Post: #1

I just got back from an amazing two weeks in Peru. I went to Iquitos and the Ayahuasca Foundation's retreat. Their retreat center is about 13 miles outside of town (straight line distance).

This post isn't about the ayahuasca, however. It's about the fact that from about 10am on Monday 22 May to about noon on Friday 2 June, I was totally disconnected. I had no phone, no Internet, no radio or television. This was eleven days and easily the longest time I had ever been out of contact that long.

What happened? I did have my smart phone with me, so I got lots of reading done. I found that I wasn't checking my phone as much, as there was no point. I just forgot about everything else in the world. All that mattered was my own work and the people around me. I went to bed earlier and slept great. I went swimming quite a few times and went on a couple long hikes (two or three miles) into the jungle.

I think I may take similar breaks like this in the future. Whatever the case, forums, social media, and all that stuff just doesn't seem nearly as important anymore. I can live without them.

What's the longest time that you have been disconnected? How much did you disconnect? How did it impact you? What happened afterward?

Of course, it was this site and this board where I first learned about ayahuasca.

Post: #2

(06-08-2017 09:00 PM)puckerman Wrote:  I just got back from an amazing two weeks in Peru. I went to Iquitos and the Ayahuasca Foundation's retreat. Their retreat center is about 13 miles outside of town (straight line distance).

This post isn't about the ayahuasca, however. It's about the fact that from about 10am on Monday 22 May to about noon on Friday 2 June, I was totally disconnected. I had no phone, no Internet, no radio or television. This was eleven days and easily the longest time I had ever been out of contact that long.

What happened? I did have my smart phone with me, so I got lots of reading done. I found that I wasn't checking my phone as much, as there was no point. I just forgot about everything else in the world. All that mattered was my own work and the people around me. I went to bed earlier and slept great. I went swimming quite a few times and went on a couple long hikes (two or three miles) into the jungle.

I think I may take similar breaks like this in the future. Whatever the case, forums, social media, and all that stuff just doesn't seem nearly as important anymore. I can live without them.

What's the longest time that you have been disconnected? How much did you disconnect? How did it impact you? What happened afterward?

Of course, it was this site and this board where I first learned about ayahuasca.

Basic training. 10 weeks of no internet, phone, or tv. Had my phone about 3 separate times during those 10 weeks for short phone calls with my parents and spoke to my best friend once.

Post: #3

I've played with the idea of launching a kayaking tour in Malaysia with an express no electronics rule for people who want a digital detox.

Post: #4

Puckerman, what do you mean, you were disconnected, but still had a smartphone on you?

Post: #5

(06-08-2017 11:37 PM)Cation Wrote:  Puckerman, what do you mean, you were disconnected, but still had a smartphone on you?

If you don't know, a smart phone is pretty much a small computer. It has my Kindle app, music, alarm clock, and other useful applications. It has the ability to connect to wifi and cell phone networks.

So, in this case, being disconnected means there was nothing to connect to. It was like my cell phone kept shouting: "Hello, is there a cell phone tower out there?" The cell phone never got a response because there were no towers to reach.

You might be able to understand this concept if you go into a tunnel or go into the basement of a building. Sometimes it happens when you enter an elevator.

Perhaps this graphic will explain what it means to be disconnected:

Post: #6

Had the same experience when I was in the Amazon a couple of months ago. I think I spent 12 days without electricity. It felt great. I was sharp, focused and also slept early and great. Didn't have much of a carry-over effect for me, though. No life-changing event. But yeah, like you, I plan on doing this kind of stuff in the future more often.

Post: #7

A slight aside, I came across this really interesting documentary about 8 months ago called "Offline is the new Luxury".





Describes that for a society that's never been more connected electronically, it's all the poorer in true human-to-human connectivity, and a look at all the other associated pitfalls of always being online.

Post: #8

Puckerman, that's ok. It only means that we think of different definitions of being disconnected. Mine entails not having a phone at all. Cheers.

Post: #9

(06-09-2017 12:56 AM)puckerman Wrote:  

(06-08-2017 11:37 PM)Cation Wrote:  Puckerman, what do you mean, you were disconnected, but still had a smartphone on you?

If you don't know, a smart phone is pretty much a small computer. It has my Kindle app, music, alarm clock, and other useful applications. It has the ability to connect to wifi and cell phone networks.

So, in this case, being disconnected means there was nothing to connect to. It was like my cell phone kept shouting: "Hello, is there a cell phone tower out there?" The cell phone never got a response because there were no towers to reach.

You might be able to understand this concept if you go into a tunnel or go into the basement of a building. Sometimes it happens when you enter an elevator.

Perhaps this graphic will explain what it means to be disconnected:

This post made me laugh out loud.

OP how did you arrange a trip like this? Did you go solo, or with friends?

Post: #10

I love this idea.

Some of the best memories of my life have been "disconnected" - I'd leave work on Friday, pick up my girlfriend and go to her beach house for 3 days with no TV, internet, computer, cellphone.

