Many of us go through life seeking. Seeking love, or happiness through other people or sometimes our addictions. Often we don’t fill that feeling of lack that we carry, that feeling of not being enough. So we look for something to fill that feeling of emptiness or unworthiness.
I've been noticing, more and more, the new addiction of media. Going to a park I see young parents staring at their phones texting, playing games, or talking on their phone; missing out on their child's life. Many parents sit their children in front of a television or computer-even if it is educational television or computer games-and then spend their time doing the same thing. When we do this we may be causing several harmful things to ourselves, our children and our other relationships. First: We are separating from the now through electronics. It can be a simple distraction for a bit but it often becomes more of an addiction and attachment, which creates a gap in our relationships. Second: We could be causing our children to feel unimportant or unloved creating a feeling of unworthiness, a hole in their soul that they may, in later years, try to fill with alcohol or drugs or food or some other addiction. Recently there have been studies on the harm that computer screens may have on the developing brain and a link to teenagers and schizophrenia due to some computer games. Third: Rather than having meaningful and thoughtful conversation with our partner we may be starving our personal relationship if we spend so much time on our devices. By using a device as a means of avoidance we cannot mend any fences that need mending in the relationship, which may feed the feelings of defeat, emptiness, or lack of self worth that may be growing in our relationship. Media can be a good source of information, communication and entertainment. But it can become a distraction from life, which is short and fleeting, just as your time with your children is short before they grow up and leave home. Practicing mindfulness in life brings us to an awareness of the passing of time and helps us be in each moment. Giving our life a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction, helping us to see and truly experience the joys that are there in front of us that can be so easily missed by too much attention to media. *Joanie Lane is director and teacher at "A Positive Light" meditation center. For more information on Joanie and the center visit www.apositivelight.com or her blog Joanielane.com
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We already have the answers we need to the life questions we ask. Those instincts, the gut feelings, the knowing senses, that quiet voice—those are the answers that are our compass through life.
Once we know this the question then becomes why don’t we listen to these instinctual senses? I would say it’s because we don’t like the answer. It doesn’t fit what we prefer to have in our life. Maybe it doesn’t give us permission to follow our own wants without a sense of guilt, maybe our hopes for something bigger are just pipe dreams, or maybe our actions are harming others. When we quiet our mind and open up to the quiet voice of reason within we can find our way through life without the turbulence of going against our natural tendencies. Through our practice of meditation we can nurture our instinctual nature and our ability to see it and accept it as it guides us smoothly through life. Gaining this ability to listen to our internal navigation system will bring a sense of peace and equanimity to our life and allow us to move through life changes and challenges with balance and grace. “If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?” ~Dogen *Joanie Lane is director and teacher at "A Positive Light" meditation center. For more information on Joanie and the center visit www.apositivelight.com |