Why Travel makes you younger and stretches time

[Winston]

This is something I discovered long ago and wrote about.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/0 ... productive

1. Travel makes you younger

David Eagleman, recently profiled as ‘The Possibilian’ in the New Yorker, studies time perception at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and has made many experiments regarding how life-threatening moments feel slowed down.

Travel to new places has always felt like stretched time to me too; a week in Guatemala seems to last as long as three weeks in the Outer Banks – in a good way. So I asked him, for my recent CNN piece on travel to new destinations, whether science can back up my gut reaction.

Eagleman told me adults’ sense of time is more ‘compressed’ than children’s, but that travel to new or ‘novel’ places – the more exotic, the better – is an equalizer of sorts. ‘It essentially puts you, neurally, in the same position as when you were a child.’

Travel: the fountain of youth! And, with its perceived time-stretching possibilities, a life-saver even if you only take a week or two for vacation this summer.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/0 ... z22TLrqCAp

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-24/trav ... =PM:TRAVEL

[Jester]

Like.

[momopi]

Try working as a 100% traveling consultant for a year. 6 different planes every week. 2 planes (w/transfter) from home to 1st client, 2 planes from 1st client to 2nd client, and 2 planes from 2nd client to home.

You'd wake up and think, "am I sleeping on the plane, at the airport, at a hotel bed, or in my own bed?"

Thank goodness for Amazon Kindle to pass the time. Oh and, first class upgrades for domestic flights is overrated. ;p

[pete98146]

This is something I discovered long ago and wrote about.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/0 ... productive

1. Travel makes you younger

David Eagleman, recently profiled as ‘The Possibilian’ in the New Yorker, studies time perception at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and has made many experiments regarding how life-threatening moments feel slowed down.

Travel to new places has always felt like stretched time to me too; a week in Guatemala seems to last as long as three weeks in the Outer Banks – in a good way. So I asked him, for my recent CNN piece on travel to new destinations, whether science can back up my gut reaction.

Eagleman told me adults’ sense of time is more ‘compressed’ than children’s, but that travel to new or ‘novel’ places – the more exotic, the better – is an equalizer of sorts. ‘It essentially puts you, neurally, in the same position as when you were a child.’

Travel: the fountain of youth! And, with its perceived time-stretching possibilities, a life-saver even if you only take a week or two for vacation this summer.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/0 ... z22TLrqCAp

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-24/trav ... =PM:TRAVEL

Thanks for posting this Winston. How about you? Any plans for traveling soon?

[tmr]

Of course this is true and what an awesome topic. What travel does is put you into what is known in zen as 'beginner's mind', 'Hossin-ji'. You no longer have any familiar patterns to rely on and so are fresh.

Any place you've been for a while, you establish patterns of familiarty with the place and the people. That groove is valuable because once in the groove you don't have to give the place any energy. But after a while the groove can become stale, we can get 'stuck' in it, meaning find it difficult, painful to leave it. Then we accumulate staleness, angst etc etc. On the other hand the familiarity can produce feelings of comfort too.

When you enter a new place, move to a new house etc you immediately are thrown into that new space and you get relief from yourself, your old patterns, your old thoughts. You do become like a child, open, full of wonder, ready to learn. But of course being open, full of wonder, learning take energy and so travel can become exhausting. And often being out of the familiar can produce feelings of anxiety as you don't know how to handle the open space.

What's the answer? Well what's the question?

[Winston]

Of course this is true and what an awesome topic. What travel does is put you into what is known in zen as 'beginner's mind', 'Hossin-ji'. You no longer have any familiar patterns to rely on and so are fresh.

Any place you've been for a while, you establish patterns of familiarty with the place and the people. That groove is valuable because once in the groove you don't have to give the place any energy. But after a while the groove can become stale, we can get 'stuck' in it, meaning find it difficult, painful to leave it. Then we accumulate staleness, angst etc etc. On the other hand the familiarity can produce feelings of comfort too.

When you enter a new place, move to a new house etc you immediately are thrown into that new space and you get relief from yourself, your old patterns, your old thoughts. You do become like a child, open, full of wonder, ready to learn. But of course being open, full of wonder, learning take energy and so travel can become exhausting. And often being out of the familiar can produce feelings of anxiety as you don't know how to handle the open space.

What's the answer? Well what's the question?

That's a good way to put it. This is why I don't think that getting married and raising a family, like normal people are supposed to aspire to do, will bring ultimate happiness. Such a life is built around routine, familiarity and stability. Yet society says it is the ideal life. I don't know why. It doesn't seem like it.

[MarkDY]

Also meeting and dating younger women does make me feel younger

[EntrepreneurNet]

Have any of you ever read or heard about Minimalist Business: http://www.minimalistbusiness.com/ ???
Or his other book/concept: http://www.untether.cc/ ?

The author has a neat analogy about how people get stuck and stay in one place/job their whole lives - he calls "teathering". If you want to read more:

That's a good way to put it. This is why I don't think that getting married and raising a family, like normal people are supposed to aspire to do, will bring ultimate happiness. Such a life is built around routine, familiarity and stability. Yet society says it is the ideal life. I don't know why. It doesn't seem like it.

He thinks alot like you and talks a lot like you. He doesn't date foreign women though. But he basically says that the "American dream" is complete bullshit (Especially the staying in one place part!) You should **NOT** desire the american dream. And the only way to truly be happy is to move around, and be free. Also talks a lot about building residual online income streams.

It's what inspired me to this mindset a few months back, before I found this forum.

I gave a copy to a few friends/family after reading it - unfortunately they didn't really care. or didn't "get it". Lol. Most people don't... I think a lot of people live really unnatural, unhappy lives but they're unwilling or unable to see the cause. Then they try to treat the symptom, not the disease with more money, sports, tv, and alcohol.

[Jester]

Looks interesting.

[WakingUp]

Have any of you ever read or heard about Minimalist Business: http://www.minimalistbusiness.com/ ???
Or his other book/concept: http://www.untether.cc/ ?

I just read the book and found it to be well worth the $37. It is a better version of the 4 hour work week without the bullshit.

[Renata]

good read I agree travelling is a form of education, it changes your perspective on almost everything.

I've been out of my country since 2004. When I go back home to visit I feel like an outsider, has anyone experienced this ??? I feel like the foreigner.