Isn’t it great that we have modern technology to simplify our lives. Or is it?
I’m self-employed and spend much of my time at the computer. Modern technology is fantastic in the way it has helped me save time and effort on many tasks, such as banking, finding information on any subject online, paying accounts, quickly correcting typing mistakes and instantly connecting with people around the world. Technology has helped me to simplify my life.
On the other hand, technology has complicated my life. While at my computer I found I was often distracted with emails, Facebook, news and sports bulletins, on-line articles and blogs. It’s insidious.
A while back I read about an author who does not use email and has no phone in his office, so there are no distractions. I thought, :how great that would be, I’d love to be able to do that”.
Then the penny dropped. Of course I could, it was simply a matter of turning off my phone and not opening the internet or emails until it suited me.
This led me to critically analyse my online habits. I realised that by scanning most news and sports headlines, without reading the full article, I could still be informed about what was going on in the world and save a hellava lot of time.
Similarly I recognised that the majority of online articles I read were of little value to me and I was really indulging in distraction. And is the sky going to fall in if I don’t instantly respond to emails? Probably not… and if it does, then it doesn’t really matter. So, I turned off the indicator that signals when an email arrives and now check emails twice a day, which is plenty.
Then there is Facebook… the ultimate timewaster. Rather than drop Facebook, I decided to scroll rapidly and speed read, without getting caught up in it. This alone saved a huge amount of time. In turn, I slashed what I posted to Facebook, thus doing my buddies a favour by reducing the amount of distraction in their lives.
Yet more importantly, why had I been distracting myself? What was I distracting myself from?
Through the presentations by Serge Benhayon from Universal Medicine I realised that I was using distractions to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within. By doing so I held back from being open and willing to share and receive love.
It was as if I felt I was not worthy, hence I used distractions as a means to bury and keep me further removed from love. Crazy?!
The technology was not the problem. I was.
So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer. It’s simply a matter getting on with life.
I’m making progress… which is my cue to stop typing right now.
By Rod Harvey, Gold Coast, Australia
This is a brilliant blog as you have come to the realisation that it is not the technology that’s the problem but you not accepting the beautiful you in full. And how many of us cannot accept or maybe believe we are in fact worthy of the divine love that is on offer to everyone every Nano second of the day.
Anything that keeps us from Love is crazy, because, we are simply choosing an ill energy, as we have on offer our divine connection to our essences (Soul) and thus living in the appreciation of what God is offering in every moment?
Anything that keeps us from Love is crazy, because, we are simply choosing an ill energy, as we have on offer our divine connection to our essences (Soul) and thus living in the appreciation of what God is offering in every moment?
Technology does have uses and does have it’s place. However it is also being horribly misused and used to abuse. It’s not the computers fault, it’s how we use it.
With the technology of the motor car it depends who is driving the car whether it is a useful tool or a hazard to the driver and everyone else.
Absolutely Mary, and it can be said it is the same with a gun it is the person and the energy they are connected to that pulls the trigger, as a Soul-fully connected being would never be involved in these mass murders!
When I think of social media I can see how technology has played a massive part in dropping standards, lowering the bar and allowing abuse to be the norm.
It’s crazy how we can spend hours on social media and not accomplish anything. Sometimes I go on Facebook and I give myself 15- 30 minutes to catch up with my relatives (thankfully a small family). It’s all designed to hook us in and then spend hours reading things that have no true value.
Technology has huge potential to support us in our everyday lives but we are the ones who have the choice whether we use it responsibly or use it to check out. We can justify as much as we like but the reality is that we know when we are being productive and when we are checking out.
A great realisation and understanding, yes, its how we are with ourselves and then with technology, ‘The technology was not the problem. I was.’
If anything soical media had led us to become more unsoical than ever before!
I know from my own experience that I feel more disconnected to myself and others after staring at social media for an extended period of time.
So true Leigh we have amazing tools but we need to discern when to use them and when face to face communication is more appropriate. So much on social media is portraying an aspirational lifestyle which is unachievable for many.
Great to keep technology in its place, and not let it run your life, ‘So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer.’
For me there is almost a correlation to how often I check my phone for emails or go online on my computer with how I am with myself. The more I am focused and feel my body filled with love and my movements made with love the less technology I use as distraction but to support me.
It is so true – we forget we are in charge!!! The technology does not have legs, it does not chase us! So turning off notifications and actually not opening mail when working at your computer is a great first step to reclaiming your time and space.
In the end we can always find something to distract us from feeling, accepting, and living the amazing love that we all have within us, whether it be via computers, a hobby, excessive work, or exercise. It comes down to beginning to take care of ourselves in a way that we begin to feel that self-loving way is our natural way and that anything that hinders, numbs, or blocks the connection with our essence does not belong anymore.
Sometimes we tell ourselves that we are using Facebook as a way to catch up with our relatives, see what’s going on but let’s face it we only post what we want people to see and not what’s truly going on. No amount of Facebook checking will be able to replace having a proper conversation with our loved ones.
I realised that checking Facebook was using 80% of my data on my phone. I could recognise that I was going to it like a drug almost. A nervous energy constantly checking it but I wasn’t even sure why, it is not like there is anything super exciting on it. I have since deleted it from my phone and it has made a huge difference to my day. I don’t feel owned by it or am not using it to seek relief.
Technology is what we make it – curse or blessing. If we become dependent, use it to numb and desensitise ourselves we are its slaves; if we use it wisely, it can become our servant.
Is it is what you think about technology ?
Mobile phones are more addictive than slot machines and very similar to them in many ways too. That said, it is not the technology that is the problem. It is the choice to distract ourselves that we need to deal with.
You need to be 18 in most places to get into a betting shop or casino. These days most school children I see have smart phones. It’s a medium for addiction that is not yet realised or widely controlled.
It feels lovely having a lid on my new phone as I close the lid whenever I feel I need to focus on some work without being distracted.
Technology, like anything temporal we have access to in this day and age can be utilised for evolution or for comfort or distraction. It is always a matter of how what the quality of our approach, as the purpose behind all our actions is what leads us to the quality of life we experience.
“Through the presentations by Serge Benhayon from Universal Medicine I realised that I was using distractions to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within. By doing so I held back from being open and willing to share and receive love.”- This habit I can absolutely relate to, as I have noticed lately that there is a pattern I tend to fall into that whenever I am feeling more connected to my true inner self and am having a greater sense of awareness to what is going on in my life and for other people I tend to distract myself with things on the internet almost as if it is some reward for myself doing so well and feeling great. But the irony is that this quickly makes me feel yucky as if I am just wasting my time and life away via pointless distractions and information that in the end will not serve anyone. This blog surely helped me to see some of the reasons I may be doing this.
What was under the tree this year? What would be the percentage of gifts that did not require batteries? We now have IOT ‘information of things’ so we can now control things like; the coffee maker, room lights, the temperature of our house, see and talk to who is ringing our doorbell. The list is endless. But, are these tools or are they just another way to disconnect from others?
Technology potentially be about supporting connection and understanding but the way that most of us use it is definitely time wasting and distraction. I go through periods when I do not linger on social media but some times I do and it is a sign for me to look out for, I agree it supports us deeply to be aware of our relationship with technology and how we are using it, rather than taking how we are with it for granted.
It is interesting to consider that we do seek to simplify our lives, which you can’t argue technology has done to some degree, so that we have more time. But the question is what is it that we want more time for, and what is it that we are filling up this space with? Are we seeking to simplyfy our lives in order to have more time to escape? Or are we making it count with purposeful activity that supports us to deepen our connection to who we are and with others, in order to grow, progress and truly advance ourselves.
I agree escape is a big thing for most of us, we dream of holidays, food, computer games and the next block buster TV series rather than think we want space to offer something back or to support our own self care. I put my hands up to seeking escape, it is false however like a mirage in the desert it does not hold the quality we seek. When we want to seek escape from stimulation outside ourselves we will not be elevated of the tension we feel, which is what we are in fact attempting to mask. We feel squeezed, squashed and isolated and we want to feel space, we connect with space by honouring ourselves, caring for our bodies and being purposeful in life and not making it all about the myself, I and me.
Technology can be very consuming using it for wanted pleasure that you are not giving to yourself or trying to understand how it works. I work in IT and if it is not used for the purpose to connect through yourself by extending your expression of passion, I have found I use it to extend my lack of expression.
What I’ve come to realise is that, in order to be in front of a computer and not being caught by the whole amount of information that the internet offers, I have to be really focused, holding the purpose that takes me there in that moment. If not, if there is a little bit of need of escape or comfort, my energy and time quickly disappear.
I have grown up with the birth of the internet that started with a green screen that was replaced with Windows One that had a mouse thing to move an arrow around the screen. The genie had been let out of its bottle never to return. Have we now occupied the space in the magic lamp the genie left behind, that is called the world wide web?
It really is so obvious that technology has not simplified things… Quite to the contrary… But of course it cannot be just in itself vilified, humanity has a propensity to distract itself because to be truly still would be to feel the awful mess that we have got ourselves into.
” The technology was not the problem. I was. ” Thank you Rob this is such an important statement. People blame technology when in truth its the way people live is the difficulty.
Yes there are lots of ways that technology can simplify our lives as long as we are discerning and use it purposefully. There are also ever increasing ways that it can massively distract us and cause major complications but it is not the technology that is at fault but the humans who choose how they use it.
One but needs only to look at three years, since this blog was published and the way technology has bounded forward. Faster, cheaper and smaller. IOT (Internet of Things) is now a part of our lives! Everything can now be connected! Is there a flashback to that movie where machines all over the world were connected to everything and decided we were the problem? It’s our choice of how we now use this technology to move us all forward or let the machines take over.
By reducing the amount of distractions in our day to day lives we make more space to be able to focus on what actually is important.
Ha! That’s some great awareness Rod. I love how simple it can all be, this need to be so immediate with emails etc is crazy. I had never considered not getting email notifications. I LOVE the idea of only checking once or twice a day, but I’m not sure how well I would do at that! Much to ponder on here.
I remembered using windows 1 and worked with someone that was using a strange cube to do graphic work things on something called a Mac. These were tools for doing simple things. The main feature was a word processor with its noisy dot matrix printer. All of this was just 31 years ago. The first digital watch was 37 years ago, and all it did was tell the time. Today, technology is in everything, which is perfect for trees for who prints today? Or, is it bad for trees for all the boxes to ship the things we buy on line? It is our choice to use the tools of technology and evolve or sit and just spin our tires and go nowhere!
It is scary to see how reliant on technology we have become, and for some of us having grown up with these things available to us, and then there are those of us who remember the first telephone being installed within the house which was huge in it’s day, let alone the first colour TV. We may have more instant access to technology but it does not feel as though we have grown as people.
It is easy to lose ourselves in Social Media and get affected more than we know by what we read which is feeding us a lot more than we acknowledge. It is important to stay present and discern and use and contribute to it but not be used by it.
