I describe Thoreau's quest as a series of eight techniques: moving inward, idealizing a friend, keeping quiet, going outside, microvisioning, living doubly, hoeing beans, and eating with care. These exercises are to be practiced daily until they become second nature. Taken as a group, they display how Thoreau's art of the self combines bodily discipline with relaxation of intellect, and how it mixes intellectual rigor with flight of fancy. (Chap 2. Techniques of the Self)
