Solitude as a tool to PD

[Stephen]

Has anyone used solitude as a tool to help in getting perspective; thinking.....indeed anything?

When I mean solitude, I mean actually removing yourself almost from society (as much as possible) and remaining physically isolated for an extended time?

I know two champions who came to remotest Ireland, near where I used to to live, to do such things.......Rockwell Kent (Artist).....Wittgenstein(Philosopher)


Have any of you thrown the sleeping bag and the tent in the car and left behind ALL the gadgets; leaving you with just soliloquy to keep you company....and headed into the wilderness for a few days?

[Louise Gilbert]

I have not yet been as solitary as I would like but I've taken 14 days out camping with just the basics, no electricity, access to cold running water etc etc - this experience is amazing, I'd love to go longer. The first week is usually spent thinking about all the things I didn't do before I left..to cut a long story short, to sleep as the sun goes down, to rise with the sun alone connects me with something so greater beyond the self. Life becomes clear, simple, obvious - a gift. I return revitalized and rejuvenated..

[The David]

I spend most of my time alone, but I guess that wouldn't be the same as actual solitude. I still go to class, and live in an apartment with roommates who I occasionally see. I still have the concerns of living in society. Going into the wilderness is a good way to shift attention from those things.

Going to the beach is also good. There's nothing like the ocean to put things into perspective.

[Fullcrum]

I've never done it but I would definitely love to go into the wilderness as soon as possible alone for several days and just survive.

[Jim11]

You guys must have been watching into the wild. lol

Every year I go for at least 1 week somewhere where I'm outside with nothing unnecessary. Hiking or kayaking with a quiet beach or lake spot mixed in are usually what it ends up being.

It is essential for me.

[Stephen]

Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think or rest without being disturbed. It may be desired for the sake of privacy.

A distinction can be made between physical and mental seclusion. People may seek physical seclusion to remove distractions and make it easier to concentrate, reflect, or meditate. However, this is not necessarily an end in and of itself. Once a certain capacity to resist distractions is achieved, people become less sensitive to distractions and more capable of maintaining mindfulness and staying inwardly absorbed and concentrated. Such people, unless on a mission of helping others, don't seek any interaction with the external physical world. Their mindfulness is their world, at least ostensibly.

[Jes]

I have secluded myself in the past for long periods of time, and find it a great tool for PD. One of the best.

Be careful of your mental state in practice, however, especially if you have a pre-existing mental condition. When I began pursuing consistent solitude, I was mildy depressed. Now I'm certain my therapist considers me manic.





... But that doesn't mean I'd have it any other way.

[blueberry]

Solitude can be vital to empowering yourself if other people or circumstances are eating up your energy and awareness.

All personal development is work on ourselves to grow....

what better way to grow than by removing ourselves from the situations and people which reinforce our old stagnated way of being? when you are alone.... it's all you, baby.

I'm getting ready to take a sabbatical from my old way of life so I can get my priorities straight. In my current life situation with all it's demands and other people, it gets hard to hear myself over all of this NOISE! I miss me. So I think a vacation with myself is in order....

[stevedevane]

Great thought of the "vaction with myself," Blueberry. All the demands of life sure make a lot of noise. And for me a lot of noise also comes from inside.
My mentor often talks of the need to "stop the chatter" in our minds. One way I find to do this is to spend some time alone. Right now I have to drive about an hour to my job. I used to hate it and dreaded it like a toothache. About six months ago, I decided to turn it into a positive. So I never turn on the radio and try to use the time to think. It's not really solitude, because I still have to drive (me and 10,000 of my friends cruising along). But I do find that it helps me to think. And it's a lot less stressful than jumping from radio station to radio station trying to get a traffic report. This is one way I've learned that time alone can be very beneficial.

[garentee]

Solitude can be amazing or trouble. Depends on your state of mind. I spend a fair deal of time on my own with plenty of time to think Sometimes too much..Time by yourself I think is very beneficial to PD especially in an unfamiliar place. I am blessed to be able to have a good deal of solitude in a place that really is inspiring to me. I hope everyone can find a place that does the same.

[Dennis1]

sure i would love to do something like that but it would be depressing without anybody else

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by Stephen

Has anyone used solitude as a tool to help in getting perspective; thinking.....indeed anything?

When I mean solitude, I mean actually removing yourself almost from society (as much as possible) and remaining physically isolated for an extended time?

Do you mean going somewhere geographically isolated, like the mountains or desert? If so, then no, not often. For me, going somewhere isn't always necessary, and even when it is I don't have to go far.

Then again, I tend to be a lone wolf anyway. Solitude is part of my everyday life. I live in a busy urban neighborhood, but once I've closed the door, turn off the phone, and shut down the computer I can go for days without seeing or speaking to anyone. Sometimes I completely withdraw for a week to 10 days at a time, but even during my most socially-involved phases I always find space for solitude during the couse of a day.

If I have a big problem or decision I need to mull over, I've found that I rarely need more than a couple of hours, and maybe a pen and a notebook to convince myself of what I already know, then decide what course of action to take. I don't need to lock myself away for days, or go away in order to do that. In fact, if I do I tend to over-think things, and make it all needlessly complicated.

I've reached some of the biggest, toughest decisions of my life in about ten minutes, while sitting at my kitchen table. I've had sudden realizations about how I short-change and sabotage myself while standing in line at the supermarket. I've received life-changing inspiration in the shower. I've reached an understanding about a difficult relationship while riding the bus across town.

I think what I'm getting at is that somehow I've cultivated an inner solitude that allows me to retreat into a contemplative space without actually going anywhere, and that doesn't demand I remove myself from society or my everyday life. Sure, there are some things that are incredibly distracting, and will get in my way if I let them--specifically, the Internet, radio, and television. But I have the power to shut those off and put them aside. They're just gadgets, after all.

I know two champions who came to remotest Ireland, near where I used to to live, to do such things.......Rockwell Kent (Artist).....Wittgenstein(Philosopher)

But did they do so specifically for the solitude? Or was it because that place, in itself, was so radically different from their permanent residences that it helped them re-envision their work and tackle it with renewed enthusiasm?

I ask this because for me, leaving home is a great way to get a lot of creative work done--after all, creativity thrives on difference and change. I've done a lot of writing and made a lot of watercolor studies for future paintings while hanging out in hotel rooms, for example.

I like traveling because it gets the creative juices flowing and it also gets me away from all the mundane tasks that "must" get done before I can settle in to creative work--cleaning the catbox, washing dishes, paying the bills, cutting the grass. It also pulls me away from my routine and my social circle, forcing me into a different headspace where everything seems new and strange again--including my own work.

But renting a temporary studio or office space in an unfamiliar part of town (and not installing phone or Internet), would do the same trick for me creatively as running off to the desert, or the remotest part of Ireland. I don't so much need solitude to work as I do strangeness. If I stayed too long, the space and the neighborhood would become too familiar (just as the desert, or the remotest part of Ireland would). I'd accumulate too much stuff. I'd get tuned in to neighborhood gossip and drama. I'd develop a group of friends that I ended up hanging out with instead of getting work done. I'd start to get distracted by mundane matters again, settling into a rut, and at that point it would be time to move on, to another strange space in an unfamiliar neighborhood, or even an outlying town.