“Modern life seems set up so that we can avoid loneliness at all costs, but maybe it's worthwhile to face it occasionally. The further we push aloneness away, the less are we able to cope with it, and the more terrifying it gets. Some philosophers believe that loneliness is the only true feeling there is. We live orphaned on a tiny rock in the immense vastness of space, with no hint of even the simplest form of life anywhere around us for billions upon billions of miles, alone beyond all imagining. We live locked in our own heads and can never entirely know the experience of another person. Even if we're surrounded by family and friends, we journey into death completely alone.” DeathSpaceFamilyJourneyLonelinessFriendsExperienceBillionsMilesAloneFeelingWorthwhileLockedImmensePersonModern LifeAlonenessVastnessAvoidPhilosophersTerrifyingCopeSurroundedHeadsOccasionallyOrphaned Book:The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit Source: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
“Language and hearing are seated in the cerebral cortex, the folded gray matter that covers the first couple of millimeters of the outer brain like wrapping paper. When one experiences silence, absent even reading, the cerebral cortex typically rests. Meanwhile, deeper and more ancient brain structures seem to be activated--the subcortical zones. People who live busy, noisy lives are rarely granted access to these areas. Silence, it appears, is not the opposite of sound. It is another world altogether, literally offering a deeper level of thought, a journey to the bedrock of the self.” WorldSelfReadingLanguageSoundBrainSilenceJourneyBusyAncientDeeperHearingAccessThoughtExperiencesNoisyBedrockStructuresGray MatterActivatedCerebral CortexSubcortical Book:The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit Source: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit