in a way that healthy the news media is quite often disempowering, because it makes us feel like everything else. That's going on out. There is important to tee case point if everything so there is important. What am I saying going on in my own life is not important. What's going on in my house is not important, and so what we do is we abdicate our own responsibility to look at our lives exam what's going on in our minds and our hearts and our households, and if we can fix that not through some sort of mechanical process, by better understanding the pie problem in our own lives. Then maybe we can help our neighbour.

maybe we can help our neighbourhood. Maybe we can help our community, but there's a whole lot. I can do for someone who's eighteen thousand miles on the other side of the world. I can worry about them. I can have fear. I can punish myself or the troubles that are going on over there the while I'm forgetting about the problems that are going on in my own backyard, Joe I'd love to send you a copy of a book assent ryan, and I wrote this book years ago, twenty fifteen as when it came out of hundred and fifty essays, bout, intentional living or twelve different chapters, twelve different areas of intentional living in one of those areas has to do with our technology. There's a entire after in their about our relationship of technology and how often we use its edition asked ourselves what we can do, the opposite. Technology can be ryan T gay, and I were not luddites. We're not saying get rid of your technology, get rid of the news, but if you better understand how to use it,

When it is useful to you, you'll stop using it in a way that you'd battery, yourself with your own technology, if you like our podcast, did you enjoy the audio book version of essential or if you want the book book or the ebook version will be happy to send those to you as well joe ryan. What time is it? You know what time it is it's time for the lightning rod on germs going to put some really cool effects in right there. This is where we answer your questions from social media yesterday and you can follow the minimalist on tiktok, instagram, facebook and twitter at the minimalist. We used to answer these questions via text message, but heard on our last episode. Three sixty five. We stop doing the text message thing because negotiate with terrorist everything. Elsie s request your forest alabama. How do we become more psychologically flexible? So we can increase our capacity

for happiness now during the lightning round? This is where we do our best to answer questions with a short shareable less than one hundred and forty character response. We put the text to these minimal maxims in the show notes, so you can copy and share our pithy answers. social media. If you'd like you're, fine, all of those mental maxims over show notes at the stay. Calm, slash, podcast process shop was sixty seconds on the clock. For me, elsie Rigidity forms a container for discontent, and I am speaking from experience I am mister rigid. I am I like to be more wiggly. Whenever I can, I certainly have have become more flexible, as your question asks as psychologically flexible, because emotionally flexible until

actually flexible because, as I become more rigid- and I need things to be exactly this way as a person with o c D, I want everything to be just right. Every single time in this order in this sequence. I needed to be like this: it's true as me out. It makes me miserable, but if I can let go of some of that rigidity I can become more free flowing, then it makes room for contentment and you have me I'll go on go alright! but the professor John, sixty seconds on the clock. Happiness is a by product. living a meaningful life, so flexible flexible set, what would it? What do they call it? Oh my god, This psychology is psychologically flexible. Here's what I think about that

Let's say this is my psychology, this glass right here? Ok, that the core can presupposes that I get some. his glass, bigger and- and I don't agree with that, I think that the glass that you have is the glass glassy you have. There is a little bit of water in this glass, and so, if I but more in their I've got ass. Myself were doing, this water in this glass right now what I wanna put in here, but try. To make your psychology more flexible I don't think it's a matter of that as much as like what are you putting into that and you need to get rid of anything of it. Ok, so minded The goal is in happiness, its emotional versatility, the why isn't to exist in a perpetual state of always filling good? It's about love to relate to the full range of the emotional spectrum in a way that healthy and away that's harmonious in the

in the way that you don't want to be the kind of person who can only dance to one type of song or one genre of music? You want to be the kind of person who can. I your groove and establish a river no matter what the feeling is think of it. Like the seasons right, you ve got far you ve got winter, you ve got summer, you ve got sprang. Sometimes you don't want it to be called, but it is sometimes you don't want it to be rainy, because you wanted to have a picnic, but there's something that you can do in any kind of whether you can go to a picnic when it snowing. You can go sliding and the summer doesn't allow you to do that right. So the four questions I want to ask is: what am I feeling how, serving me. What is it teaching me and how can I express it creatively and constructively and just a men, and he did it more really thought in about their tea k and ryan is more being more

