Hyper-Reality: Friend or Foe?
Watching this video: "Hyper-Reality", I was agast! While technology can indeed augment our lives for the better, this over-the-top vision of capitalism has me concerned. Knowing how important nature is to our health through the study of Oriental medical philosophy, the cage of addictive deception that this segment demonstrates shows how completely disconnected we can become when technology rules us. And then what?!
I see it everyday. I am proud to be a dinosaur (one who still does not have a cell phone). The folks I treat, my friends at a party, other diners in a restaraunt show the addictive nature of the smart phone. They bow their heads to it as they scroll the feed or answer a call. And the industry continues to make it as addictive in nature as is possible with the technology at hand. No pun intended.
Many who discover that my husband and I do not own a cell phone are surprised at first. Then they look at us with a wistful look that says they wish to some extent to be free of their addiction to the cell phone in hand and the relentless nature of the technology that rules their life from sunup to sunset. The stress they feel when they turn their cell phone off. The anxiety they show when they get a call during treatment, having forgotten to turn off the phone. The niggling curiosity. Who is it? Is it important? Is it someone playing a word on my word game?
I wonder if this will cause society to be less respectful of nature? Will this set the stage for total rape and pillage of the planet as we are distracted by the gamification of life? My husband said it best: "Watch the whole video. It gets shut off at some point and you really want it back! Because everything is so dull and horrible in reality."
Smart-Phone use is a taxation. It pulls energy from you while giving you a sense of being fulfilled and secure. Like sugar, an empty calorie, it lulls you into thinking that it is making life better. And all the while, too much consumption of sugar causes great disharmony in the body. Too much consumption of technology gives you a false sense of connection and sparks the release of feel good chemicals in much the same way that cocaine or opioids do. That is the addictive quality that the Industry is counting upon to keep you paying them big bucks.
And let us consider programming. How independent will your thoughts be when you are constantly being fed the "party line"?! We need daydreaming time.
We get daydreaming time when we are away from technology and immersed in nature. I use my backyard for this. And when there is time, I go for walks in parks and on trails. Yes, I'm a pansy and need a trail. I am not a total immersion fanatic that goes out into the wild woods. Perhaps one day I will be. These days I garden or sit on my patio or under one of my many trees and watch the bees build a hive, the hummingbirds land on a tree branch before partaking of the nectar in the bird feeder, bunnies play the jump game, and red and yellow birds drink from the many water dishes we have placed strategically through the yard. It feeds my Jing.
Jing is an Oriental Medical Philosophy term that is hard to translate into English. Basically it supports growth and reproduction and is linked to longevity and vitality of living. We get it through the act of appreciation. That first breath of morning as you take in the sunrise. The feel of the dew on your bare feet on a lovely Summer's morning. The feel of your hair being brushed up with the wind of a hummingbird's wings as it pushes its way to the honeysuckle. The beauty of a flower that is flourishing. These gifts of nature feed us and grow our vitality. They bring our energy to a calmer resonance that some refer to as "grounding". Humans are connected to nature and have been for a long time. Only recently, perhaps the last century, have we become more and more distant from nature. Roosevelt noticed it when he was president and thus we have the National Parks to preserve nature in her untamed glory.
I'm not saying to trash your devices. I am saying to take a respite from them regularly and find nature and bathe in her comforting arms. Larry Hagman used to take a day a week to stop talking so he would better understand communication. Perhaps you can take a vacation from your devices once a week to allow your system to reset. Remember, baby steps! so start out small. Take a couple of hours and stay away from your games, emails, texts, etc.. Then you will begin to see how addicted you are or are not to technology. Be the ruler. Don't let it rule you.
Truth is that we will probably have to jump on the Smart-Phone Band Wagon soon. We are noticing the divide. So I too will be walking this fine line of using technology to be more efficient and productive while staying in tune with nature thus maintaining my health.
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Mary S. Wallis, L.Ac., NCCAOM Acupuncture Diplomate, L.M.T., C.N.M.T.
Energy Medicine Practitioner in the Japanese styles of Kototama/Inochi Medicine and Usui Reiki
President Improved Performance Inc.
895 rue St. Francois
Florissant, MO 63031
www.HealingStLouis.com
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