Mindfulness and Technology: The Modern day person lives in a world of multitasking. It is expected in both our personal and often also our professional lives. Modern day technology has created many distractions, and additional responsibilities, with the expectations of an immediate response, making it difficult to maintain a single train of thought, or focus our attention. To detox from this environment means getting your mind back and being in control of your mental and emotional environment- this requires being aware of your thoughts , or meta-cognition and ACTIVELY uncluttereing the mind by practicing and cultivating mindfulness. The goal of mindfulness is to allow your mind to focus on the here and now and on a single thing, without distraction- getting the mind back closer to the way things were before the advent of modern- day technologies and the distractions they bring with them. Numerous studies have shown that excessive use of technologies, in particular smart phones, especially smart phones in combination with social media, are changing the way people think and are actually restructuring the brain. The result is people that have an increasingly shorter attention span, that are less able to focus. This is especially damaging to young developing children. Excessive screen use has been documented, by MRI, to produce children with brains that are smaller that they should be- a literal restructuring of the physical architecture of the brain and the retardation of the brain's development. Social norms or mores take time to develop, they have not yet caught up with internet and computer use, which became mainstream and in common use about 1995. Smart phone use started with the iPhone in 2007 and has really become more widespread in the last 5 years, since about 2012. So rapidly has this technology taken over, that the effects of it's misuse are just beginning to be felt and the PROPER use of these devices has yet to be determined. Combine this with social media sites that are PURPOSELY designed to be addictive and you have an explosive combination. My saying with regards to present day misuse of technology: “In 100 years, people will look back at this era and consider us crazy”. These people of the future will not have an active smartphone by their bedside that they check every hour or two, disrupting their sleep and be responding to every alert on their personal device immediately- at least that is my theory. So what to do? Some suggestions of the many that can be thought of: One: Turn off the smartphone overnight. If you need to be available for a son or daughter out late, leave the phone in a mode that ONLY the child's call can be received. Two: Turn off all notifications for social sites, or even better take a ten day brake- notify your “friends” that you will be doing this if need be. Then THINK about the situation. Were you able to stay away for 10 days- if you weren't you may well be addicted. Did you feel withdrawal symptoms? BE HONEST with yourself. If so, you are addicted and these sites are taking you away form the real world- otherwise known as the HERE AND NOW. Three: Think about the actual and legitimate reasons you need to have the phone with you at all times and see if you can't minimize the necessity for immediate response. This requires placing reasonable expectations of responding to a text or voice message and having clearly defined parameters where there will be no response. Only when there are extraneous circumstances- for example a son or daughter being out late at night will the rules be broken. Social sites and calls from friends about unimportant things are not considered legitimate reasons for disrupting much needed sleep. Four: If you are addicted, get a clam shell “dumb” phone and have a support network of concerned friends or family that you can be accountable to. In summary, let's just re-emphasize the here and now: THE HERE: your actual physical location, this does not include the people or ideas or fantasy world in that smart phone and the NOW try to keep focused on the moment. The Bible is a little more broad in saying focus on TODAY and the problems therein: (Matthew 6:34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”). Please note that planning and preparing for future responsibilities is considered a part of “Today”, but the main focus should be today. Excessive focus on the past or the future is nonproductive. Not planning for the future is also foolhardy consider the wise and foolish virgins: Matthew 25 the five wise virgins had oil in their lamps- they were prepared having been warned the lamps would be needed when least expected, the five foolish virgins had the attitude of not taking the warnings seriously and thinking they would eventually get around to getting the oil if it was ever really needed. The foolish were caught off guard, and by the time they got their oil it was too late. This metaphor was mainly referring to Christ's second coming at the end of the world, where many people will not be prepared, but it can really also apply to salvation no one knows their last day on earth and to think you will eventually get around to be serious about Jesus is playing a dangerous game. Thank you for taking time to watch this video, I welcome your feedback in the commentary as I am always trying to improve both the content and quality of my productions. The process of navigating through world that is becoming increasingly wicked and distracting requires that people get back to a Baseline of what was normal not even before technology, but before all of the social engineering that has taken place in our society, but that is a subject for future videos. Those of us who are old enough to know what a more sane existence- not a perfect one WAS like have an obligation to preserve this knowledge and wisdom, impart it to those who have forgotten or teach it to those young people unfortunate enough to have grown up in the age of unbridled and unregulated technology.