Jay N. Forrest

Simplicity is a lifestyle, while minimalism is one of its tools. Just so we're clear about this, minimalism is the tool and simplicity is the goal. Simplicity is a lifestyle of ease, peace, uncomplicatedness, and smooth functioning. Minimalism is just one of the tools of simple living. Other tools include organization, ritual, decluttering, budgeting, and digital fasting. Organization is all about having a designated place for everything, and then making sure everything is it placed in its designated spot. Every time. One of the most important tools of simplicity is ritual. Ritual is the habit of doing the same thing the same way in order to offload the task to muscle memory.  Decluttering is about discarding excess things, eliminating duplicates, and minimalizing your stuff. Budgeting is about simplifying your finances, paying off debt, and saving for the future. And digital fasting is about stepping away from social media and technology to detach and reevaluate its place in our l

Simplicity and minimalism, though similar, are not the same thing.  I would define simplicity as a lifestyle involving a reduction and simplification of one’s material possessions that frees one to lead a life that is more mindful, intentional, and purposeful. Minimalism is "Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom" (Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus). The aim of simplicity is not simplicity for simplicity's sake. The aim is to be more mindful, intentional, and purposeful. Simplicity is a lifestyle that minimizes distractions and complications. Things don't get in the way of being. Minimalism is simply another word for decluttering or reducing our material possessions to the point of them no longer hindering, distracting or burdening our lives. The point is to only have those things in our life that help us fulfill our purpose of living a more mindful and

I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō. The method for minimalizing is to hold each item in your hands and ask yourself, "Does this part joy?" If it does keep it, if it doesn't get rid of it. I added Joshua Becker's method of asking, "Do I really need this?" These two methods worked for everything until I got to my books. Every book I own sparks joy, and I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't think I would need it. So, although I was able to get rid of some books, I still had hundreds. I know I would read all these books, so I had to ask two further questions. First, will I really read it? Or, will I really read it again? This helped me be realistic. There are many books I would like to read, but honestly, I will probably never read all of them. So pick the ones I really, really want to read. One way of determining this is to ask yourself the question, "If I get rid of this book, will I likely rebuy it?" If the answer is

Meditation is hard. At least it is for me. And I have been at this for decades. So here is my simple meditation instruction for those who don’t like meditating.  If you are sitting, make sure the palms of your hands are turned up. This is giving your body the clue to open up, be receptive, and relax.  Be completely present in the here and now. Relaxation is the doorway to mindfulness. As you breathe in say in your mind “open.” As you breathe out say in your mind “relax.”  Focus most of your attention, not on the words, but on the sensation of the breath entering and exiting your nose. Focus where ever you feel the breath the strongest. The nostrils, the nose, the upper lip. Whichever. As you breathe in, not only say to yourself “open,” but open your awareness to the world around you. Like a flower opening to the sun, open your heart to reality as it is, right now.  As you breathe out, not only say to yourself “relax,” but let the muscles in your body relax. Just let your body go limp,

Finding your life’s purpose is part discovery and part creation. You are here to make the world a better place than you found it. How you do that is harder to discern.   I wish I could give you a foolproof recipe for finding your purpose in life, but I can’t. Nobody can. It is unique to you. But I might be able to offer you a few tips.  The discovery part is to find out what you are good at, what you are passionate about, and how these fit into what the world needs. If you can get paid for it, all the better.  Now the hard part. Disregard all those things and do what you fear. If it is uncomfortable, good. You have to get outside your comfort zone in order to grow personally, spiritually, and professionally. Recreate yourself into the you that you envision yourself would be if all the world would just cooperate.  Now combine your self-creation and your self-discovery. Then follow the path that gives you inner peace. Go where that peace blossoms. The right path will not be easy, but you

