w Does Isolation Shape — or Reshape — the Human Mind? > Likes and Comments

For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation can be destructive — but it can also be transformative.

When we are cut off from the rhythm of daily life, the mind begins to reorganize itself in surprising ways:

• Memory changes: Past events return with a sharper intensity, as if the silence gives them room to breathe.
• Identity shifts: Without social mirrors, we begin to see who we are beneath roles, expectations, and noise.
• Inner voices grow louder: Thoughts we avoid, questions we postpone, and emotions we bury suddenly demand attention.
• Creativity awakens: Without external distractions, the imagination expands into places we rarely explore in ordinary life.
• But there is also danger: Too much isolation can distort reality, blur time, and push the mind into hallways it was never meant to walk alone.

So my question to this community is:

Do you believe isolation reveals the truth of who we are — or does it create a version of ourselves that wouldn’t exist in a connected world?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

— Raphaël

Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation can be destructive — but it ca..."

Hi Raphaël :))

Thank you for this question, its the one I love.

We could (roughly) divide humanity into those who do their best to live within their families/societies, honouring the tasks of daily living and and the pertinent responsibilities (often messy, chaotic, painful and "noisy", yes!) as well as trying to live fulfilling spiritual lives, upholding faith and love and hope, and helping the others to do so, too- in the midst of their "real world" existence.

The other part of humans (a minority) take a different approach; they decide to spend their lives in isolation ( such as living in wilderness/or monastery or similar), where they are detached from their relationships, families, communities and spend their days in somewhat self indulgent (sorry !) "pursuit of truth". It often takes decades, and apparently , this sort of " enlightenment" still evades most.

So what sort of human is a " genuine human with authentic wisdom"- the one who lives like intended by nature, within his community, benefitting from, and enriching the others, with the lessons of his life journey, or the detached being, who claims to have understood the conundrums of being human by .. hmm.. " not being human", so to speak...?

Please share your thoughts :))

Jasmine

Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation can be destructive — but it ca..."

Just to add to my previous comment, Raphael , if you are referring to " temporary isolation" of a person who already lived a full life, then yes, it could help one crystallise what he learnt ( Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is one prefect example) ; this is different from someone who chooses isolation over living his life in a first place.

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

Thank you for taking the time to offer such a thoughtful and beautifully structured reflection — your response opens the discussion in a way that feels both philosophical and deeply human.

I appreciate the distinction you draw between those who live within the fabric of community — embracing its noise, its chaos, its responsibilities — and those who withdraw from it in search of a purer form of truth.
Both paths, as you described, carry their own forms of courage and their own illusions.

What interests me most is the space between these two extremes.

For many people, isolation is not a permanent choice nor an escape, but a momentary state — a pause life imposes on us, or one we step into willingly to understand what the noise has been drowning out.
In that sense, temporary isolation becomes less about rejecting the world and more about recalibrating the self before returning to it.

I agree with you: the wisdom gained in solitude often depends on the life lived before the solitude.
A person who retreats after having engaged with the world carries its lessons inward;
a person who withdraws before ever living risks building a philosophy that rests on air rather than experience.

Your mention of Solzhenitsyn is powerful — he is indeed a perfect example of someone whose enforced solitude crystallized, rather than replaced, a life already lived.

Perhaps the real question is not whether isolation produces “authentic wisdom,”
but how much of ourselves we bring with us into that isolation —
and how much of ourselves we are willing to return with once it’s over.

Thank you again for such an illuminating contribution.
Your insights enrich the conversation in exactly the way discussions like this hope for.

Warm regards,
— Raphaël Zéla

Raphaël wrote: "Hi Jasmine,

Thank you for taking the time to offer such a thoughtful and beautifully structured reflection — your response opens the discussion in a way that feels both philosophical and deeply hu..."

Dear Raphaël,

I cant resist the temptation to answer in a tongue in cheek way.. this is EXACTLY why, we, girls, need to spend considerable amounts of time, regularly, attending to our beauty routines/artistic pursuits/nature bonding/writing books/reading books/ chatting to our favourite girlfriends for hours- a pure necessity, for this is how we "recalibrate ourselves" to be ready to face the world again :)) :))

Jasmine

I think to answer your question, one needs to know if the isolation is forced upon one or self-imposed. There are plenty of studies done on what happens to prisoners placed into segregation from the rest of the population. It can drive them literally crazy. yet at the same time, self imposed may be beneficial depending on the individual. There is a reason we have hermits.

