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There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

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Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#131

Post by Chiba-City »

adenozin wrote: post #125
Chiba-City wrote: post #113

FWIW, hundreds of thousands of Christian and Buddhist monks alive today all over our world live near to one another in cells or caves. A farming monastery in Arizona started 20 years ago is just beautiful and thriving. WV now has a Buddhist monastery. Buddhist monks are considered "ordained" but not most Christian monks. Lives of quiet or social Renunciation are everywhere and growing in number. Some even have fast W…

WV?

The Bhavana Society Theravadins (roughly "Tradition Of Elders") in High View, West Virginia take ordinations. Theravadins keep the earliest known Pali Sutta scriptures. It is its own idiom but surprisingly similar to Stoic philosophical traditions with a Orthodox Ladder of Divine Ascent group study and meditation regimen. Great life option for long lived calmer wiser folks who do not want to raise families and enjoy reading nonfiction.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#132

Post by jacquesm »

smallnamespace wrote: post #95
white-flame wrote: post #15

It baffles me that people think it's so shockingly outlandish that there are people who don't reactionarily buy into the tribalistic pressures around us to simply act like everyone else. Humanity is not homogeneous, yet some notions like these are always projected out to be considered an immutable, inescapable constant. I can only guess that's that same fear of being different shining through. I presume that on sites…

> buy into the tribalistic pressures around us to simply act like everyone else Does anyone else appreciate the delicious irony that parent is hitting all the right notes for an appeal to the tribe while at the same time criticizing tribalism? 1. Establish an 'us' vs. 'them' distinction ('I presume on sites like this') 2. Subtly denigrating outsiders ('draws many people outside the superficial social norms.') 3. Esta…

Monty Python nailed this sort of thing perfectly in 'The Life of Brian' in the 'You are all individuals' scene near the end.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#133

Post by jacquesm »

influx wrote: post #77
trentmb wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading [0], Dick was significantly more prepared, and had a friend that regularly fly in supplies. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke#Site

Nod, I've been more prepared going car camping for a weekend in the summer in a campground within walking distance of a resort than Chris Mccandless was going into Alaska for the winter. He should not be the benchmark for this thing.

He's the benchmark for undeclared suicides.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#134

Post by ZenoArrow »

exergy wrote: post #117
ZenoArrow wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Every time you buy something from Amazon, drink tap water, or live in a dwelling that you didn't build yourself, you are being a social creature." I'd say that's stretching the definition of social beyond the breaking point. Technically those interactions involve other humans, but none that you engage with directly. It's direct human interaction that is the key to whether something is 'social' or not IMO.

Quite the opposite. Yuval Harari explains really well in Sapiens that one of the keys to human success has been the ability to "do things together" at larger scales than any other species. For example, maritime trade going back millenia. That is true social "trust" in each other. The whole concept of money being a social construct is a very interesting thing to consider.

> "Quite the opposite."

Consider the context. The subject under discussion is those who want to be alone. It's quite possible to be alone whilst still enjoying the fruits of human collaboration.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#135

Post by cJ0th »

> Years ago, I went to India for a ten-day, silent retreat. I wanted to make myself go where I was afraid to go—deep down, inside my own head. I found it terrifying. Why don’t we want to be alone? Because the stuff that’s down there is stuff you don’t want to see.

I find it interesting that silent retreats work for so many people. While I do get some benefits from meditation it doesn't really lead me to terrifying situations. From time to time it feels like I am having some epiphanies wrt to my shortcomings but meditation seems too gentle to call those moments a confrontation. There is always this nice, cool distance between me and my thoughts. Throwing me into an impro theater group might be more beneficial (and terrifying). The required spontaneity would force the "actual me" to live through uncomfortable situations and perhaps grow.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#136

Post by trela »

vlunkr wrote: post #78
nabla9 wrote: post #42

Being alone and hiking and camping in the wilderness without human contact for longer period can be amazing experience. There can be initial anxiety and intense desire to go back after romance goes away and your internal shit comes to light. When there is constant need for do chores to survive but also free time and no human contact, no books, radio or music, mind gradually settles into itself. It's like coming from…

That was quite beautifully explained. I think I feel all of that to a smaller extent if I just turn off all my devices and let myself be alone with my thoughts for a while.

Every year, I put my phone in airplane mode for the week of my birthday. Aside from checking email on my laptop, I find the phone and state of always being connected disappear from my concern within the first day.

I spend those weeks doing things I've put off, or normally feel there isn't time for.

By now, I look forward to it. Birthdays have become a time for reflection and forecasting. By the end of the week, my life has been quietly rearranged. I like to think there's a surreptitious improvement in my life due to this.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#137

Post by KhanMahGretsch »

kisstheblade wrote: post #123
foodstances wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a TV series "Alone" where they drop people off in the remote woods (far from each other) and the person that can survive the longest by themselves wins $500k. As the season goes on, you can see a clear decline in the mental health of many of the contestants. Many drop out just out of sheer boredom or loneliness, even though they have decent shelter and can find food. The winners usually last about 2-3 months…

Yes but people who go on reality shows are the type that really can't function alone and without constant attention from others.

Alone is a televised contest, not a "reality show" as we've come to know them, so your comment does not apply.

The contestants (especially those who make it to later stages) are highly-skilled survivalists.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#138

Post by KhanMahGretsch »

This looks like a good thread to recommend one of my favourite YouTube channels, "Primitive Technology", which features all manner of tools and dwellings built caveman-style.

It's creator is a hacker in the truest sense; his forge-blower contraption, for instance, is simply ingenious.

Don't forget to turn on captions, the subtitles describe what he's doing :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#139

Post by johnminter »

stevedonovan wrote: post #124
patkai wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"unhelpfully pathologise the feeling that EVERYONE has" You may just have stumbled upon a new definition of extrovert, i.e. a person who finds this distinction meaningless. I'm half joking, but most people I know have a pretty consistent level of extra-intraversion.

It's a bit of a cats and dogs problem - there's mutual incomprehension. An introvert's nightmare is when the dogs judge the cat show - e.g. modern justifications for open-plan working environments.

IMHO this is the most apt description in the thread :)

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#140

Post by the_conformist »

b6 wrote: post #116
vorg wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am living in an age and country where not being socially pliant isn't something that would get me killed Not killed, but certainly the victim of gossip, even smear campaigns and gang stalking. You're an ideal patsy to cover up some sociopath's schemes. "You may not be interested in war, but war is interestwd in you."

When you say "gang stalking", I hear "schizophrenia".

That's what they told Hemingway and countless others. Good boy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/opinion/02hotchner.html

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