A great example of how we can be so trigger happy blaming an aspect of our life like technology, yet often if we take a moment to truly reflect we will realise it comes back to us and our own relationship with it. It is up to us and our own responsibility if we use technology to distract, check out or grind ourselves into the ground, or if we use it as a support toward a true purpose.
Technology is great if used appropriately but not good if we indulge in it – it becomes an addiction like anything else we don’t apply balance to.
I find when I stay on the computer too late in the evenings it’s too stimulating & it disturbs my sleep; so to support me I’ve learnt to switch it off by 7pm.
Thank for this blog, it is a great reminder that we have a choice and also a purpose. If there is no true purpose in using the technology why indulge. For me know I check my emails a few times a day when I know I have key projects running, otherwise it could be even once a day. I find this really support for me.
I love what you show us here Rod, that it always comes back to us, that we can decide how our life is and unfolds. We need to stop blaming everyone and everything else for what is happening to us and take our lives in our own hands and live in a way that we like the world to be, otherwise nothing will change but only get worse, and we keep on living in a way we do not want to live.
I agree it is very much about how we use it rather than how we are used by it. I use it a lot and find it fantastic.
I like this, how we can blame technology for so much, when actually we are the ones using it for all the different purposes we attach to it – such as numbing or distraction.
” I realised that I was using distractions to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within.” I am finding this more and more true lately, that I wonder off in my mind to avoid feeling and claiming that I am worthy of living life from a place of connection to this love within me as my guide.
As with most things, it is the way we use them that is crucial – whether that be food, technology, exercise, anything at all. We can choose to indulge and distract ourselves or we can actively and consciously engage and imbue every activity with purpose.
Great blog Rod, a problem that many of us have caught up in the continual endless information that the internet provides. Becoming aware of wasting time in checking out offers us more time to get on with life.
Ha ha Rod that cue at the end made me giggle! You have given me food to consider here – Do I really need notifications of when I have an email? Can I work in a more focused and efficient way? I probably could and it needs to start now. Thank you for my new beginning!
I know how easily it is to get distracted whilst on the computer, I mean sometimes after reading someone’s blog, I then start reading comments and then freak out because an hour has passed and I should have left for work already.
Awesome Rod, yes I know it’s not about ditching everything and go into the forest and eat bark but to have a bit of discipline and discernment and it will all be fine.
Thank you Rod! Technology can be a trap for many of us if we are not on the ball. While it saves time in many ways it takes it away in others.
Yesterday was a bit stormy where I live and this affected the internet and phone reception. I was not able to check my emails throughout the day and found myself getting frustrated. This experience highlighted to me how much I run off nervous energy constantly checking my phone. It was a good stop moment to reflect on how I am using these devices and why.
“The technology was not the problem. I was.” Great observation Rod. When we use technology as a useful tool it supports us but when we use it as a distraction we don’t know who we are. We can use a computer to connect and communicate or we can use it to disconnect and hide.
I was contemplating this as I read it, things used to take us more time like having to go into the bank to get money etc. All of this required us to be a bit more organised in life and have a bit of a rhythm with life, now that everything is instant we don’t need to do this but in this we have not held our rhythm but seem to get caught up in the hectic-ness of life more. We have things that we are able to do quicker so we should have more time but we seem to have less space in our days.
It would seem to be we consistently have our focus on fixing things or problems related to the outside world. In other words if there is something broken in the world, try and come up with a solution that fixes it or makes it appear better. We have walked away from having the awareness that everything that’s in the world first comes from us, the world didn’t create itself; we all had a hand in it and so to undo what is done will take the opposite of this. We will all need to have a hand in unwinding what is in front of us. So in saying that the way we are living and have lived has walked us to this point and so it is through living that we can walk back. How we are with things like technology is important and equal to that is how we are with walking as well, what is the link? It is the quality of living and not the quality of life that our awareness needs to return to. The simple movement to get yourself a glass of water needs all the care and detail that you would have with a new born baby, why? Because every movement is with you all the time, we are the sum total of the quality we live. So in that if we want something to change then take the detail of a true quality to everything you do and then everything you do will hold this quality.
Yes it is not technology that is the problem as such, it is the way it is used as you explain Rod. I purposely do not receive emails on my phone as to me it feels unnecessary. There was a time when we had no mobile phones or 24/7 connect ability and we did manage. There were probably far less accidents on the roads and walking distractions. It is very interesting to observe how technology has replaced the true ability to connect with each other, face to face.
I agree Doug, great comment. This shows that we are the ones in the driving seat. Technology like many others things/tools can be very supportive or we can also easily turn them into a huge distraction and therefore indulge in it and lose ourselves in these many forms of distractions. Ultimately, it is our choice to discard our need for distractions and look deeper into why we are drawn to these distractions in the first place. Getting to the root course of why we are drawn to make these unloving choices.
It is awesome what you have realised Rod. It would have been so easy to blame technology but in truth choosing blame doesn’t get us anywhere. Once we are open to understanding and accepting that we are in fact the ones who choose to be distracted and choose to make things complicated, this allows us to see and be empowered to make different choices. Letting go of blame and choosing to take responsibility for all my choices I have found extremely empowering.
For many, especially the younger generation, we gauge our self worth on whether we have been liked, or if a post we have shared is liked, which is sad because our self worth should never be based on this … it is baseless! but instead the foundation should be the relationship we have with ourselves appreciating and accepting the loveliness we truly are, not looking outside of ourselves for approval, acceptance or recognition. I get what you are saying about how we can be distracted whilst using technology, I can be doing one thing and then will sometimes go off on a tangent going online shopping!!!! So to be really present with what we are doing and clear, not allowing distraction, I feel is the key which is definitely something I need to work with!
I have noticed we can use almost anything and everything for a distraction, and often we are quick to blame things like technology or our phones for our choices to be distracted. Why are we choosing to be distracted in the first place, what are we avoiding? For me, when I choose to be distracted, it is because I am avoiding doing what I am supposed to be doing, avoiding responsibility, avoiding feeling what is going on and avoiding connecting to myself and others.
I always enjoy reading your articles Rod, so witty and so true and always great observations on human life. It is not the medium we use to express through that is the issue, the real issue is the quality of that which we choose to express and whether this is healing or harming to those that then read it. This will of course depend on whether what we have expressed comes from the love that we are or wether it comes void of this and hence from a need to be seen, identified, recognised and the like. Every time we express from this ‘need to be seen’ we are adding to the pollution of the world and so likewise, when we drop this and simply express from who we truly are, we shower the earth with heaven sent gems.
Technology can be really supportive in simplifying our lives if we choose to use it in that way but I too have fallen into the trap of hiding behind the huge distractions also on offer and can then easily feel overwhelmed rather than staying present and feeling what is required next. For me it is an ongoing learning process and about my willingness to take responsibility for my choices rather than blaming the tools of technology.
Technology is something we have created and our relationship with it is dependent on how we are with ourselves. When we lose a document like I did this morning I had already lost myself. If I am not fully present with myself how can I expect to be fully present with a computer? We do know what we are doing, we just pretend we don’t.
“The technology was not the problem. I was” – brilliant, Rod. We can make anything a ‘problem’ and try eradicate them from our life, but we will soon find something else to replace them.
The distraction and numbing out that technology offers us has now become a phenomenon and a condition in its own right. Millenials addicted to gaming, social media junkies – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To come out unscathed requires us to have a particular focus, a specific purpose when we go online, because it’s just like joining a highway in rush hour – you can get swept up in the speed and freneticism of it, the ideals and beliefs behind it, the temptations and distractions bombarded through it if you don’t stick to your original intention.
Love this blog Rod. I can feel in your writing that you are not prepared to get distracted but simply to get on in life. I can relate to this feeling more and more as I commit to life. I also can relate to scanning on Facebook and switching off the alert on my phone when I receive emails. What I am not doing but have been aware of for sometime is checking my phone. As you say it’s not the end of the world if I do not reply to emails straightaway. I can feel an emptiness and a disconnection from myself. I sometimes feel that I am to step up to a greater responsibility in my work but I’m choosing not to. I feel an unwillingness to accept my light and the power that comes with this. I am inspired to feel more so that I can put an end to the delay and simply get on with my life.
Technology can absolutely be one of the many ways we can takes ourselves away from life for a moment. It is progressively becoming more of a problem on a global scale with the amazing technological advancements hoodwinking society into the want to be a part of it. However when unnecessary, it can deny amazing beauty and connection with ourselves and others that can’t be found within a screen.
Like anything technology can be used to distract, or numb and harm or instead it can be used to truly engage with life, be in connection, evolve or heal. The answer is not about avoiding technology all together, it’s about changing the way we relate with it, the purpose and intent we bring.
Technology is definitely here to serve a purpose and when we use it as a tool to support our work it can be done with such ease and without complication. We can build relationships with each other on Facebook, Instagram and other forms of contact but the quality we live is what others will see and feel. This comes from the foundations we built in they way we live each day and technology is only one of many ways we show the world who we truly are.
This shows that we are not controlled by what is happening around us and that we can always make the choice to be in the world in the way that feels true for us. Once these choices are made everything we touch, every action we initiated takes on a whole different meaning and life is no longer the hard slog we had been living prior to this. Thanks Rod.
This is so true – we can waste so much time when using technology by seeking to be ‘entertained’ rather than being focused on what is to be done and getting on with it. I have been out for lunch and observed numbers of people sitting around a table sharing lunch but each being hooked into their own device. What is it that makes technology a more fulfilling or entertaining place to put your attention rather than the person-to-person contact available. The choice is always ours – will I or won’t I!!
What you are sharing is very relevant to the modern time we live in. We all know how easy it is the loose ourselves on a computer but when you think about it, its just as easy to loose yourself in a shopping centre if you don’t go there with a purpose and a plan, you can waste a whole day. What I am getting at, is making sure we approach the computer with purpose guarantees us to remain ourselves with our technology, so thank you for reminding us of this fact.
I love how you write Rod Harvey, so readable and frank. I agree with this, “The technology was not the problem. I was. So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer. It’s simply a matter getting on with life.” To me you can spend time searching around the internet and look around and wonder where the time has gone. As you are saying I love having the technology at my fingertips but I use it to support and make my life simpler but I don’t let it control me or allow it to dictate how and when I do things. As you are saying the technology isn’t the problem but the way we use it.
Hello Rod and this is a classic, thank you. The internet and modern technology, yes they are an amazing support if we use them for that but they are also a whole life that you can be lost in. I know for me and as you say I need to trust more in what I feel and not feel like I will miss out on something if I don’t read or see everything. At times I can be overwhelmed by what’s in front of me and if this happens I just break it down really really simply. I just put all my focus or dedication back to just what’s in front of me, whether that be a person or an object or a screen. I realise also that nothing is a ‘problem’ if I’m feeling solid, only when I’m feeling off does the world change. As you say the change needs to come from me first and then out from there. Thank you Rod.
I found this a very amusing read as it is one many could relate to, myself included . . . though I have a very different list of distractions than you listed. Time wasting on the internet is like drifting off into the head whilst walking down the street. While you can say walking is good for you, this is truly only so when you are actually in and with the body that is walking!
