404 Error: The Internet has disconnected you from your body
Week 24: The Brilliance Experiment
Welcome to The Brilliance Experiment, a 52-week reclamation the magic we lose when life gets hard. It’s week 24! And boy, are things getting interesting…
This week, I’m sharing how the Internet disconnects us from creativity and life force energy, the ongoing podcast fast I thought would only last one week, my plan for clearing my doom piles and doom closets over the next few weeks, why I think yoga teachers need to lighten the f*ck up, and more. Thanks for reading!
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
It’s alarming to think about the number of us who are waking up, scrolling Instagram, going to work, watching Netflix, going to bed, and doing it all over again tomorrow. And then, we wander around our lives wondering why we feel so stuck, stagnant, and aimless
I’m on day 14 of a podcast fast that was only supposed to last 7 days, because it took about 6 days for me to stop distracting myself with literally anything else and start experiencing what I set out to find.
The first thing I heard on day 6 was a whisper to take better care of my physical body. This is not news! I’ve been talking about finding a more challenging and consistent routine for MONTHS (yes, I am she of whom I speak— doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.)
But this time, it feels a little different.
Several weeks ago I interviewed my friend
, who is a fantastic resources for all things ADHD and physical therapy.Initially, I wanted to write a piece called 5-exercises-for-the-chronically-online-and-currently-hunched-over-their-phones-like-a-prawn (or something like that), but synthesizing the enormity of our conversation has been more complex than I expected, because it’s not that simple.
Sure, there are some important stretches we can do, but early in our conversation, Nate brought up that sitting in front of our computers and slouching/scrunching our shoulders while doomscrolling is cutting us off from our Qi (Chi). Qi is Traditional Chinese Medicine’s principle that there is a vital life-force energy that runs through us and keeps us sentient, alive, creative, loving, and whole.
According to TCM, Qi runs through meridians in the body, invisible pathways that move energy and help us to feel healthy and alive. This is why people love things like Reiki, QiGong, and acupuncture even if they can’t exactly explain why. There’s some spoooky energy reconnection going on!
3000 years ago, in India, they were landing on something similar called chakras. The TLDR on Chakras is that it’s an energy system that basically runs from your tailbone up out of your head and into the world… which makes this argument even more compelling in my opinion!
Too much time on the Internet is cutting us of from our gorgeous, sensual, creative life force energy.
You mean to tell me that your screen time is over 8 hours a day, most of which is spent folded up like a prawn and it’s not cutting you off from your essential life force?
In Big Magic Book Club (we’re on week 3 of 6!), last week’s reading touched on how if you want to do better creative work and feel more creative and inspired, you need to ensure that you are an open channel and willing participant for creativity when she arrives and taps you on the shoulder.
I think that’s why this podcast fast has been so profound…
It’s a radical change to my inputs.
On a typical week, I’d put on a podcast while doing chores around the house (or to keep me distracted from the horrors of the modern world.)
Without them, however, I’ve noticed a curious return of joy and lightness.
I’m listening to more music, which has me dancing and singing more (thus moving the Qi!)
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