Day Seven: Find Solitude
“In nature, in solitude, the soft voice of wisdom can be heard.” Anonymous
We are all so “connected” in our modern world it's pretty rare if we actually have real time to ourselves, by ourselves. Even when we are “alone” chances are we are on our smartphones scrolling through social media, watching television, distracting ourselves by reading, or whatever else we "do". We rarely or never spend time alone with our own feelings and thoughts, let alone time with ourselves alone in nature with the intention to find our own wild. In fact, this activity may be the first time any of you have even done this, and we are so excited for you to do it!
Part of the reason researchers think we do not enjoy spending time alone has to do with our brain and a survival mechanism, the Scanner Hypothesis. This hypothesis states that as mammals we’ve evolved to monitor our environments for both danger and opportunity so when we are alone our brains may read it as danger. In fact this study found when participants were given the chance to sit alone with their own thoughts or shock themselves, 25% of women and 67% of men chose to shock themselves. This shows how much we don't like being alone.
Despite our preferences for having other people around us, it turns out solitude in nature has some pretty positive effects if we are willing to go solo and listen. When you are able to turn inward and find that inner wisdom that you are normally distracted from by all the outside “connections'', magic happens. Some of this magic is:
Increased Confidence: Spending time alone is usually outside of most people’s comfort zone. Many of us rely on other people's opinions and advice when making decisions, but when we spend time alone we gain the confidence to make those decisions on our own. We learn that we can rely on ourselves and we are so much more than other people’s opinions and advice. This self-awareness is the path to real confidence.
Increased Creativity: This 2012 study showed a link in subjects being immersed in wilderness and an increase in their creative problem solving skills due to what Dr. Strayer and his team hypothesize as an “advantage that comes from an increase in exposure to natural stimuli that are both emotionally positive and low-arousing, and a corresponding decrease in exposure to attention-demanding technology, which regularly requires that we react to sudden events, switch among tasks, maintain task goals, and inhibit irrelevant actions or cognitions”. So many of our greatest creative thinkers and writers, like Virginia Woolf and Monet have been inspired by their best muse, nature. Even modern day clothing designer Alexander McQueen said “There is no better designer than nature.”
Increased Mental Capacity Including Concentration & Memory: Social loafing is the phenomenon where people working in a group do less to memorize information because they assume someone else in the group will do it. This study found that groups working collaboratively to recall information performed worse than individuals recalling things on their own.
Solitude allows our brains to “re-boot”: When we are always “on” our brains do not get a chance to rest and time in nature by ourselves allies for this time and pause for our brain. Clearing out all the distractions allows our brains to focus, become clear, and revitalize itself thus creating increased capacity and concentration.
Meditation: Listen to this meditation: Embracing Solitude by Melinda Neely
Activity: We are going to spend some time alone in nature! Find a place in a natural setting where you can be alone and not get distracted by other people around. Leave your phone at home or if you need it for safety reasons put it in airplane mode where you cannot see it. If you can dedicate an entire day to yourself, bring plenty of water and snacks to sustain yourself for the day. If you don’t have an entire day, try to spend at least a full hour alone. Allow your mind to wander but don’t get caught up in any ruminating thoughts. Let them go if you do and allow your mind to eventually settle. You may (probably will) feel uncomfortable (remember the people who shocked themselves over being alone?) but don’t throw in the towel if you start having uncomfortable feelings- try to stick it out as long as you can.
Safety tips: Make sure to let someone know exactly where you are going and when to expect you to return. If you are not experienced going into nature alone, make sure to choose a spot that you know well so you do not get lost.
Write in your journal the following:
Share: Share any of your observations in the Facebook group along with a selfie of you solo in nature!
Affirmation: Recite the following affirmation out loud: “I am comfortable being alone with my thoughts in nature. It allows me to reconnect with myself and the wild around me without distraction.”