True Kathleen, any moment we have left connection with our body and let our heads run the show we can get affected by any distraction of choice. Keeping our mind present and connected with our movements allows us to stay with ourselves, and not waste unnecessary energy also.
‘Through the presentations by Serge Benhayon from Universal Medicine I realised that I was using distractions to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within.’ Very true Rod, I am catching myself now when I am using technology to check out and distract myself. Technology as you say it a great tool when used to support us and can simplify life – or complicate it depending on how you use it.
Recognising that technology is a great tool for connecting through emails, news coverage, shopping etc , that is connecting to the external world, yet, it also has the capacity to pull us out of feeling connected with ourselves, with our body, and with our true sense of quality that we are.
Technology can be used with purpose and when it is it’s not exhausting or draining and it’s great and can be lots of fun. But as you say Rod if the intention is to check out and I know I have certainly done that, then I often feel like I have been hit by a bus (so to speak). Interestingly at work we are moving everything to an online system and it’s definitely not been built for people, it’s been built to tick boxes and fit systems. This makes it harder to bring focus, But as you say how we are is the key when using technology.
Awesome blog Rod. Technology is great but when we use it to distract ourselves it doesn’t feel so great. This is like many things we have in life, instead of blaming our tools, we have to take responsibility for how we choose to use them. To be honest, more aware and responsible with everything we do is very loving and supportive. It is always a choice to choose distractions or not, and we ultimately choose to create our own distractions with the numerous tools and gadgets available that takes us away from living with truth and love. What is beautiful here Rod, is that you’ve highlighted and reminded me that we always have a choice to choose a deeper connection with ourselves or choose distractions.
A great reminder that we’re the ones in control of our ‘using’ habit with all things technological and a peek under the bonnet to see what very often lies beneath the reason we choose to glue ourselves to our seats and screens for so many hours a day – simply a drive to numb, distract and dull our senses around life’s challenges.
Technology is very welcome for everything I do but it has no part to play in reconnecting to all that I am.
I am more likely to forget to check my emails than to do it too often Rod! That can be annoying for myself and others. I do spend quite a lot of time on the computer in comparison to what I did in the past , and I have improved my typing speed a little more so there are some positives.
Mankind’s relentless striving for external expansion will have to , one day, be brought to account with an equally purposeful focus on reconnecting internally, and this will either be done gracefully , or by ‘wake-up’ call that we will not be able to ignore.
Great point Kristy, I agree, it is so easy to put blame outside our selves when we get distracted.
Reading this today Rod and nodding my head about the ‘distraction’ of staying on my laptop too long – browsing and a trying to keep up to date with the latest news. That word ‘trying’ came in so instantly a little red light went on to feel more into simplifying how I go about using this form of communication and connecting to others. A little nudge to be much more aware I feel. Thanks Rod.
It’s amazing how we can be across the other side of the world and attend a workshop or have a meeting or do an exercise class together… it’s very cool! But I definitely can relate to what you have shared Rod, of wasting lots of time clicking on this or checking this out, when it’s not needed. Great to read this now as I’ve been a bit too connected to my ‘smart’ phone lately.
Our world is now functioning in a rhythm which is far from the rhythm that truly supports our bodies, rushing speed is made to be normal. We are expected to all fit into this mode and rhythm, and living in a very fast paced city, I have also succumbed to this in order to fit in. But when I truly listen to my body, no this is not the rhythm that supports me, and I would honor myself first. Respecting that everyone goes fast here, I take the time to communicate my needs, and what I am able to do and not do, as nothing feels truly supportive when it is not done in connection with myself.
It is definitely the way we use it that is key. I find that sometimes after something challenging has gone on in the day, technology can be the ultimate escape. While it can also be the greatest support as it allows the communication and contact with others around the world. It is all down to the intent of how we use it.
Good point Joshua and a great reminder to heed the first notice that I give myself when I know I am using the computer as a distraction.
Thank you Rod. I was a late starter in the technology stakes and in a way it has saved me from getting too involved in the extras it offers. I don’t do facebook (haven’t learnt how) so TV was a bit of an issue for awhile but gradually my early to bed routine has helped to stamp that out and I feel much more relaxed and take more time self nurturing than I used to. I do feel some technology is definitely useful and timesaving but in moderation.
“The technology was not the problem. I was.” Spot on Rod. The motorcar is a clear example in that you can use a car to take you where you choose to go but it is how you drive the car that will affect how you are when you arrive and also how it affects all other road users as you travel.
In answer to the question, ‘does technology simplify our lives?’, irrespective of the time we use on the many forms of technology we have available, we have the option of keeping things simple or creating complication
“…hence I used distractions as a means to bury and keep me further removed from love”
This is very true. If we choose to not see what is there to be seen, we will go looking for everything and anything that will avert our gaze from the truth.
Well said Rod. Often we crave on-line connection to mask the fact that we live so dis-connected from ourselves and those around us, In truth it is not about whether we use technology or not but the quality of our connection with ourselves that will then establish the quality of the connection we will have with all others in our interactions.
This is a great tool Liane because when this urge to look somewhere that doesn’t have a heart beat then we can ask ourselves ‘what are we avoiding?’. It’s a seemingly easy and safe way to connect without putting ourselves out there and truly connecting.
This comment you make at the end is so critical – technology is a tool and a fantastic one at that. Its not about rejecting it or ignoring it as it is such a huge part of life now, but embracing all that it can enable without letting it master us. For truly we are master of ourselves only and that is what we always need to connect with first (and isn’t it a wonderful opportunity when from time to time our tech breaks down and we are tested / reminded of how useful it is, but also that it is not something we ‘own’).
Well said Rod. We can use modern technology to either support us or to complicate our lives even further. We just need to be aware when we are using it that we use it with purpose.
All the way through your blog, I was wanting to jump in and say – technology is not the problem. It is the way we use it. And then you boldly said as much right at the end. Thank you Rod.
You raise a great point Rod, technology is not the problem it is how we use it to detract and numb ourselves. You have beautifully reminded me that I can use technology at times to avoid connecting more deeply with myself.
Yes, technology can become all-consuming, with the body easily spending a full day sitting whilst the mind is completely engaged with what’s on screen, totally disconnected from the body and often oblivious to whether it is screaming out for a walk, a stretch, a stand, a break. Mind and body running two separate shows in the one human being. Surely evolution has to be about the whole and not for the benefit of just one of the parts?
Great point Cathy – why do we override our bodies when they are complaining after a day sat at the computer, screaming to get up and move around, clear our heads, stay connected to our bodies? Abusing ourselves at the expense of all the other advances we have made is not going to lead to the evolution of our species!
What must be observed is, has humanity actually evolved at all, or is the evolution that is touted simply a myth, and that the technological, medical, and other developments have no connection to or reflection of , humanity’s actual evolution to the place of true healing and reconnection into a sense of a one unified truth, and a recognition of our common divinity and purpose.
Technology is a wonderful tool as long as we use it and not have it using us.
I can think of so many ways that technology such as computers support us in our daily living but I can also feel the addictive nature of computers and the time I can spend “looking around” on it. You are so right, Rod, we need to be responsible for how we use the computer and other technology so it supports us in our life but does not run our life!
We can always allow ourselves to be distracted, whatever the era, whatever the flavor of the century… the thing is, everything is a distraction until we choose to start to feel the energetic reality that we live in, and choose accountability and responsibility
Technology is just another channel in our lives of a constant feed of information and thus a potential to truly support or to truly harm. It has become so normal to get absorbed into the world it provides that even considering its true impacts such as being an ultimate distraction and time waster, is far from the fore of our minds.
Technology can be an amazing tool or it can be used as a huge distraction, thus the constant awareness of why its being used is required
Great point made Rod, technology is a great tool to support ourselves and connect with people all over but it is our responsibility that all these tools are used with respect and called to account if being abused.
Last time I read this blog I commented on some of the negative effects of technology. Today I want to look at some of its advantages.
How practical and enjoyable to practice esoteric yoga from the comfort of my own home? How many people can be reached not only in Australia but overseas with the Universal webcasts from Universal Medicine? How supporting are the many blogs available to the student body from their computer? These are just a few of the many advantages of modern technology that, when chosen wisely, help us deepen our own expression.
The key is to use technology not to be run by it. I was talking the other day about how leaving the house without a phone creates an anxiety these days. I found myself having to talk myself through it.
I’ll be fine.
It will be like the old days when everyone didn’t need to contact me all the time.
I will find my way without google maps.
The train will still come without me knowing exactly what time it was supposed to.
Everything can wait till I am home again.
It’s hilarious and something to be aware of that I have become attached and anxious about this. There was a time when being available all the time created its own anxiety.
Have I buried this anxiety in my body or did I get used to and comfortable with the constant demand?
Hi Rod, I’m sure that there are many people who have done as you , working from home and being distracted by emails and social Media. I am a bit of a slow starter with computers but am enjoying the many ways they make life easier others who work on them on a more permanent way with work etc. would find them distracting at times and your advise would be very helpful.
Thank you Rod, It was joyful and fun to read your blog, as always you bring a smile to my face. We live in an amazing technologically age when contact with the global world is just a switch away. We just need to know how to not let it run our lives, and that is as easy as pressing the delete button or the off switch.
A great point about how you have changed the way you engaged with Facebook. So true, we complain about the trash we see online, but we are also the contributor to it. It is not the technology that is causing all the issues we associate it with, but it is the way we use and abuse it. Thank you for highlighting the responsibility we hold.
It is great that we can research anything on the internet. However one can easily get distracted and go on there for one thing and then find ourselves still enticed on something totally unrelated hours later, why is that? Sometimes it can feel like you’re hooked and you literally cannot get off and have to drag yourself away.Is it all down to self-love as Rod has beautifully shared here? This is definitely something interesting to contemplate.
I too have a tendency to get easily distracted by technology. I might start reading an article on the New Yorker then follow the links offered and before I know it I have ‘waisted’ time being lost in the internet maze. Then I feel guilty, get into reaction, tell myself to get on with it and the internal dialogue ensues. I know it is all about being distracted from the real work of living a purposeful and connected life. The question is why do I do it?
I made the choice to not have a tv, great I thought, no more distraction from that! Then I found facebook, and along came another distraction. Yes, facebook can be informative and keep you in touch with friends and family, and it is my choice whether to be interactive or not, but for me it is a distraction from boredom or any loneliness that I may be feeling, and if I switch it on before bedtime then I don’t sleep so well either. It is true what you say Rod, technology is a wonderful tool, it is how we use it that matters. Being of the older generation, I sometimes feel like I am being left behind if I don’t have the latest app or software and I have friends who feel the same, and this causes stress too sometimes, maybe life was simple when we had to pick up the telephone, write a letter or go the library for research. Technology has just increased our ability to do things faster and communicate with more people easier, and yes, that can be a benefit to those who choose the internet in that way.
I can relate to what you say Sandra about feeling that we have to keep up with the latest technology. And because I (as a non-tech person) have to collaborate regularly with IT engineers and programmers, sometimes it does my head in.
