21. Do you know of anybody else who presently lives like you do?

Sadhus

 

Lots of Sadhus in India live without money.

 

Heidemarie Schwermer

 

Yes!  I just recently learned of a woman who has lived without money in Germany since 1996, longer than I have. 

Her name: Heidemarie Schwermer You can plug her German website sight into Google translation or Babelfish to get a idea of what it says.

 

Mark Boyle

 

I've also been in contact with a guy in England named Mark Boyle who told me he recently gave up money & plans to do it for a year!  He also started the freeconomy community some time ago.  Check it out!

 

Another guy in England

 

I also heard of another guy in England who uses no money, but I forget his name.  I think he lives in London.  Maybe I can find his name again & post it later.  I hear he doesn't do email or techy stuff, and can only be contacted in person.  

 

Voluntarily houseless folks I know who live with very little money

 

My friend, Nick Hougan, has lived in the canyons around Moab for decades, for way longer than I, and he's much older than I.  He is Moab's other well-known hermit (I think he was even featured in Life Magazine many years ago).  He has lived for years on public land, with the rangers constantly harassing him.  But only in the last few years has he figured out a way to live legally on public land.  He got a mining claim for some crystals he found, and he makes a tiny income crafting beautiful jewelry, embedded with a bit of gold he pans from the creek.  One day, when I was going through intense doubt about my lifestyle, I ran into Nick.  He gave me words of encouragement, telling me never to give up.  But it wasn't his words that truly spoke to me.  It was his eyes.  He had clear, sparkling child's eyes, eyes truly alive.  Yes, child's eyes on a man many years older than I.  They shone on me and removed all doubt. 

 

My friend, Satya, whom I've already mentioned.

 

My friend, Prema, formerly known as Gillian, who I think lived moneyless for a short while, but still lives houseless & wanders a lot, often visiting ashrams & such.  She is another spiritual seeker & has been a total encouragement to me.

 

My friend, Machig, another spiritual seeker.  She's bubbling over with contagious & magical love & inspiration, and has lived houseless for some time & wanders a lot.

My friend, Ben, who lives in Portland on the streets & in the woods, who camped with me for a bit there.  In many ways he's more hardcore than I, because he sticks out the winters there when I have to go south to dryer climes.  I love being around him.

My friend, Peter, who is about my age, also lives in Portland on the streets & in the woods.  He went on the bicycle caravan trip with me & 4 other friends from Portland to the Rainbow gathering in Wyoming.  He's an even-tempered rock of stability, completely content in his niche.

My friend, Harold, a bit older than I, lives by the Colorado River near Moab, & has wandered all over the southwest.  He's super intelligent, like a walking encyclopedia.  Harold recently made it to the highest ranked chess player in the state of Utah for his division.

 

Then there are the other folks who have lived and traveled with me I've already mentioned.

 

I suppose the list will get bigger as I discover more folks.