natural living?

hey! just wondering, is it actually possible to escape society? to live in the mountains or underground or somewhere else far away? i probarbly sound like a stupid kid but i am very interested.
i know there are are lot of pro's about our society but at the moment i think the con's outweigh them. i just can't live in this lost place anymore! where we just work and work, people aren't judged for who they are but for their education, money, power etc. seems very messed up to me.
besides i cant do anything for myself at the moment- i mean if the food stops appearing on supermarket shelves im in trouble.
im also concerned about the way the world seems to be heading at the moment and want to go somewhere safe- although im not thinking about this out of fear.
also, i am not under the illusion this will be easy but i just dont think i can carry on in this society. i have lost any connection to nature and the divine. water comes out the taps. food comes out of packets. we have cars. houses to totally shelter us from the outdoors. buildings have taken over this place. yes, these things may be good in a way but i am lost in it.
Can anyone help me?

 

Well, I only have a minute, but I'll try.

First and maybe most important, you do NOT "sound like a stupid kid". You sound to me like a young adult who is feeling the same sort of things many, many of us around here have felt and are still feeling.

Your question "is it actually possible to escape society?" Answer is yes. Or if not totally escape, at least to limit your contact/exposure to the parts that are good and you like. I've done it and a lot of others around these forums have or are working on it.

And you're right, it isn't easy. Seldom is anything easy. Is it worth it? Depends on the individual, but for me - Yes, OH YES, YES, YES!!!

If you want it as bad as it sounds, and you don't try, you may spend your life wondering "What if I had".

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

In a flu pandemic I'd stay in my home for months but otherwise i'd be outdoors.Awesome Ashcakes! So you're stuck with 700 pounds of whole wheat, now what? With a hand-crank food mill, a few other ingredients,and the imagination and wisdom of a chef, your whole-wheat stash can produce a startling array of goodies that are truly delicious. Ingredients: Flour,Water,Twig,Coals from a fire. Directions: With twig,mix small amount of water (2 or 3 tablespoons) with flour. Use hands to flatten out dough ball into pancake shape. Throw onto coals of fire.Turn as necessary to keep from burning. Let cool. Eat. Many things can be added to spruce up an ashcake. While not required, you can add baking powder and soda for a product that will rise to the occasion. You can also mix various types of flour, although makesure to use some that have a high gluten content or the dough balls won't hold together. Turnovers can be made from the dough and loaded with dry fruit, jams, jellies, or whatever you have before they're pinched shut and put on the coals.

 

It might sound lame, and it's difficult but try not to let all these external things (society, other people, materialism, modernization etc) dictate who you are as a person. Unfortunately this is exactly what does dictate who most people are.

Find what is inside you, and give that to the world.

Research your own experiences for the truth, absorb what is useful, add what is uniquely your own, the creating individual is more than any one style, system, or culture.

 

its not that i hate society or that i am trying to rebel or anything else. its just that i can sense how lost we all are and as much as i want to help my brothers and sisters, this becomes very difficult when i am living in the same place by the same rules. i let society mess me up rather considerably and i just feel that, should i not follow my urge and "get out", i will lose myself again. when living in a place where everyones thoughts are "in tune" with eachothers it becomes increasingly difficult to be your own person, have your own thoughts and escape from the flock. it becomes increasingly hard to not think and think and think and judge, judge, judge oneself into ruin.

"find what is inside you, and give that to the world". thanks.

poor_old_dad i would be very apreciative if you would consider telling me more about your time in the wilderness...

 

to bad you live in new zealand, i think we would get along great so hard for me to find anyone here who thinks like i do. which isnt a major deterrent, im pretty independant (or hermit-like lol) but it gets kinda depressing when everyone around you is so wrapped up in society and shit.
anyway, youre not the only one with these thoughts. have faith in yourself, you can live your life however you want and you can help make a difference.

 

I feel the same way! I would love to just live off the land and create art. I think there are some hippy community living places. U could check into that.

 

Thanks, and its good to know im not the only one thinking along this line of thought

im pretty hermit like too! mainly because i am over trying to fit in with everyone else. i talk to other people and stuff but its all quite superficial , i dont often share who i am with anyone, and if i do they dont get it because we just aren't on the same level. Not that i really know who i am. i dont interact with society much at the moment, but still it has managed to totally screw with me!

im going to be considering all the options now. there are a few communes around here i think, but still im not sure about that.

 

That is indeed a very, very good statement & life goal.

I will put it together and post it soon.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

thanks so much!!