That’s when I need to step back, go for a walk, feel my body and remind myself of the bigger picture and how technology provides us with marvellous opportunities to connect with each other – just as we’re doing right now.
I picked up on the same great point that Sandra made, about the anxiety of staying up to date, looking over our shoulder to make sure that we are still in the race and forgetting that we are ourselves first, and the tech is there to assist us in being more…. not to make us feel less!
I love how the simple choice you have made to use technology in a loving rather than a distracting way supports you to not only be open to more love but accepting of the enormous love within that you had been distracting yourself from. A great awareness for all who don’t know the enormity of what they are missing when choosing technology consumption over what lies inside.
This is why it is essential for each of us to develop a healthy relationship with Social Media and to support and educate each other on how this may be, just as you have done here Rod.
The irony that the ambition of people that attempted to free people’s time up by making things that did the hard work for us and should have given us more time for ourselves… just allowed us to do even more work in the same amount of time. Today is hard to find someone that is not plugged in constantly. Delivery drivers are now tracked and you can watch your package and its journey to your house in real time on the internet. It all seems to be getting a bit like George Orwells 1984. It’s time to use technology as it was intended… as a tool we turn on and off when it is required.
What a fun, excellent and practical blog Rod thank you. Like it or not technology is a part of our lives that is here to stay and as you say Rod this does not mean we need to let it dominate or dictate how and when we use it. Your tips about checking your emails is great and something I use too, when I want to get something done I close my emails as it can lead me astray mid task but I could really do this more often as I know I can even check emails as a distraction and form of numbing.
There is a great psychological theory called the two-choice dilemma, I am not sure who to credit for the theory but it did teach me I am always making choices. A two choice dilemma is when we have two or more possible choices and we don’t necessarily like any of the options but whether a choice to bring change is made or not a choice is still being made. I don’t always like the truth of this either and can be very clever about how I can look at aspects of my own life as if I don’t have a choice and often have to be on top of myself and be my own therapist to not let these slip by.
Recently I noticed I was waking up in the mornings feeling refreshed and more energised to start my day. What had I been doing differently to bring this about? I’d made a decision to not watch television. A complete distraction although, I felt that I was winding down at the end of my day by being physically still the mental stimulation was very evident plus the numbing out of feeling into my body and what it was truly revealing to me. So thank you Rod it was after reading your awesome blog that I decided to look at the wonders of the technology around my house and by observing my behaviours of how I use them to either distract and numb or as tools to help me with my work.
Hi Rod, great to read this again.
Yesterday I realised how I still get pulled to look at emails that drop in with the accompanying ‘ding’ when my space has been allocated to something else. I’ve noticed that the ‘ding’ has more urgency at some times than others, hence the pull. Your idea to shut down the notifications is brilliant. I dont know why I hadn’t thought of it myself instead of getting vaguely annoyed with that always in the background. Thank you.
Technology can be a fantastic support and allow me to connect with people all over to world and it can be an enormous time water. I have found myself wanting a break form a task I am doing and jumping online to look at the news or social media. I stopped and wondered how much of the day I wanted doing this I certainly didn’t spend hours on end doing it but decided next time the impulse came to have a break to question a little more deeply what kind of break and why. Maybe I needed the break maybe I don’t but is it better for to stand up and stretch of go an have a chat rather than looking at the drip fed information can come through from the online world.
Awesome Rob, I can totally relate there are sooo many distractions out there and Facebook in one major big one!! Like you I decided to cut down on the amount of unnecessary data that I allowed to enter my head. Now I feel more clearer more focused and more efficient.
I have had a love/hate relationship with technology. On the one hand I love the simplicity it offers to communicate with others, but on the other hand I hate that I can certainly get lost in the distraction it offers. I never used to think further about this but I can now recognise that I made the choice to allow myself to get distracted for a deeper purpose, namely – to avoid feeling my lack of self worth. Clearly, even blaming the technology for this situation was distraction in itself! As I am developing myself as a loving and powerful being who has much to offer the world, it is much easier to stop myself if I am getting caught up in distraction in technology.
This is fantastic ROd. I totally feel that the technology has gone too far. We so don’t need all that is out there. Yes it has its place but not at the expense of relationship. I see it destroying opportunities for people to connect with one another everyday but what you are suggesting here Rod even takes it to another level that it is affecting our relationship with ourself and giving us an out. Love what you have chosen for yourself. I am taking a few tips here. thank you.
It is not easy to watch my children grab their telephones all the time or seeking other entertainment by watching television or gaming on their computers. When I go to bed and take their phones for the night there is still a lot of texting going on by other children, even on weekday nights. All messages they receive from school come in through their phone and even some of the homework is done online. The reason they have their own phone is because it was required by school actually. It is becoming harder and harder for children to stay with themselves. I feel grateful that I have learned there is way to stay connected to myself during almost any activity and you never know one day they might start to make different choices.
Its true what you say Ilja, but this is the world that our kids are growing up in. There is a part of me that wants to turn back the clock but that discounts the fact that there was plenty of challenges when I was at school in a time before the internet, mobile phones etc. Also that this is the world we live in and its up to our kids to figure out how to live and love with this technology in their lives… and it is that which we need to support them with.
Thanks, Rod, there’s a big ‘ouch’ for me in this – I often check my emails before going to bed and then find there’s an hour gone and I didn’t notice until it was too late. It is like an addiction – I can feel a sense of manic checking in with each social media platform, and ‘gotta answer this’ on emails, which is a total lie covering up my need to distract myself from feeling what’s truly going on. My body is telling me ‘Stop!’ and my mind drives on, it doesn’t make sense and it’s exhausting. Connecting with ourselves first leads to more responsible use of technology.
Rod your blog made me laugh you have such a great sense of humour. I really in-joyed the read and also the awareness of how to use technology truly and not as a distraction – this is very valuable in our times of mass technology.
Great blog Rod and one that gave me a little nudge to look at my life at what everyday situations that come up for me which I use to numb out. Thank you.
Thanks Rod for the reminder to keep things simple and make responsible use of the tool of technology and not get distracted by the endless stream of stuff lurking ready to pull us out if we allow it.
As with many things, they can be used as distractions, or if one is connected to oneself, and have a strong sense of commitment and focus to maintaining that connection, then many of the accouterments of today’s technology and civilization ( so to speak) can be used efficiently.
Well said Chris… its not the tech that is the problem, but how we use it.
“I’m making progress… which is my cue to stop typing right now”…
That’s the key here, knowing when to turn off! The internet is very useful, especially when so much seems to be done online nowadays. It’s just a matter of being discerning and just doing what needs to be done and not getting distracted, which can be such a waste of time and like you say, it is just sometimes merely a distraction from taking us away from ourselves.
Brilliant Rod, it really is that simple isn’t it, we don’t need the drastic measure of cutting all technology from our lives, all that is really required is self discipline and the ability to say no to the inane and mindless distractions that I know I have used to check out from reality with everyday. On the days where I don’t give in to the nonsense I find my head is much clearer and I feel much more settled and content. I really can feel how detrimental misusing technology is, but also that technology can be a great thing when used responsibly.
Thank you it’s a great insight on how we keep our selves distracted when we don’t want to take responsibility. We are surrounded with technology wherever we go and we can either learn to use them as tools in our life and not abuse them and use them as distraction, which most people get caught up in. I have come to use my technology more effectively and I find that really supports me in my day. It is now obvious if I find my self spending long on any technology, I can catch myself that I am going into a numbing distraction moment and so I stop and walk away giving myself some space to reconnect to myself
Love your picture and you calling your wife a cheerful bird :). Thank you Rod for reminding me to stay sensitive to why I am seeking distraction at times and to keep feeling the difference of each particular choice I make.
Thanks Rod for sharing your words , like all tools they are to be used for a purpose and with being consciously present with yourself and the machine or they can bite.
Rod a great sharing and observation how technology is there to help us, but we allow it to distract us. I used to find myself looking something up, and then got totally distracted into looking for other things, totally wasting my time. I am now more present when I do my online searching.
Great work Rod, thank you for sharing it. There sure is no shortage of what can be used as a form of distraction, it was not too long ago I would live my life that way. The choice to be honest and ask myself that same question of why I was choosing to distraction over being, was the first step toward coming back to me.
I agree Rod – there is an art to using the internet without being taken down the rabbit hole and off into the labyrinth and to be able to use the benefits of technology wisely whilst being aware of the distraction that it can be. But it’s only a distraction if we allow it.
Rod Harvey another very insightful post. The internet sure can be an invitation to time waste and procrastinate and endlessly read copious amounts of articles. I like to read the articles that come out through the blog sites like this one or Womeninlivingness, Truthaboutsergebenhayon, Truthaboutuniversalmedicine, Medicineandsergebenhayon. I have learnt so much from these online blogs and I am not hooked to read more, gain more knowledge, alarmingly go from one to the other like news line headings, alarming catching you with there headings. I love the internet and the more I can use it for true purpose the more I love it as well. It is am amazing tool to connect people.
Yes, Natasha, me too. I love using the Internet to read blogs like these and to connect with you all. I discovered that reading and writing on sites like everydaylivingness and womeninlivingness leaves me feeling joyful, fresh, very present and full of energy. I have no desire to surf anywhere else but when I need to I have to be very alert to stay with myself because I can actually feel myself drifting off sometimes.
I agree ilja, the internet, if used in the way you speak, is a great way to connect us all. I enjoy commenting on these websites and blogs too, and I have found that the quality of my comments is a good indication of where I am at. I find commenting often a great healing and they have helped immensely with my confidence and expression. I find that the key for me is to keep focussed and not let myself be drawn into anything that could be construed as a waste of time or a distraction from myself. Apart from anything, the energy that is felt from the sites that you suggest, ie womeninlivingness, everydaylivingness and many other Universal Medicine sites, is much more appealing than much of what is presented on the internet.
Love this – a celebration of how incredible the internet can be when put to a task that is worthy of our love and attention.. used in this way it can be inspirational.
When I look at the way I am using my time the issue that always comes up is: I am procrastinating, indulging, and delaying the rest of my day, life, and any work that has to be done through distractions online, be that scrolling through social media, reading the news, or reading online articles. It’s as if it is a drug, using it as relief from the rest of my life, there are very often moments when I just have the feeling that I need something, some form of relief and online indulgent distractions are too often the form it takes. Even now this is something I am having to continue to work on, thank you Rod for a great insight into what is really going on there, much to consider. Am I distracting myself to numb myself so that I am not open to people and life?
This sounds quite familiar Oliver but this was even going on before technology really took off and before everyone had a smart phone. I can remember procrastinating listening to music on my boombox in high school instead of doing my assignments. Yes there is an array of indulgences now that we can call on at the flick of a switch that were not as bountiful when I was younger, but it’s great to be honest, like you are, and looking at what is going on and why are we wanting to distract ourselves.
