Andy Couturier moved to Japan in mid twenties with his partner Cynthia to teach English. Their plan was to save money then come back to the US and buy some land. After returning, they built a house in California using only hand tools, developing a piece of raw land into a functioning rural homestead.

Andy has studied Buddhist meditation and many other Asian philosophical systems. He has been a researcher for Greenpeace and has taught writing for more than twenty years.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Andy and his partner built a cabin using only hand tools
• If you give yourself time, a lot of things are enjoyable
• Making sure you're enjoying the process
• The misery of too many things going on
• Putting buffers in so you're not rushing from one thing to the next
• Making time to look at how you operate
• Andy's flip phone and how it helps him slow down
• The tools you use craft who you become
• What is efficiency getting you?
• Moving to Japan in his mid twenties with his partner Cynthia, to teach English
• It's a precious opportunity to think for yourself
• What does it mean to be alive?
• The origins of Andy's draw to nature
• Our health depends not just on ourselves but also on our community and being connected to people
• Making time for contemplation each week
• A day in the life of Andy
• The modern predicament is a puzzle we all need to figure out
• Assess, be/think critical, and choose what is true for you
• Going deep into things

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Related links:

Andy Couturier - The Abundance of Less (book)

The Abundance of Less (Andy's book website)

Andy Couturier - Writing Open the Mind (book)

The Opening (Andy's writing website)

Cecile Andrews (books)

Listen to Ryan Nicodemus previously on TUHP (episode #132)

Transcript:

Tap here to go to the show notes to view/download the transcript

Related episodes:

268: Sarah Wilson – Zero Waste Cooking • Minimal Consumption • Start Thinking Differently

257: Jesse Itzler – Living With The Monks • Only Fruit Until Noon • Flip Your Relationship With Time

252: Srinivas Rao – Creating For An Audience Of One • Creativity Leads To Happiness • Cognitive Bandwidth

265: Neil Pasricha – How To Be Happy • Untouchable Days • Find Your Authentic Self

130: Sandor Katz – Wild Fermentation • Probiotic Supplements vs. Fermented Foods • Ferment At Home

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