walking the sacred spiral
walking the sacred spiral
Two weeks ago I wrote about taking a week off from electronic distractions for a week (that’s why there was no newsletter or blog last week) to see how it would affect my ability to go deeper and reconnect with nature and mysticism.
The idea was to seriously limit TV, internet, email, Facebook, etc., whether on my iPhone, iPad or computer. Here’s what I can say about that experiment now: it was really hard to do!
I was pretty successful the first few days with my resolve slipping toward the end of the week. I did cheat some. And I did get some of that reconnection I was looking for.
There were a few reasons why this experiment was so challenging. The most obvious was that I was breaking a habitual pattern, so the urge to check in electronically kept pulling at me.
The second was that without the usual distractions, I felt my own feelings more acutely. I knew that was likely to happen. Sometimes that was uncomfortable.
Third, I had time to fill that was usually taken up with my electronic pursuits. It was a little disorienting not to be reading, writing, consuming entertainment and communicating all the time.
Lastly, and this was somewhat unexpected, I felt like I was unavailable to people I usually connect with in these ways. I felt a little guilty about that, and out of the loop as well.
I feel more gratitude for email now that I’ve seen how it helps me keep up with timely reminders, changes in appointments and important updates in people’s lives. I’ve gained some respect for how the technology I love to “play with” also serves my life and work.
I was relieved when the week was over and I could go back to my electronics. I did find that I became more present to what was around me during this week off, though, connecting with the people who are physically with me, and taking time in nature that I had been missing. Since these were the impetus for the experiment, I enjoyed the time for each of these in a conscious way. I know that I want more of that.
Did any of you take the plunge with me? What was your experience?
Like changing any habit we engage in mindlessly from overeating to watching too much television to exercising too much, we do become acutely conscious of how the habit nags at us to engage in it when we decide to stop or limit it.
Saying “no” to an urge like this a few times every day, and making another choice instead, will bring us more freedom and fulfillment. I thought so before; now that I’ve done the experiment I know that it’s true–at least for me.
My intention now is to engage with more awareness and some limits to create a new habit pattern, rather than just going back to what I was doing before.
If you haven’t yet tried out an “electronic break” for yourself, consider giving it a shot. Let me know what you discover in the process.
Coming Up for Air, Part 2
Wednesday, July 23, 2014