Last Sunday got me thinking about what Black's Beach means to me. I went down to Black's on a day when the forecast called for clouds in the morning with sunny skies breaking out at midday. I got there at about noon. A mile from the beach it was bright and sunny ... but at the beach itself it was cloudy. I decided to go down anyway, and I'm glad I did because I had a wonderful time, even though I never saw the sun.
It didn't start getting chilly until about 4pm, so I was comfortable being nude for a while. Between a bit of reading, a bit of dozing, a bit of sitting meditation and my interaction with a squirrel (who really wanted into my bag), I had a great time. I realized that the sun is nice, warm water is nice (it was cold!), but that's not the only reason I love Black's. I can see myself going there all wrapped up next Winter just to feel the peace. (I think that will have to be on a sunny day since I don't handle cold too well.)
At the end of the day, what are we all looking for? I'm looking for peace of mind. That's why I meditate, that's why I read, that's why I listen to music, and that's why I sometimes leave the music off. For a shot of peace, I spend a day at Black's.
Why Black's Beach? Why not any other beach? I have tried other beaches, so I know it's not just the beach that I'm looking for. I think it's the feeling of the place, the fact that I can shed my clothes and it's just nature and me. Sometimes, it's nice to sit down or lie down directly on the sand and really feel the earth under me. Doing the same thing anywhere else will also feel good, but there aren't too many places where you can be nude, enjoy nature, and not be bothered by someone being bothered by what you're doing or not doing! I intend to try some of the other places where I can do the same in due course, but I'm in no big hurry. Peace of mind has come from not rushing to do what I think I could be doing. It has come from learning to enjoy the here and now, for the here and now.
Showing posts with label Psychology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychology. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
This WILL be a Happy Nude Year!
This is a fairly long post, and at first glance it may seem to have nothing to do with the title of the post ... but stick with my long-winded thought process ...
2009 was a year of transformation for me. At the beginning of 2009, my mind was a mess. I had hit an all-time low personally and professionally. From the outside, things might have looked the same as they always had - I lived in the same house with the same family, I interacted with mostly the same folks, and I worked at the same job. But internally, it all came crashing down. One year later, at the beginning of 2010, my life is looking better than it ever has!
As part of the transformation, I discovered who I really am. I discovered that I really do like simplicity, I really do want to leave a small footprint, I really am a vegetarian, I like to read a lot, I am comfortable with quietness, I function best when I have routine in my life - from meditating and exercising regularly to sleeping early and getting up early - and I really am a nudist. I sometimes wondered if some of these were just silly notions, but now I know that they are really who I am. Discovering, embracing, and accepting who I really am has given me peace of mind and calmness. As a result I also have a better relationship with my family and I am more productive at work.
A few good friends, and many good books helped me through this year. A couple of books had an especially large influence on my transformation - The Three Marriages by David Whyte and Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. I read them both twice in 2009, and didn't get bored the second time around!
I also started to write in 2009. I had intense feelings that I just had to express, and decided to do so in a journal. To my surprise, they came out as poems. I had never written poetry, and had never thought myself capable of it, but there is was to my surprise. I also started writing this blog.
2009 started with sickness; not your normal definition of mental sickness, but it was sickness all the same. Let's just say I had a problem with all kinds of relationships - with others, with my work and with myself. Nudism turned was the key to my recovery. Initially, there was one problem with it - the problem of acceptance by my family. Patience and perseverance has finally led to their acceptance, and that's why I think 2010 is going to be a Happy Nude Year! On the 3rd of January, I went to Black's Beach for the first time with no reservations on their part, and it was a more beautiful and peaceful feeling than ever before.
The future seems bright and clear since the present is the only thing that really matters. Here's to many happy days at the beach, and continuous progress!
2009 was a year of transformation for me. At the beginning of 2009, my mind was a mess. I had hit an all-time low personally and professionally. From the outside, things might have looked the same as they always had - I lived in the same house with the same family, I interacted with mostly the same folks, and I worked at the same job. But internally, it all came crashing down. One year later, at the beginning of 2010, my life is looking better than it ever has!
As part of the transformation, I discovered who I really am. I discovered that I really do like simplicity, I really do want to leave a small footprint, I really am a vegetarian, I like to read a lot, I am comfortable with quietness, I function best when I have routine in my life - from meditating and exercising regularly to sleeping early and getting up early - and I really am a nudist. I sometimes wondered if some of these were just silly notions, but now I know that they are really who I am. Discovering, embracing, and accepting who I really am has given me peace of mind and calmness. As a result I also have a better relationship with my family and I am more productive at work.
A few good friends, and many good books helped me through this year. A couple of books had an especially large influence on my transformation - The Three Marriages by David Whyte and Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. I read them both twice in 2009, and didn't get bored the second time around!