Great blog Rod. I can see how easy it is to use technology as a form of distraction. I too work from home and I use my emails predominately for work. Your blog reminds me to reflect what I would use as a form of distraction. I can think of one and that is when I really do not feel like working I use chores to distract me. Or feeling to sit down and watch a movie but I would very rarely carry this one through. I am becoming more and more aware of why and when I feel this way and then allow myself to make a choice that isn’t going to support the hiding and numbing but ones that would support me to really feel what is going on. To reflect why I am feeling this way and what is it that I am wanting to hide from. By keeping my life simple, I can easily pin point what occurred to create this sense of wanting to numb and not to feel the joy from within.
Very cool to read Rod. It is easy to say that all the technology is distracting us and thus a bad thing, it is inspiring how you choose to work and only look at your email twice a day. Even more inspiring I find that you looked at what made you get so distracted by checking emails, Facebook etc. I can relate to the feeling of not being worthy of love and simplicity. Definitely going to be more aware of what makes me check my emails more than necessary.
I absolutely relate Lieke and Rod. As part of my work I use the computer nearly all the time but even so there is a rhythm that I feel my body is calling me to be in that will truly honour and support it with keeping it all very simple and keeping technology in its true place as a tool to serve but not to own me.
I love this Joshua ‘there is a rhythm that I feel my body is calling me to be in that will truly honour and support it with keeping it all very simple and keeping technology in its true place as a tool to serve but not to own me.’ Thank you for expressing it so beautifully.
Yes it is so true, the trick is to use technology and not to be used by it.
Nicola yes its about the way we do what we do and the impulses behind them.
You are precisely right Rod, Its us not technology that is the problem, I read this blog a long time ago and I can look back now at how streamline my use of technology has become since first reading it. I hardly go on facebook and spend as little time in front of the confounded computer as possible. Perhaps even gone a bit far the other way by not spending enough time keeping up to date with things.
Technology is a great help to our life. We adjust our way of living to it. At the same time, we incorporate it to our life. So, we cannot talk about technology abstracting from how we do life. How we relate to technology and use it is a reflection of our livingness.
Awesome comment Eduardo, this is so true. This, I feel applies to all areas of our life, for example the most common forms of distractions are: food, entertainment, gossip, technology, and the list goes on and on. When we use any form of distraction it is a reflection of our choices. We can allow these various forms of distractions to be used to dig a deeper hole for us to burry what we are hiding from or we can choose to not hide but stay firm to feel and deal with what is actually going on in our lives. What Rod has shared is so honest and inspiring, as I can imagine a lot of us can relate to the addition of technology usage.
Thanks Rod for sharing your blog,it does get down to how we use technology not technology itself.
Great story Rod. It is up to us how we use the computer. It can be a great tool or it can be a great distraction. The self awareness of where we are makes all the difference.
I agree Rod, technology can be both a blessing and a curse. I can also acknowledge that at times technology has been a convenient tool ‘… to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within.’, which, as I type these words, seems quite ridiculous! Well, today is a great place to stop and feel that love and then take it out with me to share with everyone I meet! Thank you.
Hi Rod, thanks for what you have shared. Great point you make about technology not being the problem, because of course there is a way to use the internet that does not distract but supports our evolution. Its amazing to me how we use many obvious and hidden ways to avoid this, to not face what we need to see that will ultimately free us from the comfort that is actually our prison. Although I have been questioning my own online use its something I have to put into action in a more commited way.
Hello Rod, I loved this bit, “The technology was not the problem. I was.” This is a great way to approach life and anything. Being responsible for what you are ‘bringing to the table’ is the single most important thing I do in my life. This has opened my eyes up to life, where I use to see it as a ‘thing’ that impacted on me, now I see as something that I can be in and not be affected. Like you are saying about emails Rod and how you manage them, it’s about giving things time but in your time and it’s not about turning away and pretending they don’t exist. Rod, you are a role model for people in the way that you live and the light, matter a fact way you go about things, thank you.
I like love the part that you’ve highlighted too Ray. It is so honest and true. Rod’s honesty inspires us all and it certainly got me pondering on what I would use as forms of distractions and why. It is done in such a loving way and it is a great example. This way of reflection allows us space to learn and grow. And from this loving way of approaching what we know haven’t been supportive to then choosing to change and take responsibility is evolving our way of life. To truly question what we choose, is it lovingly supporting us or is it stunting and dragging us along life? It seems that it’s all down to the choices we make. Do we choose to stay in comfort of these distractions or are we willing to take another step and not let the distractions rule our lives.
The advent of technology has allowed me to have used Windows version 1(I had been using the green screen DOS), this was even before dumb phones that only made phone calls! Now it is hard to find anyone that is not connected any where, any time, all of time. It is time to go back to the source problem that caused the explosion of technology… we wanted a machine that would make our life easier and give us more time. It is as you have said Rod… its time to put the tool back in the box, when it has done what it was intended to do and let us get on with life.
I agree that technology can be a huge support in our lives but that we can also get into habits of using it in ways that doesn’t support us becoming addicted to it. I was at a conference where I heard that they were creating digital detox centres in some countries and children as young as 3 were being sent to these centres to detox. I was alarmed when I heard that and it concerns me what the future impact will be on the lives and wellbeing of children who have used technology and developed these addictive type behaviours from a young age.
Technology simplify our lives if we choose to let it do so. As you so beautiful and honest describe Rod Harvey, we are the problem if we misuse these tools. As I have always experienced with new technologies that are given to humanity that they can be used for the benefit of us all, but also to gain personal advantage and no service for humanity dependant of the amount of love we can accept as being the basis to live from.
I love this line Rod…’So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer.’ This is the choice that we have with technology. I find technology such a great support, but I can very much see how I can use it as a distraction or to check out.
I like the way you have re-imprinted your understanding of technology as a ‘tool’ – this denotes that you have taken back control over yourself rather than being controlled by the prompts and hooks that come with technology if we allow it. Giving your power away to technology is crazy – but so many people allow this because they want the distraction from their lives – it very inspiring to read your story Rob – and thanks for putting technology to good use and sharing it with us all!
This is true, I often find myself deliberately waisting time going through internet, news articles, unnecessary scanning for viruses on my computer, all in the hope of not getting on with what needs to be done. I use the distraction to sacralise the connection within myself, so I don’t have to feel the bombardment of life.
Talk about information overload! Today everything is on our phones, computers, iPads and now even our watches! Great what you share here Rod. Thank you for sharing a way to be with it all and embrace it without letting it consume our lives.
Such a great blog – so often I find myself blaming technology for taking up so much time, however I call the shots I can choose to not continue to let technology consume my life
Part of me always seems to seek distraction, my mind simply does not want to be reined in, but gradually I am less willing to abandon myself and my will to be present is building. I sought distraction for so long it just takes time to adopt a new way of being. Thanks for a lovely article Rod, I love the playful way you write.
Rod that’s great. I get distracted so much whilst on the internet. Especially with Facebook. What you’ve presented in regards to why makes sense to me as well… I like the part you shared about how it’s a matter of getting on with life. Which is so true, it’s getting things done and moving on without the need to postpone and digress.
It is so easy to blame the technology we are using for taking up too much time but you are right Rod, it is how we use it. We are often looking for distractions and the computer is perfect as we can go anywhere in the world for a look and our time just disappears!
Distractions are the best way to avoid feeling what is truly going on in our daily lives.
Great blog Rod, its never the thing or outside world or people that distract us, its always us who are looking for the offered distraction. Such a big thing and so great that you share it, specifically with the technology as it is often seen as the big distractor, but in reality it’s just the temptation. This happens with anything we do, always checking if what we do is truly needed, or if it is just filling space.
Rachel, I love your reference to ‘just filling space’. How apt…because really that is what we’re doing when we get distracted online or on TV or on anything. ‘Filling space’ because we choose to hold ourselves back from our true potential.
We seek to fill that which is empty of our love but in full illusion, do not seek to fill it with the love that is missing but all the empty fillers that are offered in its place.
So true Rod, technology can be a wonderful servant or a relentless master of leading us astray if we so choose. But it is a choice to whether we indulge in distraction or seek to understand why we pursue the ‘time fillers’.
Interesting how we choose to use our modern day technology, I have to admit that I am on the back burner when it comes to social media but have found how distracting Facebook can be if I choose to over do it, suddenly hours can be wasted. This to me is no different than hours watching the TV and being sucked into a television program which does not enhance my life in anyway shape or form.
I am currently on a program where I do not watch the television for three weeks and into the second week I haven’t missed it and have found that talking with the family is far more enjoyable and there isn’t the pull to watch something.
I completely agree, recently I have been finding that I can feel very similar at the end of being online to when I watch TV, in that I can feel lethargic, tired, and blurry minded and yet I still continue to use the internet while trying to ignore all of that, interesting how we tolerate some things and not others.
I loved your article Rod, and the insights it brings, for me to look at why I use the internet to distract myself, a big thank you.
I try to spend as little time as possible on my computer, but by doing this I am realising it makes it a lot harder for me to understand and also I don’t get to know the computer short cuts or the computer language. So when I am on my computer it ends up taking me a lot longer than it should. I am finding it is a great way for me to develop my awareness and patience, but I have to be honest and say that for me at this time technology doesn’t simplify my life However I am working on that.
Ah those technological distractions, I know them so well. But as you say so wisely Rod, technology is not the distraction, we simply allow it to be. I have become so aware lately of the precious time I waste browsing the latest stories etc when I know that there is so much more I could be doing. Time for more discipline, lovingly so, and less distraction!
“The technology was not the problem. I was”
Such a simple statement Rod with such a powerful message
I loved how you became self-aware and took responsibility to change old comfortable, distracting habits.
Thank you Rod for sharing your experience with technology and your wisdom.
Shirl Scott I love the way you expressed technology and wisdom together – this would change everything in our digital age of technological advancement.
It is fascinating for me to look at how much time I can waste on my computer or my phone, checking emails, Facebook and anything else I may need to do. Not fully understanding the technology means that I can become lost for quite some time and get very little done. The challenge for me is to learn how to use the technology to support me and not distract me.
Yes Rod, we can get so much more done in less time without the distractions.
Beautiful Rod, technology is not the problem it is how we use it that makes it supporting or not.
A great article Rod. I recently saw a comic strip on Facebook where St Peter is saying ‘the new arrivals seem to be incapable of conversation. They just stand around looking longingly at their hands!’ Obviously they were missing their iPhones! It was funny but so true that we can become so distracted by technology that we forget our own connection and our connection to others.
Rod, this is a brilliant blog that by an ironic twist deserves to be shared on Facebook! I have from time to time put into practice the skill of speed reading and skimming over news feed and social media. But in reading this I can feel how important it is to reapply this skill more diligently. I am definitely guilty of using the internet to numb myself and like you have many times read articles which gave me with nothing of value. On a positive it is terrific to know how easy it is to start using the computer in a smart way and be honest about when I am not doing so.
A great insight into the dilemmas and damage created by technology Kristy. As you say, it’s about healthy relationships with ourselves and whatever the world presents. Technology is the ultimate distraction tool to fill emptiness. Therefore, if we embraced life and service, then perhaps the emptiness would diminish along with the need for distraction.