Go back to:
Introduction
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
We are all so “connected” in our modern world it's pretty rare if we actually have real time to ourselves, by ourselves. Even when we are “alone” chances are we are on our smartphones scrolling through social media, watching television, distracting ourselves by reading, or whatever else we "do". We rarely or never spend time alone with our own feelings and thoughts, let alone time with ourselves alone in nature with the intention to find our own wild. In fact, this activity may be the first time any of you have even done this, and we are so excited for you to do it!
Part of the reason researchers think we do not enjoy spending time alone has to do with our brain and a survival mechanism, the Scanner Hypothesis. This hypothesis states that as mammals we’ve evolved to monitor our environments for both danger and opportunity so when we are alone our brains may read it as danger. In fact this study found when participants were given the chance to sit alone with their own thoughts or shock themselves, 25% of women and 67% of men chose to shock themselves. This shows how much we don't like being alone.
Despite our preferences for having other people around us, it turns out solitude in nature has some pretty positive effects if we are willing to go solo and listen. When you are able to turn inward and find that inner wisdom that you are normally distracted from by all the outside “connections'', magic happens. Some of this magic is:
Increased Confidence: Spending time alone is usually outside of most people’s comfort zone. Many of us rely on other people's opinions and advice when making decisions, but when we spend time alone we gain the confidence to make those decisions on our own. We learn that we can rely on ourselves and we are so much more than other people’s opinions and advice. This self-awareness is the path to real confidence.
Increased Creativity: This 2012 study showed a link in subjects being immersed in wilderness and an increase in their creative problem solving skills due to what Dr. Strayer and his team hypothesize as an “advantage that comes from an increase in exposure to natural stimuli that are both emotionally positive and low-arousing, and a corresponding decrease in exposure to attention-demanding technology, which regularly requires that we react to sudden events, switch among tasks, maintain task goals, and inhibit irrelevant actions or cognitions”. So many of our greatest creative thinkers and writers, like Virginia Woolf and Monet have been inspired by their best muse, nature. Even modern day clothing designer Alexander McQueen said “There is no better designer than nature.”
Increased Mental Capacity Including Concentration & Memory: Social loafing is the phenomenon where people working in a group do less to memorize information because they assume someone else in the group will do it. This study found that groups working collaboratively to recall information performed worse than individuals recalling things on their own.
Solitude allows our brains to “re-boot”: When we are always “on” our brains do not get a chance to rest and time in nature by ourselves allies for this time and pause for our brain. Clearing out all the distractions allows our brains to focus, become clear, and revitalize itself thus creating increased capacity and concentration.
Meditation: Listen to this meditation: Embracing Solitude by Melinda Neely
Activity: We are going to spend some time alone in nature! Find a place in a natural setting where you can be alone and not get distracted by other people around. Leave your phone at home or if you need it for safety reasons put it in airplane mode where you cannot see it. If you can dedicate an entire day to yourself, bring plenty of water and snacks to sustain yourself for the day. If you don’t have an entire day, try to spend at least a full hour alone. Allow your mind to wander but don’t get caught up in any ruminating thoughts. Let them go if you do and allow your mind to eventually settle. You may (probably will) feel uncomfortable (remember the people who shocked themselves over being alone?) but don’t throw in the towel if you start having uncomfortable feelings- try to stick it out as long as you can.
Safety tips: Make sure to let someone know exactly where you are going and when to expect you to return. If you are not experienced going into nature alone, make sure to choose a spot that you know well so you do not get lost.
Write in your journal the following:
- Was this activity uncomfortable for you? What was the most uncomfortable aspect of it? (Boredom, ruminating thoughts, emotions coming up etc.)
- After you were done with the activity did you feel any different?
- Is this activity something you would like to do again?
Share: Share any of your observations in the Facebook group along with a selfie of you solo in nature!
Affirmation: Recite the following affirmation out loud: “I am comfortable being alone with my thoughts in nature. It allows me to reconnect with myself and the wild around me without distraction.”
Go back to:
Introduction
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six