Phone Addiction (Part 3), Too Much Information (Part 3) and Jackie Hill Perry
September 29, 2024
8 min read
•
Newsletter
{Body}
Phone addiction
Conquering your smart phone addiction is no easy feat due to its polychromatic LEDs, addictive EMFs and library of infinite knowledge being perfectly alluring to your ever-unsatisfied primate brain.
Of course, you can refuse to play the game and dump your smart phone for a dumb one. Or you can adjust a few settings to increase the resistance and reduce the excitement for using your phone.
But there’s a third option, too: a set of screen-time-reducing strategies based on the understanding that you can only say “no” to media consumption a certain amount of times before your self-control gives out, and you end up on yet another phone binge.
Here’s how it works: every time you see the TikTok or Clash of Clans or Gmail logo, you are presented with a simple (but often subconscious) choice: do I engage with this app right now, or not?
Unfortunately, over the course of a long day (and the hundreds of times you open your phone during it) it becomes harder and harder to say “no, not right now”, simply because you get physically and mentally fatigued.
That said, if you can intelligently design your phone’s user experience to minimize temptations, you end up not relying on your will power to say no, thus significantly decreasing your screen time usage.
[BTW…this phenomenon is why nutritionists often suggest to entirely skip the middle isles in the grocery store (where the processed foods are), and stick to the outer ring (where the whole foods are). By doing so, they claim, you won’t even have a chance to buy the junk. Out of sight, out of mind!]
{Mind}
Is there such thing as “too much information?”
More information ≠ better decisions, because “better decisions” first require that you make a value judgement.
How much should I bench press today? Well, would you rather have bigger muscles or more stamina?
Is it worth the extra ¢50 to purchase the organic tomatoes? Well, would you rather save money or invest in your health?
In other words, no matter how much information you gather on a particular topic it could never lead you to making the “best” choice, because “best” is always relative to what you care about.
Creating a better life, then, which is what most people believe “more information” will bring, is actually almost never about knowing more. Instead, creating a better life is largely about getting clear on what matters to you the most, and then making hard choices that accurately reflect those values.
For instance, if you claim that maintaining inner peace is your top priority, but you decide to get swept up in negativity by watching and reacting negatively the Presidential debate, then your choice did not align with your values, and your quality of life briefly shrunk as a result.
Strengthen your resolve and avoid consuming more information than you need. Watch your mind get happier and more intelligent as a result.
{Soul}
To know oneself and others as made in the image of God is to understand that God is neither the antagonizing grey-haired man throwing lightning bolts at faithless humans from heaven’s throne, nor the impersonal statistician unconsciously flipping coins somewhere far away from here.
No, to know oneself and others as made in the image of God is to understand that God is as everything.
God. Is. As. Everything.
God as flower; God as sky; God as rain. God as revolution; God as heart; God as recognition. God as human; God as neighbor; God as self.
The moment you remember that all are made in the image of God — all arise from and act as the same Source Field — an unmistakable, physical shockwave is sent through your brain and body, including and especially into your heart.
That energetic transmission results in a very real upgrade to your body’s systems, which — as a byproduct — allows for a clearer seeing and feeling of all those you meet.
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