Not Loneliness, But Aloneness

Aloneness is the state of being, as the author says, and that is the time when I feel deeply connected with myself, finding myself, and that is the way I feel aloneness in a positive and constructive way. I feel aloneness and fullness when I am walking in the natural environment and feel being a part of nature, being connected with nature. That is aloneness to me. I am in the state of being and not in the state of doing. Aloneness to me is a shift from the zone of doing where the mind is busy, cluttered and chattering. When I make a shift from doing to being I feel deeply connected with myself, with nature, with the people around me. That to me is aloneness. I experience that many many times when I am by myself, with myself, engaged in doing something that is deep and profound. I experience that when I am fully absorbed in listening to music. By practicing Mindfulness Meditation regularly I feel aloneness and not loneliness. These are the times that I feel full inside myself and nothing is missing at the moment.
As I mentioned before, when I am fully connected with myself and fully present to myself, I experience that tincture of solitude. I feel at home. I feel solitary without missing anything in my life. That experience of fullness provides the tincture of solitude.
Last week I was listening to a podcast on Mindful Living. The speaker recommended to take one hou a day solitary retreat. During this alone time be mindful of how you feel when you are alone. If you practice it regularly, you cultivate the ability of being by yourself without feeling lonely. I followed his advice. Since I have been practicing mindfulness meditation, this everyday retreat experience was very helpful to me.During this one hour of alone time I feel deeply connected with myself. We all need to cultivate our ability to be at ease with ourselves when we are by ourselves. It is like home coming.
Namaste!
Jagdish P Dave Hide full comment

Orson Welles said, "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone." That's not sad, that's just how it is. And Lily Tomlin wisely said, "We're all in this together alone." Again, that's not sad, that's just how we are. Each wave in the ocean is differentiated and is part of one ocean. We can share and be intimately close with another, and are still essentially and ultimately alone. Tincture is an interesting word. It means a medicinal solution made of various ingredients. I sometimes experience the tincture of solitude when I make a decision, for a decision is comprised of more ingredients than I can imagine, is simultaneously mine alone, and is medicinal if it makes me more whole. I am aware of this especially when making a difficult decision and feeling particularly alone. I don't make time for aloneness. I make time to appreciate my aloneness. I'm always alone, and sometimes much more aware of it than at other times. I can be in the midst of people and activities that mask my aloneness, but I'm still alone. I often give myself alone time, such as first thing in the morning alone with my thoughts as is happening right now, or alone time reflecting in my office during the day between appointments with others, or evening alone time in my yard wondering and being grateful. What helps me make time to bask in my aloneness is experiencing that it is in my aloneness that I feel most part of all that is, most at peace and most fulfilled. These are times of not only the medicine of aloneness but the alchemy of aloneness. Hide full comment