Digital Mindfulness

Social media and cell phones can draw us in and take our attention to places we don't want to dwell in. This meditation may help you develop a sense of mindfulness with your cell phone. It includes tips to protect our children and our bodies.

Transcript

Cell Phone Mindfulness I would like you to turn off the sound and place your cell phone beside you face down.

This practice is about opening up our experience of how we make use of this powerful technology.

Instead of closing down our awareness and letting this device's screen become a rabbit hole that we fall mindlessly into,

We are really willing to grow and learn to see the negative states it might draw out of us.

Again,

Smartphones,

The internet,

Social media,

And other digital technologies aren't inherently bad.

They are,

However,

Dangerously addictive.

Digital devices are hyper-arousing and stimulating in the exact same way of cocaine addiction.

Experts now call these technologies digital drugs.

Somehow,

We're not so careful when it comes to placing these digital devices in a young child's hands.

Children's brains are very fragile in development.

Children don't have a fully developed frontal cortex,

The part of our brain that allows us to control impulses and mindfulness.

An adult can engage in something stimulating like coffee,

Dancing,

Or sexual arousal.

Then become mindful and stop the action.

Children don't have this breaking mechanism in their brain.

So now let us,

For the sake of our children and us,

Become more aware and mindful in this present moment.

I would like you to sit comfortably in an upright position.

Close your eyes or have a downward glance.

Take a full deep breath into the belly.

Let yourself feel the nuance of how the breath enters and leaves the body.

I want you to take a deep breath through the nose to the count of three,

Then exhale through the mouth to the count of five.

Inhale fresh cool breath through the nose.

Exhale used warm oxygen.

At any time that your mind starts to drip,

It's okay.

Just return back to the breath.

Feel the weight of your body on which you are resting.

Pinch your toes and fingers in a tight squeeze.

Now release them and spread them far apart and out.

Let's repeat the squeeze in and flare out.

Rotate your wrists in one direction.

Now rotate your wrists and ankles in the other direction.

Gently roll your neck to one side and reverse to the next side.

Now squeeze your face and lips like you just bit a living.

Then open your mouth and eyes in a wide surprise.

Let's repeat this.

Squeeze your face together and then spread everything open wide.

Hold your breath in your cheeks.

Puff it to one side,

Then the other like a chipmunk.

Roll the air to the front of your lips and then release.

Now let's rub your hands together.

Make them warm and then start at your nose and stroke your face upwards to the hairline.

Let's tap your teeth nine times.

Run your tongue around the outside of your teeth to the left and to the right.

Feel the saliva that's pulled up in your mouth.

Now let's swallow slowly,

Feeling it go down,

Refreshing your throat.

Rub your hands together once more and then place them over your eyes.

Do you see the white light of energy?

Roll your shoulders towards the back three times.

Now let's try to pinch an orange with your shoulder blades,

Shooting your breastbone up and out.

Release the squeeze.

Now roll your shoulder three times to the front.

Raise your shoulders up to your ears and let them drop hard.

Let's pull your shoulders once more up towards your ears and just let them fall.

Shake out your arms.

Bring your attention to a place in your head right behind your eyes.

Take a deep breath in and let it out with a hum.

Feel your teeth and cheekbones vibrating.

Once more,

Big breath in and let it go out with a hum.

Feel the calmness in your body.

Now let's stretch your spine up a little bit taller.

Tuck your chin in slightly.

Keep your head and neck back and regally upwards.

Remember to maintain this good posture when you're using your cell phone.

For every 15 degrees that your head is angled downward,

You're adding 10 pounds of weight to your neck and back muscles.

Use your arms to lift the device to your line of vision.

Never hold the cell phone close to your body.

Because of the EMR,

The electromagnetic fields disrupt your hormones.

Even with your cell phone off,

It still emits radiation.

And never,

Never store it on your body.

Three breaths in.

A breath in with good and upright posture.

And out with slouching and head tilt.

In with good habits.

And out with harmful practices.

In with mindfulness.

And out with casual unawareness.

Without changing your posture and your cell phone still face down,

Pick up your cell phone.

Did you detect anything different in your body when you picked up your phone?

Did your heart beat a little faster?

Did you get a little dopamine release?

For some people,

Just this action can cause them to come out of awareness.

If so,

Return your consciousness to the breath.

