Great insight! It seems pretty obvious when you consider the journeys of the great spiritual teachers. In the spiritual traditions of the West, solitude seems to be reserved for the lives of those in monasteries and convents, whereas it seems to play a greater part in Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Taoism. Then when we import yoga, meditation and zen from the East, it's like we can only do those things if they are part of a class!
In any case, I agree that men tend to be more interior and women more social in their ways of processing strong emotions. It should be recognized, not least because the awareness can help us know when a man actually in crisis and facing the limits of self-reliance.
Interesting point! Even before you got to the part about spiritual figures, I thought about the stories of Jesus going off to seek solitude. I'm not a guy, but solitude is definitely part of my coping/processing/healing process. I *need time & space to figure out what I'm thinking, to let feelings emerge.
I'm going to by cynical and say that solitude fell out of favour when therapists realised they could make a fortune by keeping patients constantly talking. There probably isn't much money in recommending patients go away by themselves.
Great insight! It seems pretty obvious when you consider the journeys of the great spiritual teachers. In the spiritual traditions of the West, solitude seems to be reserved for the lives of those in monasteries and convents, whereas it seems to play a greater part in Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Taoism. Then when we import yoga, meditation and zen from the East, it's like we can only do those things if they are part of a class!
In any case, I agree that men tend to be more interior and women more social in their ways of processing strong emotions. It should be recognized, not least because the awareness can help us know when a man actually in crisis and facing the limits of self-reliance.
Interesting point! Even before you got to the part about spiritual figures, I thought about the stories of Jesus going off to seek solitude. I'm not a guy, but solitude is definitely part of my coping/processing/healing process. I *need time & space to figure out what I'm thinking, to let feelings emerge.
I'm going to by cynical and say that solitude fell out of favour when therapists realised they could make a fortune by keeping patients constantly talking. There probably isn't much money in recommending patients go away by themselves.