Raising My Consciousness One Word at a Time

Technology– machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.

Electronic devices surround our lives.  Virtually all people carry their own devices to allow communication with the world.  Technology has given us amazing things.  A greater ability to communicate, transfer information, travel, and create at a capacity only dreamed of 30 years ago. Now there are problems which have risen as well. Our devices seem to run our lives, as we are all “connected” on social media sites, are we really connected?  Or is it all an illusion?  The challenge in life is to use the technology and not have it use us.  That begins with a focus on our thoughts on using our phones and corresponding social media sites.  Recognize the emotions that result from that and your words and actions, which all come from your technology.  How much of your time is yours? How much belongs to your device?

Attachments to Devices

It is a relatively recent phenomenon that people have developed a significant attachment to their personal communication devices.  They didn’t exist 20 years ago. Now we are all attached to the technology our phone provides to some degree.  It is a one-stop interaction stop, but that attachment brings problems with it—a significant lack of real interaction with other people and the world around you.  The phone provides a link to the world through social media, Facebook, Snap Chat, Instagram, Twitter, or whatever your choice of communication is.  That is addictive.

The addiction can become real, someone likes your picture or shares your story, and your brain reacts chemically to that in a positive way. That leads to seeking more, which leads to more time looking into the false light of your phone, scrolling endlessly through posts to like and judge and like and judge.  The attachment to this activity is solid and real.  The problem is that you are looking at a fantasy of what life is, not life.  Looking at a picture of a beach is not visiting that beach yourself.  Visit the beach!

Building Real Healthy Attachments

How to improve this issue should be easy.  First, you have to become conscious of what you are doing and why you are doing it.  How many times do you scroll through your Facebook feed for no reason?  Start to build attachments to people and things outside of the electronic world.  For example, have real conversations with people.  Real interaction with people is better than any form of social media. I think that people have forgotten this.

Set a bit of time aside each week to be totally electronically free.  No access to the world in any way other than through your five senses in the natural world.  This will wake you up to the things you are missing each day.  What great things do you see every day that you never notice? Start to notice them.  Go for a walk with your eyes directed all around you and with no concern for the things happening in the electronic world.  Allow your consciousness to become aware of real people, sights, activities, and places right in front of you.  Break the electronic attachment, at least for a while.

Awareness of Problem

So now you are aware of the attachment you have to the electronic world of likes, shares, and follows. It is important to become aware of how this can enhance your life.  Social media can be a good thing, but it seems like the negatives are piled high against it.  The process seems to force people to develop unhealthy thoughts that worry about what others think of you and what you are doing.  Then you have to ask yourself, “Do I do this because I want to or because other people will like it?”  The honest answer is probably a little bit of both.  Learning to function for our own approval and nobody else’s is one of the most powerful experiences in life.  Tough to do with social media.

Another of the things people need is to express themselves creatively. This can come in almost any creative form from writing, painting, drawing, woodworking, or any other form of expression.  Creativity is your soul speaking to the world.  Time spent in the vortex of social media is time spent away from creating or learning, or developing yourself as a person. You don’t have to drop off social media, but become conscious of your attachment to it and let that attachment go.  Develop who you are, not what people see about you online.

Letting Go of Attachments

When you let go of all attachments, not just electronic but also those to unhealthy ideas, you open up space for you to develop as a thinking human being.  Then you can let situations be what they are without expectations of your attachment to them.  Each day then contains a little more potential to become whatever it can become.  It all starts with a conscious choice to see the attachment you might have with your phone. Looking at it 900 times a day, seeking validation and support. Those things are already in you. All you have to do is choose to see and pursue them.  It all begins with an awareness of your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions today because of that heightened awareness of technology and its hold on you.

“The word ‘friend’ has become so utterly void of meaning in a world governed by social media. How can anyone truly claim to have eleven hundred friends? In my book, that would involve making time to meet at least three of them every day of the year.”? Alex Morritt

“Social media sites creates [an] illusion of connectivity .”   – Malay Shah