I have a fair amount of stuff but to be honest it distresses me quite a bit and I have been slowly getting rid of it all over the past few years.

The only things I am really attached to are my computer (and its really only the information I'm attached to), my phone for the same reason (although I broke it a few days ago and it has been really nice being detached of it), and maybe my car just for the fact that I like to go for adventures and it is kind of necessary having a kid you have to tote around.

Other than that, as long as I have something to wear and somewhere dry to sleep I think I'd be fine. The problem is once you have a kid everyone starts buying them stuff and you feel wrong for wanting to take it away and give them a few toys and a book to entertain them when they aren't outside playing.

I don't think psychedelics influenced my views on materialism as much as just "hating stuff" and seeing what it has done to society influenced my views on it.

I have nothing learned that these things come and go. I have learned that the greatest investment that which prevails is in the self. I become a better person for such undertakings but only when I give of myself not only when I learn. Matter and property it has been taken from me many times. I have had to begin anew a dozen times or more but as I start over it is in me that the investment I have made pays off in dividends.

Stuff can definitely be a burden. My wife and I are the kinds of people who have to work hard at not using up all available space: not because we necessarily like stuff, and as time has gone by we've developed an increasingly resistant attitude toward stuff in general- but it just seems to accumulate around us. Like today, she tattooed this regular client of hers who always leaves some sort of big shiny plastic Fisher Price thing for our kid. It's appreciated, but the house is littered with the stuff. We also attend and host a variety of art events, which inevitably leaves you with leftover stuff. Cheap aluminum easels, anyone? But this isn't collecting stuff in order to scratch any kind of consumer itch. That's an illness that I think most participants here at the nexus are at least somewhat immune to. But accumulation of stuff has almost become a default mode, unavoidable for most. It's good to have a flush from time to time.

I have what is required for making my appartment a pleasant environment to be in. I also have enough suitable clothes for whatever occasion i may need them for. I also have enough other goodies to use during my free time, and a bicycle to get about on.
I admit to having an old record collection that i don't use as well as turntables, but i plan on selling these one day....

Overall i'm not materialistic at all, in fact i'm very much into a simple way of living, and see materialism as nothing more than a "coping" mechanism for people who are in some way unfulfilled in their lives.I prefer to spend my money on travelling or making experiences, and see posessions as the opposite of this. Not to say i don't buy some nice things on my travels for my flat, but i'm sure you get my drift. Posessions are not only a poor replacement for real life, and living, but also are a source of concern and worry in the case of them getting damaged or stolen, or breaking down, or becoming outdated. Definately a "media" influenced thang..How much shit do we need anyway!!??

Despite on the "Materialist/Spiritual" spectrum, I'm almost completely materialistic... when it comes to physical possessions I am not.

Due to my OCD, I have an intense desire to keep anything I already own, but unless something has utility for me, I generally have no desire to own it, and no desire for extravagance.

Books, tools (of any kind), office supplies and productivity/career related electronics and software are my primary weakness when it comes to buying things. Out of a desire to "always be prepared just in case", learn something new (from a book or about a device/software), or something that can increase my productivity.

Even if I don't need any of them "right now", I have that "I might need it in the future, or plan to read it as soon as possible" mentality.

Bought a book last year, and finally read it the other week for instance.

The biggest purchase I've ever made that could be considered "materialistic", doesn't really seem like it to me. I decided to learn to play the didgeridoo last year. Bought a cheap-o Guitar Center bamboo one to make sure I'd enjoy it and would like to pursue it.

After the decision was made, I went on a quest to find "my" didgeridoo. The one that felt like I had a connection to. After over a month of looking around online whenever opportunity presented itself, I finally found the one that "called out" to me.

Then I looked at the price tag.... freaking $1000... damnit. I felt so guilty for making such an expensive purpose, but rationalized it by the fact it was useful to my learning attempts (really good backpressure and other qualities suited for learning), and that the aesthetics/personality of it was the reason for wanting it, not the "high value prestige" of it.

Does give me a huge incentive to take care of it properly and treat it with respect as a piece of art though. It's beautiful.

