That sounds pretty self-conscious and fake, like a teenager trying to dress like a nonconformist. Altered states of consciousness do exist, and extreme isolation is known to produce them.

> like a teenager trying to dress like a nonconformist

Precisely my point. True freedom is never is a reaction to something. I like Jiddu K's take on freedom

http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/krishnamurti-teachings/view-tex...

But my point is that that's not necessarily what the hermit was doing. I don't think he was reacting against the idea of defining himself. I think he was experiencing the effects of extreme isolation, and trying to describe afterwards what it felt like.

He lived for years without the need to define himself. And then someone asked him to.

So for a while, perhaps he was free from definitions.