Join Me In Solitude! (A Challenge)

[Ayham]

Hello, folks.

I present to you a challenge I will undergo with you.

From August 27 until August 30.

3 days (27, 28, and 29)

 

I will spend all my time in solitude and contemplation with no form of technology or entertainment.

This isn't hardcore or changing too much, it's just a 3 days reset.

Now, I want YOU, the one reading this to join this challenge, to join, write below:

1. What you want to get out of these 3 days
2. Your duration (default 3 days but you can change that if you wanna do more or if you see this tomorrow you can do 2 days)

For me, I want to regain clarity, introspect and contemplate, not philosophical questions, but rather purpose related question.

Who am I in the human realm? Where do I want to go? What's holding me back? What are my biggest fears? What impact do I want to make? What principles should I live by? Where am I wrong? Where am I falling for self deception?

I have taken the life purpose course and did the exercises but everything is hazy, I have an idea but I want to come out of those 3 days with crystal clear vision, so clear that I become unshakable, no human bullshit can put me off course.

Other stuff you might wanna do:

1. Do a lot of deep work
2. Figure out a philosophical question or questions that are bugging you
3. Meditate, become yoda and achieve Samadhi
4. Spend time in nature
5. Figure out how to deal with a specific problem that you are having 
6. Do Kriya Yoga
7. Do hardcore exercise
8. Read books
9. Anything, or a mix of many things, key word is solitude, from others and distractions

 

I will shut down my phone and not open it even once.

I will use cold turkey blocker on everything in my laptop except a specific thing I need to use for a short time daily.

I won't fap, I won't eat junk, I won't stay up late, I will talk to people as little as necessary, I will use a physical journal for all the work I am going to do, and digitalise the worthwhile stuff after finishing, I will do my Kriyas.

Inspiration: David Deida's book

Join me, let's see who ends up doing it, each person who joins will write a report after the period is over about what they got out of this.

Edited August 26 by Ayham

[Schizophonia]

It's good

[Ayham]

 

51 minutes ago, Schizophonia said:

It's good

What is? 

[Schizophonia]

1 minute ago, Ayham said:

 

What is? 

Your challenge.

[CARDOZZO]

Cool challenge.

Check it out https://a.co/d/cVv2D3o

[Ayham]

No one's joining?

[Princess Arabia]

2 hours ago, Ayham said:

No one's joining?

These things are personal and private. You're defeating the purpose by making it a community challenge. One has to be ready, willing and prepared for these types of challenges. Asking people to join you in a solitude on demand is like getting locked up without prior notice. Imagine someone taking your smart phone and throwing you in a room when you least expect it. Go ahead and do your thing. People make these types of choices on their own when they feel the need to.

[Realms of Wonder]

I have a job and a ton of creative work to focus on. At the right time, the next solo retreat will happen.

I hope you time is profound

[Ayham]

I am finished, here is a report: 

Day 1
There was restlessness, I procrastinated even though I didn't have any distractions, and that was by daydreaming a lot, it seemed like my mind wanted to get that out of its system, especially since all daydreaming and mental distractions stopped from day 2.

I was able to contemplate a lot of the questions going on in my mind, I didn't come to any conclusions on day 1, but I started getting clarity and ideas I didn't think about.

In addition to that, I was doing my daily prayers and doing dhikr after each prayer in an extremely slow way, taking the meaning of every word.

I was also doing Kriya pranayama and sitting afterwards doing nothing, not trying to meditate or anything, just sitting still for a minimum of 10 minutes, after already calming my mind by slow breathing techniques.
I noticed that a lot of negative emotions come up during those calm still 10 minutes or more, which I took as a positive thing, as it felt like unconscious stuff were coming out of my system.

Day 2
Productivity got shot up the roof, I was able to work 8 with little breaks and extreme focus.

I did not intend to read books but I did, I read a bit of Stephen hawking's the grand design, the materialist scientific lens is extremely interesting.

So I started questioning all my beliefs on paper, I ended up in an existential crisis, I felt like I don't know what to believe anymore, so many different paradigms, I questioned everything I was convinced of, and got myself in a state of not knowing, I decided to embrace that state as it puts me in radical open-mindedness to beliefs and ideas.

Then I returned to questioning stuff about my life, I came up with a list of principles to live by, written principles, written values, and a written contribution I want to make.

And it was centered around creating a stage yellow society, a society of people who don't hold ideologies, who embrace questioning beliefs, who use their knowledge to develop themselves and spread good, people who are lifelong learners and wanting to make a change.
Or maybe... make a secret society.... I am having ideas.

Also did breathing exercises and stuff

I am combining Sufi Islam + Kriya  
Using Islam as a path of Devotion, even though it is dualistic for now until I have the actual experience of non duality, adding the Sufi practices to add the spiritual aspect.
And the Kriya practices to actually work with energy and concentration and get in contact with spiritual reality, current goal is to just: perfect pranayama and achieve tongue thing, I wasted a lot of time confused between different Kriya variations.

Why Islam? because I grew up around it and still live in an Islamic culture, and I believe that makes it fit my subconscious dispositions formed during growing up, of course I don't believe in it as absolute truth, I just choose to follow it as one valid path out of many, until I transcend it.

Day 3
I cried during prayer from an overwhelming feeling of divine love penetrating my heart, I was feeling height of mental clarity then, my perception of the divine was beyond time and space, beyond duality and non duality, it was an interesting experience, hard to describe.

During the pranayama + meditation, I felt immersed in a state where I lost track of time, and felt reborn afterwards.

I read more Stephen hawking and a book on ancient yogic breathing

A studied for 8 hours focused 

I ate processed food sadly

I ended up coming up with step by step goals towards where I want to go, and making a way to check if i violated my principles and values every end of the day.

I noticed that I'm perfectly happy without technology, I did not even miss much during when I was gone 

Biggest benefit on day 3 was losing interest in human bullshit, noticing how much of my attention goes to meaningless things, and being determined to let go of anything that does not move me towards my purpose or align with my principles

---

i did not reveal private info or too much detailed conclusions about my own life, I gave the general idea, but yes the clarity I got was astonishing, amazing experience.
 

 

[Salvijus]

👏👏👏

Somebody recently shared eckhart tolle's video on sufism. Thought it may be appropriate to share it here. 

 

Edited August 30 by Salvijus

[Sincerity]

Great work.  I didn't see this but wouldn't be able to take part anyway due to work. Anyway I'm going on a vipassana retreat in November for 10 days so I'll have plenty of solitude and detox there hehe. Wishing you all the best, keep moving.