#77 | Alone with no phone
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Being alone & actually sitting with our own thoughts can lead to such growth and realizations that are rare in our everyday busy lives.” — Kourtney Kardashian
As Kourtney thoughtfully says above, profound things can happen when we’re alone.
This week I’m digital detoxing. I’m offline in a cabin, in the foothills of Mt. Kenya. I have a stack of good books, a gas burner, water purification tablets, peanuts and a woolly hat. I could survive for months, so I should make it through five days.
The last time I spent time alone (I mean really alone) I was on Burgazadası, an island just off Istanbul. I took a psychedelic substance (my first experience) and had some big ol’ realisations that I won’t dive too deep into here.
The experience has stayed with me; both emotionally (in my outlook) and physically (as the journal I kept throughout). It’s hilarious. Here’s an extract from 1.50 pm on the day: “…is anything I’ve experienced real? I have a vague sense of the future, but is that a visualisation too? What is real? Was I ever real? I am laughing - even as I lose myself and what is “I”. What is I?”. I lost the plot. Then, at 2.57 pm (nearly 2 hours later), “Wow I don’t exist any more! … Even my glasses don’t make a difference.” You can imagine my surprise. The journal goes on for fifty more pages.
I finish writing at 4.47 pm. My final line: “Okay, I’m now going to see more of the Universe! Whoop… So Let’s Go!”.
There’s a lesson in there somewhere. So this week, have fun seeing more of the universe. Look up, it’s so beautiful.
My week in books
When the Body Says No, by Gabor Maté. I always thought being a nice, breezy, easy-going, laid-back dude was the key to a long and happy life. Maté has news: It’s not. Maté tells us that our physiological and psychological health is two sides of the same coin. Internalising stress (from a young age) can have terrible consequences to our physical health in adulthood: and the pages are full of lives tragically ruined by illness that (Maté says) is brought about by stress. Recommended. Link.
Live well,
Hector