how to be aware in an unaware world

Tag: meditation

Nothing
“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing”.
– Lao Tzu
Doing nothing is surprisingly difficult. It requires a shift in thinking that our time must always be occupied, our to-do list must always be filled, and the busier we are the better.
In this non-stop culture, we herald those that ‘get sh*t done’ and seem to do a million things daily, but we forget how stressful and unbalanced that person can be.
Anytime we do too much of anything, one after the other, we forget to pause.
Reflection
Multi-tasking, as I see it, is a myth. The mind can only truly focus on one thing at a time. The more we do, the less attention we have to devote to a single task.
Dopamine is released in rapid succession in the brain, increasing the heart rate and stimulating the nervous system.
That feeling of constant productivity can feel good for a short while, but in the long run, it has adverse effects by actually encouraging a less productive cycle over time.
Our ancestors held roles that consisted of one task at a time, which reduced stress and increased overall contentment with completion, they were more mindful of their productivity.
Now please don’t misread this, doing nothing doesn’t imply watching Netflix all day or doom-scrolling TikTok until the mind blows up.
It means pausing, reassessing what and why we are doing something (work or personal), and then moving forward in a clear, concise direction.
Mindfulness is the deliberate act of noticing the present moment in an open and kind way, or in other words, the simple yet profound act of doing nothing.
The Good Ole Dictionary defines mindfulness as the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention to the present moment without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training.
As a therapeutic technique, mindfulness has the potential to change our lives in positive ways. When mindful, we are naturally kinder, more compassionate, and clear-headed.
The present is a gift for all to discover. Our only job is to notice when the mind has been lost in thought, judgment, or sensation and softly return to the breath or another object bound to the present.
Judgment and criticism are thoughts, no different than thinking about what to eat for breakfast or what project to work on.
When seeing it this way, the object is the same: see the judgment, recognize it, and then let it pass.
Encouragement
I encourage us to reflect on what mindfulness means in our lives. Take 3 to 5 minutes to write down or think of what activities and experiences bring you a sense of contentment.
And yes, I encourage us to meditate for at least 10 minutes each day, building the foundation of a lifelong practice of doing what we truly enjoy by doing nothing for just a fraction of the day!
Thank You
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post or newsletter, it is a rare gift these days.
Feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you feel inclined to do so!
Three Links
October 21, 2023
Advertising
“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads,” Jeff Hammerbacher, an early Facebook engineer, told me. “That sucks.” Silicon Valley began to look an awful lot like Hollywood.”
Above is an excerpt taken from the popular and fascinating biography titled Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance.
I think Jeff is completely right in his sentiment. The unfortunate truth is that the majority of advertising stems from a morally unstable business model.
Advertising produces a lot of meaningless work, invisible products, and unnecessary services.
It’s also a huge waste of human potential and talent.
Reflection
If a product or service is good enough, it should sell itself. It actually needs zero advertising, beyond the initial release.
Rather than advertising, we should outreach aka talk about the things, services, etc, that we actually use and enjoy every day.
I see marketing differently than advertising too.
Marketing is just that, placing a product or service into the market and spreading the word about it. Talking about tried and tested products is far more effective and sustainable than plastering advertisements all over every place possible.
So why is advertising still so prevalent and still so widely used?
Well, for one, advertising is imposed along with a quota in mind, and structured around that quota. And boy do business love their quotas.
Really good marketing is also completely free. Because again, the product or service should sell itself.
People talk, share their interests, and slowly, with honesty, that product or service grows traction and people support it, not because they are fooled into supporting it, but because they actually intend to use it to better their lives.
Same with production, if a company sells something faster than it can produce, it will fail (or fail, re-coupe, fail again, then slimly succeed someday down the road).
Encouragement
My intention in creating these cute little blog posts is to encourage. Encouragement to live mindful, meaningful lives. Without this, my musings come very, very short of having a purpose. So this is why I share a small, completely voluntary encouragement!
I encourage us to consider what we feed the mind. To illustrate this encouragement, below is an old Cherokee parable:
A grandfather is talking with his grandson.
The grandfather says, “In life, there are two wolves inside of us which are always at battle.
One is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery, and love.
The other is a bad wolf which represents things like greed, hatred, and fear”.
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
The grandfather replies, “The one you feed.”
There is an awful lot of control we forget we have when it comes to what we watch, listen to, read, and spend our hard-earned money on.
I encourage us to write down the ten or so things we buy most daily. If we’re unsure, we can either download a spend tracking app or simply take a small notepad with us everywhere we go and write down everything we spend money on and the amount associated.
