Breathing Through a Want

I am practicing a new skill- breathing through a want. It goes like this: 1. I want something- say to turn on the "drug" at the end of the day (the TV). 2. I feel the desire. I have practiced becoming aware of these idle desires for some time now. 3. I just breathe through the inertia that tries to form which would lead me to seek the goal. 4. I wait a while, thinking about the fact that I am waiting. That is what I do with the energy of the want.

I am frankly amazed at how much energy I am recovering with this simple practice. For example, letting go of the want takes far less energy than getting up, getting the clicker, and figuring out what I might watch. (Since we no longer have cable, some level of intention and preparation is necessary for us to watch the tube- a planned strategy).

A little more difficult is staying with whatever discomfort it was that gave rise to the want. Easy: the discomfort is tiredness, boredom, the want is to turn on the TV for escape. Hard: the discomfort is low energy, hunger, the want is to eat something not very nutritious.  

Life in 140 Characters or Less

Have bailed out of regular blogging to Facebook, enjoying the novelty of it, and truly savoring the memories generated by finding folks from the past. Loving to hear the stories of where their lives have taken them, once the connection has been made. 

It's entertaining, indeed, but does not replace the spiritual exercise of diary-writing as I have been using my blog. In general, I do not believe that sharing in 140 character blurbs is a good habit to build. It feels like rock skimming. 

Just as it is easy to let junk food suffice for real nourishment (in the short run), so it is easy to let shallow contact suffice for intimate human connection. Sure, it can be said that Facebook is not meant to be anything deep. OK, but McDonald's isn't meant to be particularly nourishing, either. Yet, we accommodate to the low level of nourishment, acquiescing to its ease of use, and are not conscious of its connection to our lessened well-being. 

Well, I'll let the Facebook fun go on, wary of it nonetheless.