Relying on your Intuition

Intuition is the ability to quickly understand something without needing to resort to conscious reasoning. For someone to be intuitive, they need to:

• be quick on their feet
• be able to trust their self and 
• be confident that what they are doing is right. 

Don't worry. We'll land in the water.

You don't have to be smart to be intuitive. As long as you can do those three things, you are one step closer to being transcendent. Another way to look at intuition is that "gut feeling" you get. Maybe it's not that great of an idea to base jump without a parachute.

In order to rely on your intuition, you need to be able to believe in yourself. Self-trust is key here. How could you make your own decisions if you can't trust the person who chooses them? This is where the other principles of Transcendentalism can come in handy (Individualism).

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.”
― Albert Einstein

Because of intuitive minds, so many things have come to be known. Ideas, beliefs, views, cultures, and even religions have been created because of intuition. Most of these things cannot be found in an empirical manner, for it requires a deeper thinking. This is why I chose this quote.

Dislike of Materialism

Meth. Not even once.

In your life, there's been that object in your life that you are very protective about. It could be that it has a high sentimental value, or it's just so expensive that if anything happens to it, you would be so upset. This is known as materialism. When you become materialistic towards something, you tend to forget other things that matter, such as family or friends. A great example of materialism would be Sméagol (or Gollum, whatever floats your boat), who becomes so obsessed with a ring that he ends up dying to try to keep it. As a matter of fact, he killed a friend of his just so he could have it. Talk about materialistic.

The reason materialism is disliked by transcendentalists is because you tend to focus more on the item more than your own ideas. Your ideas become wrapped around those objects.

“The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Although you're not supposed to talk about Fight Club, I chose this quote because it informs you of how you lose control of your thoughts, and allow materialism to take over your mind. Now, before Tyler Durden starts to hunt me down: materialism sucks, Fight Club doesn't.

Strong Connection to Nature

When I think of nature, I see a place where the world is untouched by artificial fabrications. National forests are exemplary for nature.Peaceful,quiet, an entirely new world. But for someone to be transcendent, they just can't know what nature is, they need to appreciate it.

"Why don't you love me?"

Now, you might be wondering why you would have to be a tree-hugger to be considered transcendent. They appreciate nature because it's managed to stay away from society. When you are in the nature, you don't know what's going on with the world. You just know what you know, and have the opportunity to reflect on it. It allows you to think independently and just relax. If you have a connection to nature, you have the ability to be away from society to momentarily think by yourself.

This is my kind of nature ♥

Me saying I appreciate nature would be a contradiction. It's nice, but I don't really spend a lot of time outside. The closest thing to nature that I spend numerous hours of my time would be when I play Skyrim.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I chose this quote because not only was it the fastest to find on Google, but Ralph Waldo Emerson is an inspiring writer who has wrote many things about transcendence. This quote also mentions the quest for truth, telling us to be patient and wait for it. Essentially, he's saying  to be patient and nature can help with the waiting in the meantime.

Individualism

 When you look for the truth, the only person you can rely on is your self. Individualism is having the habit of being independent and self reliant. For example, there's that time in your life where you think the only person that can help you with a decision is yourself. At these times, you actually become individualistic, relying on yourself without depending on others.

   Self-Reliance

 I'm just using my resources.

When you take a test (no cheating), you use your own knowledge to get the right answers. Being confident is key: you can't depend on anyone really, and the only person there to help you is, well, you. While blogging, I have come to terms that I practically forgotten everything about Transcendentalism. (Happy Thanksgiving!) So as of now, my self-reliance is taking a vacation: it doesn't appreciate Google.

Independence

Like self-reliance, independence is the ability to rely on yourself. The difference between these two is that independence is the ability to do things on your own, while self-reliance is having the confidence to do so. Independence can be on so many levels. Whether you got you  provisional license, or when you finally get to move out,  the idea is the same. You are granted independence: you could drive anywhere you want, as well as do whatever you want when you get to your house.

I can play with fire if I want to!

With all this freedom, you could do anything. But, not everything is a good idea. Just because you have the right to set your house on fire doesn't mean you should. This subconscious knowledge of what's right and wrong are known as morals. These morals are essential to keep order in our world.

Unfortunately, society has a tendency to desensitize humanity. Depending on where you're from and what your backgrounds are, they affect your empathy, common sense, and morals. You could be the most sensitive person out there, or you could be heartless just because someone spoiled a movie for you. If someone would spoil the upcoming Hobbit movie for me, I'd go f**king insane.

"Hey, look! I made a quote!"-Andrew Roybal

The reason I made this quote is because I wanted to be independent!  I relied on myself to make a quote, and now it's mine.

Quest for Truth

 In your mind, the truth could be anything, from a religious deity to that perfect slice of cake (or slices... or cakes...) you enjoyed. But whatever your truth is, it's what you believe on your own.

My life is complete.

 This delicious cake could be your truth, but most people want a little more than this chocolate delicacy. Some people actually spend their whole lives trying to figure it out. The problem with truth is that it isn't the same for everyone. It's more of a personal preference to what you think is real. Experiences you've had can actually affect your idea of truth, like the first time you rode a bike, or learned to read. One of the most effective ways of changing your truth is living in a society. Your ideas and views of everything have a tendency of being the same with your community. Hypothetically, if we all shared the same truth, it would be difficult to assimilate how identical everyone would be.

"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."

- H.D. Thoreau

The reason I chose this quote for this tenet is because it mentions how he would rather have the truth instead of love, money, and fame, which are some of the most desired possessions on this Earth. Also, Thoreau also writes about truth in a few of his stories.