Return from Rehab

Well, I made it back from my solitary retreat and it was completely worthwhile.

The very first night confirmed to me that I was definitely addicted to the internet. Not because I was experiencing "withdrawal" symptoms, but a strong realization came to me that I have allowed the internet and to consume my awareness.

This is the same thing that television did to me when I was younger. When I was about 22 or so I completely gave up television, but shortly thereafter, I let the internet take its place. Kinda like swapping heroin for crystal meth!

This is a true addiction and I would say that television and internet are probably the most common addictions that people in this country and most of the developed countries experience. What is happening is that the TV and internet live our lives for us. We hook in to the stream of these images and mindless stories and thus give away our own life force. We shut out the world around us and our own nature, creativity, and passions are sucked out of us as if we have a vacuum cleaner attached to our head and our heart.

 Does this sound extreme or exaggerated? Try giving up TV and the internet for a whole week and see how you feel. As a matter of fact, have you ever went more than a couple of days without having your attention somehow absorbed in a form of technology? We are collectively robbing ourselves from the beauty of life, the beauty of nature, and our own creative potential by spending our time consumed by technology.

While I was on the retreat, I finally read "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau from cover to cover and it blew me away. It was the exact message that I needed to hear. I took many notes from the book and will be sharing them in the days to come. But even in Henry's day, people were unaware of how they slept through their lives by not being aware. Not being awake. And that is what the internet and television is doing to us: effectively putting us to sleep. If you don't believe me, how long can you give it up? How do you feel when you do?