Urban Monk, aka Secular Ascetic Options

Just got my copy of Adbusters end of year edition, and they 3 top identities of 2006. This one caught my eye...

Urban Monk, aka Secular Ascetic.

Not to be confused with the hedonistic urban hippy, urban monsk thrive on the underrated pleasures of self-denial. Taking a cue from the Stoics, Puritans, Sadhus, Spartans and Jains, this eminently sustainable though largely secular creature excels at saying no: no to the accumulation of wealth, no to conveniences, no to cars, no to television, no to meat. Possibly owns a laptop, but harbors deep-seated guilt about that fact. Thrills at issuing personal challenges like 100-mil, raw, vegan, calerie-restricted diets. Some adherents even dabble in the mortification of the flesh, renouncing hot water and room temperature above 15C. They do, however, tend to draw the line at sewing thorns into their underwear.

This seems to describe me quite well (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I'm not interested in making lots of money.
I stopped watching TV a year ago.
I drive a Smart car.
I own an iBook (but have no guilt about it).
I am giving up meat for 2006.
My room is heated to 17C.

Any other Urban Monks out there?

I agree ... in SMALL doses and with a balance of minerals and nutrients it will probably be okay. But we are talking really high doses here.

It's no coincidence our middle child drink gallons of tap water here and is generally considerably more lethargic almost docile here along with a number of UK friend's children. What was once a very energetic quite hyperactive middle child is now a lounge lizard not wanting exercise or do anything other than be glued behind TV and games console. The youngest despises the taste of the water and drinks bottled water only and he is still active, hyper active even and sporty just like the middle one used to be.

It is noticeable ... and not as a result of his being a teenager. He is a different person.

This post has been edited by Mr_Merlin: Nov 19 2005, 08:13 PM