Phones – Mindfulness &

I’m going to give us a challenge you might have disregarded before. Leave your phone at home, turn it off for a few hours, or even the entire day.

First, if your answer to reading this is: “There’s no way to do that, I have work, kids, priorities, responsibilities, and, and…”, then it’s probably a good time to think about how much freedom you have in your everyday life.

Second, if your answer is: “I can’t be away from my phone too long, what if there’s an emergency, what if someone needs to reach me, what if, what if…”, then I can assure you, people will dial 911 in a real emergency, not you. You’re not a 911 operator. And even if you are, you’re off work, enjoy the nearest park!

During your time away from your phone and all its apps, notice the way you feel when you don’t have access to your phone.

Do you feel naked or vulnerable? Do you feel out of control for some reason? Do you constantly think about doing something on your phone?

Note your experience without any judgment.

The idea here is to fill only some of the time away from your phone with other activities like exercise, conversation, doodling, skydiving, or even reading.

Although it might be a great time to do those things, use some of the time to experience and note what the mind gravitates towards.

I’ll admit it, I love my phone! The numerous apps on my phone help me with nearly everything: navigation, meditation, shopping, research, entertaining, gaming, exercise, and calling people from around the world; all via a quick tap on a bubbly, colorful, addicting icon.

Our many black mirrors are dual-edged swords that can either be used as a tool or as a distraction.

Apps have been ingrained in our lives, transforming the way we interact and relate to one another.

Even our language has changed in accordance with the popular apps available today: “Can you call an Ube?” or “Let’s find an Airbnb!”

The way we approach these apps changes how we interact with them, and how we interact with them changes our entire experience in life.

**This has nothing to do with anything, but I’m currently reading Kurt Vonnegut’s A Man Without A Country, which he wrote at 84 years old if I’m not mistaken (this is surprising because he was a chain smoker and should have died at like age 64). I highly recommend you read Kurt Vonnegut, it will change your life.**

Okay, back to the topic, and the utterly important question in life: “Why?”

Why do we look, listen, and create what we do through our apps?

Why do we pick up our phones as soon as we wake up, instead of having a phone-less morning? (I highly recommend a phone-less morning, you’ll thank me after about a week.)

Why do we also stay up way later than we intended to, staring at a bright rectangle screen, insisting we will go to sleep in just five more minutes? (I’m convinced YouTube is the black hole at the center of the digital universe.)

Remember, mindfulness is the deliberate act of noticing the present moment in an open and kind way, without judgment or criticism. And some carefully developed apps can evoke us to be more mindful.

Some apps are infamous for taking us away from the present, like Facebook’s contentious newsfeed or TikTok’s infinite scrolling.

While many other apps are tools for bettering ourselves, like Headspace, All Trials, Better Help, Sleep Cycle, Maps, and FaceTime (which I use almost every day).

Being part of a generation where apps have made as much of an impact as books did on the previous generation, I feel a strange calling to the little, bubbly icons.

I actually feel my life has changed in a positive way and spurred the creation of this blog through an app called Headspace (back when it was just starting out).

It is because our phones have so much power to change every aspect of our lives, that time spent away from that power could be some of the best time spent!

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