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Technology & why mindfulness is now a necessary skill

Dear Integral Meditators,
You may have noticed that mindfulness has really caught the public eye over the last few years. One reason for this is that it really is custom-made to help us negotiate the demands of the technological age in a healthier manner. The article below considers why.

Toby

Technology & why mindfulness is now a necessary skill

In a word, technology. Prior to smartphones our need to manage our mind and our information-digesting habits was determined to an extent by our environment. If we were at a library or at a computer station we could seek out information, but when away from these and other such resources we were limited in our access to distractions. For example, when we were traveling we were limited to the book we had in our bag, and the people around us that we could talk to. Our environment ‘forced us’ to slow down, digest the events of our life a little more slowly, and ‘dial down’ a little.
Now, with the advent of mobile phones we have access to distractions and information at almost all times. At the slightest hint of boredom, anxiety or disquiet we can whip our phone out and distract ourselves, messaging, surfing the web, playing games and so on. All this continuous distraction has a price to be paid for it, in terms of for example:

  • Our concentration and attention span
  • Our ability to feel content
  • Our ability to mentally and physically rest and regenerate
  • Our social skill and ability to relate to others in real time
  • Our ability to hold and pursue deeper trains of thought within ourselves
  • Our ability to be creative and imaginative

Moreover, our smartphones and other devices are highly addictive, creating compulsive activity and habits on a scale that requires thought, presence and psychological maturity not to get sucked into. Compare the above ‘price of technology’ list to the potential benefits of a mindfulness practice, either formal or informal which are:

  • The building and increasing of our attention span
  • The ability to feel content in the moment, in a state of non-distraction
  • The capacity to consciously relax and move into a regenerative state of body, mind and heart
  • Greater awareness of others and our environment
  • The tendency to be curious and follow trains of thought deeply
  • The capacity to learn from our experience in the moment

From this we can start to see that really, mindfulness is custom made to help us deal more effectively with the challenges of technology, and without it we are all at risk of becoming technology and smart phone addicts and paying the price for it without even realizing it.

Creating a mindfulness practice around your hand-phone
One simple way to create an informal mindfulness practice for yourself is to create some ‘mindful rules’ around your handphone. For example, make a list of three such as:

  1. I won’t do any messaging on my phone before breakfast
  2. When commuting, I won’t distract myself by surfing the web or using social media unless there is a definite meaningful purpose
  3. After 10.30pm I won’t use my phone unless in case of an emergency.

Something like that, whatever feels appropriate and realistic for you. Now you have three mindful boundaries around your smartphone that you can use to make your relationship to it healthier and less addictive, as well as helping you to build more focus, quality down time and deeper reflective periods for yourself.
Whether you choose to start practising mindfulness using your phone, or some other formal or informal method, the time to get started is always now!

Related article: Mindful concentration in an age of distraction
Motivating Yourself to Meditate Part 1 – Looking at How You Can Meet Your Needs Through Meditation

© Toby Ouvry 2017, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com

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