I pledge to bring my mindfulness
practice into lowering my impact on the environment for one
month.
This can be as hardcore or
as you want it to be, or much simpler. We are using our activism
discussion board as a resource to share what simple actions
people are taking, and what obstacles come up. Depending on
our experience, we plan gain insight into best practices regarding
responsible consumption, and to expand this program in the future.
You can also check out the podcast "craving" for a
discussion of themes of responsible consumption connected to
Buddhist philosophy.
Suggested Guidelines for January
2008 Month of Low Impact
1. Daily mindfulness meditation
session of whatever length feels available and good to do.
You can end your practice
with a few minutes of contemplative meditation practice, using
the words "There is enough." If you are not familiar
with contemplative (ie directed thinking) meditation practice,
there are good simple instructions in the book "Turning
the Mind into an Ally" by Sakyong Mipham.
2. Limiting
Waste in the following areas
-plastic bags
-coffee cups
-napkins
-energy, lights, air conditioning, cell phone charging, computers
-Exploring Composting - resources available on the waste resources
page
3. Travel
-utilizing public transportation,
ride shares
-walking, biking whenever possible
-planning ahead to make less trips in the car (if you have one)
4. Food
-buy local as much
as possible
-buy food with as little excess packaging as possible
-try to eat less meat
5. General
-limiting general purchasing
and consumption of new products
-trying to use second hand stores, library, Craig’s list,
freecycle.com, downloading music and movies…
6. Personal
-find something personal
that you would like to add to your month. This could be working
with the mental states that arise around a particular vice or
low-level addiction that you would like to practice freeing
yourself from. For example, in NYC, one community member is
giving up cigarettes, one is giving up coffee, and one is giving
up sugar all together!!!
7. Sharing Your Experience
On A Daily Basis
On Our
Activism Discussion Board, there will be a thread beginning
Sunday July 1 called "Daily Consumption Journal."
Please post a short journal entry each day (or every few days)
detailing what experiences, insights, and obstacles came up
for you from that day. This will create an amazing resource
of shared experience that everyone can benefit from.
Low Impact Survival Kit
One of the big insights that came from those of us who did the
practice last time was that if you started out with a few key
pieces of equipment it became really easy to cut down on waste
and actually saved money too.
- Drink bottle : mason jar,
canteen, what have you, but try to avoid plastic since they
are suspected of leaching chemicals and are generally less environmentally
friendly
- Container for food/left-overs: tiffin box, tupperware, fabric
wrappers
- Shopping bag: nylon, canvas, string bags
- Chopsticks, silverware: bamboo and eco-plastics
- Cloth napkin
