The Joys of Candlelight and No Electricity.

About an hour ago, the power went out in my neighborhood. It is now back on, but I learned a lot within that one hour of no electricity.

When it happened, I was right in the middle of a heated online video game. (blee boop bop) power goes out. At first I was really bummed, but then I decided to make the most out of it. I step outside and spend some quality time with my dog and also take a look out at the gorgeous night sky. I come back inside the house and decide to light some candles.

I brought one with me in my room, and I take the time to stare at it. Looking at a controlled little flame flicker back and forth sure can be hypnotizing. It felt as if my pineal gland was being stimulated, and it made me think back to the old days of humans sitting around a campfire...

At one point, I decided to drip a little of hot wax on my arm because (supposedly) it can be sensual or romantic. It hurts, but I can see how hot wax can get a little frisky...

Moving on, I continuted to watch the candle, as the wax slowly melted away. I hadn't been this entertained in a long time.

All of a sudden, the power comes back on, and I'm actually bummed out! I realized how quiet it had been without all the electricity now buzzing throughout my house. It was a great hour of basically going back in time. I can see how reading a book by candlelight would be an awesome experience.

I felt like sharing. Do you have any thing to say about candles, or time away from electricity?

-Sol

Edit to add: due to a member's great contribution, I decided to expand upon my thread a little bit more...

I truly did notice that when all the electricity was turned off in my home, I felt more at ease. i never noticed how loud electrical current are until they were turned off. It was a HUGE difference.

I will add more to this later.

[edit on 10-8-2010 by SolarE-Souljah]

We had the same stuff five years ago. It was snowing so hard, that we had a major power fallout. It took 12 hours to come back on, the whole city was living its darkest night ever. Many security installations of big stores became useless, yet no crimes where committed!

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Ya know, you could always turn the power off at the switchboard...

Funny, we don't do that..

We had the power out here for around 4 hours one night..

My 3 boys were going crazy, no internet or TV...

They expect so much and appreciate so little

hehehe... even though I share your enthousiasm for silence and a fire to light your lvivingspace, I dont know if this is worthy of ATS material..

Now if the subject were to be how modern "electrical" home environment helps humanity to get out of touch with mother earth, things will get interesting.

I always felt our current technological society is responsible for the dumbing down in more then the accepted way of feeding propaganda.. What if our constant exposure to electrical fields, devices and such nullifies our natural connection to earth? Or maybe it alters the way our brain works in such a way that we pauze the ability to attune our senses to what the earth has to offer?

Just go on a camping trip without a radio and build a campfire at night in the middle of a forest area. take some friends and notice the changes in your attitude, the atmosphere of your company and the way you enjoy things. It really does make a world of difference when comparing to a night of playing videogames with your stereo turned up loud..

reply to post by faceoff85


Good idea. I changed the thread title and am adding some more to the OP since you really had great contributional ideas.

Thank you!

I always loved power cuts when I was a kid! Having to get all the candles out and read books or tell stories. I think now I would find it more of a hinderance though.

It's funny how times have changed yet some behaviours are quite similar. Back in the day when people got home the first thing they would do is get the fire going, nowadays the first thing people do is put the TV on.

Both are central to the room and sort of the center piece if you will. It's kind of like how the TV is background noise and a bit of company, the fire's crackles hisses and pops were the same for a previous generation.

A good idea is to have a low tech day once a month, or week even if you can manage it. Turn all electrical goods off, unplug the phone, and just relax, read some books... eh hem graphic novels for me.

Originally posted by Big Raging Loner
I always loved power cuts when I was a kid! Having to get all the candles out and read books or tell stories. I think now I would find it more of a hinderance though.

It's funny how times have changed yet some behaviours are quite similar. Back in the day when people got home the first thing they would do is get the fire going, nowadays the first thing people do is put the TV on.

I think you touched an important issue there.. We really have grown accustomed to our current technological abilities... is a child happy nowadays when they dont receive a Nintendo DS? or take a 12 year old who still isn't allowed to own his own phone...

50 years ago when the power would go out for a month, people would get by.. turn the fireplace on, warm some hot-chocolate on the wood-stove and gather around and just... talk, share experiences of the day. have some quality time together and ENJOY it!!!

I see so many young people who feel its a pain in the a$$ just having to share a meal with their parents at night... they'd rather go out with friends and grab a McDonalds.. Its not just the way we enjoy nature thats changed. Current technology IMO is a major player in the widening gap between social bonding..

@SolarE-Souljah

Thnx for giving me credit. Likeminded I think?