The Conspiracy Theory Fallacy is a group of fallacies. That is why those who believe in a conspiracy theory cannot be convinced by the evidence. The theory is unfalsifiable.  The first fallacy is confirmation bias. This is the tendency to only notice information that confirms one’s prior beliefs. Things that don’t fit the theory are ignored or denied.  The second fallacy is called the furtive fallacy. This is when outcomes are asserted to have been caused by hidden misconduct by decision-makers. It does not merely consider the possibility of hidden actions but insists on them. It can lead to general paranoia.  The third fallacy is called the canceling hypotheses fallacy. This is when one defends one belief by proposing a second belief to explain the lack of evidence in support of the first belief. There is sometimes related to furtive fallacy.  People want life to make sense, and so they will grab unto a conspiracy theory to make sense of things. This is extremely dangerous, because it

Mere unbelief in a personal God is no philosophy at all. – Albert Einstein  Once you realize that a personal God makes no sense, and that the Bible is just another book by fallible men, then what’s next.  Atheism is not a religion, and it is no philosophy of life. Atheism is simply the rejection of the claim that an all-powerful, all-good personal God exists.  Most atheists move on to embrace Humanism. The Humanist Manifesto III states, “Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good.”  But you won’t find much about developing your spiritual life here. It will not guide you into flourishing or reaching your full potential. From here some atheists adopt Stoicism. Some may even pursue a philosophical version of Daoism.  They are a lot fuller philosophies of life. But it is only in Buddhism that you learn about meditation,

And the first step is to recover from the mass delusion that is positive thinking. -Barbara Ehrenreich The optimist will say that the glass is half full. The pessimist will say it is half empty. Both will be wrong. The glass is actually full, half water and half air. That is called realistic thinking. It doesn’t eliminate half of reality just because it isn’t valued.  The optimist and the pessimist will agree with the statement, “There are two sides to every coin.” But the realist will know they are both wrong, there are three sides to every coin. Again, realistic thinking doesn’t eliminate part of reality just because it isn’t valued.  Realistic thinking knows that good and bad are a part of life, focusing on either is a type of blindness. Good and bad are also subjective, they exist nowhere else but in the mind of the beholder.  There is an old Zen story. There was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors

You have heard it said that, “Great minds think alike.” This is said when someone discovers that someone else had the same idea.  But it struck me as wrong. Great minds don’t think alike. I later found I was not the only one who thought so.  No, great minds don’t think alike. Great minds see what everybody else sees, but thinks something different.  But maybe this isn’t quite right either. They don’t see what everyone else sees. They are much more careful in their observations. They see details that others don’t. Plus they think outside the boxes.  So great minds think differently because they see what everybody else misses. Perspective and insight work together to give them a deeper and clearer vision.  By the way, the original saying is as follows: “Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.” Which suggests that the people that came to the same conclusion aren’t so smart after all.

I hold that evidence is my ultimate authority. It is therefore very important to know what counts as evidence.  Evidence is objective and verifiable information that supports the probability of a claim being true or false.  What is the difference between evidence and proof? Proof is that degree of evidence that warrants belief. That means that the evidence shows that the claim is probably true.  Certainty is impossible for us limited and fallible humans. We have to be satisfied with probability. That which is most probably true should be believed.  Now every degree of evidence is not proof. It becomes proof only when it justifies the acceptance of the claim.  The Bible is not evidence, because it rests on two unproven claims. First, that a creator God exists. And second, that the Bible is his inerrant word. Buddhism rejects both claims.

Follow one religion, but learn from all traditions. Don't cling to your beliefs. Test all claims, believe only the most reasonable. A religion that can't be tested can't be trusted. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning" means, Rev. Paige Getty explains:  As responsible religious seekers, we recognize that we are privileged to be free, to have resources to pursue life beyond mere survival, to continually search for truth and meaning, to exist beyond bonds of dogma and oppression, and to wrestle freely with truth and meaning as they evolve.  To “continually search for truth and meaning” and to “exist beyond bonds of dogma and oppression,” means that you are free to travel your own spiritual path on your own unique journey.  Many travel a ready-made path. But I think Jiddu Krishnamurti is right, “Truth is a pathless land.”  But this might confuse some. No path? “Traveler, there is no path,” said Antonio Machado. “The path is made by walking.” For me, Buddh

Wisdom is always a goal, never an attainment.  To say that we are wise means that we have arrived.  But the point of the journey is to never arrive.  That is wisdom.

