General Information
We live a great deal of our lives in our mind. It’s memories and language are the core of our relationships with ourselves and with others. Unfortunately, when we find ourselves alone, our mind can experience a deep and debilitating loneliness. Aloneness can taint our normal perceptions and understanding of our situation. It can alter how we feel in “normal” situations. Imagine waiting for a bus at a dark street corner in a big city. If you are with friends you may be relaxed and even laughing. How differently would that moment feel if you were alone?
The Lonely Mind aches for someone to share their experiences. It needs someone to engage in conversation. It wants someone to share in the exploration of ideas and experiences. It looks for someone to help confirm its beliefs and world view. When the loneliness extends over time, the mind yearns for someone to share and build memories. When that extended time becomes a lifetime, the mind may simply go to sleep, losing interest in life, and falling back into the mental laziness of clichés and yielding to popular opinion.
It is imperative that the mind find ways to transform loneliness into solitude.
The Mind in Solitude is able to listen to voices from books, past relationships, imagined folks, and folks far away in time or distance. It is able to engage these voices. The Mind in Solitude is able to relive and renew very old memories. This remembering confirms and supports our beliefs and world view. The Mind in Solitude is able to listen to our deeper selves and experience insights and new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us. The Mind in Solitude has the room to grow, expand, and develop as long as it does not fall back into itself and become lonely and lost. Solitude enables us to maintain our place in our inner world as well as world of relationships beyond ourselves.
And so, the question is, “How can we transform the Lonely Mind to a Mind in Solitude?”
The Lonely Mind aches for someone to share their experiences. It needs someone to engage in conversation. It wants someone to share in the exploration of ideas and experiences. It looks for someone to help confirm its beliefs and world view. When the loneliness extends over time, the mind yearns for someone to share and build memories. When that extended time becomes a lifetime, the mind may simply go to sleep, losing interest in life, and falling back into the mental laziness of clichés and yielding to popular opinion.
It is imperative that the mind find ways to transform loneliness into solitude.
The Mind in Solitude is able to listen to voices from books, past relationships, imagined folks, and folks far away in time or distance. It is able to engage these voices. The Mind in Solitude is able to relive and renew very old memories. This remembering confirms and supports our beliefs and world view. The Mind in Solitude is able to listen to our deeper selves and experience insights and new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us. The Mind in Solitude has the room to grow, expand, and develop as long as it does not fall back into itself and become lonely and lost. Solitude enables us to maintain our place in our inner world as well as world of relationships beyond ourselves.
And so, the question is, “How can we transform the Lonely Mind to a Mind in Solitude?”
Tips
Fortunately, transforming loneliness of mind can be very easy if we will simply take the time to do it.
Reading is the first line of defense against loneliness of mind. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, books or blogs, graphic novels or history books; reading helps us to engage the author in an internal dialogue. We can get lost in a story and come to know and care about the characters and story line. We can dance with new ideas and wrestle with challenging perspectives beyond our normal view. Reading introduces us to and helps us to expand the world of ideas and our relationships while being alone.
A powerful way to re-enter the realm of memory is by spending time looking through old pictures and remembering stories about people and places. When you are alone and beginning to feel lonely, take out your phone and start looking at the photos. Or you can pull down that box of old family photos in your closet and start going through them. The places and people in those pictures will evoke memories and bring alive relationships that have become buried in time. The memories that are reawakened will confirm that these people are still very much a part of our lives. Because they lived, we are alive!
A third way to transform the loneliness of mind into solitude is to spend time listening to the monkeys swinging from the many branches of our mind. “Monkey Mind” is an old idea that says each of us have chattering voices in our heads. These voices are like monkeys swinging from one branch to another while engaging other moneys swinging on other branches. Don’t worry, everyone experiences this far more often than they will admit. Listening in can actually be quite entertaining and informative. Sit quietly and listen as our monkey mind swings from branch to branch. What is the monkey talking about? How often does the conversation change? What does this chatter suggest about what is important to you? What is preoccupying your mind at the moment? Do not take this too seriously, but doing so does enable us to get in touch with our inner selves in a refreshing way.
Finally, as I alluded to earlier, being alone offers us the opportunity to explore the foolish and strange ideas that come to us from time to time. We may encounter an intriguing thought or perception in a book or a snippet of remembered conversation. You can transform your loneliness of mind by seizing upon this bit of mental flotsam by playing “What if….” with the idea. Or “Why do they believe that…?” Solitude offers us the chance to explore beyond what others believe and expect of us. It allows us the freedom to test ideas beyond the boundaries of our own “sensible” and firmly held values. This may confirm what we already believe or offer us a glimpse of a new path. Regardless, it will allow the lemon of loneliness to become the sweet lemonade of solitude.
Transform your loneliness of mind and experience the joy who you are!
Reading is the first line of defense against loneliness of mind. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, books or blogs, graphic novels or history books; reading helps us to engage the author in an internal dialogue. We can get lost in a story and come to know and care about the characters and story line. We can dance with new ideas and wrestle with challenging perspectives beyond our normal view. Reading introduces us to and helps us to expand the world of ideas and our relationships while being alone.
A powerful way to re-enter the realm of memory is by spending time looking through old pictures and remembering stories about people and places. When you are alone and beginning to feel lonely, take out your phone and start looking at the photos. Or you can pull down that box of old family photos in your closet and start going through them. The places and people in those pictures will evoke memories and bring alive relationships that have become buried in time. The memories that are reawakened will confirm that these people are still very much a part of our lives. Because they lived, we are alive!
A third way to transform the loneliness of mind into solitude is to spend time listening to the monkeys swinging from the many branches of our mind. “Monkey Mind” is an old idea that says each of us have chattering voices in our heads. These voices are like monkeys swinging from one branch to another while engaging other moneys swinging on other branches. Don’t worry, everyone experiences this far more often than they will admit. Listening in can actually be quite entertaining and informative. Sit quietly and listen as our monkey mind swings from branch to branch. What is the monkey talking about? How often does the conversation change? What does this chatter suggest about what is important to you? What is preoccupying your mind at the moment? Do not take this too seriously, but doing so does enable us to get in touch with our inner selves in a refreshing way.
Finally, as I alluded to earlier, being alone offers us the opportunity to explore the foolish and strange ideas that come to us from time to time. We may encounter an intriguing thought or perception in a book or a snippet of remembered conversation. You can transform your loneliness of mind by seizing upon this bit of mental flotsam by playing “What if….” with the idea. Or “Why do they believe that…?” Solitude offers us the chance to explore beyond what others believe and expect of us. It allows us the freedom to test ideas beyond the boundaries of our own “sensible” and firmly held values. This may confirm what we already believe or offer us a glimpse of a new path. Regardless, it will allow the lemon of loneliness to become the sweet lemonade of solitude.
Transform your loneliness of mind and experience the joy who you are!
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