Study Groups and Study Circles take many different forms. They can be conducted in person, via teleconference or on-line. They are usually intimate and small (6-12 participants). And, they can cover a wide variety of topics — time, money, sustainability, food, spirituality, heritage, community, consumerism, etc. The most important thing is that Study Groups and Circles help create a sense of community and a support network for those traveling the path of simplicity.
Many of the resources you find on our web site can be used for individual study. However, while still quite appropriate for individual study, the resources highlighted here are also specifically tailored for use in group study situations.
- Your Money or Your Life & Financial Integrity (Study Group Database)
- The Circle of Simplicity
- Simplicity Lessons
- Christian Study Guides
- Living More with Less Study/Action Guide
- Simply in Season
- Unplug the Christmas Machine
The Simple Living Network believes the program presented in Your Money or Your Life and the program upon which it is based — the core nine-step Financial Integrity program presented by the New Road Map Foundation — is simply the best method available for simplifying and transforming your relationship with money.
There are numerous resources available for following the nine-step program in a group study setting. You can use the bestselling book Your Money or Your Life and the companion Study Guide for Groups or Individuals or follow the Financial Integrity Group Study Workbook from the New Road Map Foundation.
The New Road Map Foundation also maintains a database where you can locate groups in your area, or list your own group.
Related Resources:
- Your Money or Your Life
9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money &
Achieve Financial Independence - A Study Guide for Groups or Individuals
for use with Your Money or Your Life - Additional Your Money or Your Life Resources
- Financial Integrity Group Study Workbooks & Guides
- Financial Integrity (Study Group Database — Find Groups Near You!)
- About Financial Integrity
The Circle of Simplicity, by Cecile Andrews, guides readers through the basic steps for setting up a simplicity study circle. Eschewing the idea of leaders, circles should be democratic, authentic sessions among small groups that foster reflection, conversation, and genuine dialogue. Andrews offers the nuts and bolts for insuring that study circles work to the benefit of all participants, including practical advice on meeting places and times, keeping journals, and encouraging flexibility.
Andrews suggests a concrete format for each meeting's agenda, and includes specific questions and issues that she discusses at length in The Circle of Simplicity. For example a study circle meeting ten times (the minimum duration for success) should work its way through:
- Introductions: Getting to know each other
- Understanding Study Circle: Discuss the study circle method of learning
- Transforming Personal Consumption: Why we consume, and how we need to reduce consumption
- Finding Your Passion: Thinking of ways to earn money from your passion
- Building Community: Learning how to build more community in our lives
- Community Continued: Understanding how society discourages community and thinking of ways to encourage it at work
- Living Mindfully: Understanding how to slow down and live mindfully
- Transforming Work: Thinking of ways to improve the work situation
- Planning for the Future: Discussing public policy and planning the shape the circle will take for those who wish to continue
Related Resources:
- The Circle of Simplicity
Return to the Good Life - About Cecile Andrews
Simplicity Lessons is a practical guide for those who long for a slower pace of life with more time for relationships, fulfilling work, and living one's dreams. Working on your own or as part of a simplicity study group, you will explore the major areas of your life: material possessions, money, time, work, housing, transportation, relationships, inner simplicity, health, community, and environmental sustainability. You will consider not only what simplicity looks like for you as an individual, but also what we can do to create a more simplicity-friendly society.
Simplicity Lessons is an ideal resource for college students and young adults, for people who are contemplating major changes in life, or for anyone who yearns to live more consciously and deliberately.
Related Resources:
- Simplicity Lessons
A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply
In three rare collections, editor Michael Schut explores voluntary simplicity as a path to wholeness and abundance. With a diversity of voices in each volume, Simpler Living, Compassionate Life, Money &l Faith, and Food & Faith each include a helpful study guide making these effective tools for individuals and groups ready to consider alternatives to the high-price, high-stress, "good life."
Related Resources:
- Simpler Living, Compassionate Life
A Christian Perspective - Money & Faith
The Search for Enough - Food & Faith
Justice, Joy & Daily Bread
Living More with Less is a book that asks for change. The goal of the companion Study/Action Guide is to integrate study and life. Instead of creating guilt about our lifestyles, it offers hope by breaking down concern into manageable steps toward change. It provides an opportunity for persons to talk about their lifestyle and values in a supportive, open environment.
The Study/Action Guide builds on Doris Longacre's popular Living More with Less by providing additional projects and resources for each of the fifteen chapters. Designed for both personal reflection and group interaction the strength of this guide is in its emphasis on the possible.
Related Resources:
Connecting food and faith while exploring the value of eating local, seasonal food. A study guide for small groups and Sunday school classes.
Based on the seasons and themes in the Simply In Season cookbook, this leader's study guide contains Bible reflections, discussion questions, group activities, and ways to integrate local food into each session. A unique feature of this material is that while the leader uses the study guide, the "textbook" for each participant is actually the cookbook.
Related Resources:
- Simply in Season Leader's Study Guide
- Simply in Season Cookbook
- Simply in Season Children's Cookbook
A Complete Guide To Putting Love & Warmth Back Into The Season
In the pages of Unplug The Christmas Machine, Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli answer the questions they have heard most often in their many years of talking with people about Christmas, such as: How can I reduce the stress of preparing for Christmas? How can I make our celebration more spiritual and less materialistic? How can I get my husband to be more enthusiastic about Christmas. How can I get my wife to relax and enjoy the celebration? and How can I help my children see that Christmas is more than just presents? Readers will turn to this book for inspiration and practical advice year after year.
Alternatives for Simple Living has developed a companion leader's guide for creating a four hour workshop that helps participants clarify their beliefs and make realistic plans for more joyful, meaningful celebrations. The leader's guide also includes a participant's manual you can photocopy as a handout to workshop participants.
Related Resources:
- The Unplug the Christmas Machine Kit
Includes the book, leader's guide & participants manual
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