I did the latter and got an excellent grasp on where my money was going (cough Amazon cough). And slowly but surely I was able to reduce my dependence on the service and the cost associated with it to zero. That’s right, I completely deleted my Amazon account and haven’t used it for the past year or so.
Thank You
At the very end of each blog post, I also want to thank you, the reader, for tuning in to my cute little tidbits on mindfulness.
Thank you so much for reading or listening to this post, I am so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity and space to write what I love. If you have found any value in my blog, you can support me over at Buy Me A Coffee!
Three Links
And at the very, very end of every blog post here, I want to share just three links that inspired me before, during, or after each post. I will try to have an article, audio bit, and video (for those who learn from different mediums).
October 17, 2023
Detoxes
“There may be no Wi-Fi in the forest, but I promise you there’s no place you’ll find a better connection.”
A connection with nature, ourselves, and the universe should not be underestimated. The breath of the wild is the same breath in our lungs.
Our uninterrupted connection with nature means an intentional disconnection from the distractions and motions, the fickle affairs of men.
Digital detoxing is defined as purposefully taking time and attention away from screens (Yes, even the work computer screen) so that we can purposefully direct time and attention towards nature, by ourselves, with loved ones, doing anything, or doing nothing.
“Detoxing” from our addicting digital devices is a way to focus on real-life social interactions and connections without distractions.
By forgoing digital devices, for a sustained period of time, we can let go of the stress that stems from that constant connectivity.
Reflection
Our brains are a tricky place to navigate as it is, throw in the bombarding, unregulated stream of social media posts, likes, comments, texts, emails, ads, and alerts, and you have an impossibly confusing maze in your mind.
The average U.S. adult spends around 11 hours each day listening to, watching, reading, interacting with, or being distracted by digital media.
That leaves roughly 5 hours each day away from devices and screens (and boy do those 5 precious hours go by quickly).
The excessive amount of dopamine that our devices channel into our brain leads to an excessive amount of stress hormones (known to be one of the leading causes of aging and cellular degeneration).
In other words, reduce the screen time and increase the nature and community time and you can reduce the stress hormones and increase the amount of time in nature with those you love.
In other, other words, there is a direct relationship between our time spent with technology and our stress levels.
One study found that 70% of participants checked social media on their phones while in bed, which dramatically increased their levels of anxiety, insomnia, sleep duration, and yes, stress.
Hand in hand with mindfulness, more time spent using digital technologies was linked to increased symptoms of ADHD and conduct disorder, as well as worse self-regulation.
Another study suggested that the advent of the internet on smartphones influenced overall job satisfaction, job stress, and feelings of overwork (checking emails well past getting off work).
Comparison can be the thief of joy, and detoxing from our social media connections can be a good way to focus on what’s important in our lives without comparing ourselves to others.
Constant connectivity via our vibrant, viscous phones can feed the fear of missing out or FOMO.
Every time we see an Instagram or TikTok post about someone else’s wonderful and adventurous life, it causes and crazy drop in dopamine, leaving us with feelings of discontent and depression.
We might also find ourselves overcommitting to social events and gatherings out of the fear that we’ll be left out of the experience.
FOMO in our digital lives leads to the infatuation of constantly checking our devices out of fear that we will miss an important text, DM, or post.
Doing a digital detox is one of the most impactful ways to set limits and reduce our fear of missing out. The key is to do it in a way that doesn’t leave us unintentionally stressed and just want to throw our phones off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Now, I know this is a hard pill to swallow, and I totally agree that many apps and websites can teach us a more mindful and intentional approach to life.
This process is often more about recognizing the patterns in our relationship with our devices and setting boundaries in a way that benefit, rather than harm, our emotional and mental health.
Encouragement
Once or twice a week, I try my best to practice digital detoxing by going to a park or forest I’m familiar with driving to so I don’t need GPS to get there. All I bring is a hammock, a good book, some snacks, and an open mind.
Each evening, a sacred time to read and set the mind up for deep rest, I will leave my phone and computer in the living room (my Fitbit will wake me up).
Also, through daily meditation practice, I can catch myself pretty quickly when I’ve been caught in rumination or FOMO or doom scrolling or any other side effect
When I find my mind wandering to all the replies and tasks in my digital life (as it inevitably will), I will simply write them down as they come.
No matter the length of our digital detox, a little goes a long way. We are able to create the opposite habit of putting away the phone, coming back to the present, and appreciating nature as it asks us to.
Links
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post, it is a rare gift these days.
Feel free to comment, like, and share it. You can also support me by Buying Me A Coffee. Thank you in advance!
October 6, 2023