The more we hear, the less we understand.  The truth is sometimes lost in a multitude of words.  Drowning a thirsty man will not satisfy his thirst, but it will eliminate his desire.  How many are dead to truth by being drowned in words?

Many decades of pursuing wisdom, and here is my discovery.  Wisdom is perspective with teachableness, insight with humility, and discernment with lovingkindness. Wisdom is gained by the skillful use of knowledge, the virtuous integration of thoughts, words, and deeds, and a deep and authentic knowledge of oneself.  I am convinced that wisdom is not a virtue, but a collection of virtues. You could say that wisdom is a symphony of virtues all playing together the music of a life lived well.  Wisdom is mastery in the art of living. A sage, then, is a person who is skillful in the art of living. It is someone who has awakened and gain insight into the true nature of reality.

A worldview is a tool to navigate the journey through life.  All of them are faulty, imperfect, and limited. Some match reality more closely than others. None match it completely. None ever will.  Like any tool, some people use their worldview skillfully, while others use the same worldview to harm and hurt. The goal should be to use the best tool in the most useful way. This, I believe, is what the Buddha meant when he taught that the first aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path is right view. But "right" gives one the wrong impression. The Pali word translated "right" is  sammā , but it actually means "thoroughly, properly, rightly; in the right way, as it ought to be, best, perfectly" ( PTS Pali-English Dictionary ). The best translation would be "skillful view." A skillful worldview is one that is aware that there is not one right way of looking at things. There are as many perspectives as their are people. Each has an aspect of truth, none have

Zen is fairly easy to explain, it is also impossible to explain. This is because the word Zen can refer to two different things.  There are two kinds of Zen. There is Zen which refers to the practice of meditation and there is Zen that refers to the experiences that arise out of Zen practice.   Zen practice is easy to explain. John Daishin Buksbazen does an good job in his book Zen Meditation in Plain English .   But Zen, when it refers to the experiences of Zen practice, are beyond words. Zen will teach you that words are both helpful and a hindrance. They can point at the moon, but never give you the moon. Bodhidharma reportedly taught, "A special teaching outside the sutras. Not depending on words and letters. Directly pointing to the mind. Seeing into one’s true nature and attaining awakening."

Okay, I am not going to lie to you. Meditating every day is hard.   Those who say it is easy I think are probably lying. Maybe not, but I can’t help but wonder.  Even Zen teacher Dogen said, “Even teachers of old who had great capacity said that practice is difficult” ( Moon In a Dewdrop ). It is not that it is difficult to sit for 25 minutes. It's difficult to face the inner world. It's not entertaining. It’s not fun.  Why do I do it then? Because mindfulness is the most valuable skill for living a happy and peaceful life.

Meditation is not the path to enlightenment, reading and studying is.   Notice the word “light” within the world enlightenment. Light is a metaphor for knowledge. Enlightenment means that knowledge was passed from one person to another. We do this through education not meditation.   No, the correct word is awakening. Meditation wakes us up from unawareness to mindfulness. Almost everyone lives their life unaware and disconnected to the ways things really are. Awakening is the process of opening our eyes.   By eyes I mean our consciousness, our awareness. We have been living on autopilot all our lives. We rise in the morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. We are sleep walking. Until we wake up. Lest I be misunderstood, enlightenment to the Dharma can produce awakening. The two do usually travel together, but they are not identical.

There is no use writing anything that has been written before unless you can beat it. What a writer in our time has to do is write what hasn’t been written before or beat dead men at what they have done. -Ernest Hemingway I confess, Ernest Hemingway’s words hit home.  I think to myself, is what I’ve written what needed to be written? Was it written better than others? The answer is probably no.  So I reflect on the future of my writing. What can I write that hasn’t been written before? How can I write better than “dead men at what they have done”? I hope you were not expecting an answer. I am making this up as I go.

Selfishness is caring for yourself because it is yourself. Self-care is caring for self because you have the greatest influence to do so.   Selfishness is loving yourself first, putting yourself before others. Self-care is loving others equally with yourself.   Selfishness will inevitably harm others. Self-care does not harm others if at all possible. In selfishness the self is above others, in self-care the self is equal to others.