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likely to be some version of “your presence” or “your loving attention.” Presence has no measurable product except positive feelings, feelings of support, intimacy, and happiness. When we stop being busy and productive and switch to just being still and aware, we ourselves will also feel support, intimacy, and happiness, even if no one else is around. These positive feelings are a “product” that is much desired but that cannot be bought. They are the natural result of presence. They are a birthright that we have forgotten we have.

Final Words: Don’t be annoyed when you have to wait; rejoice in extra time to practice being present.

13

A Media Fast

The Exercise: For one week, do not take in any media. This includes news media, social media, and entertainment. Do not listen to the radio, iPod, or CDs; don’t watch TV, films, or videos; don’t read newspapers, books, or magazines (whether online or in print form); don’t surf the Internet; and don’t check on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

You don’t have to plug your ears if someone tells you about a news event, but do avoid being drawn into a conversation about the news. If people insist, tell them about your unusual fast. You may, of course, do reading that is necessary for work or school.

What to do instead? Part of this mindfulness practice is discovering alternatives to consuming media. Hint: do something with your own hands and your own body.

REMINDING YOURSELF

Cover the TV with a sheet, or put a sign on your car radio and computer screen reminding you “No News or Entertainment This Week.” Let magazines accumulate and consider putting any newspapers you subscribe to straight into the recycling bin. You would do this if you went on vacation—why not now?

DISCOVERIES

I invented this task for a student who suffered from a very common problem—chronic, low-level anxiety. At the end of a six-day silent retreat he shared with me his happiness over his calm state of mind. An hour later, at lunch, however, I heard him fuming, as usual, about the terrible state the world was in. An admitted “news junkie” who grew up in New York City, he undertook a media fast with great reluctance.

He discovered that his state of mind was good upon arising, and while doing his early-morning meditation. But as soon as the meditation ended, his habit was to grab a cup of coffee and turn on the morning news, “So I can see how the b*!tards have messed up now.” During the media fast he was surprised to find that if he wasn’t up on the latest news, it didn’t really matter, at home or at work. He was, however, experiencing a much calmer state of mind, as was his patient wife.

One difficulty during “withdrawal” is finding an activity to substitute for the time usually spent with the media. You can meditate, take a walk, play a game with your family, cook something from scratch, weed the garden, take photos, do artwork, learn a new language or how to play a musical instrument, or just sit on the porch and relax.

You might discover that not knowing the latest news makes you feel powerless, lazy, or stupid. People ask me, “What if something important happens, such as a fire or a terrorist bombing?” I say, “Don’t worry, if it’s that important, someone will tell you about it.”

DEEPER LESSONS

For the first two hundred thousand years of human history, we were only exposed to the news (and the suffering) of those immediately around us in our tribes and villages. We saw birth, sickness, death, and wars, but on a limited scale. Only in the last forty years or so has the news media poured the suffering of the entire world—wars, natural disasters, torture, starvation—into our ears and eyes every day, day after day. This suffering that we are helpless to fix accumulates in our mind and heart, and makes us suffer in turn. When the mind and heart become too full of pictures of violence, destruction, and pain, we must take time to empty ourselves.

A media fast is one way to do this. (A silent meditation retreat is even better.)

People who work with trauma victims are known to