Wake Up Sydney!

There is a fine art to limiting yourself to the essentials. We seek to offer suggestions for taking back our lives from the clutter, noise and the unnecessary.

Here are a couple of practical ideas that may help empower a new mode of sustainable and conscious living.

• Mental Detoxing Weeks. The idea is simple: take your TV, your DVD player, your video iPod, your XBOX 360, your laptop, your PSP, and say goodbye to them all for seven days. Simple, but not at all easy. Like others before you, you’ll be shocked at just how difficult - yet also how life-changing - a week spent unplugged can be. "The world is in distress and all of the attention is on Paris Hilton." Al Gore

• Adopt Voluntary Simplicity. This is about discovering that living a simple life and consuming less are the conditions for happiness. When you are no longer running after possessions, you need less money and can afford to work less. Outwardly simple, yet inwardly rich. Time to enjoy the meaningful and enjoyable - friends, parks, oceans, libraries, dogs, meditation & cooking. Live simply, so others can simply live! Flip "the more I get, the happier I am" on its arse!

• Vote with your Money. Your wallet contains one of the greatest tools for revolution and influence. If we each woke up to this power, we could radically change the way business is done in this city. Before you buy ask yourself: "Does this product or service support my vision for a sustainable Sydney?" Look for local organic co-ops. Support local farmers markets. If you are inclined, rally a collective of consumers to put pressure on businesses to become sustainable.

• Use your MP3 Player to Transform Your Life. Download transformative audio programs and while you are jogging, at the gym or travelling to work, you might to try experimenting with authors like Eckhart Tolle or Pema Chodron. Joy for your brain!