Unfortunately that's probably about as long as I've managed to stay offline due to work.

That documentary title - "Offline is the new Luxury" - really rings true. My bosses lives a flexible life and makes tons of cash, but part of their job is to always be on standby, even during their vacations. Definitely not my style.

Another interesting idea is to do silence (no talking whatsoever) or isolation (no contact with anyone) retreats.

Post: #11

I've done about a dozen silent retreats with both Adyashanti and Mukti - highly recommended. They make a point of NOT allowing phones and computers, only journaling (not to excess) by hand.

It's absolutely glorious! Not to mention you get to look deeper into yourself, like ayahuasca helps you do.

Post: #12

I'm intrigued by the idea of a weekly day of silence. Not entirely practical but whenever I think about it, I have an immediate physical response: yeah, make it happen!

Post: #13

Relevant:
The benefits of disconnecting from the Internet at home

Post: #14

Puckerman that's awesome !

I think everyone should logged out once in awhile - some people get burned out on here.

Or burned out in general with social media.

I hardly check my Instagram account for example, my biggest thing is Facebook and RVF at the moment.


I'd love to disconnect my phone for awhile, the only problem is, I love pussy too much and am rotating plates.


I need to force myself on a long vacation, like the RVF retreat we have coming up.


I was just talking about how some guys get lost in the sea that we know was RVF/RedPill/Manopshere.

Sometimes we need a hard reset, sometimes nature, or travel helps with this.

Post: #15

I remember as a kid it always being disorienting going on extended vacations. I would get back a week or so, later, and having had no access to tv for a week be completely behind anything going on in the news. These days I'm still entirely connected to the grid when I travel and I wonder if I'm missing something.

Post: #16

I can't remember the exact year, but it was when cell phones were really starting to arrive on the scene. There was a commercial for ( I think) IBM? It featured a Scottish (or perhaps Irish) shepherd out on the moors with his sheep, and his magic phone that kept him in contact with whoever. A miracle, right?

My mom saw the commercial and was dumbfounded - who in their right mind would want to be able to be reached anywhere, all the time, whatever hour of the day or night?

I felt the same at the time. For that matter I remember when pagers became a "thing" for middle-class America. Instead of being able to disappear and run the streets for hours (or days) at a time without fear, you suddenly had a leash on your belt where mom and dad could page you and say "call home!" whenever you were gone too long. Thankfully, I never had one, but many friends did...

Now, we can't live without being in constant 24 hour contact with everything. News alerts, weather alerts, text alerts, WTF alerts.

I haven't "gone dark" yet but I've felt the urge many times over the years. Not forever, certainly, but maybe for a few days. The closest I got was a couple of years back at my ex's family cabin in Arkansas with no connectivity of any type. I read two books in three days, fished, cooked steaks, drank beer, rock-hounded, stargazed, slept in a hammock and *gasp* talked to people.

It was amazing. The most relaxing three days I can remember in ages.

Maybe it's time to disconnect again for a bit.

Post: #17

(06-09-2017 08:05 AM)heavy Wrote:  OP how did you arrange a trip like this? Did you go solo, or with friends?

I was alone. You could probably make this happen with a lot of ayahuasca retreat centers in the Amazon region.

That being said, you certainly don't need ayahuasca to get disconnected. You could very likely just go on a trip into the jungle. I know a man who organizes a couple "jungle jaunts" every year.

Your best bet might be to talk to a good travel agent. Just tell them, "I want to get disconnected." See what you can find. You could probably get lost if you just find a place in Montana or some other sparsely populated American state.

Here is another idea for you: Green Bank, West Virginia. It's in a "radio quiet" zone.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/07/u...can-story/

Post: #18

Good on you puckerman! People nowadays (especially the younger ones) don't realise how liberating it can be to go without internet/a phone for a while.

On a trip to the Cook Islands last year I went without any electronic device for a little bit over two weeks - it was good. The horrendous prices for connection over there probably keep quite a few people at bay.

That said, I'm not as "connected" as many other people I know anyway - never had an FB/Twitter account and I hardly use any social media at all. Due to this the impact was not as profound as it would be for someone who really uses all these things on a daily or at least weekly basis.

I'm currently playing with the idea to go without smartphone and laptop for my round-the-world journey starting next year...that would make it this adventure a good deal more serious, I'm not sure whether this would work for me. Is there anybody here who's tried this (maybe even for an extended trip to one country)?

Post: #19

Both times when I came back from my Ayahuasca retreat I felt this deep sense of peace. I was disconnected from the world for 10 days during the retreat. There isn't this sense of time when I was there. Like the concept of time doesn't exist. We lived based on the position of the sun and the light. Being in nature makes me more connected to nature.

After I came back from the second retreat about a month ago, I've developed a new habit of just going to a bridge in the morning before I start work and just enjoy eating an apple and an orange while taking in the scenery of the lake with birds playing around. I felt disconnected during that time as there is no computer, cell phone, time... For the first two week, I felt like I was walking on air. Maybe it was the effect of the medicine.