What you have been given from this world is what you’ve always needed. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Zen philosophy encompasses so much more than the traditional simple Japanese décor, minimalist furniture and spatial arrangements, and a rock and sand/gravel garden.

The Zen philosophy in regard to minimalism allows for a cure to the disease that is of overt consumption, materialism, a falsified belief that the more we own, the better and richer off we are, a pompous attitude of showing off to others as if we were walking peacocks ruffling and preening our feathers for others to croon over.

The starbursts of minimalist Zen wisdom have 5 very wonderful qualities, which are:

Starburst #1: Purification

In purity, everything is clear. Everything is clean. Everything is as it should be.

The moment we add something that does not belong in the environment — that is out of its element — things become impure.

Like a pebble in your shoe. A stain on your shirt. A wind-blown leaf in your hair.

Not to say when such things present itself in your environment that you should stop all things and remove said item in order to continue on your path.

Letting go is also part of purification. You remove anxieties and fretful worries that plague us so, in order that your mind and soul is clear.

Starburst #2: Simplification

The Zen philosophy reveres a simplified life with simplified surroundings. Nothing more is added than what is necessary. Likewise, nothing is taken away than what is necessary.

It is easy and simple. What you have been given from this world is what you’ve always needed. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Starburst #3: Balance

Balance does not mean everything is equicenter, such as two large vases adjacent a fireplace. One may be off from the other, but an old portrait on the fireplace’s mantel shifted to one side somehow “rights” the entire picture. Balance is restored.

It is not about artificial balance. Such qualities found in nature won’t necessarily balance the way we want it to balance. In nature, what is, is. That is balance.

Starburst #4: Harmony

Harmony between colors of the room. Harmony in the food you prepare. Harmony of your mind, body, and soul working together as one. Harmony amongst relationships with people.

Finding your inner harmony is truly essential when following the minimalist’s way. Without harmony, we may be pushed to the extreme, but not for the better.

Starburst #5: Tranquility

Tranquility provokes calming images of the music of nature. It is the silence in between the sounds that is the true music in nature.

Tranquility offers up the sound and sight of a small river’s water flow, trickling and moving swiftly past pebbles and rocks in its path.

Tranquility delivers us from the cacophony that is the busy world around us. Go within our own hearts and listen. Just listen and be still.

This is the third and final post in a series entitled Finding Inner Harmony. Read the first post The Self-Evident Reality of Minimalism and the second post The Tranquility of Zen. I hope you enjoyed this series and do come back on 10.10.10. for the launch of my new ebook, The Radical Minimalist: Taking Your Thinking and Life to the Extreme!

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