SLW! has many partners!
Web site: conference notes, members, research, etc. Vicki Robin's inspiring audio description of The Simplicity Forum conference. The faces and work of The Simplicity Forum conference. Scroll down to post #75.
YOU
Simple Living Works! is a non-profit organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly.
Alternatives started in 1973 as a protest against the commercialization of Christmas, our focus is on encouraging celebrations that reflect conscientious ways of living.
Throughout our 40-year history, we have led the movement to live more simply and faithfully. We have developed many different resources, organized an annual Christmas Campaign ("Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?"), held the Christmas Gift Contest, led numerous workshops, and reached countless people with the message of simple, responsible living.
You can help us challenge the way our consumer society continues to usurp our holy days and to exploit people and the environment. With your help, more and more people can experience the joy that comes from celebrating and living in ways that affirm all.
Champions of Simple Living
Many well-known people have portrayed and promoted simple living from numerous religious and philosophical perspectives -- Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Epicurus.The following people are champions of simple living TODAY.
Cecile Andrews | Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne | Paul Canavese and Ann Naffziger | John deGraaf | Duane Elgin | Richard Foster | Green America | Herald Press/MennoMedia | Carol Holst: Post-Consumers | Gerald Iversen | Tim Kasser | Janet Luhrs | Vicki Robin | Juliet Schor | David Shi | Simplicity Collective | Christine and Tom Sine | Bob Sitze | Wanda Urbanska | Lee Van Ham | Susan Vogt | Jeff Yeager | Joel Zaslofsky
Faith-Based Resources |
Getting Started in Simple Living (Classics) |
Secular Resources |
SLW! Recommends Literacy Service (current) |
Susan Vogt |
Author, speaker and coach Susan Vogt provides 'workshops and resources to help couples and families foster their deepest beliefs.' FAMILY MATTERS site and LIVING LIGHTLY blog have a strong faith-based simple living emphasis.
SLW! Podcast Episodes #38 and #39 I first met her through the Institute for Peace and Justice and its family peace component. I've added her books to the new SLW! Recommends Literacy Service. |
Vicki Robin |
Writer, Speaker, Social Innovator Vicki Robin SLW! Podcast Episode #17 ::TedxSeattle talk -14 minutes of heart, head and humor on Relational Eating
::Website: VickiRobin.com
::Book: Your Money or Your Life
::NEW Book: Blessing the Hands that Feed Us: What Eating Closer to Home Taught Me About Food, Community And Our Place on Earth
::Local Food Lab - restoring local food systems
::Additional Sites: An enlightening previous site |
Wikipedia | Your Money or Your Life |
Vicki on Good Reads |
Facebook |
Vicki Robin: 'Let's Chat' blog about the Simple Living Forum |
Vicki's Vision of The Simplicity Forum (audio)
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John deGraaf |
John De Graaf: Producer and co-author of Affluenza; Co-founder of The Happiness Initiative 
John de Graaf is a co-founder and senior partner of The Happiness Initiative. He was a member of the International Group advising the country of Bhutan on its Happiness report to the United Nations. Hear part two of my two-part interview with John on The Common Good Podcast, episode 40. Part one dealt with the films and book Affluenza on episode 39. He has been an independent producer of television documentaries for 35 years and is the recipient of more than 100 regional, national, and international awards in film-making. The de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award, named in his honor, is presented annually at the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City, California.
Take the Happiness Counts survey based on the Domestic Happiness Index.
He is a frequent speaker on issues of overwork and overconsumption in America. He produced Silent Killer: The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger. In 2005, John was the World Food Day George McGovern lecturer at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.
The New Economy Coalition (NEC) SLW! Podcast Episode #61 // Episode #86 [2/1/17] |
Green America |
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Carol Holst: Post-Consumers |
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Cecile Andrews |
Cecile Andrews: Simplicity Conversation Circles (podcast) | Spirit of Simplicity: Introduction 
SLW! Podcast #15:: Cecile Andrews Champion of Simplicity Circles and Community Conversation SLW! Podcast #87: Cecile works with Millennials and Minimalists to build resistance to regressive governments. To LISTEN to these episodes, click the player at the top or the bottom of the Show Notes, or visit the Episode Index. Cecile's the author of. . . The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life(1998) Slow is Beautiful: New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie de Vivre (2006) Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness(2009) NEW! -- Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good (2013) A former community college administrator, Cecile received her doctorate in education from Stanford University. She is active in the Sharing movement, the Seattle Area Happiness Initiative and the Transition Town movement, all efforts to build community and sustainability where they count the most, at the local level. She lives in Seattle and spends the winter in Santa Cruz CA, teaching in the Stanford Health Improvement Program and pursuing her passion for leading small groups to help change society. From things like Shareable.net and Meetups, we're seeing a transformation in how our society gets things to change, Cecile says. The old ways don't work any more. They're costing us too much, not just in dollars but in our future, our children's future, and the survivability of the planet. What needs to happen? It all starts with local, Cecile says. And local starts with small groups, meeting in places like people's living rooms, cafes, meeting rooms and auditoriums. That's why I wrote Living Room Revolution, she said. I see, speak to and talk with lots of groups who really want to have an impact, want to see change. But they don't necessarily know how to take their energy, vision and commitment to the next level. Living Room Revolution is all about helping them move forward. It's meant to be a step-by-step guide for creating and leading the most powerful force our society has ever known -- the small group of committed people. Cecile's available for consultations via Skype, Facetime, Facebook and online forums, as well as in person (wherever she happens to physically be at the moment!). Also by email at Cecile@CecileAndrews.com.Cecile's site is CecileAndrews.com To LISTEN to this episode, click the player at the top or the bottom of the Show Notes, or visit the Episode Index. |
Bob Sitze |
Bob Sitze - author, Simple Enough blogger Church consultant, writer and self-styled neuroecclesiologist Bob Sitze brings decades of significant congregational and denominational leadership to his writing. An ardent critic and beneficiary of contemporary church life, Bob lives and works alongside his spouse Chris in Wheaton, Illinois. Bob's blog for The Lutheran online. My blog 'bout Bob's Book Simple Enough Bob's blog series that just may be a fore-taste of his book to come: StewardShift. Bob's Beyond Simplicity series for Alternatives Bob's Advent Meditation for Alternatives: "Be (UN)Afraid. Be Very (UN)Afraid!"
