Meditate to Connect, Create and Lead
Since we need to connect, create and lead regularly, it is our obligation to recharge every day.
For me, to unplug is to give up craving, to live mindfully, to move toward nirvana (Sanskrit for “complete liberation”).
Today, we suffer from a constant craving for information and the need to blast out whatever is on our minds to the rest of the world — thanks to social media. Unfortunately, all addictive behavior creates grief. And our addictive need to consume and share information is no different.
The Buddha — who knew a thing or two about unplugging — said:
“From craving grief arises,
From craving arises fear,
For him who is free from craving
There is no grief, then whence comes fear?As a tree with firm, uninjured,
Roots, though cut down grows up again,
So when latent craving is not rooted out
Suffering again and again arises.”
This passage has had a profound impact on my personal thinking. It refers to detachment as a practice to end craving and suffering. If we look at unplugging from this point of view, a few days of digital detox will be the equivalent to “cutting down a few roots” of a well-grown tree: craving will not stop.
Therefore, to truly unplug requires a disciplined approach to mentally detach from the in- and outflow of useless information. This detachment then becomes about — and maybe comes from — being mindful about what we do every day. Mindfulness has been described as “bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis.” It does not imply taking a vacation every other month or putting away your digital devices for a day or two to reach a fleeting grasp of what might feel like nirvana.
Read the full article @HuffPost.