I actually love technology. There is a lot that is wrong with it and it is being very badly misused but I absolutely love cheap phone calls and skype and email that is getting better every year and proper editing software and, especially, search engines.
I can massively distract myself but I could do that in the past watching inane TV or reading the newspaper or books or any other reason. Yes, it is easier to get distracted but overall I am glad it happened – just the convenience of my iPhone when away from home is amazing.
I am not sure if I would say the same if I was a teenager – distraction and peer pressure might be much larger but for me I am glad.
I agree Christoph…technology is fabulous.
However isn’t it ironic how such a great time-saver can also be such a compelling time-waster?
A great point Rod that we choose to allow the great time-saver of technology to be such a time-waster. When I learned to type it was on a manual type-writer that took a great deal of focus as pressing the wrong key caused so much delay. Now, with an all singing, all dancing computer I do not have to be nearly so focused and corrections easily made so that I can then spend more time on other things – but are those other things offering me the same lessons in conscious presence that the manual type-writer did?
Great blog, Rod, I always love your style of writing: simple, clear and playful.
I liked your conclusion: ‘The technology was not the problem. I was.’ We have a choice to either be with ourselves and be in rhythm or disconnect from that. With that as a marker, technology can be a great support and it can also serve the other side and be used as distraction to numb ourselves from feeling ourselves. For me, staying in contact with my body is crucial in this process and making the choice to constantly be present with everything I do. When I am behind the computer too long my eyes also tell me, because they get dry and sore.
Monika and Rod, the technology is not the problem I am. Although I need technology in my work, it is a source of great anxiety for me. I have always used the excuse that my age explains this incapacity at feeling comfortable around it. I immediately go into reaction, expecting to not understand what is required, building up tension in my body, and disregarding myself as being incompetent. Yet when it comes to explaining or demonstrating to students what I do know, I have patience and understanding, especially with mature age students. There is much for me to learn about myself and technology is definitely not the problem, I am.
You are so right that technology, as with so many other things in life can be used as a huge distraction. It can be a way to fill any moment, any quiet time when we might come back to a feeling of stillness and discover how we really feel and/or how amazing we are. It is such a useful tool but we need to be very aware of how and why we are using it so that we, rather than the technology (or should I say the energy driving us to indulge in it? ) decide how we use our time.
Rod, it is true that technology has simplified my life in one sense but most definitely complicated it in another. I wonder if I set myself a challenge to see just how many times I checked my phone or emails during the day as a distraction. Perhaps I will play with this tomorrow.
Rod I like how you say “Technology was not the problem, I was.” How easy it is to blame something else for our distractions rather than focussing on what needs to be done. I know when there is something I don’t really want to do I am easily distracted finding anything to do but the very thing that needs to be done. Seeing technology as a tool helps to keep it in perspective and keep a balance in life.
Thank you Rod, technology truly can be very distracting if we choose it to be. I like what you say here “So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer. It’s simply a matter getting on with life.”
Rod it is amazing how fast our lives have changed with computers, the internet and social media. You rightly point out that they provide us with many opportunities for distraction. I really like what Universal Medicine presents on this subject as its a way of keeping us grounded and in check. Thanks for offering this reflection.
Ahh the art of distracting, it’s so sneaky or is it? After reading your blog Rod I realized that the energy of distraction is not bigger than me but I am bigger than it. Its just a grain of sand that I keep on thinking is a huge tsunami. So know I am looking at my phone where all my distracting goes on and see it as a simple choice to either turn it on or turn it off.
Good point Joshua. In the beginning there was MySpace (well not quite the beginning) then Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and lots more that are regularly appearing – apart from the efforts by news outlets to make headlines as appealing as possible. One distraction after another after another.
I find that if I’m connected with my body before turning on the computer and ask myself the question ‘is this relevant to me or dragging me away from life?’ then I avoid being hooked…yet if I do not connect, I can be easily sucked in…and what an utter waste of time that is.
Not to mention Rod, it feels like technology just gets more and more involved in our lives as new tools and features come out. Our relationship with tech is an ever evolving one, just like the relationship with supporting and honouring ourselves
‘So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer. It’s simply a matter getting on with life.’ Love it Rod so simple yet profound and a wonderful reminder to me to revisit my online habits and check my emails less regularly!
Yes, we can get distracted by many things in life and technology is one big field nowadays were we can get lost in. But it is not the technology itself it comes back to us to make the choices to live a connected life – a choice to live connected to ourselves and others or connected to media, internet, food, music and so on.
I love everything you write Rod. This is something I have been feeling too, and it is so easy to get out of rhythm if there is not some discipline around the use of technology. It is indeed fantastic what we can do with it – and I don’t think I could fathom what life would be like without it. There is certainly a way to live with technology however that supports us to still remain connected to us – because that of course is the most important connection! Thank you Rod for another piece of awesomely insightful and simple writing.
Rod, your blogs are always so cheerful, free of judgement, bright! Not knowing you personally, I already feel loved by you.
Thank you for your lovely comment Felix.
Rod – this blog was so perfect for me to read I cannot believe it has taken me so long. Technology is my number 1 distraction and I waste a lot of time doing all the things you mentioned while complaining that I never have enough time. No more! Thank you for the awesome tips and for expressing in your usual powerful and playful way. Your blogs always bring a big smile to my face.
Great blog Rod, I know I can also get caught up with emails, browsing anything and everything, Facebook etc. and think that “it will only take a second”…fast forward to 20+ mins later… still browsing…while I’m on here….let me just check….etc, etc! Some days I even wonder what it is that I used to do before I owned a laptop/iphone many years ago. It could be time to just start asking myself – do I really need to be looking this up? Is it really relevant or am I just using it as a distraction? And if so, why? Thanks for shining a light on this subject 🙂
I avoided computers and tech for as long as I could, just couldn’t get my head around the concept that you could be talking and looking at someone online it was weird still is a little, but there is so much out there to try and hook you in it’s crazy.
Great blog! I can get really distracted on the internet. I am busy with one thing and woops, I am suddenly in my mailbox or on Facebook, not finishing the thing I was doing. My mailbox and facebook are constantly open on my laptop which I can see now is not supporting. It is pure distraction from what needs to be done and it takes me away from me. What a great idea, to check your emails twice….! Only twice…? Well, you can see, lots of other choices I can make here.
Rod, this is a gorgeous article. I remember how I managed to get distracted all my life even before computers – when I worked at an assembly line I simply read a newspaper at every possible break, much to the annoyance of my supervisor who would look bad if his supervisors appeared and saw me clearly not working.
You are right, not getting distracted requires a conscious decision and some discipline but it is very possible.
I also find it easy to get distracted by technology – everything is at the touch of our fingers. I appreciated your blog Rod because even though I am aware of the distraction, I need to constantly remind myself to be productive and not waste time just idling scrolling through whatever is on the screen at the time. A little bit of leisure time is fine – but not to take me away from feeling me and what my purpose is. Thanks for the blog!
I love your blog Rod, especially your words –
“On the other hand, technology has complicated my life. While at my computer I found I was often distracted with emails, Facebook, news and sports bulletins, on-line articles and blogs. It’s insidious”…
Recently I have found this to be true myself, distracting myself with Facebook (something that I resisted for years), and using this medium as a distraction at the end of the day and then finding I couldn’t sleep. I have found Facebook very useful, and if used wisely, a great medium for passing on information and articles and keeping in touch with friends and family. But it can also be a great time waster for trivia and it is my choice not to get hooked into that again.
And as you state in your blog, what am I distracting myself from?…. feeling me.
A timely reminder Rod so thank-you. There is that sneaky feeling of excitement that I will just be a minute on this website or facebook story and I can trick myself into saying, it’s fine, just some good honest browsing every now and then, but it can be addictive and time consuming, and totally take me away from the reason I got onto my computer in the first place. It also can give you that drained feeling afterwards. A not so wise or beneficial practice for sure.
Absolutely spot on Julie!
Rod I loved this “So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology.” I too have been distracted and sucked in by technology and it definitely is a reminder to use it as a handy tool but not allow it to consume and distract us from ourselves. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing Rod – it is always a joy to read your blogs. Whilst reading your blog, I had to stop and feel how I distract and numb myself with technology – more often than I cared to admit! Sure technology can be used for true good or it can be used to take us further way from ourselves, thanks for the great reminder in this quote –
“So now I’m choosing to use technology as a tool, rather than be numbed by the endless distraction technology can offer. It’s simply a matter getting on with life.”
Thanks Rod for your blog. It is great how you have linked the use of technology to the relationship we have with ourselves. It can work both ways, not just used as a distraction, but also as a way of avoiding connecting to the world we live in, as everything these days is online… I know many people who choose not to use social media/internet mostly because it feels too complicated and too high tech. It would be great if the conversation of overusing internet was brought up in high schools, as a way of raising awareness to teenagers about dependency and lack of self confidence that develops.
I can totally relate to this. The way I see it is that it’s like food, sometimes we realize that we’re eating too much or eating the wrong foods, but we don’t stop eating altogether as a way to solve this. We might start looking at why we’re eating the way we are and if it’s boredom, loneliness, comfort, a pick me up or a bad habit. Then we can explore making changes that are more supportive and nurturing in the way we are with it. The same goes for other activities people get hooked on, like sport, work and books, there are always two ways with these things – one that’s self-caring and self honoring and one that’s in disregard to our self relationship and our body.
Thank you Rod – I love the simplicity of your blog and resolve to change – I feel inspired. I am finding that as I build a pattern of rejecting distraction my love for myself is growing and in the end what I am doing is more fulfilling.
You have such a way with writing Rod that simplifies everything, cutting through the ‘what is not’ and expressing the truth so clearly. In reading your blog this morning I have become aware of how often I allow my self to be distracted by the Computer especially Facebook. … it is crazy! I often say I don’t have time for this or that when in actual fact I do. I just have to look at how I am spending my time. Being responsible ~ lovingly so. Thanks Rod.
Up until the last couple of years, I have had very little to do with computers. I held a certain pride that I was not a slave to technology, could do very well without it and rely on my connection with people via letters and phone calls…..yet I realise now I was not embracing of the usefulness computers and even social networking can bring, that indeed I had a responsibility to communicate with mainstream methods….and snail mail and actually expecting people to answer their calls, was a thing of the past. So now I still call particular people who love to hear from me, but generally texting, emailing, reading blogs and sharing on Facebook are tools that I use to enhance my expression. Occasionally I do fall into the trap you speak of, of using technology to distract me from the work I need to get done, yet this is lessening. I too, owe thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon in helping me realise just exactly what I am actually avoiding and once I realise that, it’s much simpler to leave the distractions behind.
You have a lovely writing style Rod and reading your article made me smile – we truly are Masters at distracting ourselves and the latest technology is one of the best ways. If I don’t have an intention or purpose for looking at social media then I’m soon gone, losing my connection – my body soon brings me the awareness and I can then choose again.
So true Rod. I don’t have access to my computer all day like many so any time wasting with distractions can be enormous. If I spend time just looking at stuff because I am checking out I lose my window of opportunity to stay connected with what I was there to do in the first place.
