[strangestdude]

Yo,

I was researching more into MBTI and came across a youtube channel which presented one of the most thought-provoking videos that I've seen in a long time.

The video is about introversion, the value of silence, and comfort with isolation.





What's your life theme? And do you value silence?

My life theme is; meaning. My life has been a constant search for the/a meaning behind experiences, behaviour, events and ultimately existence. I'm sure many will share this theme.

And I though I've experienced the value of silence, I don't 'observe' it. Whilst I was on holiday in Malaysia I had no TV, laptop, MP3 player, etc. And I had a mobile, but I rarely even touched it. After the initial 'withdrawl' my mind became quieter, I no longer felt the constant pull to fill my consciousness with mild stimulation (music, TV, etc).

Some of my most pleasent memories are sitting on a step, eating breakfast alone in the early hours of the morning watching hens wonder around the garden, and hearing a Quran recital in the distance. I also recall fondly realizing how loud the sounds of insects were at night - they used to make a beautiful racket.

Looking back prolonged silence helped me to appreciate subtitles in my environment that I commonly overlooked. It also helped me to feel the inner tension and cognitive changes that technology can facilitate (Neil Postman brilliantly elaborates on this point).

Anyway... please share.

[possibilities]

as people continue to migrate to the cities in droves, the appreciation of silence falls by the wayside. i live in portland, oregon now and while it is a beautiful city with nature intertwined with it, it is still a city. i still come home stressed from traffic, noise, etc. over-stimulation is what it is. too much to process at too rapid a pace, for me anyway. add in all the current technological trends (mobile devices especially) and it's a lot to deal with. i think it's making people more selfish too, but that's another story. some of my favorite moments have been in nature, far away from the city, just closing my eyes and listening for that ten second period where all i can hear is a gentle breeze fluttering the leaves on the trees above.

[Sily]

Beautiful silence. I love it.



As to my Life Theme: a mixture of Self, Wonder, Beauty, Peace, Learning, Fun.

[SweetieDee]

I wish I could possess the confidence of Ralphie in A Christmas Story when his teacher asks the class to write a theme. Grumbles ensue because it sounds like work. A moment later, the topic of the theme is announced: "What I Want For Christmas." Well, that's not so bad! That sounds like fun! Sighs of relief abound, and Ralphie's eyes light up with a sparkle. He knows exactly what his theme is going to be about, without hesitation: an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

10-year old Ralphie wrote his theme paper with enthusiasm and passion.

31-year old Diane instantly thinks of 100 different themes, all ranging in complicating intricacy, with layers upon layers of deep philosophical quandaries and revelations. However, all those things are just lumps in the gravy. If I stripped away the gravy itself...if I had to narrow it all down to the simplest, purest form, it would be this: Authenticity.

And what does authenticity entail? The humblest form of humanity in which a universal acceptance of truth and love abides. There is no authenticity in religion. No authenticity in dogma. No authenticity in money. No authenticity in power. No authenticity in government.

Nothing is "real." Everything is an illusion created to keep adding more lumps to the gravy.

I want it all dissolved. I want everyone to accept the authentic truth, without the infinite man-made created lumps, which only aid in creating excessive misery, fighting, discrimination, hatred, confusion, war, superiority, and bloodshed.

John Lennon got it right. The authentic truth is this: Love is real. Real is love.

It's really that simple.

The universe is an infinity of authentic energy, and humans are incapable of rising above this chaotic-filled, superficially created existence in order to grasp it, understand it, or even see that it's there. That it's inside of us. That it's everything.

...and I don't think that a football makes a very good Christmas present. :)

[OpRise]

That was an interesting video. Thanks for posting! I very much enjoy solitude although I'm not sure how much I "observe" it. I enjoy spending time alone with my thoughts, writing stream of conscious, introspecting, and love nothing more than a day with books and thoughts. (well, i suppose books break the silence she is talking about). I spent a week wandering around Paris alone, and I loved every minute, though I communicated with people as needed. It was so refreshing to (mostly) not hear English all week, while wandering around on foot and following an inner compass wherever it led. No rules, no schedule, plenty of time to sit in a park and just Be. Be still, let the mind drift, integrate body and mind as one and flow into existence.

I recently did something similar on a 2-week camping road trip. I interacted at convenient stores and via iphone and so on, but there was still plenty of silence on the road and at campgrounds. I agree about the (beautiful) noise of things that are easy to overlook. I was recently looking over my journal and noticed that the sound of the gentle breeze through the pines was calming, and not entirely different from the sound of the sea. Yet so much louder than I had ever heard! With people and talking, it is drowned out, but in solitude it is inescapable and grand. The sound of birds was beautiful music, the sound of my feet crunching on hiking trails bliss.

