The Pillar Life is all about personal transformation and lasting change. So Sheri and Nancy pulled up a chair with Brooke McAlary, a master manifestor of a completely new way of living. Brooke is a best-selling author, beloved podcaster, and a leader in the movement toward slow living. She helps thousands of people slow the pace, clear the clutter, and reclaim what is truly important to them. 

With her new book, Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World and The Slow Home Podcast, Brooke shares so many amazing insights — like how to commit to saying “yes” and “no” to the right things, why we should all move from multi-tasking to simple-tasking, and how to take a fresh look at the myth of work-life balance. 

Pause, and listen, and let it all soak in. Slowly. 

Takeaways:

● In Sheri’s search for the perfect doctor to talk hormones, she learns she may have some post-traumatic stress still stuck in her body from years of a fast-paced life. 

● Purge the screens and ditch the scrolling! Sher and Nance make a commitment to set aside at least an hour in the day to go screen-free and focus on self-care. “Where you put your focus is where the value lies.” (A Pillar Life nugget of wisdom.) 

● As part of Brooke’s recovery from postnatal depression, she had to declutter and simplify her life. What she discovered after attempting to start by organizing a stuffed-to-capacity garage was that real change starts small. So she switched gears and cleaned out her purse instead.   

● Brooke and her husband have shed themselves of 20,000 items in one year, and they don’t miss a thing. 

● When we have our “why” in place, it gives us something to measure our choices against, and a purpose for saying yes or no to opportunities and obligations in life. Nancy’s “why” is: rest, sleep, comfort and quiet. She is resolved to say YES to activities that support these, and NO to ones that disrupt them.

● DreamTribe Challenge: Try to eliminate or lessen the use of computers and phones at the dining room table and the bedroom.

● Meditation has taught Brooke to observe her thoughts rather than to immediately react to them.

● The Slow Movement message is “Quality over Quantity” in all areas of life. Whether it’s our finances, our online behaviors, or the people we spend time with, the Slow Movement is about intention and harnessing the spread of where our money/attention/energy goes.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Slow Your Home

The Slow Home Podcast with Brooke McAlary

Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World, by Brooke McAlary

The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

@brookemcalary

Pillar News:

Big announcement! Our podcast is now on Spotify.

You can catch a live This is Fifty with Sheri + Nancy recording at the Quaker’s Rise & Thrive Wellness Festival at the gorgeous Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu from November 3-5. Our podcast is scheduled for Saturday, November 3 from 11:00 am — 11:45 am.

The Pillar Shop is stocked with all the essentials: socks, wines, teas, and lipsticks! Expect some Pillar Life T-Tox check-ins on Facebook in the upcoming weeks!