I agree technology is a great support but can suck you in if you don’t take care of yourself. I recently spend more time working on the computer and had to find my rhythm with it as the body can get so glued to it and then tends to freeze. I need to get up every now and then and move, change my posture and engage my body -that supports me greatly to stay more connected and more focussed.
That’s a great suggestion for us Judith. It seems the longer we sit in front of the screen, the easier it is to get lost and slip away from our connection.
Gosh Facebook for me can take so much of my time away, what gets me sucked in is hearing the notifications sounds and thinking ‘OMG what has happened I have to check my phone’. A couple of months ago I decided to turn of Facebook notification and I could not believe how easy it was and how much time I had. I still check Facebook every now and then but I chose when I want to look at it and not the other way around.
I loved this Rod “I was using distractions to numb myself to hide from and not accept the absolute love that I hold within” – this is something I can really relate to. Technology equally is the drug of choice, it is so easy and the thoughts that come in – ‘but I need to stay connected’, I have to check my emails!! In part, true, I do need to do those things, but what is the energy I am doing it in? The love I do feel within myself, is something so divine and this has just been a reminder to put down the technology and feel that amazingness. Thank you.
I have also used the pc to hide in the past. The changes I have seen in the last 30 years from green screen computers to computers on watches. It is as if the changes kept coming to keep us away from who we truly are. Its like the movie UP, when the dog thinks he sees a squirrel.
This is great way to view technology Rod. A tool to help us express fully. We are in charge, we make the choice to be distracted and checked out or fully in our presence.
it is so true that the modern technology makes a great distractor. And in reading your blog I realize how simple it is to change it in a tool and just use it as something that is so useful in our daily lives.
Great points Rod, it is so easy for us to distract and distract with technology that sits literally ‘in our hands’ today. The key is to do as you have done and ask why we allow such distraction and uncovering the reason is very simple – we avoid being with ourselves in full.
A salutary reminder that we can too readily use the ever-luring black hole of technology to hide in and as a distraction from reality and real living. It is so easy to lose yourself in the just-one-more click world which devours time and self if we don’t take real responsibility for our relationship with it by setting boundaries based on our true needs. Your blog has reminded me that I’m the one in control, not it. A paradigm shift for sure, when there’s such social pressure to be always at the end of a gizmo.
Spot on Cathy; it is very easy to get lost in this other ‘cyber’ world, but really we are still 100% the ones in control and it is always a choice whether or not we click the links, type the message, like the picture etc.
I have noticed that my laptop can get very cluttered with files and folders and tonnes of emails if I do not make it part of my day to tidy as I go (complete tasks). On the outside it looks like a sleek, professional machine, on the inside it can look like a desk with piles of incomplete paperwork. Making a conscience effort to create space and give myself room has resulted in less stress, greater ease and efficiency, it has made room for connecting with people rather than wrangling data.
Thank you Geraldine this is something I struggle with especially keeping on top of emails and having a visual of an untidy desk has inspired me to support myself by taking the time to have a tidy up.
A great article Rod. I did a secretarial training course – a long time ago – using a manual typewriter and carbon paper to make copies, so I was fascinated when I started work and had an all singing, all dancing electric typewriter to play with. Technology has moved at a great pace and I now have a computer in my office that has greater computing power than the rocket that took men to the moon, but I still complain that I do not have enough time. All the technology and ‘labour-saving’ devices have a way of distracting us and filling the time through a screen that can so easily put a screen between us and truly connecting with people.
I love this blog Rod. It is a great reminder about connection and quality of connection when on the internet. Especially on mediums like Facebook as we still have the opportunity to build relationships, as we would in person instead of using this space as a distraction to simply check out or exercise insularity. Technology can be a wonderful tool when we discern the quality in which we engage with it.
Carola that hits the nail on the head. There is some great things we can use technology for and I really enjoy that. However its also so easy to get lost in a click stream of social content and wonder where the time went. It’s certainly the quality we are in when we engage with it that counts.
Even though I do not have a facebook or twitter account I can still relate to this as I can find myself constantly checking emails or checking things on the internet. This is a great reminder to stop and go out into the real world and connect with people. Thank you Rod
An awesome blog Rod. I have definitely spent my fair share of hours aimlessly scrolling through Facebook, Twitter and all mediums alike. I’ve often used the excuse of – ‘I just find people really interesting’… Well Susie, why not go outside? Put down the phone and see what’s really going on in the world.
Yes a novel approach! From now on, as a human race, we will have to consciously choose that which I find bizarre. So much of our life is directed towards online interactions. Thank you for this simple reminder!
Like food, work, sleep, applying this conscious clarity or awareness to our lives we have the opportunity of a reflection from technology in to how we live. Do we shut off the real world for pursuit of the virtual? Can we handle relationships when we don’t get the opportunity to edit and re-type what we are saying? Really insightful blog Rod, thanks.
I enjoyed this article a second time round – but with more of a focus on the educational aspects. If I don’t get caught going down the rabbit hole into whatever distraction is on offer, then the purpose returns to what I am doing. And the blog is great at delivering tools and techniques for cutting out that waste while at the same time showing us how important technology can be (by imparting Rod’s wisdom on the subject). A phone call is an ‘invitation’ to have a conversation that we can decide if we are going to take. E-mail is similarly an invitation, but it is important to maintain our own shape and purpose and not let it start defining who we are or what we do.
If the amount of hours I spend on social media in a single year could be added up, I reckon I would gain at least a fortnight! The distractions that abound are numerous and so varied that whatever your mood, you are bound to get hooked in by something. But the thing I have to remember is that I’m choosing to get distracted, which is a crazy thing to be choosing. Life is short! No more time for wasting time.
This is a great blog Rod – I can so relate to what you have written about aimlessly scrolling through whatever looks enticing online at a particular point in time… I love how you question this – it shouldn’t be normal to do this, because it wastes time as well, and as you say, distracting us away from the love that we are. Something to be read by all teenagers who spend north of 6 hours a day I would say doing this exact thing, while multitasking snapchat, Facebook messenger, and the TV playing in the background
So true Jess, I got exhausted just reading this sentence – “Something to be read by all teenagers who spend north of 6 hours a day I would say doing this exact thing, while multitasking snapchat, Facebook messenger, and the TV playing in the background”. At work there can be TVs on and music blaring from many different rooms with no-one in them, as well as people trying to have conversations while all this is going on. I spend a lot of my day turning TVs and sound systems off and I can feel myself go ahhh as I turn each item off.
Natalie, I sometimes wish that I could find the off button for the set in my doctors’ waiting room. The practice is no longer allowed to have magazines and books as they are considered a health hazard, but I wonder whether the huge tv monitor, screening news and chat shows, complete with sub text, is not having an effect on the waiting patients’ health and well-being?
Great point Kathie – it’s like it’s not enough to just sit there and be with yourself and feel what you need to say to the GP/nurse.
I am enjoying this new approach to working. Just in a few days I no longer feel at the mercy of all of the requests and communication that comes through, but equally have a willingness to engage and respond to communication succinctly.
Shevon, that’s fantastic!
(my succinct response)
Yes, I am finding my communication is more succinct as well – bonus for everyone I should imagine!!! Best not blow it by responding too much here now…
Rod I will take this as inspiration, as for sometime now I have noted how I allow myself to be distracted and then complain that there is not enough time. It seems to be a simple matter of bringing focus to what needs our attention and letting go of what does not.
Love both these comments Shevon, the simple observation and then the result of trying things differently, communicated efficiently. A great example of exactly what Rod is bringing to our attention.
So true Shevon, i can relate to this. Getting frustrated at not having enough time but wasting time in distraction, disconnected, looking outside of myself. My learning is to let go of what doesn’t serve me or deepen my connection to me.
I still find that some headlines have great ‘hooks’ to entice me to read the article. So what I’ve been doing lately is ask myself “Is this really important or relevant to me?” and invariably the answer is ‘No’. Sometimes I ask “Is this a distraction to take me away from what’s important?” and invariably the answer is ‘Yes’.
It helps.
I love the example you offered that can be applied to all of life.
Honouring yourself in your assessment of the situation and how you engage with it.
Then choosing to use it to support you, rather than be numbed by the endless unloving attractions it can offer.
Great point Golnaz, Technology is a great reflection of this and how there is an endless web of distraction, to the point that unless we choose something different we can easily get swept away by it. But as you say, it also covers many other areas of our life and what we choose – our relationship with what we are doing and if its supporting us or not is what matters.
I agree technology can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be a real downer, as we seem to lose so much in life. For example, when I am out to dinner I often notice couples on their mobile phone instead of speaking to each other. As Ron states in his blog, watching something on the TV, that you know will probably result in you having a restless night sleep. Technology is great in the right place and at the appropriate time.
TV was my distraction to not feel me, I thought I was relaxing and taking some time for me, but really I was either switching off or getting involved in what I was watching. I began to notice that what I was watching made me tired and that after a few hours of TV I would feel less motivated. The more I looked at this the more I could feel how TV was affecting me regardless of how harmless the programme seemed to be. The less I watched the more I had the energy to do other things,…. I no longer allow the TV to control my life…..it was a relief to let that one go.
Hi Alison…it has been very much the same for Sue and I. We noticed the correlation between watching something ‘edgy’ before going to bed and having a disturbed sleep (and often bad dreams) as opposed to something lighter on TV which led to a lighter sleep.
I also noticed how watching sport before bed would affect me, particularly if it was a close contest (even though it didn’t matter to me who won or not). Like various TV shows, I was getting caught up in the ‘drama’ of the event.
Rod love this, I too have gone through a similar declutter of online distraction having realised that I could stop push notifications, it was like a revelation! But as you rightly point out what is really going on for us to be so easily distracted and wanting to be entertained, up to date with x y z, what sarah had for lunch! Really what was going on. I now love that I don’t feel owned by emails and that I work with them when I have time, not as a constant reflex action with my finger and thumb. I now enjoy a bus ride, for being on the bus. So yes avoiding just feeling and being my self which is in fact divine. It is a mad old game we play to just avoid that we are born to be love.
Vanessa, I love your line ‘I now enjoy a bus ride, for being on the bus’. Yet how many are missing the bus ride? Such a shame…but then again there might be an e-book in it called ‘How to Enjoy a Bus Ride’ that people could read on their smart phones and ipads (while they’re on the bus).
Thanks for the sharing and a reminder of how we can use technology, to distract or connect, it is our choice, and just a reflection of what is going on for us. Do I want to distract and numb myself from my amazing love within, or to feel and enjoy that love?
I recently invested in an iPad, thinking it would lessen the time I spend in front of my computer…I was wrong! With the accessibility of the iPad I use it much more, so it is ‘refreshing’ (pun intended) to read your article. I agree the internet is a distraction, which raises the question ‘what am I distracting my self from?’. Thank you Rod, I am inspired, my iPad is my new tool.
