Digital Detox - 5 quick tips to Rejuvenate yourself

“So, how was your day today?” - Is something you come across on a daily basis.

“Oh, well it's been fine.” - Is your usual tired out response.

Apart from the fact that the question was simply a formality on part of the inquirer, the lack of enthusiasm and energy in your response makes sure you don't encounter another similar question unless the inquirer is really into you.

On the other hand if the inquirer turns out to be your mom, dad, or any other elderly relative from your native village, you generally come across something like-

“When I was your age, I didn’t even know what ‘being tired’ meant.”

Usually you tend to overlook that with an air of amusement. Yet, if you someday decide to introspect and look for the reason, you should consider giving your day to day lifestyle a thought.

When we look at humanity today, especially the urban populace, we witness a society affected by a plethora of diseases that our ancestors would rarely have to deal with. Not just the effect or frequency but the intensity and the convolutions of these diseases have increased as well. If you take a closer look, they are taking a higher toll on humanity today, than what they have traditionally been able to.

“These ailments include an increased spell of headaches, lethargy, fatigue and insomnia, in addition to disrupted cellular development, reduced brain activity, fertility issues, increased heart rate, brain fog and memory loss among others.”

You realize that your urban lifestyle has been so completely different from that of your relatives back in the village. When you try and evaluate the same, It dawns on you as a strong counter argument that the life you have led has been far more comfortable, productive and promising. You live a 24x7 connected life, you make huge bucks ever keen on making more and you have the entire knowledge researched by the humankind just a tap away. Even if you were to go back to the village, could you survive there? No way!

However, when you ask yourself is your life fulfilled? You are stuck. You don't know what to tell yourself. Once in a while you can and do afford expensive vacations and that does provide you with temporary relief, but the effects fade away as soon as you are back.

So, what to do? You cannot stay on a vacation forever. Ever wondered what could be triggering these distresses in your life? The answer to this might shock you:

Let's try an experiment today. It might take anywhere between a week-10 days, but don't worry, you don't have to physically do anything apart from setting up the apparatus and observing! This experiment was conducted by Heartfulness practitioners and the results were astonishing. Heartfulness is a lifestyle practice that aims to purify the soul by placing heart at the center (locus) of existence. Relaxation, Meditation, Cleaning and Inner Connect are 4 different aspects of heartfulness.

The Experiment:

Step 1: Take a handful of sprout or cress seeds and place them near your WIFI router.

Step 2: Take another handful of the same seeds and place them somewhere far out of reach of the router.

Step 3: Observe the seeds as they develop, and surprisingly you are going to notice a stark difference.

The first segment above contains seeds that were kept near the WIFI router and the second image contains seeds that were kept far away (in another room).

As you must already have observed, the seeds that were kept in close proximity to the router were not able to germinate / develop properly while those kept away from it have developed well and display signs of healthy growth.

ONE thing that is clear

WIFI signals, intrinsically composed of Electromagnetic Radiations, are not good for a living cell. If they can hamper growth in plant tissue then they can definitely hamper growth in human tissue- at least in the more delicate ones. Delicate ones, like the ones we have in our heads. Same goes for 3g / 4g / Mobile Data and Bluetooth signals as well.

“Did you know? WHO places WIFI in the Carcinogen 2B category- with the likes of lead and other Metallic Oxides.”

But in a technology driven highly competitive society we are a part of, can you even imagine a life without the WIFI? Surely you cannot, but the least you can do is detoxify yourself to mitigate the impact. This Detoxification, like all others, begins with limitations: Towards that end, here are five different quick tips for you to detoxify your life-

(I) Controlling the Smartphone Addiction

Do we need to even discuss how addicted we are to our smartphones? Had Maslow been alive he would have definitely placed them in his triangle. Hence, our smartphone addiction needs to be addressed on a priority basis.

The best way to start off is to establish “no phone” hours in your daily schedule. Once you have left your office, make it known that you won’t be reachable until after dinner. The moment you reach home, make it a habit of keeping your smartphone at some place where it is not noticeable.

And keep in mind the golden rule. . .

“Next time, when your hand automatically fumbles for your smartphone, stop it midway and ask yourself ‘WHY’?”

(II) Limiting the Internet

Apart from the fact that internet surfing should go down with your smartphone avoidance, there are other reasons and methods for your being online. A lot of productive work happens online, but . .

“Randomly surfing through the internet is the main reason for causing addiction.”

You start with one article, a link within which leads you to another similar article and the same thing happens again. Within no time a chain is formed which then transcends into a loop. Make sure you use the web only when you have something productive in mind, and when you have, define a clear map and method of approach. Ask yourself- “What am I here for and exactly how much time should I be spending in doing that.”

(III) Breaking the Waves

By now, you can probably relate what harmful effects of Electromagnetic Radiations are, you can’t avoid them completely, so limit them as much as possible. Get yourself into a habit of switching off the WIFI router before going to bed at night. As for your smart devices, make sure you disconnect them by switching off their Bluetooth transponders.

“Declare your bedroom a ‘signal free zone’ and reserve it for meditating, relaxing and stretching purposes.”

Additionally ensure toggling flight mode on your smartphones if you keep them close to your head at night. If, however, the nature of your job prohibits you from going offline, take care to keep your phone in another room when you are off to sleep. You have to be strict with yourself in this regard.

(IV) Meditation

Meditation is perhaps the best way to detox from all sorts of impurities of daily life with benefits and implications reaching far and wide. I know you might be wondering that you have tried meditating earlier, but lost the track and enthusiasm midway? Perhaps then it is time for you to try meditating the Heartfulness way.

Begin with 10 minutes of Heartfulness meditation- a journey from the complexity of the mind to simplicity of the heart. While generally meditation seems challenging, heartfulness believes it is something that comes naturally to us all.

It's really easy- calm down, switch off the lights, tune in to some soft instrumental music and relax. Try focusing inwards and channelizing your thoughts. Suppose that the source of divine light is coming from within your heart and is attracting you. If you have any distractive thoughts, simply park them aside, don't try to force abort them and don't try to give importance to them either.

Give it 10 minutes on a everyday and you will experience the difference soon.

(V) Ample Sleep and Work/Life Balance

The fast paced lifestyle of the industrious empire has taken a toll on our sleeping patterns as well. There was a time when humans used to go off to bed with the sunset and then there is this time, the age of the internet, when you might end up staying awake the entire night.

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best medications for anything!”

A strict balance needs to be struck between your work and rest. There is a rule of 8 that experts suggest- Divide the 24 hours that you have into 8 hours each of work, leisure and sleep.

Conclusion

This summarizes our list of 5 points that you should follow in an attempt to arrest your increasing mental health issues. While we acknowledge that addiction and lifestyle are not things that one can give up easily, we need to remember that it is the small step that eventually culminates into a long journey. One steady step at a time will bring you closer to your objective. We at BhaiFi remain ever committed to your digital well being.

Cheers and Happy reading!