Mindfulness In A Mechanized Age


Mindfulness teaches the ability to stay present in the moment and to practice the skill of experiencing living in the here and now. Although not an easy task, there are well documented medical and psychological benefits from practicing mindfulness. The use and over-use of digital technology, like a Smartphone, is the antithesis of being mindfully present.  When you are online or on the device  you are not really present to yourself, your environment, or others’ around you.

You are shifting time and space and when you are on your Smartphone texting, emailing, tweeting, or surfing—the implied message to the world around you and your you own nervous system is that it is NOT ok where you are in the moment and that you’d rather be somewhere else.

Instead of always looking for immediate and accessible digital distraction and if you want to be present in your real-time life, you’d be pausing and experiencing what was actually around you and not on a screen. The net effect of screen-living is that we end up missing out on our lives because we are so busy being digitally distracted or recording (photos/video/facebook & twitter posting ) that we become observers in our own lives as opposed to participants. Put the phone down, or better yet turn it off so you are not pulled in by the allure of the beeps and buzzes and rings. Pay attention to where you are, what you’re doing and who you are with…they’ll always be time to check the phone later!