UNPLUG!
(What Do You Feed Your Mind?)
The Challenge: A Media Fast
For one week, do not take in any media. This includes news media, social media, and entertainment. Do not listen to the radio, iPod, or CDs; don’t watch TV, films, or videos; don’t read newspapers, books, or magazines (whether online or in print form); don’t surf the Internet; and don’t check on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
You don’t have to plug your ears if someone tells you about a news event, but do avoid being drawn into a conversation about the news. If people insist, tell them about your unusual fast. You may, of course, do reading that is necessary for work or school.
What do you do instead? Part of this mindfulness practice is discovering alternatives to consuming media. Hint: do something with your own hands and your own body.
Reminding Yourself:
Cover the TV with a sheet, or put a sign on your car radio and computer screen reminding you “No News or Entertainment This Week.” Let magazines accumulate and consider putting any newspapers you subscribe to straight into the recycling bin. You would do this if you went on vacation---why not now?
Reflections:
Our senses are constantly drawing our attention outward. In our media-crazed society we are bombarded by sounds, smells, bright colors, and are constantly exposed either to shiny, alluring things that are supposed to bring us complete happiness forever after, or to the fear, tragedy, and violence of the world at large, real or imagined.
The Unplug! practice centers on being mindful of what you take in. Most of us are conscious of what we eat and who we choose to spend time with, but how mindful are we of what we watch on television and in movies? What are we taking in through what we see, read, and hear when we open our computer screen each day or read or listen to the news?
To shift from sensory overload to sensory withdrawal, we can begin to train our minds and bodies to turn inward for nourishment. Taking a media fast is a simple (although challenging) way to do this, as is spending some time each day in silence, and taking time out for a retreat in nature. This practice of a media fast will prepare and ripen the soil of your mind for our all-day retreat. Enjoy!
(adapted from How to Train a Wild Elephant by Jan Chozen Bays, MD)
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A steady diet of negative news makes the mind ill. Give your mind the good medicine of silence, beauty, and loving friendship.
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