Benefits of Solitude in Contemplation are Many
Socrates noted that our primary mission in life is to understand the complex relationship between self and soul. The Transcendentalist, R. W. Emerson, noted that a primary function of education is to draw out our soul. Zen teacher, J. Tarrant hinted that the soul is the energetic connection to all of life and may be manifested best by love. In 1991 Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh noted 
that mindfulness is manifested by interbeing and reducing the psychological space between teacher and student. Albert Einstein noted that access to the laws of nature comes about only by intuitive and sympathetic understanding of experience. (Miller,
1996, page 369). In his 1991 Peace in Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh noted that the teacher aims to improve his students’ social abilities, self-knowledge, awareness via mindfulness, emotional regulations, and mindful reflection in compassion for others. William James in his 1890 texts, Principles of Psychology, noted that complete education was associated with “bringing back a wandering attention over and over again” (page 494). So today with so, so much hyper-individualism, entitlement, “me first” attitudes, and “see my new… narcissism”, how can contemplative practices improve the nature of people in their learning years? With so much talk about expanding contemplative practices in higher education it is timely to discuss the many benefits of solitude, especially in the transmission of knowledge. In her writing about contemplative practices in higher education, Mara Adelman list various benefits gained through the experience of solitude. She combines the ideas of many writers on this subject (Koch, 1994; Long and Averill, 2003; Barbour, 2004; Cobb, 1977; Storr, 1998). Here is short list of the benefits from practicing mindful solitude.
The practice of experiencing solitude provides us with:
- Freedom from mind, body and social contacts;
- Attunement with the inner-most voice of the self;
- Attention to personal feelings in privacy;
- Understanding one’s own personhood;
- Activation of the mysteries of life;
- Centering on our spiritual self;
- Grounding in the natural world;
- Disconnection from the noise and technology of modern life;
- Deeper reflection;
- Intuitive insights;
- Space and time for self-healing;
- Regeneration of our inner resiliency;
- Restoration of emotional balance;
- Simplicity of just being;
- Gratitude for what we do have now;
- Restoring the personal self from ongoing mindlessness;
- More first-person private experience in equanimity;
- Observation in first-hand experience of deeper meaning;
- Greater intersubjective understanding – only you and solitude, or you and nature;
- Feelings of wholeness, unity, wellness;
- Non-judgmental discernment of “presencing;”
- Respectful engagement with empathy and compassion; and
- Greater happiness.
For more information refer to Adelman, M. (2014). Kindred spirits in teaching contemplative practices. In O. Gunnlaugson, et al. (Eds.). Contemplative Learning and Inquiry Across Disciplines. New York: State University of New York, pp. 51-68. See also pages 1-14 in the same source.
By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC
From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont
Author of Mindful Happiness
