How to Be Alone PDF Download

Author: Sara Maitland
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 1250059038
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 145

View

Book Description
IN THIS AGE OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY, LEARN HOW TO ENJOY SOLITUDE AND FIND HAPPINESS WITHOUT OTHERS. Our fast-paced society does not approve of solitude; being alone is antisocial and some even find it sinister. Why is this so when autonomy, personal freedom, and individualism are more highly prized than ever before? In How to Be Alone, Sara Maitland answers this question by exploring changing attitudes throughout history. Offering experiments and strategies for overturning our fear of solitude, she helps us practice it without anxiety and encourages us to see the benefits of spending time by ourselves. By indulging in the experience of being alone, we can be inspired to find our own rewards and ultimately lead more enriched, fuller lives.

Author: Stephen Batchelor
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252277
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 198

View

Book Description
In a time of social distancing and isolation, a meditation on the beauty of solitude from renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor “Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it. A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.”—Kirkus Reviews “Elegant and formally ingenious.”—Geoff Wisner, Wall Street Journal When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth. This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. Spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca, and training himself to keep an open, questioning mind have all contributed to Batchelor’s ability to be simultaneously alone and at ease. Mixed in with his personal narrative are inspiring stories from solitude’s devoted practitioners, from the Buddha to Montaigne, from Vermeer to Agnes Martin. In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.

Author: Francesca Specter
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
ISBN: 9781529412611
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 320

View

Book Description
How to be alone and absolutely own it, by founder of the Alonement blog and podcast, Francesca Specter. Being alone has a serious branding issue. We've only ever had negative language to talk about flying solo - but what about when time spent alone is restorative and joyful? What if it's something you crave? What if it's even just an hour you've carved out for yourself in the middle of a hectic week? Enter: Alonement, Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and dedicating quality time to yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status. Between open-plan offices, two-for-one vouchers and co-habiting with partners and friends, most of us don't know how to be alone - yet our life-long relationship with ourselves is the most important one we'll ever have. A reformed 'extreme extrovert' who struggled to spend even an hour alone, Francesca made the resolution in January 2019 to improve her solitude skills. Having spent two months of lockdown by herself, Francesca knows better than most how to optimise the quality of time spent alone. Packed with practical tips, insights from key experts and lessons from guests of the Alonement podcast - including Alain de Botton, Florence Given, Konnie Huq and Camilla Thurlow - Francesca reveals how we can all thrive alone, whatever our circumstances, and harness the untapped power of some meaningful time with me, myself and I.

Author: Joanne Wieland-Burston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780892540334
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
This text by Jungian analyst Wieland-Burston explores the powerful contradictory facets of our need and fear of solitude. Solitude can be a nourishment, and a hunger - we need it, and suffer from it and seek and avoid it at different times in our lives. Concepts of personal existential solitude are examined through a theoretical and historical framework - from biblical references of Jesus going into the wilderness through to the heroic solitude of the romantic movement, from Nietzsche's Superman standing alone to the modern urban experience of the collapse of community and the fracturing of the traditional family unit - the author illustrates the search and retreat into solitude with case histories to show that while we need to be comfortable in being alone, it is equally important to understand that by using solitude as a block to relating, we may block the process of development. Psychologists, students and cognitive scientists may find this of value.

Author: Anthony Storr
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 216

View

Book Description

Author: Roxane Battle
Publisher: Whitaker House
ISBN: 1629119113
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 213

View

Book Description
“No matter your situation, you have a choice. I chose joy.” // Roxane Battle was on television for much of her adult life. As a news reporter and anchor, she traveled the world and met notable people from Jay Leno to Mariah Carey to Prince. But shortly after landing her dream job in her hometown of Minneapolis, Roxane’s marriage fell apart. Every day was a battle to keep it together on camera while piecing her life back together at home as the single mom of eleven-month-old Jarod. At one point, broke and alone, dinner was a single chicken McNugget. // With wit, dignity, and gripping detail, Roxane shares her story of intentionally looking for joy during this challenging chapter of her life. Her faith was the guiding force as she searched for moments of gratitude and found a lifetime of grace. Alongside Roxane's practical tips for spiritual, professional, and personal wholeness for today's woman, Pockets of Joy reveals the incredible secret to a joy-filled life.

