Authors & Thought Leaders

How to Cultivate a Healthy Connection in the Digital Age

Published on July 24, 2017

Article by Evan Corey for Bodhi Tree

In the grand scheme of the universe, a social network is an infantile construct, a new and unfinished labyrinth that so many of us are completely focused on and consumed by. Digital technology is ubiquitous, yet few take time to reflect upon its role in our lives. The sheer momentum of the digital age has caused us to participate without caution. Have you taken stock of the impact technology has on your life recently? Have you ever?

Social Media’s Dark Side

Jealous. Less than. Depressed. Misunderstood. Sometimes social media will make us feel all of these things in one day. We have developed an interesting relationship with social media. It’s both enrapturing and utterly unhealthy, a vice we seem to inherit by simply existing in a technologically modern society. And like all vices, the opportunity for the relationship to turn abusive is right there, hovering in the digital cloud, descending slowly in the form of pictures of exes and toxic comments sections. If we’re not careful, the negative energy online can virtually consume us, to the point that it dictates our thoughts and actions.

Swearing off social media entirely would seem irrational to most people, and probably rightfully so. However, periodic disconnections from social media can be crucial to our mental health.

Earth: The Original Network

The earth has hosted a network of its own for quite some time. It’s called nature. Nature has been humanity’s eternal backdrop, so it can be fairly easy to disregard when our digital networks are so hectic and stimulating. But the outside world is available to us—without fees or hardware requirements—when we finally disconnect from an online environment.

3 Steps to Signing Out of an Over-Connected Life

If your hands, eyes and brain are glued to your phone’s screen, it’s time to put it down. Here’s how:

  1. Distance yourself from the tools that keep you the most connected, literally. We know we’re not supposed to sleep with our phones in the same room, but it’s a good idea to keep devices out of reach (and temptation) during the day as well.
  2. Identify times of the day when you don’t need your phone and gradually increase that number.
  3. Replace your device with nature: If you usually scroll through Twitter while eating breakfast, enjoy your meal outside and leave your phone on the kitchen counter one day. The idea is to wean yourself off of your technological dependence with the natural network that surrounds you. Log in to the morning air and peruse all the stirrings of the wild as you would your Twitter feed. There is always something new to see in nature—its history of automatically refreshing itself is a rich and vital one.

Why Digital Detoxing Helps You Stay Present

Once you have made your initial disconnection, it’s important to build on this ability to not only resist virtual temptations, but also to constructively escape into the natural world. Learn to sync up with nature’s therapeutic rhythms to keep your psyche healthy and your mind clear of the inconsequential debris of your social network.

Looking for more ways to live with intention? Check out our interactive course, The Power of Clear Intentions, created by Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick, pioneers of Spiritual Psychology and founding faculty of the University of Santa Monica. This eight-module audio course teaches you how to manifest your true goals and dreams. Learn more here.

Published on: July 24, 2017

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