 

f you want to look into communes/International Communities/Eco-villages in New Zealand, you might want to check some of these web sites:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-56062018.html
http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Heritage/LocalHistory/AlternativeCommunities/
http://creativeideasforyou.com/commune_land.html#the%20top
http://directory.ic.org/records/?action=search_results&locations[country]=New%20Zealand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Potter#Centrepoint
http://www.converge.org.nz/evcnz/
http://riverside.orconhosting.net.nz/
http://www.wwoof.co.nz/
http://directory.ic.org/records/?action=view&record_id=994
http://www.mamaki.freehomepage.com/

I know that's a lot and maybe none are what you're looking for, but it'll (I think) give you an idea of how many alternate life style situations there are.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Hi Spiritawakening,
If you wish to escape society, it is possible only by being a hermit. Because any interaction between people can be called society.

But after reading farther in your post you say that you feel disconnected from nature and the divine.

Now if reconnecting with nature and the divine is what you want, well that can be done almost anywhere!

Yes, it’s true that it might be easier to do if you lived in the country and that is something you might even want to work toward. But don’t the waste time till then, stop and let nature and the divine in your life now.

Start growing something, a tomato plant or a window sill herb garden, something that you can grow and eat. If you do it with the right feel, you can see how you and the plants are part of the same circle of life.

Make friends with a tree, look around for a tree that looks friendly(they all are but just starting you need to pick just one). Find one in a place where you can spend some time alone together. One that you can sit under and read or think. Make sure it has some low branches so you can climb it and also sit in it.

If you picked wisely you will find that you have picked a power spot and that you will soon begin to find other power spots that seem to lend themselves as connectors to the world around you.

I’ll just leave it at that, I don’t to give to much away, ‘cause sometimes it’s nice to discover things on your own!

 

Thanks to everyone for the advice!! very helpful

 

It is possible, but IMO only to a certain extent. I dont think it wise to remove yourself completly from society as you will be completly alone in the world as a person, perhaps for a season or two most people could handle having no human contact, but longterm would mean who you are will change, you will need to become animalistic to a degree to survive, losing yourself as a human being in a human world (if that makes sence).

I think if *you* take control and live in society ( or just out side of it, on the cusp lol )the way you feel comfortable, the better the world will be, this has more to do with your mind and perception of society than society itself.

 

Thanks for your post, sandshoe.

 

I am right there with ya...I too wish I could escape society every single day!

 

It is possible..

I have been to a few places where people go and drop out. Some people live on the edge of society and some go all the way out there and are hermits.

I never have seen anyone that lived completely off of nature but I have seen people get very close.

People still need a little amount of money and certain things from society.

There is one guy that lives in the mountains not far from me that you only see once in a while maybe every couple of months he goes to town and gets a few thing and goes back out to the woods. No one really knows where he camps but he lives out there year round half his cloths are animal skins.

A good friend of mine lived in the woods full time after a bit most his cloths were animal skins. He would go into town once a month and get a few supplies and free cans of food and the rest of the time he was in the woods.
He applied for SSI and went to his appointments and after a couple of years got it. With his money he bought a piece of land in a different county. I saw him once afterwards he was doing well he said his land had lots of deer and he had a nice tepee. He came to town to try to get some LSD and a woman, he got some LSD but I don’t think he found a woman.

There are a few others I have met that live out there about as far as a person can go away from society.

I think it is kind of unhealthy to be that far away from human contact. I think people need to interact with other people to stay healthy and sane.

But yeah it is possible I have seen people do it.

 

You are definately not alone in your thoughts on society. I have most of those same thoughts everyday. I have found that moving to a really small town with a lot of wilderness around it is a good start. I am just hanging out in this little town stashing money until I find my true place in the world.

 

I hate society so much I have come to hate humans. Okay, that really isn't entirely the case, I just have such a low regard for the vast majority of people and only connect with a few rays of light that come my way, most of whom are on their own separate path with a separate agenda.

I have been trying to escape society from some time now with varying levels of success and failure. My last attempt ended largely with myself being consumed by lonliness, solitude and despair. Though I had built a really neat wigwam in a really remote spot. Hermit tastic! When I first started my journey some years ago though, I never intended to be alone - I always expected to be surrounded by like minded people, at least by now.

In fairness, part of this is my own fault as I havn't gave much priority to teaming up with others. And I'm also very specific in what sort of people I want to be with.

Reading this thread has been quite warming though.

 

Thanks everyone for your posts here!

Cymru jules: Sometimes it is just an extemely difficult thing to find those like minded individuals. I would seem it is hard enough finding someone who is seperate from the crowd without putting restrictions, or adding details to what it is that we are looking for. However, I do believe it is out there somewhere, and i do believe, if you don't give up on what you are searching for, then it may well make its way into your life..When you least expect it is what "they" always say, isn't it?
Best wishes for your journey.