[edit on 10/8/2010 by faceoff85]

we had 2 weeks without electricity about sevan years ago and to say there was a baby boom would be an understatement

reply to post by danielhanson420


Wonder what the explanaition for that might be... batteries on the tarzan's died too?

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Good post!

Don't get me wrong, I love the comforts that come with electricity however when you said

I truly did notice that when all the electricity was turned off in my home, I felt more at ease. i never noticed how loud electrical current are until they were turned off. It was a HUGE difference.

I noticed it too. The quietness was nice, soothing. The constant humming was gone for just a little while.

The total darkness was calming and comforting.

Maybe I'll go back to camping.

Never thought I would say that because I love creature comforts but there is something to be said for getting away (really away) from civilization that revitalizes you on the deepest levels.

My girlfriend is into all kinds of witchcraft type things and she has about a hundred candles dotted all around the house, in draws etc.

The last time we had a power cut and lit all the candles the neighbors were angrily knocking on the door asking how come we still had electricity when everyone else didn't, the light from all the candles was making our house as bright as it normally is with the electric lights on.

As for TV I think people, including myself are way to reliant on it, the last time I was without one for a long period of time (I spent about 6 months camping) my creativity levels just shot up and I had more ideas for writing projects and things then in the last 3 years put together

it can be annoying when only my power shuts off because im on a token metre but when the whole city goes out it is much more enjoyable.
not because others are sharing in my darknes but because for a while the city seems relaxed, able to unplug and unwind.
i do miss the stars when the power is on but my friends and i often go camping so i get to enjoy the sky then.

Unfortunately, reading/studying by candelight can play havoc on the eyes - especially for children.
The constant flicker and indirect lighting causes a lot of eye-strain: the long-term effects are quite well-documented.

Congrats on the wonderful experience. You discovered an age old meditation technique. I get that feeling when I see large open spaces with no signs of houses or technology. I recently moved away from the city out to an area with a lot of farm land. There is something about seeing the land how its been for hundreds of year with out interruption. I got a similar feeling when I saw the movie the Patriot. Something about simpler times stirs what feels like a memory in me of when I lived like this at one point in another life.

Again Congrats

My wife and I often go camping in the Pyrenees. We take the camper to a nice spot and then load our backpacks and hike for a day or two. We normally pitch our tents near a mountain stream, sheltered from the wind. After nightfall, we just sit together in silence by the fire, drinking red wine from plastic cups. The atmos is just out of this world.

We usually get our best nights of sleep high in the mountains. It is also a fun place to get to know each other a little better too. (wink, wink).

I feel that being sounded by electric current day in and day out can really mess with your brain.

[edit on 10/8/2010 by TheLoneArcher]

My hours were cut at one job I had a few years ago and as a result, I was unable to pay my electric bill. As a result, my power was shut off. I don't watch tv(mindless junk on there)so, I wasn't really affected. At the time, I couldn't get online because that was shut off, too. The only way it really affected me was keeping my food cold. I had to buy ice and keep everything in a cooler. That part of it sucked the big one. Ice is expensive after a while if you don't make a lot of money, and it melts pretty fast if the weather is warm. All in all, it was like camping, except I had running water.

My spouse and I were just talking about this, and decided that once a week we would "unplug" (turn off the circuit breaker). Your right it is very noisy, even when nothing is on, just that hum that you don't notice until the power goes out.

Now, I don't about pineal stimulation but it is incredibly calming and peaceful and worth at least a few hours once a week. I don't want to end up paying to replace food, then I'll be all stressed out again .

I see alot of posters here acknowledging the fact that normal daytoday life, drenched in electronics really does account for a setback in human emotions.

Nobody can deny the near euphoric effects one receives from engufing themselves completely into "nature". It does something with the human psyche.

Living next to a traintrack can be very uncomfortable, but when one lives next to a creek wich makes noise ALL day long it will be experienced as pleasant. Its like we are programmed to enjoy nature.

So does anyone have any idea as to what exactly it is that is supressed by our daily use of electronics? When I'm home I feel like my evening will go to sh*t if I dont have my laptop or TV but when I'm out in the woods, its surprising every time again, how much one can enjoy simply being outside around a campfire...

It makes you realize that humans need VERY little to actually be happy and enjoy themselves. Our current comsumption-society makes us believe otherwise though... Commercials are brought in such a way that it convinces most of us that we NEED that new phone because it will make everything SO much easier... My generation was already pretty influenced by that.. Just imagine whats happening to the newest generations.. its getting worse/more intense by the decade...

I have a recurring nightmare about candlelit rooms. Wandering aimlessly in a candlelit house is menacing for me indeed!

reply to post by The Endtime Warrior




Oh hush it you....