I also started to write in 2009. I had intense feelings that I just had to express, and decided to do so in a journal. To my surprise, they came out as poems. I had never written poetry, and had never thought myself capable of it, but there is was to my surprise. I also started writing this blog.
2009 started with sickness; not your normal definition of mental sickness, but it was sickness all the same. Let's just say I had a problem with all kinds of relationships - with others, with my work and with myself. Nudism turned was the key to my recovery. Initially, there was one problem with it - the problem of acceptance by my family. Patience and perseverance has finally led to their acceptance, and that's why I think 2010 is going to be a Happy Nude Year! On the 3rd of January, I went to Black's Beach for the first time with no reservations on their part, and it was a more beautiful and peaceful feeling than ever before.
The future seems bright and clear since the present is the only thing that really matters. Here's to many happy days at the beach, and continuous progress!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Are we fooling ourselves?
One thing that I've wondered through my foray into nudism is, "Am I fooling myself into thinking nudism is a wholesome activity and that it really brings me peace of mind or this a fringe, slightly crazy activity as those who oppose it claim?" For that matter, are all of us nudists fooling ourselves into thinking that nudism is what we think it is and not what opponents and critics claim it is?
I recently read a book called Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. In the book the author, a Psychologist, talks about how inaccurate we are when we try to remember the past or imagine the future. It's amazing how inaccurate we are when we try to imagine what an experience will feel like based on a description of the experience.
"... imagination fails to provide us with accurate previews of our emotional futures. ... when we imagine our futures we tend to fill in, leave out, and take little account of how differently we think about the future once we actually get there."
The most accurate method of estimating what something will feel like is to base that estimate on what someone who has experienced the same thing felt like, while they were going through the experience. This is more accurate than trying to imagine what the experience will feel like.
"... when people tell us about their current experiences, they are providing us with the kind of report about their subjective state that is considered the gold standard of happiness measures."
So what should we do when we want to know what an experience will feel like? We should trust in others' experiences!
"... we should give up on remembering and imagining entirely and use other people as surrogates for our future selves."
We tend to think that we would feel differently from how someone else felt during an experience because we are unique people and the other person may be very different from us. However, the other person's experience is still more accurate than trying to imagine it ourselves.
"... the experience of a single randomly selected individual can sometimes provide a better basis for predicting your future experience than your own imagination can."
So how does this relate to nudism? The subject matter in Stumbling on Happiness suggests that we are not fooling ourselves. We have time and again seen or heard how folks who were sceptical before they dove into nudism have absolutely loved nudism once they tried it. Even among those who tried it and stopped many did so because of societal pressures, or some idiot who bothered them, but not because they realized nudism is a weird activity or any such realization.
I don't think I'm going to have doubts about nudism or naturism again. I have experienced it, and that experience is as real as it gets. Someone else's opinion, based on their imagining what nudism is, will never be any more accurate than my experience. The peace and joy that comes from nudism is very, very real! And I know that social nudism is as wholesome as any activity as you can be involved in.
I recently read a book called Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. In the book the author, a Psychologist, talks about how inaccurate we are when we try to remember the past or imagine the future. It's amazing how inaccurate we are when we try to imagine what an experience will feel like based on a description of the experience.
"... imagination fails to provide us with accurate previews of our emotional futures. ... when we imagine our futures we tend to fill in, leave out, and take little account of how differently we think about the future once we actually get there."
The most accurate method of estimating what something will feel like is to base that estimate on what someone who has experienced the same thing felt like, while they were going through the experience. This is more accurate than trying to imagine what the experience will feel like.
"... when people tell us about their current experiences, they are providing us with the kind of report about their subjective state that is considered the gold standard of happiness measures."
So what should we do when we want to know what an experience will feel like? We should trust in others' experiences!
"... we should give up on remembering and imagining entirely and use other people as surrogates for our future selves."
We tend to think that we would feel differently from how someone else felt during an experience because we are unique people and the other person may be very different from us. However, the other person's experience is still more accurate than trying to imagine it ourselves.
"... the experience of a single randomly selected individual can sometimes provide a better basis for predicting your future experience than your own imagination can."
So how does this relate to nudism? The subject matter in Stumbling on Happiness suggests that we are not fooling ourselves. We have time and again seen or heard how folks who were sceptical before they dove into nudism have absolutely loved nudism once they tried it. Even among those who tried it and stopped many did so because of societal pressures, or some idiot who bothered them, but not because they realized nudism is a weird activity or any such realization.
I don't think I'm going to have doubts about nudism or naturism again. I have experienced it, and that experience is as real as it gets. Someone else's opinion, based on their imagining what nudism is, will never be any more accurate than my experience. The peace and joy that comes from nudism is very, very real! And I know that social nudism is as wholesome as any activity as you can be involved in.
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