Interesting article from a book I read recently.
I guess many cultures have encouraged people to take time in silence and solitude, but it's definately been lost these days!
I know that a solitary bimble in the hills - even if it's just for an afternoon - can help refresh my brain and makes me feel like a new person.A 24-hour period of absolute solitude
Our brains are constantly subjected to the demands of multi-tasking and a seemingly endless cacophony of information from diverse sources. [...]
My dangerous idea is that what's needed to attain optimal brain performance with or without prior brain exercise is a 24-hour period of absolute solitude. By absolute solitude I mean no verbal interactions of any kind (written or spoken, live or recorded) with another human being. I would venture that a significantly higher proportion of people reading these words have tried skydiving than experienced one day of absolute solitude.
What to do to fill the waking hours? That's a question that each person would need to answer for him/herself. Unless you've spent time in a monastery or in solitary confinement it's unlikely that you've had to deal with this issue. The only activity not proscribed is thinking. Imagine if everyone in this country had the opportunity to do nothing but engage in uninterrupted thought for one full day a year!
[cont]
Leo Chalupa:
http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_12.html
(scroll down 2/3 of the page)
I guess many cultures have encouraged people to take time in silence and solitude, but it's definately been lost these days!