I was never that materialistic, no change after getting into psychedelics. Although i do like to keep certain things for nostalgia, I think this is just due to having an enjoyable childhood.

I'm gonna have to agree with jbark

I had to go back and read his post after seeing this.

I definitely agree too.

Being materialistic to me is the desire to own something just to say you own it, or for other externally motivated reasons.

Own something because you want to use it, because you enjoy it, because you love it. Not because of other peoples impressions of your ownership or their personal desire to use.

I'd be perfectly happy in an efficency apartment with walmart grade furniture, computer capable of performing my job adequately and internet.

Does make things easier though when I have the other luxuries in life, but I by no means want them for any other reason than I can and want to use them.

First piece of furniture I bought for my new place when I had absolutely no furniture wasn't a bed, desk (had a laptop), or chair. It was a book shelf for my large collection of books.

Have a folding table desk, and a borrowed computer chair now though. Still no bed... my priorities are strange. I joke about just buying a bunch of comforters and stacking them up as a bed.

I find life without money to be very boring while life with money lets me do stuff

I have quite a bit of stuff that I like to use, like a boat and some other things I would consider "toys", but I love using my toys and I can afford them, so why not?
I don't care to impress anyone. I dont wear any jewelry and no fancy clothes at all, but I like boating, scuba diving, radio control planes, and other stuff that is fun. But all in all I'm pretty thrifty and do things on the cheap like fix all my own stuff when it breaks so that helps a lot.
I could do with less toys but its going to be a long dirt nap when the time comes so I'll play within reason. Mostly my stuff doesn't own me though. If it all burned tomorrow I wouldn't care a great deal as long as I still had my health, my family and the Spirit Molecule.

To clarify, it may not necessarily be bad to be materialistic but that is dependent on every individual situation. I wanted to have some insight on others' views.

"Materialism" is highly related to your definition of material, something to ponder on.

I'm a little curious why so many people associate materialism with things you get to impress other people. If I have a house full of books that no one likes but me, that's still a lot of material goods. I see materialism having to do a lot more with owning stuff period.

Agreed. That sounds more to do with pride and ego than materialism.

Materialism has nothing to do with ownership and everything to do with WHY you own it. Having a lot of books does not make you a materialist; hoarding them when you have no intention of reading them again - either for the sheer ownership of them OR because the ownership brings respect/envy/admiration - is what I was getting at. Incidentally, owning things and appreciating their aesthetic beauty is not NECESSARILY materialist either, IMO. Beauty makes our souls soar, and if it comes from the form of a material thing and not sheerly through its OWNERSHIP, to me that is not materialistic either.

The true measure is what it would do to you were they taken away from you - it is your ATTACHMENT to material objects, and not the objects in and of themselves, that defines materialism (for me, anyway).

I hope that clears up my position.

Cheers,

JBArk

So if I were to work out in order to tone my body so I could look good for others, would it be materialistic? It seems that it would be. It's an interesting question because I've recently been working out for that reason.

I have a lot of stuff that I have accumulated over the years; both things I have bought and people have bought for me. I really don't buy too much, but it's just the accumulation over time combined with my sentimentality that has resulted in it. I never sell anything either, and find little time to clear out my stuff to give away to charity shops. I have the intention soon of having a thorough clear out and getting possessions down to a minimum as I feel it would be so much more liberating and less stressful to know that I rely on little and don't need to worry about stuff getting stolen or damaged (touch wood).

I gotta admit Im materialist toward a couple of things.

My audio system is pretty important. I diy all my amps and speakers and dac and so forth and Im really attached to it. Music is the most important part of my life almost and so having a good sound system is great. other then that Im attached to nature and food.


my espresso machine is quite imporant to. I import my cofee and I have a great grinder for it. I guess food and music is where im materialistic. I also love my plants and my cats and the decoration in my house. thats about it. Im addicted to the good stuff I think

That would be vanity.

Materialism to me, is vanity in the form of material ownership.

You should work out for health reasons, because it makes you feel better about yourself, because it gives you more stamina/energy... not to impress others.