Blaming our phones, Netflix and various other pieces of tech, is like meditation in giving one’s power away.
We do it so often, that it actually becomes our daily prayer or mantra.
And we are very surprised when we feel stressed, exhausted or burdened.
Some folks use tech as a way to disconnect or escape from their reality and the human experience of the moment.
Others need it because they derive a strong sense of self, importance or purpose from being either very connected (techie) or very disconnected from tech (hippie).
A lot of us, do all of the above in a span of a day!
It’s interesting what people around us say and what we agree to (because we want to belong or be seen as outlandish) when it comes to technology. I think it tells us a lot about ourselves.
Technology amplifies; so, it emits far and wide what we put out into the world. If you’ve ever looked into Laws of Attraction, Creating and Manifesting, you’ll know that what we put out, comes back in not-so-subtle ways.
I’ve used technology to show a façade of myself on social media, fully knowing that my reality is actually quite different. What often came back to me was entrenched desperation and attachment to maintaining those façades, fractures in authenticity and intimacy, and deep mistrust in the self and others.
#Amplified
This brings us to an interesting conversation within the Self of:
Who we are?
What we are putting out in the world?
What’s coming back to us?
And, what is our relationship and intended use with technology?
Relationship
The first technology we ever interacted with, was our own body.
This mechanical, electrical and quantum system is beyond incredible. So incredible, that truly exploring facets of it would take a life-time, which is probably why we live one, in the first place!
As toddlers, we often reached to the outer world, picked something up and brought it straight back to our mouths. This is us learning and interacting with inputs, feeling, senses, limits, abilities and exploring subjectively. Sort-of like we do with a new app or our fancy robotic vacuum cleaner.
Unlike our apps and home-devices, the range of emotion, feeling, thoughts and beliefs are exponentially more intense, with greater depth and wider range. We learn of pain and discomfort.
I think at some point, most of us then learn to disconnect and dissociate, rather than learn to witness, allow, honour and eventually come to mastery in the life process.
This is like starting to watch a super-hero movie, where one has cool new powers. And while exploring these powers, they fall and get badly hurt and decide to never use their powers again. End of movie.
We do that. We hold great power within, but we are often forced by internal or external circumstances to give it up in our child states, because it’s too dark, dense or hard. Sometimes it is hard for those around us, so it’s easier for them if we give it up.
But it’s never gone, and we remember the wonderment of childhood as we explored ourselves with the outer world, through interacting. Even if it is unconscious.
My understanding is that when we are disconnected from ourselves, we tend to find things in the outer world that allow us that nostalgia of wonderment, of remembering the innocent intimacy of interacting with and exploring our new power, and learning by doing and trying.
Most house-hold technology fills this gap, superficially at least, but only somewhat.
Distraction isn’t a long-term solution to anything. Neither is addiction.
Have you noticed that sometimes when you’re on your laptop a lot, you don’t notice that day has given way to night, or that you haven’t taken a full deep breath in a while?
We get sucked in, but I think it’s less the fault of work, our colleagues, our followers or cat videos, and more than we aren’t fully in our bodies.
It has been my prayer, practice and meditation to be a person who uses technology, rather than the person who is taken-in by what is on my screen. What was a multi-year learning for me, is hopefully much shorter for you!
The learning included practices and a discipline of returning consciousness home to my body, and feeling safe in my emotional state to stay there. As this got stronger, it eventually overrode my mind, my screen and my need for instant gratification. Like a trusty fail-safe algorithm.
Sure, I watch movies and I’m totally immersed, but physically, I cannot binge shows continuously. After a couple hours, I actually have to go outside or do something else.
My journey and practices included yoga, breath-work, intention-setting, journaling, writing tasks down, eating lunch outside in the sun, working from home, crystals, essential oils and incense. Since it is journey of wonderment, what it could hold for you is magical and entirely up to you.
This piece is an invitation to love, honour, get excited about an explore the body you find yourself in today.
It is a reminder to drop ideas of perfection and efficiency, what-ifs and comparisons, and just return to the self.
And most importantly, it is a call to play, to be engrossed in all you and cannot do and to pleasurably discover a little more of yourself today.