"Meditation is a neutral and very powerful tool. The choice is what are we going to meditate on? Most people let themselves be guided by a culture that this trying to make them buy things or make them afraid through the news. When we watch television and we see a commercial, it is like a guided meditation on dissatisfaction. We have to guide our meditation in a positive direction. We do this when we meditate on freedom, on penetrating to the deep nature of reality. In other words, if we meditate on being egotistical, we will become more egotistical, but if we meditate on being selfless, we will become more caring and altruistic. When we experience ourselves as totally integrated with everyone, we are naturally going to be compassionate and kind to them."
i never really thought of tube time as meditation, but after reading these words i can see how this is so true. so often, we sit in front of the television and vegetate. vegetating is meditating, right? so whatever is streaming into our consciousness is going to marinate for as long as we sit on the couch with the tube on. and then it becomes a part of us. this is scary. and so powerful. advertisers are changing who we are on a cellular level through commercials. seriously. this is true. and this is CRAZY. it's like brainwashing. no wonder why every kid i see has a friggin pillow pet. that commercial must run a hundred times a day. they almost have no choice but to put the thing on their christmas lists.
i just had a conversation with my daughter's montessori teacher yesterday about how different children are these days. how much bolder they are with adults. how quick they are to inflict an abrasive comment on their teachers. there is little doubt, for me, that the kids learn this snarky behavior from TV. the way children act on "family" sitcoms is atrocious. the characters are rude to their parents, they are rude to their neighbors, they are rude to other children's parents. (i'm thinking of shows specifically on disney and nick - "iCarly" and "Good Luck Charlie" such.) whether we choose to believe it or not, the fact is, our children are modeling their own behavior after these characters. they think that these actors are cool. and they think that the behavior of these characters is... wait for it... NORMAL. scary.
and then, of course, is the programming that is pouring into that wide open channel in our adult brains while meditating in front of the TV. through most news media and dramatic programming we are being programmed to fear. notice how the tense of the verb changes. we are no longer actively making a decision about how our brains are functioning, the television producers are making decisions for us. we ARE BEING programmed. not to get all big brother on you, but, well, it's sort of like big brother. right?
last year, i banned all real housewives and most news programming from my house. this was a big decision for me. i reaaaallllllyyyyy loved my housewives. BUT. while watching the new york housewives reunion on bravo, my husband walked into the room and sat down on the couch. the women on TV were verbally slaying each other and hubby goes, "oh, v, my jaw is getting tight just listening to this." and then i scanned my own body. my chest was tight and i had a big lump in my throat. i turned it off and walked away for good. and then i noticed the physical reactions i had while watching other programming. intense. i encourage readers to do a physical scan while you watch TV. it's madness. so now i limit my TV intake to programming that lifts me up or educates me.
my kids love TV. i usually let them watch PBS, discovery (they love "river monsters") and some nick jr. but as of today i'm pulling in the reins. (oh, god, please give me the strength to do this.) if they are going to do something as powerful as meditate on an idea for 30 minutes, it's sure as shit not going to be what some dude at disney wants for my kids.
meditation is a powerful tool. maybe THE MOST powerful tool. time to turn the channel.
peace, love, gratitude,
v
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