It seemed all so familiar, and yet my feelings were so different. We live in a physical World whose properties are familiar, and, no eye could find the place; but God on his repealless list can summon every face. This drive me to find the time for a deeply humanistic involvement in daily life and social concerns. The only raiment I should need is space.  It is all around us, all the time. We talk about outer space—the space outside our World and “inner” space—the space inside our minds. We cherish our own “space.” We give “space” to people or things that scare us. However, in the space has now become a more and more contested issue. Some call it clear, other passed their curtains by. Sweet morning, when I over-sleep, knock, recollect, for me. Since Albert Einstein, we have come to recognize that the space in which we live is fluid. It takes place in time. We have developed new kinds of space as well—the space of mass media, the Internet, the computer screen, virtual reality, and cyberspace. Sentences of science can be expressed as quantitative descriptions of definite space-time points. In this view, all of science (biological and psychological, as well as physical) consists of sentences equivalent to sentences of the physical protocol language. #RyanPhillippe 1 of 9

 Is the Trojan War a real event or merely a product of poetic imagination? And the metaphysical problem of reality. Are perceived physical things real or merely contents of consciousness. All these new kinds of space result in a visual notion of the self, rather than any particular self—the self as a secret entity, as a secret, hidden place. There is search for interpersonal freedom and the resultant loneliness appears in many forms. One of the more fashionable forms to emerge in the last decade is the “identity crisis,” which involves “knowing who you are,” “doing your own thing,” and “doing it your way.” The most important goal is to become a “real person,” and this apparently is accomplished by becoming differ from everyone else.  All representations involve an affection or action of the mind considering them—of there is no action, there is no apprehension of the representation—so a representation is not received like a stamp upon wax but is mixed in with subjective or affective elements of sorts. This we plainly see in those cases where representations that pass for true are in fact false (for example Hercules’ mistaking his sons for enemies and killing them by mistake; oars appearing in cooked water). #RyanPhillippe 2 of 9

Great fear is expressed at the thought of being only marginally different—the cleavage between the individual and everybody else must be sharp and total. The search for one’s own identity cannot be found with somebody else; it is a private, solitary, and lonely struggle.  Many reactions to loneliness lead inexorably to greater isolation. People are more attracted to loneliness traps that are woven into society, and the battle against the lack of love in our society leads to more loneliness because people equate love with object. They try to find love through the use of objectivity, an intellectual response that can lead to greater isolation. Experience has shown that powerful therapeutic benefits flow from meetings in which humans band together to discuss common problems. Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, produces remarkable changes in individuals who can stand up among their fellow men and women and admit “I am an alcoholic.” The public recognition and admission of the fact that they have a problem is one major aspect of their ability to battle the problem. #RyanPhillippe 3 of 9

So too with people suffering from obesity—again the recognition and admission of a problem to a group similarly afflicted helps reduce the feelings of guilt and shame, thereby producing secondary benefits in overcoming the problem. For decades, radical breast surgery for cancer in women produced serious secondary psychological consequences. Women were ashamed of their condition, and they suffered alone, silently, often to the detriment of their physical health and the disruption and destruction of their marriages. Yet the process of banding together with others similarly afflicted has produced understanding and therapeutic gains in conquering this problem. Reach-to-Recovery is but one example of a group that helps patients recognize and publicly discuss the fact that there are serious psychological and social problems that surround cancer; with the help of these effects of cancer are now able to rehabilitate their lives. All these groups work on the principle that before all else you must recognize that you have a problem, then publicly admit it, so that you can rid yourself of the hidden guilt and shame that often accompany such a problem. #RyanPhillippe 4 of 9

