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The ages of distraction

aeon.co

31–33 of 33 posts

Re: The ages of distraction

#31

Having been the poster child for this not so long ago, my advice to others dealing with distraction is to read about Buddhism. The Eightfold Path is basically an algorithmic approach to resolving cognitive dissonance. Dissonance can be viewed as a form of brain spam. It makes you inefficient and illogical. It's also contagious for those who aren't inoculated against it. By finding the path and practicing it, the appr…

Do you have a recommended starting source for this practice? A book or reading that outlines the ideology and practices?

If you'd prefer a secular angle with some scientific background, Sam Harris's Waking Up is excellent.

Reading about Greek Stoicism (Seneca's Letters are a great starting point) and Buddhism and comparing their similarities is a great way to get the best out of both.

A book that's been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read it that might also be of interest is Edward Slingerland's Trying Not to Try, which focuses on the Chinese concept of wu wei which has much in common with flow.

Re: The ages of distraction

#32

The unoccupied mind is the workshop of the devil -Brazilian proverb

That proverb seems to have many origins and variants, including religious roots. But is idleness really the problem? One can choose to occupy one's mind with better things and even suppress negative inclinations.

Re: The ages of distraction

#33
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you clarify how it makes you feel? Is it that you feel you are missing out on social interaction that you desire?

It's like a drug addiction (Facebook, & to a lesser extent, cell phones). I enjoy it, but I do not accomplish anything I am proud of. I tell myself that I am more useful when I focus on making meaningful contributions to something, rather than stroking my ego by seeking likes or upvotes . I probably just need to balance things better, but I cannot... just as an addict cannot do just a little of .

I read Nicole Taylor's "Schooled on Fat - What Teens Tell Us About Gender, Body-image and Obesity" recently and I think it has some themes related to this feeling of helplessness. Just as the teens surveyed knew junk food was bad but couldn't resist it, we know spending too much time on these distractions is bad but we end up doing it. Interestingly, peer influence and social acceptability seem to be involved in this too, as it was in her study. We have to get 'social' so we don't appear to be odd and 'not modern'. And the media has been a major actor in strengthening and spreading these beliefs.
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