Transcendentalism

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the definition of transcendentalism is: a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. My definition of transcendentalism is: the act of experiencing something that people can't wrap their heads around and to do something that you don't see everyday and are told you can't possibly experience or do those things.  Some examples of this would be magic tricks, extreme sports, and really just anything that gets you thinking how someone could possibly do such a thing.  "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chambers as from society" -Ralph Waldo Emerson.  This quote is an example of individualism because it is explaining that in order to escape from society you also have to escape and exceed your comfort zone.  By this meaning that you have to escape and leave everything you have ever known and learned and just venture off into your unknown.  "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men, that is genius." Ralph Waldo Emerson.  This quote is an example of self reliance.  It relates to self reliance because its stating that if you believe in yourself and follow your gut then you are a genius.  This is transcendentalism because it is easier to follow the crowd and to go unnoticed but to go off on your own path you are experiencing personal and spiritual mind sets.  "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan like…" Henry David Thoraeu.  This quote is explaining that he wants to live to the fullest and experience everything there is to experience.  He wants to be able to die knowing that he did all he could to learn everything that was to learn in the world.  This is an example of transcendentalism because it shows that he wants to go above and beyond what the average human does with their life.