Information Overload

We live in an age of information overload, television, internet and magazines flooding our senses with a myriad of things, combined they can affect us just enough that the subsequent thoughts we may have seem like they are our own, and the decisions we make based on those thoughts seem rational.

Everyday, we are primed to spend our time or money on objects that often we do not even need.  A thought is planted in us so carefully that suppressing it feels like denying our most basic instincts.  It stirs our primal desires of power, sex, and influence. The results are obvious, and all around us. We are always looking for the next TV, the next smartphone, the next model of Car or the next television series to binge on. 

Today, we are all consuming information and material possessions at a startling rate, and we don’t seem to mind.  Society has become throw away and when it comes to entertainment and information, it's as if there is no such thing as too much. 

We engage in the use of social media as a means of connecting with others, We share everything from pictures of family to the latest pictures of our dog.  When someone confirms it with a like, it is a form of social validation.  

This search for approval is often the reason why we no longer look for an internal source of approval. We get used to asking others about who we are and become unable to see the reality for ourselves. If they tell us we are doing the right thing, then we must be; otherwise, we are not that sure. 

The post-Internet world is designed to distract us, to disconnect us from ourselves, and keep us that way.  A good sign of you having lost connection is that your true instincts feel like distractions, and distractions feel like true instincts.  When we are distracted, we feel bored, confused, and unmotivated. We become inclined to pick the easiest path from those available.

In life we are afraid of getting hurt, of looking at ourselves properly so distraction is actually preferred.  

Day to day, we are unconsciously seeing things, such as what happened at work or what our friend said to us.  At other times, we are often seeing things that we want to happen, or fear might happen.  The physical eye shows us one reality, which is often mundane, but the mind’s eye shows us a reality that can be quite interesting.  We unconsciously or consciously visualize things that either give us pleasure or fear. We imagine negative outcomes and think of ways to protect ourselves in case they happen, or we imagine positive outcomes like enjoying an upcoming vacation. Yet, both outcomes exist only the mind. The present reality contains no such thing.

Visualization is actually therefore like a double-edged sword.  Our attention moves from things that exist in the mind, to the things which exist in physical reality.

Reality is full of physical sensations, not imagination.

I can often experience multiple emotions at the same time. Sometimes, I can feel angry but also sad because of a current life situation. Sometimes, I can feel at peace with the world, but also feel a longing for something better. Sometimes, I can be full of gratitude, but not without a hint of pride.  My body responds to the emotions I am having, through physical sensations. When my palms sweat, I know that I am nervous, and when my heart races, I know it is a sign that I am excited or afraid. When I am worried, my breathing becomes shallow and my muscles and nerves tense up. When I am happy, I breathe easy and my body relaxes. The reason is, my mind is telling my body what to feel, based on what my mind is thinking.

I am so used to living this way that I no longer pay attention to what my body is feeling, without this input from my mind. As a habit, my body obeys my mind, not the other way around.

I know that when I am fully connected, I become whole, when I am connected it is possible for me to know my pleasures, desires, fears, ambitions, and anxieties for what they actually are.  I can perceive them with clarity and without any internal conflict.  With fear for example, I know that there is nothing dangerous actually taking place, except in my mind and my heart rate changing and my muscles tensing up is because of the fearful thought arising, my mind is telling me to be afraid.  It is a very familiar pattern to me, I have an overactive imagination and that's why I hate horror films, my mind struggles to tell me that it isn't real.  

When I am connected, instinctively I am stronger and I am able to understand what is right and wrong for me as a human being. 

A strong connection is sometimes all I need and in some cases, all I have, to keep me sane in this ever evolving world.