Asceticism - Secular Motivation

Secular Motivation

Examples of secular asceticism:

  • A starving artist is someone who minimizes their living expenses in order to spend more time and effort on their art.
  • Many professional athletes abstain from sex, rich foods, and other pleasures before major competitions in order to mentally prepare themselves for the upcoming contest.
  • Straight edge people abstain from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and casual sex as part of a sub-culture lifestyle choice.
  • A secular person may practice an ascetic lifestyle for a day, month, or an extended period of time as a test of will, or practicing the ability to "say no" to bodily desires.
  • Some secular meditation practices require ascetic lifestyles.
  • Living ascetically for a period of time may also be in honor of a tradition (e.g. remembering ancestors and their struggles) or a purpose, such as protesting over-indulgent living, et cetera.

Read more about this topic:  Asceticism

Famous quotes containing the words secular and/or motivation:

    “When a woman starts out in the world on a mission, secular or religious, she should leave her feminine charms at home.”
    —Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815–1884)

    “Self-determination has to mean that the leader is your individual gut, and heart, and mind or we’re talking about power, again, and its rather well-known impurities. Who is really going to care whether you live or die and who is going to know the most intimate motivation for your laughter and your tears is the only person to be trusted to speak for you and to decide what you will or will not do.”
    —June Jordan (b. 1939)