Conscious living implies habitually bringing more consciousness to bear than perhaps we are used to, in every aspect of our lives. This week we take a look at an example of this mindset in the story of Tao Wimbush. Here is a man who redesigned his life right from scratch, and ended up creating an eco-village community of successful and happy smallholders in West Wales.

To be more conscious we need to increase our awareness so that we are conscious of more things. As human beings, we specifically need to be more conceptually aware. Since this is our uniquely human faculty that enables the acquisition of unlimited knowledge.

It is specifically the process of thinking that brings things into our conscious awareness and enables conceptual understanding. Ideas and inspiration may emerge in a state of mental stillness and calm, but to act on those ideas, to work them into a useable form requires active self-initiated process of rational thought.

The Lammas community in west Wales is an example of conscious living because it has all been thought about long and hard. A three-year planning application and detailed plans of land-based production were necessary to persuade the local government to allow this project to go ahead. Success does not happen by chance, and many aspects of living that ordinary people take for granted had to be carefully considered in the design and planned for. Growing food, catching rainwater, generating electricity and recycling human waste with compost toilets are just some of these factors that needed to be considered.

To be more aware we must think more, ask more questions, gain more knowledge, be aware of a greater context, to sensibly prioritise the placement of our attention and discern what is important. By bringing more consciousness to bear we can be more effective. We can be more successful in achieving our specifically chosen goals. All of this went into the process of creating Lammas.

The roots of successful living

Ayn Rand said that “happiness is the emotional concomitant of successful living”. If we are miserable, suffering, lonely, in pain, anxious, bored, fearful, etc, it is a sign that some aspect(s) of the way we live needs closely examining and revising. Sometimes the deepest premises upon which we base our worldview need to be checked and revised where necessary.

Re-evaluating our most basic premises is key to designing a lifestyle that really works, that supports health, wealth and happiness. It is not always easy to do this without seeing an inspirational example. Looking at other ways of living can sow seeds of possibility in our minds and helps us ask fundamental questions about the way we choose to live. And Lammas is a great example of this process of stepping out of the ordinary and into a new way of life.

This is what humanity needs more of right now. We do not all have to live in eco-villages, but in order to embrace conscious living, we do have to question the fundamental assumptions about how we live, where we live, the buildings we live in, how we work, what we eat, etc. In short, we have to re-examine what we value.

Inspiration

Lammas is the creation of Tao Wimbush. It began as a collection of 9 independent small holdings of approximately 7 Acres in size (or 2.8 Hectares). The goal was to self-build low impact dwellings and to use the land for well-considered sustainable production. Meeting the needs of the people and the environment in a sustainable way that doesn’t compromise anyone’s future.