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Christine and Tom Sine |
Christine and Tom Sine: Mustard Seed Associates
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Duane Elgin |
Duane Elgin: Speaker, Educator, Consultant
His blogs with simplicity themes:
SLW! Podcast Episode #36 (part 1) || #37 (part 2) |
Juliet Schor |
Juliet Schor: Plentitude Reimagining America: An Evening with Gus Speth & Juliet Schor | Watch these videos to hear Speth and Schor discuss innovations in collaborative consumption, ways the sharing economy is changing our country, and opportunities to define a new American Dream. |
Herald Press |
Living More with Less | 30th Anniversary Edition: |
Tony Campolo
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Tony Campolo & Shane Claiborne Podcast
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Lee Van Ham |
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Gerald 'Jerry' Iversen |
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Richard Foster |
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Wanda Urbanska |
Wanda Urbanska - Simple Living (PBS series) |
Paul Canavese and Ann Naffziger |
 Paul and Ann's Wedding |
David E. ShiAuthor, educator, speaker, consultant |
 David E. Shi (pronounced 'Shy'), the 10th president of Furman University from 1994 to 2010, is a leading figure in American higher education. A prolific writer and speaker, David has shared his knowledge of such topics as American history, sustainability, and leadership with thousands of people in the corporate, higher education, and nonprofit sectors. As a consultant, David has helped organizations and communities strengthen their ability to work with their constituents and achieve their objectives. David regularly travels across the country for speaking engagements and consulting partnerships. In Search of the Simple Life: American Voices, Past and Present (1996)
The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (1985/2007)
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Joel Zaslofsky |
 Joel's a young adult champion of simple living today. He's the Chief Simplifier, Curator, and Founder at Value of Simple: Liberate Your Time Money and Talent. He also hosts the popular Smart and Simple Matters show. His recent book is Experience Curating: How to Gain Focus, Increase Influence and Simply Your Life. He organizes the annual SimpleREV Conference -- Revive and Rev It Up! + All Things SimpleREV Podcast. Joel's a father, husband, obsessive spreadsheet creator, and many more things. He provides guidance on how to simplify and organize life's little details. Oh, and everyone gets to have a blast doing it. Learn the full story about Joel and Value of Simple. |
Jeff Yeager |
 Jeff's known as The Ultimate Cheapskate. Author, columnist, video show host, popular public speaker.
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Janet Luhrs |
Janet's author of The Simple Living Guide and blogger at Simple Living: The Good Life, both spiritual and practical.
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Simplicity Collective |
Co-director and author Samuel Alexander regularly blogs. |
Tim Kasser |
''My primary interest concerns people's values and goals, and how they relate to quality of life. Over the last decade I have been especially focused on studying 'materialistic values,' i.e., being wealthy, having many possessions, being attractive, and being popular.
''My colleagues and I have found that when people believe materialistic values are important, they report less happiness and more distress, have poorer interpersonal relationships, contribute less to the community, and engage in more ecologically damaging behaviors. My research has recently been investigating how values relate to well-being in various nations around the world, as well as what leads some people to become especially focused on different types of values.'' VIDEO: The High Price of Materialism. In this short animation, psychologist Tim Kasser discusses how America's culture of consumerism undermines our well-being. The High Price of Materialism - YouTube More at Video by the Center for a New American Dream Psychologist Tim Kasser discusses how America ... The High Price of Materialism The High Price of Materialism - New Dream
By Tim Kasser Overview In The High Price of Materialism, Tim Kasser offers a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. Other writers have shown that once we have sufficient food, shelter, and clothing, further material gains do little to improve our well-being. Kasser goes beyond these findings to investigate how people's materialistic desires relate to their well-being. He shows that people whose values center on the accumulation of wealth or material possessions face a greater risk of unhappiness, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and problems with intimacy—regardless of age, income, or culture. Drawing on a decade's worth of empirical data, Kasser examines what happens when we organize our lives around materialistic pursuits. He looks at the effects on our internal experience and interpersonal relationships, as well as on our communities and the world at large. He shows that materialistic values actually undermine our well-being, as they perpetuate feelings of insecurity, weaken the ties that bind us, and make us feel less free. Kasser not only defines the problem but proposes ways we can change ourselves, our families, and society to become less materialistic. |
Information about Duane's classic book, 
The High Price of Materialism
page updated 8/8/18
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MISSION: Equipping people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly // An all volunteer educational organization.