Now feel the smoothness of the contour of your case,

The weight with no active thought.

Just the sensation of your hands and fingertips running over the buttons.

Just be an observer.

Be here and now with no plans but to just be.

Turn your cell phone over slowly.

Where did your eyes go first?

Did you notice to see if you had notifications?

How did that feel in your body?

Notice and if they arise,

Just gently label them.

A want,

A frustration,

Restlessness,

Fatigue,

A sense of doubt.

Come back to the awareness of how your breath feels.

See if you can keep your awareness lightly connected to the sensation of breath and simultaneously see if you can notice if any of the following are showing up.

Observe.

Is there an impulse drawing your thumb or finger to open an app,

To check an email or some other aspect of your phone?

Is there a sense of being pulled towards something?

Get curious as what this want,

This desire actually is in the components of your body and mind sensation.

Notice the pull and see if you are willing to just ride the impulse without following it.

Now we're going to set the phone back down beside you face down.

Come back to your breathing and close your eyes.

Is there something about looking at your phone or putting it down that stirs frustration or anger?

Are you feeling frustrated over not immediately opening your phone and using it?

Can you perceive all that is showing up right now?

How often do you impulsively reach for your phone?

It's like a huge magnet that draws your hand towards your pocket,

As if spending 40 seconds with your own thoughts is impossible.

If you are drawn to your phone,

Ask yourself,

Am I checking the phone for information I need to make a connection,

Out of boredom,

To escape the present moment?

If you don't really need to check your phone,

Just leave it alone.

Notice the urge to get online,

Arise and eventually subside.

Does looking at this small object cast any doubt on how you manage your daily life,

Your attention about the sense of control in your life?

Can you just stay with these thoughts,

These feelings that are joined to the body and just let them be?

I challenge you to give yourself a screen curfew of 90 minutes before you go to bed.

The blue light increases the cortisol and the cortisol has an inverse relationship with melatonin and disrupts your sleep.

Consider going beyond any current practice of mindfulness you've incorporated in your daily life.

Maintain good posture for the sake of your organs that you are compressing and strangling with bad posture.

Release the tension in your neck and shoulders by constantly looking down.

Keep your arms up holding your device.

Keep the EMR away from your body,

Especially your lap where all your reproductive organs reside.

Be a champion for our children against big business capitalism,

Preying on them to line their pockets and public ignorance.

Heed the American Pediatric Association's advice that young children should not have digital devices until their frontal cortex has developed.

Consider making your cell phone and all other digital devices a cue for waking up instead of checking out.

Reviews

Just what I needed. Thank you.

That was truly amazing.

Thank you, that was wonderful! You are so right. We don't realize what all this social media & distraction takes away from our lives. That felt so good to stretch and shake, breathe and pay attention to what's going around us.
Namaste 🙏❤🕊☀️

Thank you so much. That was inspiring and eye opening. Everybody should listen to this meditation. Yesterday I deleted the Twitter app from my phone and I deleted my Instagram account. Spending so much time on social media sites doesn't add any value to my life. I wanna move forward and stop procrastinating. We're wasting so much precious time and, as I learned, even hurt our bodies. 😞

Wonderful, bookmarking and will be returning to often. I loved that last line about using the devices as a cue for waking up rather than checking out. I think if I keep that in mind it will really help. Thank you

Incredibly helpful and an eye opener 🙏

Very relevant in todays world. Also interesting style. Thank you
🙏🏻💫

Great advice.
Thank you.
Namaste 🙏

I feel it could slow down a bit... Seemed a bit rushed but I still enjoyed it. Thank you

I enjoyed this practice and especially liked the movememts of the body. Thank you x

Very helpful insights and practical actions to take to break unskillful habits

Fabulous pattern interrupt ( as davidji would say!) thankyou

Well. I started with a smile at the “rabbit hole” phrase bcuz it certainly can be. Thank you for the cautionary reminder that this object in my hand needs more than a single kind of attention. ✌🏼

I sort of knew these things, but now I really know these things. Thank you!

Great information, I want all of my family members to listen to this meditation.

That was different! But really good advice and exercises to use - would have liked the instructions for those to be a little less rushed - but that's just me 🙂 thank you for putting this on IT 🙏

Great tips and an excellent guided self awareness practice.