I will say regardless if one is set aside from society, they will have significant personality changes just for the fact there will be no interaction with other people. Times and mores change and those not in contact will miss the changes and not be seen as normal to the rest of society.

Papaphilly wrote: "I think to answer your question, one needs to know if the isolation is forced upon one or self-imposed. There are plenty of studies done on what happens to prisoners placed into segregation from th..."

Hi Papaphilly :)

Do you like this quote by Dalai Lama? "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries." Isolation, whether self imposed or not, would tend to be associated with lack of love and compassion, hence yes, " it will drive one crazy", possibly even before their ignorance of contemporary norms will become noticeable.

We evolved as social animals- its normal for us to be with each other :)

Jasmine

Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation can be destructive — but it ca..."

This is a brilliant and necessary discussion, Raphael.

I think the key insight lies in your final statement: the question of what part of ourselves we are willing to return with.

The danger of self-imposed isolation is that we often view it as a "spa visit for the ego." We take our sense of self—our expectations, our pain, our projected utility—into the silence, expecting to return with a polished, upgraded version of the ego. The mind demands a profitable outcome, a gain that justifies the effort.

But perhaps true isolation is the reverse: the only way to genuinely benefit is to accept the ultimate loss. The true horror—and the ultimate gain—is not the wisdom we return with, but the quiet realization that the very "self" that went into the isolation never existed at all.

The most terrifying moment in a human’s journey is when they realize they must choose between the safe structure of the ego and the boundless, terrifying truth of pure consciousness.

This is the psychological war that fuels my work, The Sentinel Project—the battle a human must fight when they discover their identity is merely a program.

Thank you for starting this essential conversation.

Soren K. Blackwood

Soren wrote: "Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation can be destruc..."

Hi Soren :)

I loved your expression "spa visit for the ego", this is so apt, and applies to many modern humans.

As for the other sentiment, when you say " true horror of never existing", please allow me to offer alternative (and positive!) point of view??

The essence of all struggle is wanting to preserve one's identity, yet be in unity with the "other"; two forces pull us in different directions and it hurts... but it only hurts if you approach this in an intellectual, detached sort of way.

The beautiful, humane, and pleasurable path is to find, and nurture, your romantic love- for in this context the unity is not " boundless and terrifying" but sublime and exquisite; and yes, of course I mean all the layers and not just the physical...

:))

Have a lovely day!

Jasmine

Hi everyone,

Reading the reflections from Jasmine, Papaphilly, and Soren feels like watching three mirrors angled toward the same question — each reflecting a different wavelength of truth.

What I find remarkable is how each of you approaches isolation from a completely different dimension, yet all your perspectives converge toward a single insight:
isolation does not shape us on its own — it reveals the architecture already within us.

• Jasmine, you remind us that humans recalibrate through beauty, connection, friendship, and emotional ritual.
Your view highlights the restorative side of solitude — how we return to the world more aligned, not diminished.

• Papaphilly, you ground the discussion with the crucial distinction between forced isolation and chosen solitude.
Your point that “anyone separated long enough will inevitably change” is a sober reminder of our social nature.

• Soren, your contribution reaches into the metaphysical:
that the greatest illusion is believing the “self” entering isolation is solid and coherent.
Your reflection about the ego seeking a return on investment in solitude opens the door to a deeper truth — that the transformation we expect is rarely the one we receive.

For me, the heart of this discussion lies somewhere in the space between all these viewpoints:
Isolation can destroy us, refine us, or reveal us —
but what determines the outcome is not the silence itself,
but the version of ourselves we bring into that silence.

Some people enter solitude seeking to sharpen the ego;
others enter to soften it;
and a few discover, as Soren suggested,
that the ego they brought with them never truly existed at all.

In this sense, isolation is neither enemy nor sanctuary.
It is a mirror — and what we see inside it depends entirely on the structure of our inner world.