flexible. It allows us to let go because we're accepting the circumstances that are right there in front of us. We got so much more to talk about we're going to we're going to die, I went to tea- came home with a lot of intervention here with always throw fellows had every week on the private black ass, we do a home tore. Where are we go into one of our homes. We're gonna, be looking decay moved back to california. Recently we got some photos of his new living space. We're gonna die today? We also gotta think obsolete objects. We have over to talk about boot, looking as a spiritual practice Well, for you guys as well. I call it the hate that thing rule and you're actually gonna, be all little surprised by what that actually means, but dive into down on the private bike. Ass is while obsolete objects, advertisements suck a whole

more for you over, there is well. The first alabama already got for us here is a minimalist insight from one of our listeners: hey, listen chain and Angela a lot of trouble, making decisions and now, whenever I got to eat and I'm looking at a man, you, I got five seconds to pick and making quicksand decisions and help me get better and more comfortable with making decisions and other parts of my life before we get to our added value segment? Real quick for right here right now, here's one thing: that's going in the life of the minimalist in less than two weeks, I know them twenty seventh son november, twenty seventh at noon. We have our fine sunday symposium of the year, it's here in los angeles, who knows I'd be our final. Ever sunday, symposium, we haven't decided whether going to renew this or how we're going to process

going forward. We ve learned a lot from the first three events, as is our fourth one, where we meet a small group of people, its two hundred people, half the tickets are free by the way. I mention this right now, because you're gonna go today, two sons, symposium dotcom get your ticket before it out every we mention on the park ass, the tickets go fairly quickly and because This is the last one that we're doing this year. Maybe ever they'll go really quick, and if you want to be part of this historic event, well, you have the opportunities they symposium dotcom. We made at noon on sunday, two hundred of us- and we have an experience together with about simplifying our lives! You talk about letting go. We answer your question. As we do our reading, we talk about material possessions or career. Years or financial, clutter or information clutter. Any of the clutter. have in your life, you can bring.

This event and will help you saw through that clutter to figure out what does add value and what does it what's getting in the way and will help you let that go but we'll let go together. I added value. I got two things: the sedona method, so hailed once again, as I talked about on the private podcast he was supposed to be here today, could, make. It will get him on a future episode. We talked a lot on the private park asked about the thing about letting go of some, these things that are in the way- and I even gave you the floor. Step method that hale uses in this book, the sedona method. To Let go to release the anxiety, the attention to hold onto it for a minute to recognize it, so you can hear that on the private podcast or you can check out. The book is called the sedona method, I'm in the middle of a right now, I'm so enjoying this book. Its help him I go not of physical things. I it I can let go of those is easily but some emotional clutter.

I even realise that I had herself in me. Let go of that really fine, that emotional well being that is there once you let go of the tension, the straw They worry the anxiety, the discontent that we clinging, do not even knowing were clinging to it. So we did an exercise in the pan the park ass. You can check that out, but check out the book is called the sedona method, an alabama has something for us. If you just want to check the book out from your the library use of the kind libya, but can you talk about the o, my stars? I really enjoy the libby app professor sean and I were getting giddy over this because it so easy to access resources like e books, audio books, magazine, from your library that you probably already use. All you have to do is download the app it is free, it is provided by overdrive and what they do is connect you to the digital resources. Through your library card, you can even add multiple library cards

just something I didn't know until professor Sean even brought up so I have access in illinois in tennessee and in los angeles, it's beautiful and best of all. There is not enough will add on there and you don't have to read in the ep as well. You can send e books to your kindle if you have cobo services actually directly integrated with the device you don't even the app. Oh, it's all the while If you want any the minimalist books, you can check them out. The levy app is well or I assume sit, sedona method, find over there as well so check and eleven linked to that as well as these sedona method in the show notes, so you can check out books for free ebooks and it sounds like audio. It is well railway. After I get most of my audio books, you can get that formula library without even going to your local labour. over by the weighty k we get up More surprised, questions this week on the private podcast like how can I decline, the residue of my axe.

from my life I minimize the amount of worry. I experience every one day, let go of meeting the approval. Others too, happy also got a million more questions for the minimalist and if you wanna hear all that check out the minimalist private parts as the patriot dot com, slash the minimalists or click the link in the description. That's our show for today. If you leave here today with just one message, let it be this love people and use thing:

the opposite, never works, make sure. Listen, your see, see time piece the thing that need every little thing that you need. Every little thing, that's just feeding your greed. Oh, I bet that she'll be fine without it.