Be Alone, Be One

This thread is about transforming loneliness into aloneness, and understanding the difference between the two states.

The word "alone" is a contraction that comes from old English meaning "all one". If you are truly alone, then you are one, you are undivided within yourself. The pain of loneliness occurs when a person begins to seek a source of happiness outside of himself, therefore he is no longer "all one".

If he projects his mental, physical, and spiritual energies towards some object of his desire, hoping, in vain, that this object will bring him happiness, then he fundamentally divides himself within his own mind. The greater the number of objects which he desires, the more divided and torn will he be within himself.

The human mind, or "soul", if you prefer that word, is infinitely deep and vast. We contain within ourselves a fathomless reservoir of energy that can be shaped, directed, intensified, or, through ignorant action, dissipated and wasted on nothing.

Society encourages us to waste our energy on nothing. It encourages us to spend our mental energy on as many objects of desire as possible. The average person in society is so completely riven within himself that he is never truly alone. He is never truly "all one". There is always some external object which is pulling his inner energy this way and that, be it a potential girlfriend, the prospect of making more money, a thought about the future, or what have you. Thus, even those who are surrounded by people may feel very lonely. Even those who are married can feel isolated and cut off.

Why? Because the objects of desire obstruct the one thing that brings about happiness, and that is CONNECTION. If we are connected, then our deep inner energy is not wasted, it is not dissipated on some illusory object of desire.

When we no longer seek after objects of desire, projecting our energy outwardly this way and that, then who we are takes on a vastly different meaning. Then we are undivided, and thus become one within ourselves. Suddenly the true depth and scope of the inner world which you possess is revealed, and the person becomes a true individual, a word which again means undivided.

Try this and see. Instead of wasting your energy on the objects of desire that you have built up in your head as being important, vest within, or IN-vest, those mental, physical, and spiritual energies by not chasing anything outside of yourself. Then you will be all one, alone, and will cease to be lonely.

 

If you are interested in Jed Mckenna and Buddhism, you may be interested in the work of J. Krishnamurti. His teachings can be found here: http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/index.php

Society keeps us in a box. One of the best things that you can do is to go walking in nature on your own for a decent amount of time to free your mind from the prison of society. Nature has a cleansing affect on the mind, being in nature purifies it. If you can, go to a national park or wilderness area and camp out overnight. Don't take anything with you that could distract you (keep your phone turned off, but charged in case of emergency). After a certain amount of time, just by being in nature and letting your senses reawaken, just by watching the river and trees or whatever is around you, you will being to see your entire life, past and present, reflected in front of you. You will step out of the network of thought that is your past self through simple, choiceless observation. The more time you spend alone in nature, the more in tune your mind will become and the more about yourself you will see. Not only that, but once you see what you were, it will begin to dissolve away, and you will return to civilisation as a new person.

I didn't have many friends growing up, and struggled with family issues that plagued upon my mind for most of my youth. For this reason I always felt better when I was alone: going to the lake, taking trips on my own, etc. It was always what felt natural for me, to be on my own.

But the real key is to cleanse the mind of these inner divisions, these inner distractions which pull our psychological energy this way and that. Again, for me the best way to see the whole network of our inner state is to immerse the mind in nature, which is pure and undivided.