Thank you all for elevating the conversation far beyond the original question.
These are the kinds of exchanges that remind me why I cherish discussions in this community.

— Raphaël Zéla

Sometimes isolation doesn’t change us — it just removes the noise long enough for us to finally hear who we already were.

When the world gets quiet, old memories resurface, roles fall away, and we are left face-to-face with the parts of ourselves we usually hide behind routine, work, or other people’s expectations.

It can be uncomfortable…
but maybe this discomfort is the truth — the one we avoid in daily life.

I don’t think isolation creates a new version of us.
I think it reveals the one that was always there, just waiting for silence.

— Vasyl

Vasyl wrote: "Sometimes isolation doesn’t change us — it just removes the noise long enough for us to finally hear who we already were.

When the world gets quiet, old memories resurface, roles fall away, and we..."

Hi Vasyl, I agree- it reveals what's already there :)

Hi Vasyl,

Your reflection touches on a truth that many overlook:
isolation doesn’t sculpt a new self — it strips away the noise that kept the old one hidden.

I’ve often felt that silence acts less like a sculptor and more like a mirror polished by discomfort.
When the world grows quiet, what resurfaces is not a “new” version of us, but the fragments we abandoned in the rush of expectations, roles, and the rhythm of survival.

Perhaps the unease you describe is not a warning, but an invitation —
an invitation to meet the self we postponed, the one that waited behind every distraction.

In this sense, isolation doesn’t change us;
it reveals the part that refuses to die, the part that keeps calling our name even when we pretend not to hear it.

Thank you for bringing this dimension into the discussion — your words sharpen the question of whether isolation reshapes us… or simply uncovers the shape we carried all along.

— Raphaël Zéla

Thank you, Raphaël.
I think you’re right — unease is not a warning but an invitation.
Maybe that’s why silence feels so difficult: it brings back the parts of us that waited too long to be heard.

Sometimes the hardest thing is simply to listen.

— Vasyl

Dr. wrote: "Soren wrote: "Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains.

Isolation ..."

Dr. Jasmine, thank you for such a profound and humane perspective. I absolutely agree that the beautiful, exquisite path of love is the solution to the pain of isolation.

However, I believe that the very act of seeking unity is the core of the struggle.

Unity requires the merging of two identities, which forces us to try and bend the "other" to our will—even if that will is a selfless desire for accord. This is the ego's final, most subtle demand: that the other fit into our subjective, internal model of "oneness."

Perhaps the most challenging, yet most fulfilling, path is to realize that the highest state of relationship is not Unity, but Absolute Understanding.

This is only possible in the absence of the ego. When we are free from the need for the other to agree with us, we can simply observe the beautiful, chaotic, evolving process of the other mind. This brings about a new, profound, and unconditional joy.

The true work of consciousness is not in fighting for union, but in letting go of the fight and simply bearing witness.

It is this concept—the shift from the ego-driven desire for unity to the observer-driven truth of understanding—that is the climax of my work. Thank you for pushing this conversation to its limit!

Soren K. Blackwood

Soren wrote: "Dr. wrote: "Soren wrote: "Raphaël wrote: "For centuries, philosophers, writers, and psychologists have wondered what happens to a person when the noise of the world fades and only the self remains...."

Hi Soren, well, you have just said exactly the same thing that I have worked out in the book I am currently writing- I am simply using different words. Which makes it more likely that we are both correct- horray ! :)))

I'd just like to add that "personal beautiful exquisite love" seems to have far reaching amazing consequences according to
Thich Nhat Hanh:

"Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species on Earth. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love".

:))

Jasmine

Hi Vasyl, Soren, and Jasmine,

Reading your reflections together feels like witnessing three rays of light falling on the same hidden surface — each from a different angle, each revealing a truth the others complete.

Vasyl, you remind us that discomfort is not a threat but a doorway.
Silence does not wound us; it simply removes the noise that once protected us from hearing what was already calling our name. Your words echo the ancient idea that revelation is rarely an act of learning — but an act of remembering.

