227: Andy Couturier - The Abundance Of Less • Enjoying The Process • Thinking For Yourself

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 Show sponsors: Four Sigmatic <== 15% off all Four Sigmatic products (free shipping on orders $100 or more) Sunwarrior <== 20% off all Sunwarrior products & free shipping over $50 (US only) CoreChair <== 15% off your CoreChair purchase by using the code tuhpcc at checkout (free shipping in North America) Thrive Market <== Get your membership for as low as $5 a month & receive $20 in shopping credit with a 1 year membership (US only) 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 Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links. Making a purchase through these links won't cost you anything but we will receive a small commission. This is an easy, free way of supporting the podcast. Thank you! How can you support our podcast? 1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts , we make sure to read them all. Android users, be sure to subscribe to our show on Google Podcasts . Subscribers never miss any of the action ;) 2. Tell a friend about The Ultimate Health Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about TUHP in person. 3. Join TUHP Facebook community (FREE). This is where we all stay in touch and ask questions in between episodes. Join our community . 4. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram . 5. Download The Ultimate Health Podcast app (FREE). This way you'll have our whole library of episodes right at your fingertips. Download our iOS/Apple app or our Android app . 6. Share using the buttons below. Thank you!