Diet – Gandhi was born into a family who practiced vegetarianism and abstention from alcohol as part of their Hinduism.  Although he violated this practice when he was a boy and ate meat with a friend on a few occasions, Gandhi was an avowed vegetarian, and over his lifetime, adopted a more and more spare diet.  First, he eliminated spices and sauces, then he eliminated dairy, then cooked foods, and then vegetables until his diet consisted only of raw fruits and nuts.  While you are Gandhi, try to eat simple and plant-based foods as much as possible.  Restrict your intake of spices, sauces, and meat, as much as it is possible for you.  

Dress – With the image of Gandhi wearing his dhoti (loincloth), even to meet the King of England, many people might be surprised to learn that he was quite dapper in his youth, dressing as a proper Englishman in London or as a distinguished barrister in South Africa.   However, as with his diet, Gandhi simplified his attire over the years until he came to adopt the dress of the poorest in India.  While it’s likely not practical for you to wear a loincloth, you should simplify your clothing and adopt a “uniform.”  Your attire should communicate that you are humble and care little for you appearance and material possessions.  If possible, wear something homemade or locally made to align with Gandhi’s homespun campaign.  Gandhi also carried a staff and wore sandals, so try to do the same. A staff is a great prop to prompt you to get or stay in character.   

Stature – Gandhi was a short person and carried himself very humbly, often with his shoulders hunched.  Try to make yourself small.  Gandhi did not have an imposing presence, rather his spirit and passion made him stand out.  

Prayer/meditation – Hinduism was the foundation for Gandhi’s beliefs, and he spent hours in prayer and meditation when time allowed. Create a daily practice of either prayer or meditation, starting with a few minutes and lengthening the duration as you get more comfortable. 

Walking – Gandhi preferred to walk everywhere, even walking 240 miles to get to the sea to obtain salt.  In addition to meditation,  create a regular walking practice, at least three times a week, if not daily.  

Cleanliness – Gandhi saw filth as the scourge of the lower classes who often suffered from dysentery and other bacteria-born diseases due to unsanitary conditions.  Everywhere he went, he audited and improved the sanitary conditions if they were found lacking.  Part of his uplift of the lower castes was to educate them on cleanliness, especially disposing waste material and improving the conditions of third-class train travel.  While you are Gandhi, you need to be very clean and keep your surroundings very clean.   If you find yourself in an unclean situation, do not tolerate it. Rather enlist others to help you clean it up. 

Experiment with the truth – Gandhi called his autobiography My Experiments with the Truth, and throughout it, he recounts how he eschewed conventional wisdom to learn the truth for himself, both from books and through trial and error experiments on himself and his inner circle.  Some of the topics he tackled were diet, nursing, schooling, and, of course, social change. Truth is the essence of Satyagraha, which means firmness of truth, and the acts involved expose the true nature of the oppressors. The prejudice against Indians or others is typically justified by classifying them as being less than human or animals.  By protesting nonviolently and subjecting oneself to the brutality of the oppressors, Satyagraha shows who is the real animal is. As Gandhi, take a situation in your life where you experience conflict or “stuckness”  and set about investigating the truth of the matter.  Like Gandhi, you could experiment with your own diet (or an exercise regimen) to find what works for you. Or if you are struggling with a relationship, begin interviewing those around you for their perspectives and opinions, and, of course, talk with the other party to uncover their beliefs to find the truth. If neither of those are relevant, study religions or choose a political or social issue to investigate.  Your ultimate goal is to find a truth you can apply to your life.   

Communicate the truth – Gandhi was a prolific writer, starting several newspapers and writing myriads of books.  His Green Pamphlet, written in 1896, documented the conditions and grievances of British Indians living in South Africa and was marketed to both the British and Indian populations who knew nothing about SA.  His early attempts at social change were petitions written to legislators in both Britain and South Africa objecting to various laws, and when these were ineffective, he turned to more active non-cooperation campaigns.  After you have conducted your investigation above, write about it and share it widely on multiple platforms.  

Deny permission to your oppressors– The foundational belief of non-cooperation movements is that victims give their oppressors permission to abuse them by cooperating with their laws and edicts.  Examine your own life and determine where you feel victimized. Your oppressor can be anything – a person, a job, an idea, a cultural standard, a law, or even your own calendar. Focus on two or three of these and then analyze your role in giving them permission to have power over you.  Determine the steps you need to take to reclaim your power and then act on those. 

Simply your household and more become self-sufficient – When Gandhi initially set up his household, he provided himself with all the conveniences and accommodations befitting a barrister, including household help for emptying chamber pots, laundry, and cooking.  As he became more involved in political movements, he realized the necessity of being self-reliant and began to streamline his household and his life, until he eventually lived with the barest amount of possessions and was able to take care of his own household needs (although others in his ashrams would provide these duties). Analyze your daily routine and document all the ways in which you are dependent on the labors of others, eg. making coffee and breakfast, dry cleaning,  landscaping, housecleaning, takeout, delivery, etc.  Which of these could you easily do for yourself?  Identify a few and begin providing those for yourself.  Document how much you are saving by doing it yourself.  

