Oddbean

If I’m around normal people for too long, I feel existential estranged and start to get really depressed and like there must be something wrong with me. Then I get to be alone in the forest for a week, and I’m happy as a clam again. Turns out that NPCs are poison for my mind, and crushing for my soul.

I felt the very same. Then, one day, I stumbled into Yoga. My man, I can’t even begin to stress to you the benefits if you take up yoga. I was the person who scoffed at the idea many moons ago. Thought it was only “exercise for women”. My God was I wrong.

This might sound odd, but the type of Yoga actually doesn't matter. Iyengar, Ashtanga, Hatha, etc etc. I personally do Ashtanga. It is more flow based. Throw in some Hatha to push for balance and strength. But none of that matters. The mistake I've come to learn about Yoga is that it actually isn't about the physical practice. The real aim is to just be present no matter how poorly you actually do the various poses. And is as hard as you might imagine, but is also the entire point of Yoga. As a personal preference, check out on YouTube "John Scott The Wheel of Ashtanga Yoga" I found his video magical in terms of explaining Yoga holistically. @`Erik Cason `believe that you would really enjoy that video too. Not only might it be what you are looking for, but I do believe you would find alignment with John Scott. Keep in mind, all of this is just one person's humble opinion. That said, I can attest that Yoga has been transformative to many aspects of my life.

If you've not done yoga before, just find a "beginners" or "basic" class and start from there. No need in those classes for anything except for maybe blocks if you need assistance in the beginning when doing the poses.

Hanging out with other bitcoiners, or with NPCs but engaging in a narrow shared hobby (like boardgames or streetball) really is the only way to stay sane. Luckily, the tribe of bitcoiners is constantly growing.

Experiencing nature and solitude can be powerfully healing. Zen mediators I think would see your thought experience differently. That it is actually your own thoughts that are poisoning your own mind and crushing your soul. How so? It's normal for most people to have discriminating thoughts when a thought pops into their minds - judgements - I like/dislike this. This is good/bad. This is right/wrong. These judgements cause associated pleasant/unpleasant feelings - which in turn create more judgements/feelings. And so it goes on. (Do you notice the judgements/feelings you having about what you have read thus far?) That is why you experience happiness when you're away from those people who cause those thoughts to come. No people - no thoughts. Therefore, a key goal of meditation is actually breaking free of, or creating distance between these judgements and your conscious peaceful mind, or self (thoughts are just something you experience rather than being a fundamental part of who you are). After a while, often many years of daily training (ie, meditation), when you start to experience these thoughts/feelings, you can quickly stop holding on to them and just ignore them. (but it doesn't take years, you can experience benefits within a few weeks of daily practise). A good analogy is that of sitting under a waterfall. We all start by experiencing a constant bombardment of thoughts/feelings crashing down on our heads. Meditation allows you to step out from under the waterfall and sit quietly on the riverbank to just watch them pass you by. Proponents of Zen, Zen Masters, maintain that through mediation, one can become master of one's own mind. And it becomes the way of life. But in the meantime, as you have found, minimizing the amount of time in contexts that set your mind off, ie, with normies, is likely to be very beneficial. (PS. how meditate? Sit comfortably, eyes closed, focus on the rise and fall of the stomach. Count each breath up to 10 then start from the beginning again. When you realize your mind has wandered, which it invariably will, gently return to counting the breath. How's your math? Do you think you can count 10 breaths?! If you can. Excellent! Keep going. O) Once you get the hang of it you can do it anywhere and everywhere - walking in the forest, counting you steps, would be great!)