Week 23 - The Power of Technology

Week 23 Activity

THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, and in

many ways it does. However, from time to time it is worth

paying attention to our relationship with technology—

texting, email, and social media—and noticing our attitude

toward it. Dependence or over-use can creep insidiously

into our lives.

This week, begin to pay attention to how you relate to things like email, Facebook, Twitter and all the other applications that are available to us through our computers, tablets, and cellphones.

Notice how often you check your email and social media. Does it feel as if you are doing it automatically? Is there a driven quality to the checking? Pay attention if you can to that moment of impulse. What thoughts do you notice? What emotions? How does it feel in the body? How do you feel afterward? Can you connect with any felt sensations or emotions that you experience?

Notice if there are particular applications that cause more upset than others. How does checking work emails out of office hours affect you? What do you notice when you read posts from family or friends?

Be awake to cause and effect.

Once you have a sense of whether technology is helping or hindering, you can decide whether you need to take wise action.

If it's the latter, you can use it as an opportunity for practice by bringing the moment of impulse into awareness. Can you allow yourself to experience the impulse without acting on it?

Use the breath to steady yourself and be curious about what the impulse is made up of. What drives it? What does it feel like?

Try to ride out the impulse three times before giving in to it (if you still want to).

Of course you can also use the device itself to aid you by turning off notifications or removing an app from your phone so that it can't be easily accessed, but if you do so you will miss an opportunity to strengthen your resolve and weaken your reactivity.

Remember, technology should serve rather than enslave.