Day 190 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - The Experience of Group Thought...

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Lesson 190: The Experience of Group Thought...

When you are on the internet, do you feel more connected or sometimes feel the disconnection? Do you sometimes get angry and frustrated on it? Or do you feel quite happy? If you spend some time away from it, do you notice the difference in yourself? Do you actually feel better?

The experience of group thought can be both uplifting and distracting for me. I like being surrounded by people of the same interests. There are times when I can comment of things that sparks some discussion of opinion, or on the other end discussion, it goes against my values and things get heated. I would rather keep things positive in my life so I don’t usually go into arguments often, but that’s just the nature of the internet.

If I do take a break from social media or the internet, I would generally be filling my time with something more useful in my life. I would be learning, reading, socialising with friends or doing something towards my spirituality. I think I make good use of my time. I think I feel better being away from it because I’m not investing emotion into social media. It’s more relaxing to stay away from it than to be on it, sometimes. I think I would rather have experiences with people in real life than to keep it all online. The energy of people in real life is much better than what I get online. How about you?

Day 188 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - Electronica is the Newest Addiction...

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Lesson 188: Electronica is the Newest Addiction...

Today we are to think about how much we use our electronic devices, internet and social media. Does it make your life better? How do you feel when you spend days, weeks or months away from it?

I personally feel like being on my iPhone has sometimes taken over my life - like I couldn’t live without if I didn’t know what was happening on Facebook. It got so bad, that I wasn’t doing anything productive. I think that’s the trap with having easy access to such platforms – it is too convenient to be on your phone all the time. I even use it in bed when I should be going to sleep. It’s quite terrible.

I have been trying to make more a conscious effort to do something else but be on my phone all the time. I will try to do some other activity that doesn’t have me sitting on my phone all the time. I sometimes just throw my phone aside so I can do anything else.
I think I’d be okay to be away from social media if I had to go without it for a month but I find part of what I do, like blogging, requires me to be on my electronic devices. I find it necessary to be creative in some of the activities I do, but also establishes my connections as well. I do feel like I could go without it if I didn’t have these daily activities in my writing that I want to achieve.

To assess my personal situation, I think it can make my life both better and worse. Worse for when I spend time on it doing nothing and better for when I connect with people on my journey. If I went away on a holiday, I think I could place my phone aside and the whole time and just enjoy life. I think it’s okay to switch off.

Day 187 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - In This World of Electronica...

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Lesson 187: In This World of Electronica...

In a world of social media, it’s easy to hide our true selves. We can wear a mask if we so choose because it’s easy. Even though the internet has provided a way of connecting, do you feel that the connections are true and are useful for you?

I personally feel that it’s easy for some to hide behind a computer screen when it comes to social media. I think it’s caused an avenue for more bullying and people to just be mean in general. I do find that social media also distracts people from truly doing useful activities. I am a culprit of wasting time on social media because it doesn’t take brain power, and sometimes I feel I need something mind numbing when it’s been a tough day.

I do find social media has helped me connect with more people like me though. Without it, I wouldn’t have found the people I needed to on my spiritual path. I like social media for that aspect. The connections I can find locally and internationally have really benefited my life and I do feel like those connections are true and solid. I actually wouldn’t have met my mentors if I didn’t have social media. I truly believe without it, I would be lost as to where to get the guidance I truly needed.

So overall, I value social media for opening the avenues to the people I needed on my path. Without it, I may have been just as lost like when I was a teenager and didn’t know what to do with my life. I see the friendships I’ve discovered as utmost importance and value. How about you?