One of the basic feelings that accompanies human loneliness is shame. Unlike some cancer patients, alcoholics, drug addicts, or obese individuals, lonely people often aggravate their condition by suffering alone. Rather than publicly meeting with others similarly afflicted, the lonely tend to shun each other. Seeing other people suffering from the same problem embarrasses the lonely all the more, making them feel all the more ashamed. These feelings lead to the most fundamental of all loneliness traps. The burden of loneliness is that feelings of shame lead the lonely not only to shun other people who are obviously lonely, but also to deny to themselves their own feelings. This silence makes lonely individuals highly exploitable. Their sense of shame often leaves them with only two alternatives: either they must withdraw from society, or they must try to find companionship as quickly as possible. The loneliness trap of withdrawal is self-explanatory: it is a silent admission of total defeat and a reluctant resignation to the existing state of affairs, to a life devoid of human love. #RyanPhillippe 5 of 9

The traps inherent in attempting to find human companionship as quickly as possible are less immediately apparent. Two traps are particularly difficult to avoid. The first is the trap of panic. Because of intense feelings of shame, anxiety, and pain, the person sets out immediately to find a mate with a single-mindedness that borders on an obsession. While such a strategy may produce a mate, all too often it also produces greater loneliness. One problem is that in the single-minded pursuit of a mate, other humans who could provide companionship and friendship are discarded. Panic and retreat, at each end of a continuum of responses, define the extreme limits of the loneliness traps. By far the great majority of lonely people fall into a more subtle trap—they deny their own feelings of loneliness, they make believe that their feelings are not true. They do not permit themselves to become conscious of their own feelings, a denial for which, as we have seen, they find support in many aspects of our culture. Having denied their own loneliness, they are then driven to seek out alternatives to companionship. #RyanPhillippe 6 of 9

The denial of dependence and of feelings of loneliness even lead some people to redefine many of the terms that describe aspects of intimate relationships. Some, for example, confuse sexual intercourse with companionship. So thoroughly confused have these notions become that the word love is now used as a code for the sex. “Make love,” “how is your love-life?”, “do you have a lover?”—these phrases refer to activities that need not necessarily include love. While sexual pleasure can be a part of a love relationship, it is clear that sexual pleasure can be achieved without any “love,” dialogue, or companionship. Prostitutes and gigolos are not the only ones who have demonstrated the fact. The Westworld fantasy of the perfect computerized lover ultimately leaves us cold: it is as unsatisfactory as the hand-on-a-stick petting machine for dogs. Vibrators, brothers, massage parlors, and masturbation all yield pleasures, but they do not provide love or companionship. One of the agendas is companionship—real, live, honest-to-goodness companionship.  #RyanPhillippe 7 of 9

Often healing from loneliness goes beyond the agenda of companionship to include something called love. Many people are obviously able to avoid loneliness traps even without realizing that such traps exist. To list all the potential sources of loneliness is like listing all the dangers of life; it is impossible for the same reason it is impossible to predict all future dangers. However, beyond that, a preoccupation with danger might prove to be the greatest danger of all, producing an individual with a warped sense of proportion, trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Preoccupation with the dangers of loneliness may, in the long run, be just another loneliness trap. Not everyone who lives alone hurdles inexorably into physical or emotional disaster. Not every divorcee, bereaved individual, or single person is lonely, not do they all suffer from emotional or physical difficulties. Many lead rewarding and healthy lives, sustained and enriched by many friends and acquaintances. And, conversely, simply being married or physically living under the same roof with other human beings does not by itself guarantee human companionship or good health. #RyanPhillippe 8 of 9

Physical living conditions do not seem to be the critical variables. Rather, it appears that the way a person responds and interacts with his or her fellow human beings is the crucial factor. Living together involves the process of dialogue. However, gratifying it is in later life to express thoughts and feelings to a congenial person, there remains an unsatisfied longing for an understanding without words.  I looked at Sunrise once, and then arose godly habits. I immersed my life in the life of the Lord and ways of God became a spontaneous expression in my life that I was no longer aware of. Love means that there are no visible habits—that your habits are so immersed in the Lord and that you practice them without realizing it. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands I do. If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in from of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do.  #RyanPhillippe 9 of 9