Indeed Rachael so true, a perfect distraction from ones light and a distraction from connecting to me. Thank you for this too Rod as I know I can use technology as a way of keeping me away from love. Time to be a lot more discerning.
Yes Rod, I agree with what you’ve said and used to find I could numb myself for hours on the internet. Now with more purpose in my life I find that I am much more gently disciplined and the use of it just flows as required.
Hi Rod, you’ve hit the nail on the head perfectly there! I have been all consumed with IT of late…. it is a perfect distraction from ones own light – thank you for the reminder.
A few years ago, I bought myself an iPhone for Christmas, as a treat. It was mainly because the Our Cycles App was being launched and I really wanted to be able to use it, but also I did think having an iPhone would be fun and it is a lot of fun, as well as being a great tool to support various areas of my life. But I do have to watch how and when I use it. I often find myself just going to it automatically to check Twitter, Facebook and emails, I’m on autopilot, when ever I get a spare moment. I’ve realised it is a total distraction, so I have been noticing when I pick it up to do that and ask myself do I really want to do that right now – like on my lunch break, as soon as I finish eating I go to pick it up. I’m filling all these little moments with myself up with my iPhone, where actually I could just sit and enjoy a moment to myself… a moment to feel my body, a moment to appreciate nature, or to be with friends.
I can relate to what you say here Laura.
Thank you Rod, for the simple wisdom and humour you bring. What a great point you make here – how we use technology (as with everything else) is a reflection of how we are in relationship to ourselves. It provides us with the opportunity to connect and use it to support us in our work, or to distract and delay us from our purpose.
That’s a great read Rod – thank you. Technology is a great enabler, and yes allows us to do so much more. But as you say it can hinder as much as it helps. However, it was fantastic when you pinpointed that it is not the technology that is the problem – that is what we create for ourselves through how we interact with it.
Exactly Simon I find that technology is there all the time – there are endless hours that can be spent on websites, facebook and youtube to name but a few. So its great to reflect on, that it really is my choice on how I get involved – if I’m using the tools to complete a job or using them to zone out, when I could be using that time in a much more self supporting way.
Great blog Rod on what technology can do for and to us. I am one of the generation that has lived with the birth and the explosion of tech from the first WOW of a digital watch from Pulsar for over $300 and all it did was show the time with glowing numbers. Today try and find something that has no tech in it! I read about a new toaster that analyses the caramelisation level of the sugar in the bread to give the prefect piece of toast. I have always been a tekkie, but it was more of a motion thing with me. What better subject to keep in motion than one that has no end. Now I treat technology, as you have said, as a tool for me to use when I need it and not to be owned by it.
Love it Rod, I too have been looking into my computer usage and whether I am using it as a distraction or for something constructive.
Such a great blog, that raises a very important question in most peoples everyday lives. Thank you
Thanks Rod a really great blog, I know how much time I can waste online if I let myself. Its very easy to go from article to article on facebook and other sites. Also what Kevin shared about being caught by the headlines, I get that and by the photos that pop up on facebook etc.. So a great reminder.
Great blog Rod , I came to a lot of the same conclusions as you before reading it, but this was a good reminder. One of the things that quite often sucked me in was when I opened yahoo to read my emails a headline would catch my eye or even a piece of celebrity gossip, (oh the shame) anyway I’d start reading which would lead to reading something else and then I’d realise what I was doing and how much time I had just wasted . Nothing I read enhanced my life or as you said the sky didn’t fall in if I didn’t. I now like you Rod just skim over the headlines which is all I need, then straight to my emails without being sucked in. This is a simple choice that is very easy if I’m present.
That’s a good point you make Kevin that when you are present you make the right choices for yourself. When I get sidetracked I’m certainly a long way from presence. So presence (or lack thereof) is a great marker to refer to when I drift off.
I love this blog and completely agree with Jane. Technology can be an amazing tool and support we just need to be discerning in how we use it.
Thank you Rod for raising an important question especially in today’s society, and it is a great point that it is not technology that is the problem, but ourselves and how we are with it. Recently I was in a cafe and a couple came in and were having a drink together and both got out their newspapers and read them separately with no words spoken or connection with each other. In that moment I realised that having in the past seen no sense in seeing people sit at a table and all sit focused on their phones with no interaction with each other, sitting there with the newspaper was exactly the same. I had blamed technology for creating the lack of intimate relationships but actually it is us as humans who look for the distractions.
You are right Julie, we can easily blame technology for how society is today but in everything we do, we still have a choice to not turn the iPad on, to not take the laptop out of the bag or to not bury our heads in the newspaper.
Spot on Julie; technology can be very supportive, but we (humanity) often abuse it and use it as a distraction rather than a medium to connect further and expand relationships.
Yes Susie there is a purpose to technology and how we can make connections with so many around the world. It is unfortunately the way in which we use technology that serves nothing but heighten our levels of distraction.
This is so true Julie. I have used turning the TV on when in an intimate relationship, to distract myself from what is really going on. The same goes for spending our entire holiday buried in the pages of a book or a newspaper, what is it that we want to distract ourselves from that is so horrid?!
Great blog Rod. I am not that computer literate so what I can do on it does make my life easier. The point I took away from your article is about distraction and mine was definitely DVD’s. Before, I could easily watch 3 or 4 DVD’s a day but now it can take me anywhere upto 3 days to watch one. These days when I do have spare time you are more likely to find me having an eye pillow nap!!
Thank you Rod for sharing this, I love where you say that you now only check your emails twice a day and that this is plenty.
I’m aware that I can keep checking my phone for messages and emails, this could be every 5-10 minutes and it does feel like a distraction. I feel like rather having moments of just being, I often fill these moments with looking at my phone, it would feel lovely to just sit down and be with me, maybe have a cup of tea, a rest, watch the birds in the garden, whatever it maybe, so I feel inspired Rod thank you.
I agree Rebecca. Sometimes I find myself checking phone for emails and texts, seeking connection with others before allowing connection in me. A total distraction. Great blog Rod.
‘seeking connection with others before allowing connection in me’ For me that’s the nub of it, avoiding our connection with ourselves and giving more importance to connection with others, checking social media and emails before checking in with our bodies.
Yes Carmel – connection these days means wifi before it does people. There is a balance we are yet to strike about loving, supportive ways of using social media vs how we are with people and ourselves. This blog opens up a bigger conversation for us all to consider just how much time we spend online vs with people or even with ourselves.
Thanks Rod, for me it’s not just how long I spend on my computer, it’s where I chose to use it, everything from casually on my knee in the lounge through to sitting at a desk in my study. Yet more opportunities for attention to conscious presence and the responsibility for the energy in which I type something that someone will read …just like now.
I can relate to this, especially about distracting myself with social media when I feel to do otherwise. Rather than going with how I felt, enjoying the fact that in that moment I could honor how I feel, I instead end up feeling worse for wasting time and not doing what I felt to do in the first place. Spend time reading or looking at things that don’t enrich my life or go listen to my body and feel amazing? This is what I will question myself then next time I think about before going on the internet. Thank you.
“Spend time reading or looking at things that don’t enrich my life or go listen to my body and feel amazing?”… I know what I would choose, taking time to bring myself back to me instead of distracting myself have definitely brought dividends….! All I know is that once I stopped dabbling into social media in the early evening my mind is less active and the quality of sleep is much improved.
I know that one all too well! Going to bed straight after computer or checking my phone is a sure fire way to disturb my sleep. In the past I’d wake up still thinking about whatever I had to do online and never felt rested. Now I don’t bother, my sleep is far better without a ‘quick’ browse online before bed. Often 5 minutes could turn into 30 easily and I would feel even more drained and unable to sleep afterwards.
I too know I use technology as a distraction and end up spending hours on it. Not good and in the end my back is slouched. I get a bad headache and I disconnect to my family. Not good. This is great.
An honest sharing Rhiannon on what is happening in many homes an families around the world. The levels of disconnect is increasing but the patterns of behaviours are not being addressed.
Brilliant! I love the line “thus doing my buddies a favour by reducing the amount of distraction in their lives”. So true! Digital and social media is too frequently used as a source of distraction and to check-out with. If everyone read this post they could be more aware of what they’re using it for and how they’re spending their time. It’s incredibly liberating to realise that with a bit of presence, you can use it productively and to actually support you. Thanks Rod. 🙂
That is the difference isn’t it, being consciously (or fully) present so you express something meaningful rather than adding to the clutter and noise that is out there.
Thank you Rod, this is a timely reminder for me too as I work from home. I have in the past set more boundaries for myself in terms of the internet. It’s time to rein in those extra minutes that add up to many hours being distracted by what arrives on my lap (top). I felt to do something else this morning at this time and here I am writing to you! Enough.
Haha Bernadette, you have summed it up, though I am glad you took the time to comment!
Definitely a great article by Rod, something I am looking at too at the moment as I work from home as well part time. I am looking at the way I use space and time, slowly forming a more sustainable and flowing rhythm in my day. Its been revealing to observe all the little ways I get distracted away from the focus, dedication and commitment to myself and my responsibilities and to what I am working on. As said it really is about choices, they are there waiting for us in every moment – it is the choice we make that dictates what comes next – always. When I am present with myself the choices are always much more supportive in so many ways.
It is very true Jeanette, how the quality of our choices affects our day. I have realised that I could choose to walk around in the energy of misery or I could choose to be joy-full and take this out into my day instead. And by making that commitment it has had an enormous impact on my day, and the quality of my sleep improves too. It really is a choice and it not only affects me, it affects others around me too, so everyone feels the benefit.
Sandra, I completely agree. The quality of our daily choices REALLY affects how we are and that means everything. This means how I get up from the desk, how I go to the kitchen, to the toilet, everywhere I walk, regardless of how short the walk is and how I actually am at the desk, how I read, everything has an immediate effect on my day.
Not only does the quality of our choice when we are awake have an immediate effect on our day, we then take this quality with us as one day rolls into another, and another, and we take the momentum of this with us and magnify it whether it be joyfulness or misery. This comes back to our responsibility to ourselves and others in how we live our lives and how we can effect everyone around us. If I feel myself getting a little anxious at work I take these moments between desk, kitchen, toilet to bring myself back to me and that way when I present myself walking back through the door of the office I am more of the true me. I am not perfect, but I appreciate the fact that I have enough awareness to work on it, every day.
Hi Rod, very well expressed – and you made me laugh too :-). I can very much relate to what you’re saying; if we choose to be unaware, another hour has just passed… Thank you again Rod for being and sharing the fun and loving man you naturally are.
Ah yes Esther, activities that distract do indeed find the hours passing by all too quickly – been there, done that and sometimes still do! What I’ve found is that when I’ve been caught up like this, I never feel that great afterwards… It’s hard to describe but it just doesn’t feel right and I don’t quite feel myself, and I have often felt not only that I’ve wasted a whole lot of time, but have realised how ‘sucked’ in I got with the energy of it all. This is in total contrast to using technology as a tool, not being distracted, but staying as fully aware as I can on the task at hand. In this instance, I can feel that when I finish whatever I’m doing, I still feel ‘me’ and haven’t left my body to do so!