Soren, you expand the discussion toward the tension between unity and understanding.
Your distinction between union and witnessing touches a difficult truth:
that love falters when it demands sameness, but flourishes when it accepts otherness.
Perhaps silence is precisely the space where the ego loosens its grip, allowing us to see the other not as an extension of ourselves, but as a universe unfolding beside us.

Jasmine, your reference to Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that love, in its purest form, is not a fusion but an expansion.
To love one being deeply is to widen the aperture of perception — to become capable of loving the entire world.
In that sense, love itself becomes a form of heightened perception:
a sense that grows only in the quiet.

Taken together, your reflections suggest that isolation does not reshape us nor merely reveal us —
it repositions us.

It places us at the edge of ourselves, where we can finally see:
• what we kept
• what we abandoned
• and what still calls to be reclaimed.

Thank you all for transforming this discussion into a mosaic of perspectives.
Your voices make the silence itself feel illuminated.

— Raphaël Zéla

Greetings everyone,
This topic is extremely interesting for me as my current situation relates a lot with it.

I’m a 32 y/o serial entrepreneur who’ve built around 4 very profitable companies.

Went completely BANKRUPT around couple years ago.
Suffered an immense betrayal by my right hand cousin and pretty much like a brother to me. Stole lots of money plus dragged couple companies down with him. I couldn’t save any of the corporations.
Family looked away, nobody helped me, so called friends all went away, I was about to commit suicide in December 2023.
Long story short I’m incredibly still in debt +600K usd as a Colombian person believe me that’s A LOT OF MONEY.

But here’s the thing, I’m a professional Trader, tech analyst and investor. I AM SURE I can make it back again.

I’ve been si single since a year, have read many more books, lost around 25kg (since stress and depression made me eat a lot was around 105kg) working out almost everyday
Happy mindset, positive goals.

But ISOLATED and I’m thankful with God about that

All power to you, Edy.
Keep the faith!

Hy Edy,
Sometimes you can only rise after you’ve pushed off the bottom.
The strongest characters in books aren’t strong because life was kind to them —
they’re strong because they survived what should have broken them.
No one would read a story where everything goes well from the start.
Right now, you’re writing your own book.
Money is an illusion — paper that represents something, nothing more.
What you’re really rebuilding isn’t finances, it’s yourself.
And about friends — if someone was only there when you had money,
then it wasn’t you they needed, it was what you had.
Look closely at who remains with you now, in debt, in silence, in rebuilding.
When you reach the top again — don’t forget who stood beside you here.

Edy wrote: "Greetings everyone,
This topic is extremely interesting for me as my current situation relates a lot with it.

I’m a 32 y/o serial entrepreneur who’ve built around 4 very profitable companies.

Wen..."

Dear Edy,

Thank you for sharing your life story- you are a "survivor" for sure- which means all will be well. Take care and good luck!

:)))

Jasmine

Thanks everyone for your kind words,

I wish you all the best and a healthy wonderful life.

I will keep going thriving and doing my best with a great positive mindset.

Things are looking brighter for 2026 thanks God 🙏🏼♥️

Dear Edy,

Thank you for trusting this space with something so raw and personal. What you described is not merely loss or failure—it is a stripping away. Of illusions, of false loyalties, of identities built too tightly around success.

Isolation, in moments like these, is not always absence. Sometimes it is a necessary clearing. A silence in which the noise of expectation, comparison, and borrowed definitions finally recedes. What remains can be frightening—but also honest.

What struck me most in your words is not the confidence that you will rebuild financially, but the quieter transformation already underway: discipline replacing chaos, reading replacing numbing, the body slowly reclaiming itself, and the mind learning to sit with solitude rather than flee from it.

Debt can be quantified. Betrayal cannot. Yet neither defines the totality of a life.

The strongest foundations are often laid after collapse—not because suffering is noble, but because clarity tends to arrive when we are no longer distracted by appearances. Isolation, when chosen consciously, can refine rather than diminish. It teaches discernment: who stays, what matters, and what must never be handed over again.

Whatever form your rebuilding takes, may it be slower, truer, and less dependent on applause. And when connection returns—and it will—may it meet a self that is no longer negotiable.

I wish you steadiness, not haste. Depth, not spectacle. And a future shaped by intention rather than revenge.