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

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

The Jesse Chappus Show