Begin to deny yourself – Gandhi famously conducted numerous hunger fasts to protest violence or other inequities.  His ability to deny himself food was the culmination of a journey of self-deprivation. He believed that self-discipline through renunciation was the only way to achieve ahimsa.  He started with his vows to his mother to swear off meat, alcohol and women, and gradually began swearing off more and more of the accouterments of civilized life. These included his diet, which eventually became raw fruit and nuts, the vow of Brahmacharya or celibacy in 1906, his refusal to take a salary for his work as a lawyer in public life, and his forswearing all gifts and possessions when leaving South Africa for India. His clothing became more a more simple until he adopted the dhoti.  As Gandhi, choose one thing to deny yourself.  It could be skipping a meal a day, like Gandhi did when he was a student, or meat, alcohol or women, like his earliest vows or, perhaps a bad habit, like smoking or too much caffeine.  The point is to start training yourself to not need these things and become a master of your own being.   

Forgive those who’ve wronged you – When Gandhi returned to South Africa after having published the Green Pamphlet, he was mobbed and beaten, but, although his accosters were arrested, he decline to press charges. He believed that western culture had inculcated the people to hate foreigners. He often preached to hate the sin but not the sinner, and one of his popular quotes is, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Identify the people who have wronged you and for whom you are still holding a grudge. For each name, hypothesize situations or beliefs where the wrong could be excused, like the aforementioned cultural beliefs. Also, consider karma in your speculations. For instance, Gandhi believed the poor treatment of Indians in South Africa was karma for untouchability in India.  How is that person a victim rather than a perpetrator? What do they suffer by their injustice? What cultural baggage are they carrying with them?  If you are struggling with this, identify situations where you have wronged someone and apply those circumstances.  Now ask yourself, what will it take for you to forgive them?  Identify steps you need to take to offer forgiveness for everyone on your list.  When you feel you’ve achieved forgiveness, begin rekindling the relationships you’ve lost.   

Engage with the disadvantaged – When Gandhi first became politically active, he only considered the rights of educated or professional Indians like himself to be important.  When he was asked to represent an indentured servant who had been badly mistreated by his master, Gandhi began to relate more to the poor and disadvantaged.  As he traveled and grew to know others outside his circle, he learned to empathize with the poor, with the black South Africans, and other Asians. It was only through engaging with these people did he learn to respect them.  Who are the disadvantaged in your community?  It can be the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, or other group.  Find a way to learn about their plight. Volunteering at a food bank, shelter, hospital, nursing home or other organization is a good way to do this. 

Impose your beliefs on self-discipline on others – After his experiments with truth, Gandhi was never contented to keep his newfound knowledge to himself.  He often inflicted his beliefs and self-improvement programs on his friends and family, especially his wife Kasturbai, often being stricter with them than he was with himself.  None of his children went to school because Gandhi believed the SA and Indian school systems indoctrinated the students to think of them as lesser than white people. Although he intended to home school his children, he rarely did as his public duties usually interfered.  As Gandhi, you will insist that your family or your friends join you in following one of the self-denial or self-sufficiency items you identified in the Activities Alone.  Monitor their progress as well your own, offering encouragement when progressing and expressing disappointment when they are not.  Self-discipline is important for everyone to learn and master.  

Preach – When Gandhi was not organizing resistance campaigns, he often traveled about India preaching the importance of education, sanitation, ahimsa, and self-sufficiency among his other passions.  From your own experiments with truth, write talks and begin preaching your truths.  You can do this in-person, perhaps at your local library, or via videos online.  

Find your followers – Throughout his life, Gandhi collected close friends and followers with whom he started communes and ashrams and mentored in his Satyagraha methods.  Initially, before he became well-known, he joined local societies, like the Vegetarian and Theosophical Societies in London, and developed close friendships and mentors.  In South Africa, he attended church groups with kindred spirits, and of course, again developed close friendships.  Some of these friends eventually became disciples, choosing to live in his communes or following him to India and living in his ashrams.   From your preaching and writing, find kindred souls who believe the same as you do, and foster your relationships with them.  Your goal is to surround yourself with a close knit group who share your truths. You may want to consider starting an online community with your followers. 

Start a movement – The culmination of being Gandhi is to start a social movement. Everything you have been doing has been preparation for this, and your are in a good position to begin a movement for change with your clarity of ideas, ability to self-sacrifice, and your close -knit community.  Work with your family, friends, and followers to identify a plan of action, possibly using Gandhi’s method of Satyagraha and writings as a blueprint.  Like Gandhi, you could start with petitions and then escalate to boycotts and protests.   Just remember that you are not alone.