I had the good fortune to step back and take a Home Retreat last week. Beforehand, I looked at my diet. My “diet” is everything that I feed into my life: food, of course, but also exercise, socializing, Nature, spiritual connection, and……media.

Media has become so soaked into our daily lives that we hardly notice it. Screens are the go-to for any moment of boredom, even for children. Everyone has their phone available at all times. Content is constantly being streamed through our consciousness. With the current state of chaos in leadership, we are also being trauma-bombarded every day. And that is in addition to the daily stressors of just living and surviving!

Like most of you, I’ve been struggling to balance ‘being aware’ with mental health. It came to a head when I realized that I was having trouble falling asleep. I was also waking up during the night with anxiety. And these same issues plagued me the minute I woke up in the morning. Clearly, I was being poisoned.

For my retreat, I decided to forgo media for 6 days. (I texted and emailed, but didn’t do any social media or news.) The first days highlighted my level of addiction: I caught myself reaching for my screen and had to redirect myself. I noticed when I was triggered into thinking I wanted it. I continued to have invasive thoughts about what was going on, what I might be “missing.” After a few days without input, however, that began to taper off.

I detoxed. I found I had more free time and free head space. I intentionally took on creative projects that would wake up my right brain. I allowed myself to just sit and stare into space. One day, I even set up a chair in my backyard (on a pallet so I wasn’t buried in snow), wrapped up in a blanket, and sat there for an hour. By day 7, when I could have my phone back, I didn’t want it! I had returned to my True Self.

I would recommend this for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by media. Six days is a good amount of time  Two weeks would be better. Even two hours––any amount would be better than not doing it.

Other ideas: Accept the fact that all this Ugly is not going away any time soon––it will still be there when you come back. When you go zero-media, make a pact with someone else and help each other by checking in. Develop a list of healthy things you can do instead of media and refer to it when you need a substitute.

When you come back, don’t go back to the same behaviors. Decide how much media you need vs use. See if you can figure out the most disturbing aspects and reduce them. For me, visuals are difficult to remove from my mental looping so I’m doing more audio. Instead of getting pulled in multiple directions, choose one area where you can have an impact and focus there. Instead of wringing your hands, choose an action to take to address a concern.

Allow yourself time to recharge. Acknowledge that being energetically contracted doesn’t help you or anyone else. Anything you can do to return to a state of flow will be helpful. Here is an easy breathing exercise from The Next World (p. 58-59):

“Oma: There is a way of being in the world, a way of being that transcends the physical. As you know, transcendence does not mean leaving the physical world. It means incorporating the physical and the spiritual, being both at once. Then you are active in both Point and Zone simultaneously.

You are going to be entering a new world. You will need to be grounded and undistracted. This is the place to do this.

Oma turns her face skyward and slowly blows air from her O-shaped mouth. Then I do that, too. It brings me back into my lower body. She points a long-nailed finger at me and says practice that. I take a deep breath and raise my face to the sky. I shape my mouth into an ‘O’ and slowly release my breath. I feel my energy move down through my whole body, filling my torso, my legs, my feet, and joining the Earth. I am simultaneously reconnected with the Earth and expanded into the space around me.

Deep exhaling through the ‘O’ is the kind of breathing that many women instinctively choose during labor to reduce anxiety and connect with their lower bodies. There are many healthy practices that bring peace through this kind of breathing: lap swimming, brisk walking or hiking, yin yoga, meditation, sleeping. These practices produce extended, even, in-and-out breaths. Rhythmic. Creating energy balance through release and revitalization.”