The video discusses the practice of spending extended periods in nature, often in silence and fasting, and the subsequent benefits. The speaker shares personal experiences and favorite locations for such retreats, emphasizing the therapeutic effects and the natural beauty of places like Colorado and Utah. They touch on the prevalent issue of "awe deficiency disorder," suggesting that spending uninterrupted time in nature helps counteract the mundane distractions of everyday life.

This practice is highly recommended for its profound impact on mental well-being. The speaker elaborates on the preparatory measures taken before such retreats, including setting up systems to ensure a smooth reentry into normal life. They stress the importance of not rushing back into regular activities to maintain the benefits gained from these nature experiences. The speaker talks about integrating periods of reflection and space for awe, suggesting that these contribute to a more balanced and insightful return to daily routines.

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. equanimity [ˌɛkwəˈnɪmɪti] - (noun) - Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation. - Synonyms: (calmness, composure, poise)

And I can see from a place of more equanimity how one could make better choices.

2. transcendent [trænˈsɛndənt] - (adjective) - Surpassing the ordinary; exceptional, often in a spiritual or mystical manner. - Synonyms: (metaphysical, unparalleled, otherworldly)

Awe isn't, from my perspective, generally a quick hit that you get in the 30 seconds between using two apps. There's more breathing room required for genuine transcendent experience of awe.

3. deoptimize [diˈɑptɪˌmaɪz] - (verb) - The act of deliberately reducing the efficiency of something for a perceived greater benefit. - Synonyms: (simplify, scale back, reduce efficiency)

Where can I deoptimize? Where can I stop measuring? Where can I stop reading books?

4. senescent [sɪˈnɛsənt] - (adjective) - (of a cell) no longer capable of dividing but still alive and metabolically active. - Synonyms: (aging, maturing, declining)

These crazy food, water fasts, um, as a way, I think they believe it clears senescent cells or something.

5. generative drive [ˈʤɛnərəˌtɪv draɪv] - (noun phrase) - An innate motivation to produce and create continuously. - Synonyms: (creative impulse, productive drive, innate motivation)

With a strong, well, to use Paul Conte's words, generative drive, you're gonna.

6. compulsivity [kəmˈpʌl.sə.t̬i] - (noun) - The quality of being driven to perform behaviors repetitively without rational motive. - Synonyms: (obsessiveness, impulsiveness, fixation)

And if you do, you know that that is more from a compulsivity than from a necessity.

7. antithesis [ænˈtɪθəsɪs] - (noun) - A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else. - Synonyms: (opposite, contrast, contrary)

Reading poetry is an activity, almost by definition, which is the antithesis of optimization.

8. integration period [ˌɪntəˈgreɪʃən ˈpɪəriəd] - (noun) - A phase where new experiences or practices are gradually incorporated into one's usual routine. - Synonyms: (adaptation phase, adjustment period, incorporation phase)

What I will do then is set at least a, let's call it, integration period of two to three days.

9. awe deficiency disorder [ɔː dɪˈfɪʃənsi dɪsˌɔːrdər] - (noun phrase) - A lack of experiences that inspire awe, which may lead to a sense of being trapped in the mundane or ordinary. - Synonyms: (wonder deficit, amazement lack, inspiration shortage)

I do think we suffer from awe deficiency disorder, a bit of add when we're trapped in the mundane for too long with too much distraction.

10. reentry [riˈɛntri] - (noun) - The act of returning to a former place or situation after a period of absence. - Synonyms: (return, comeback, reintegration)

How do you handle those transitions? The reentry.

The Immense Value of Spending Time in Nature & Detaching - Tim Ferriss & Dr. Andrew Huberman

I have found that spending time in silence in nature without anything to do, disallowing myself from doing things, no note taking, no reading, etcetera, and spending. I have spent a number of extended fasts in nature, just like water, only by myself. No talking, no reading, no writing.

What's extended? Seven days, generally. Wow. So you're camping in nature with just water. Yep, that's it. By myself. And there are risks associated with that, right. You gotta be careful, not stupid about it, but that does a lot for me with some persistent benefits. Are there some favorite places that you've gone into nature? It doesn't have to be too fast. Like, for instance, I'm a big fan of some of the national parks up in the Pacific Northwest because it's like being transported to a different planet. Yosemite is obviously amazing, but any favorite spots where we won't go, people won't go looking for you there, don't worry.

Yeah, I would. You live in Austin all the time, so. That's right, yeah. So I would say Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, spending time in mountains, around rivers, lakes, I find very therapeutic and just gorgeous. I do think we suffer from awe deficiency disorder, a bit of add when we're trapped in the mundane for too long with too much distraction, with too many to dos, with too many relationships, and there's no space for awe there.

There isn't the room necessary. Awe isn't, from my perspective, generally, a quick hit that you get in the 30 seconds between using two apps. There's more breathing room required for genuine transcendent experience of awe. So I try to, on a yearly basis, as one of my top priorities, block out these weeks of time in nature. Yeah. Last year was the first year I did that.

I went out to Colorado in August and just took daily hikes. I stayed in a hotel. I'm not as beasty as you doing water fast. I was eating every day, but it was spectacular. One thing I noticed, and I'd like to know your process on, how do you handle going back into life? Great question. Because those days were and are amazing, right?

You detached and maybe one text message here or there in between hikes or something, and then you just really clued in. Even the process of watching a show at night, one felt so rich and enough so I wasn't as aesthetic as you and really cleaned all the clutter. But once you return to life, it's almost like being awash in demands. And I can see from a place of more equanimity how one could make better choices. But how do you handle those transitions? The reentry.