Author: Henri J. M. Nouwen
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
ISBN: 1594713197
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 64

View

Book Description
Drawing on three moments in the life of Jesus, Henri Nouwen invites us to reflect on the tension between our desire for solitude and the demands of contemporary life. He reminds us that it was in solitude that Jesus found the courage to follow God's will. And he shows us that fruitful love and service must spring from a living relationship with God. Beautifully written, elegantly simple, Out of Solitude is as fresh today as it was thirty years ago.

Author: Anneli Rufus
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
ISBN: 9781569245132
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324

View

Book Description
An essential defense of the people the world loves to revile--the loners--yet without whom it would be lost The Buddha. Rene Descartes. Emily Dickinson. Greta Garbo. Bobby Fischer. J. D. Salinger: Loners, all--along with as many as 25 percent of the world's population. Loners keep to themselves, and like it that way. Yet in the press, in films, in folklore, and nearly everywhere one looks, loners are tagged as losers and psychopaths, perverts and pity cases, ogres and mad bombers, elitists and wicked witches. Too often, loners buy into those messages and strive to change, making themselves miserable in the process by hiding their true nature--and hiding from it. Loners as a group deserve to be reassessed--to claim their rightful place, rather than be perceived as damaged goods that need to be "fixed." In Party of One Anneli Rufus--a prize-winning, critically acclaimed writer with talent to burn--has crafted a morally urgent, historically compelling tour de force--a long-overdue argument in defense of the loner, then and now. Marshalling a polymath's easy erudition to make her case, assembling evidence from every conceivable arena of culture as well as interviews with experts and loners worldwide and her own acutely calibrated analysis, Rufus rebuts the prevailing notion that aloneness is indistinguishable from loneliness, the fallacy that all of those who are alone don't want to be, and wouldn't be, if only they knew how.

Author: Stephanie Rosenbloom
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 039956232X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 290

View

Book Description
A wise, passionate account of the pleasures of traveling solo In our hectic, hyperconnected lives, many people are uncomfortable with the prospect of solitude. Yet a little time to ourselves can be an opportunity to slow down, savor, and try new things, especially when traveling. Through on-the-ground reporting, insights from social science, and recounting the experiences of artists, writers, and innovators who cherished solitude, Stephanie Rosenbloom considers how traveling alone deepens appreciation for everyday beauty, bringing into sharp relief the sights, sounds, and smells that one isn't necessarily attuned to in the presence of company. Walking through four cities--Paris, Florence, Istanbul, and New York--and four seasons, Alone Time gives us permission to pause, to relish the sensual details of the world rather than hurtling through museums and uploading photos to Instagram. In chapters about dining out, visiting museums, and pursuing knowledge, we begin to see how the moments we have to ourselves--on the road or at home--can be used to enrich our lives. Rosenbloom's engaging and elegant prose makes Alone Time as warmly intimate an account as the details of a trip shared by a beloved friend--and will have its many readers eager to set off on their own solo adventures.

Author: Jane Dobisz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861717376
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 162

View

Book Description
In One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing My Self and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat, American teacher of Korean Zen Jane Dobisz (Zen Master Bon Yeon), recalls her first solitary meditation stint in the woods. Luckily, this is not just a recounting of a winter's worth of cabin fever. Instead, Dobisz takes us into her cabin, and into her mind, as she tries--at least temporarily--to live a Walden-like existence. All the bowing and meditating and wood-chopping that is part and parcel of her retreat is hardly first nature, but the good-humored and tenacious Dobisz is able to adapt, and to relate her hundred days with moving insight and humanity. Her Solitude in fact offers us all a chance to commune with her and to look inside and rediscover our own grace.