I think being able to spend time alone is valuable, but for me relationships are also important, particularly for me with regard to close, deep friendships (even if they don't last forever, but you learn from each other) and maintaining relationships with people who you know are "good people" even if you don't see them all that often. I agree that we should all reach a place where we can not feel lonely while being alone. However, I desire to understand and be understood. I am very interested and curious about humanity in general and more and more about the experiences of the people around me. I want to be part of a community to a greater degree, and do something useful in my life for others that is also fulfilling for me. In that sense, I haven't striven to date of living like a ghost, and while I appreciate the beauty in that and find it intriguing, I have yet to embrace it as a way of life for myself. I feel like my self-absorption has been a kind of detachment, exacerbated by fear of of being hurt, and at least in my case it has been unhealthy. On the other hand, I think it is healthy for me to release EXPECTATIONS. I want to put everything out there with no expectations from others (or myself), and that is difficult and something I "practice". To live unafraid, more open and expressive, vulnerably.

The theme of my life has been the value of the search. The inward and outward search for my path, who i am, why i exist - why i Feel i exist, how to accept and reconcile the beauty and cruelty in the world/in humans, how to become an integrated whole, the appropriate balance between thought and action, and one day... how to live in humor and humility, satisfied and effortlessly living in the present, proud of my life and the way i have lived it.

[Belovodia]

The female in the video put into words exactly how I feel, but stuggle to articulate.
The op mentioned withdrawal from all the distractions and noise and I always wondered why,
after being with people and stimulation that I would find it quite painful to be alone once again.
I guess it's like a drug, and when I pass that withdrawal phase, I often feel a wonderful serenity
and stillness.

Perhaps this is tied in with what Eckhart Tolle calls 'presence' and being in solitiude allows this.
Would the ideal be to take this 'presence' into the noise and chaos, somehow maintaing this stillness.

I think I should have gone the monastic path.

[infpblog]

The theme of life is growth. In life, you will never be at a point where you have no problems. To me growth is about going from one set of problems to a better set of problems. I don't have the same problems now as I do when I was 20. I think my new problems are more fascinating and more interesting than when I was 20 when my biggest problem was how to pay rent and how to get girlfriend.

As for silence, it's a tool. If you're life is about Creative Self-Expression (i.e. expressing who you are in what you create in your life by what you do, by the relationships you create, by how you choose to live your life) then you use the tools that are best suited for what you choose to create in your life. Silence may or may not be the best tool to use to express your being.

[Ntuitive]

I love your blog

[infpblog]

I love your blog

Thank you.

[Meowmixmuffin]

Hmm.
I have more than one life theme. If I had to narrow it down, I'd say that mine would be experience, equality, happiness, balance and knowledge. Those are the core things that I strive for in life - My values, my goals. The reason I do the things that I do.
Whenever I have doubts about something, I usually fall back on the question, "Is this an experience I want to die with?"
It's my way of pushing myself out of my shell. I want to experience everything. I love life. I love being alive. Whenever I get the chance to do something new, I try to take it, for that reason.
I value knowledge simply because I strive to broaden my horizons. Ignorance frustrates me to no end, particularly when it's myself. Equality is what I want to see in the world. Happiness is something I'm proud of achieving, and want to impose on everyone else. :P Balance is something I constantly work to maintain.

I guess I don't "observe silence".
It's kind of interesting. An extrovert might be an individual who this person considers to "fear silence". That might not necessarily always be the case - They just don't hold the same value to it, or take away from it the benefits that an introvert would. They don't feel the need for it. Me, I don't think I "observe silence". I certainly never go 11 days without talking to anyone. I would be a nervous wreck. I like people, I like being around people and having relationships. I just need my space.

I also don't do the whole simplicity thing. Actually, I'd go out on a limb and say I'm rather complicated, and that is translated into some aspects of my life as well. I find simplicity very dull. I wouldn't want to live in a house with no decorations, plain white walls, two meals a day. I love food. I love colors and decorations. I love complexities. I love aromas and tastes and sensations and visuals. I do what makes me happy, and simplicity isn't what makes me happy. So why should I strive for simplicity when it's not one of my "themes", and in fact, depresses me? My artistic side is tangent in almost every aspect of my life. Art is rarely simple.

Despite that I don't take that time to honor silence and sit in solitude, I do feel comfortable with myself. I don't think my not wanting 11 days of solitude necessarily has anything to do with being uncomfortable in my own skin. I love my mind. I don't always love my body, but I'm still more comfortable in it than a lot of people, I think. If I sat in silence for a long time with nothing but myself, the fact of the matter is that I would be indescribably lonely.
"Happiness is best shared".
To sit in silence with nothing but myself is a waste of my time, and a waste of my life. I want to go out and have amazing experiences. I want to travel, I want to see the world! I want to feel the sun on my face and the wind at my back, as cliche as that is. I've hit rock bottom and bounced back up again, escaped death on more than one occasion, and that's exactly how I want it. I want to pack into my life as much as I possibly have time for.
I need breaks, sure. I need silence. But not for that long. That would be torture.