Yeah. So before getting to the reentry, I think it might make sense for me to talk about what comes before. So let's say it's like pre, during post. Part of the reason I do these one week or longer periods off the grid is because it forces me to put better systems in place. So there's the benefit that you derive from, say, that week, and I have three weeks coming up right after this interview, where I'm going to be off the grid to set myself up for three weeks off the grid.

I have a team, I have the podcast. I have a lot of things that are in motion at any given point in time. If you disappear for, say, a two to four week period, generally you cannot let the whole house catch on fire, then come back and put it out effectively, which means you need to put some policies and rules and so on in place in advance. And there's a carryover effect that has a host of benefits and makes things smoother for the reentry, so they're related.

Like, the more you set up the pre, the easier the post is going to be. And then you have this beautiful, expansive experience in nature, whatever it might be, whether you're making it a suffer fest like I do, or at a hotel at night. Either way, these things can work, and nature in and of itself is super helpful. I do think that a lot of the time we like to imagine, because we're driven, smart, accomplished people, that our problems are very complex. And at the end of the day, it's like you just need some time in nature and a cold shower and some fucking macadamia nuts and you'll be fine.

You don't need to solve, like, all the existential dilemmas of humankind, actually, or fancy pharmaceuticals. So you have this experience over this week, and what I will do then is set at least a, let's call it, integration period of two to three days, where I will slowly edge back in to my previous routine. I will not, within 12 hours of getting back to so called civilization, have a day full of calls or meetings. I will not do that. It's too much of a shock to the system, and I think it robs you of a tail end of benefits, which would also be the case with, say, faster ketogenic diet or any number of interventions.

You can squeeze out a long tail of benefits if you make a handful of changes, for instance, after an extended fast. What if you started with a sub caloric ketogenic diet for a few days? You get to extend some of the benefits, as opposed to going straight back to, say, a diet that includes a lot of carbohydrates. Similarly, when you create more of a vacuum, more space for awe, insight, reflection, recovery, I think you're doing yourself a disservice if you jump from park into 6th gear. And so I plan for that, and it's a function of scheduling.

I also have a predictable weekly schedule, so I tend to schedule podcast recordings on Mondays and Fridays in preparation for an extended trip. I will batch a lot of similar activities that we have, say, a bunch of episodes in the bank that are prescheduled. Everything is figured out in advance. And over time, the more you take these breaks, the better your systems become and the more liberated you are from the day to day, which means when you get back, you also don't need to rush as much into hyperactivity.

And if you do, you know that that is more from a compulsivity than from a necessity. While you're on these nature retreats, are you writing on a daily basis? Are you just thinking and allowing thoughts to enter and leave? Your system depends on the retreat. So sometimes I'm writing, but writing, I think, can underscore for me a desire to be compulsively productive. And I think that is inversely correlated to my happiness or sense of well being a lot of the time.

So there are many areas in my life now. So if you were to ask me what has changed significantly since the time that you wrote the four hour body, I would say that rather than looking for areas to optimize, I am looking where I can very deliberately de optimize certain areas to increase sense of well being. Where can I deoptimize? Where can I stop measuring? Where can I stop reading books? Which areas can I ignore completely?

What types of information can I just excise from my life altogether for a period of time? Delete Twitter? Stop reading about books in x related to, say, AI or whatever it might be. Where can I deoptimize selectively to sort of optimize the whole? Does that make sense? Makes good sense, yeah.

Before we started recording, I gave you a book which is a short collection of poetry by Halaliza Ghafori, which is called gold. It's a collection of rumi poetry. Reading poetry is an activity, almost by definition, which is the antithesis of optimization. So I've tried to also integrate more of those activities into my life. And this relates to your question, because there are times when I will force myself to sit on my goddamn hands.

And not write, not read, just do the thing that is so uncomfortable sometimes, which is just sitting there with yourself. It can be incredibly uncomfortable, in part because of the fear that it could become comfortable, especially for proactive people with a strong, well, to use Paul Conte's words, generative drive, you're gonna. Which is a good thing, I believe. It's a good thing, and it can be a good thing. It can indicate really incredible adaptations.

It can also sometimes, I think, indicate maladaptations. Right. And so I think it's helpful to take a break from that generative drive, or at least just put it in park position to see if that generative drive is perhaps indicative of you leaning towards something in a healthy, proactive way versus running from something in a long term destructive way. Yeah, well, and I think Paul would say that part of the generative drive process is peace, not necessarily even as a still state, but as a, you know, being able to experience peace even in the transitions.

And there's a lot more to say about that. And he would say it far better than I ever would. So I'll leave it at that. And, I mean, for people who have the option getting in nature, it doesn't have to be all day, every day on a water fast. I just take certain things to an extreme because that's who I am.

But. Sorry, when you say water fast, that means fasting with water, right? Fasting, but yes, drinking water, it just means you're allowed to have water and nothing else. For a long time, I thought it meant that you're not drinking water. Oh, yeah, no, don't do that. Some people do that.

Right. These crazy food, water fasts, um, as a way, I think they believe it clears senescent cells or something, but, um, probably clears a lot more than just senescent cells. Yeah, I, uh. There might be something to it. I mean, look, there are people who recycle by drinking their own urine. Not my jam.

Uh, but I would say it's like 3 hours without shelter, three days without water, three weeks without food. General rule of thumb, so be careful with dehydration, you can go a long time without food. If you have, I don't care how ripped you are, you get 8% body fat, man. You got plenty of time. You can go a couple weeks, no problem. You got calories, 9000 calories per pound, stored body fat, you got plenty, don't worry.

So for people who have the option to be in nature and just exercise several hours a day to exhaustion, see how many of your problems seem to just go away. Just try that.

Health, Mindfulness, Lifestyle, Inspiration, Motivation, Nature Retreat, Huberman Lab Clips