I'm So Attached To Entertainment

[Max_V]

I've noticed recently that I automatically look for something to entertain me when nothing is going on. Watching Youtube videos on counter strike, checking my phone, etc.

I can't quit cold turkey with this, and I might not really want to either. I want to change the scale here. Instead of 70% entertainment and 30% reading, self actualizing, etc, I want to go to 70% reading, self actualizing and 30% entertainment.

Is there something you guys know of that can help me with this?

[Arkandeus]

I do the same....I practice acceptance..while I'm fully aware that I want to do more productive things I let my instinct guide me, and there are days when I do nothing, where my instinct just keeps me pointing towards entertainment and doing nothing....
all the meanwhile I'm very conscious that I'd rather do something more productive. 

but the thing is,I could if I wanted to ,engage my mind, make plans and force myself to do productive things all the time, very easily..but then I wouldn't be me. 
I would be ''doing'', I wouldn't be ''being''. 
I'd rather have that eventually the will to do productive things comes and flows naturally without any effort. 
for that I have to endure doing things that are not so exciting, things that are not so productive..like watching youtube, then going on 9gag, then watching anime...quite the ''enlightened'' activities right. 
but enlightenment is not about what one does....even though I have a deep wish to do bigger things in life, my surrender to these small almost senseless activities slowly leaves me with a taste of freedom and authenticity. 
these are small activities, but they are really my activities. I didn't plan them, I am conscious of a thousand other activities. 
I could go gather leaves in the forest, I could explore the city,I could socialize,I could learn programming,I could learn a language,I could try to travel,I could ride a bike or try a new sport,I could try to develop a game, or develop a song, I could meditate,I could read....so many things that I'm very conscious of that I could do instead of browsing the internet randomly...

but none of them have that real feeling of authenticity. they're just directions my minds wants to take
If I feel like doing nothing, watching anime and movies all day, that is a sacred feeling and activity, it's the only activity that feels genuine to me in that moment, therefore it is sacred. is a real direction of my inner being, because out of an infinite amount of activities in life I feel like doing those in that moment. 

on the surface these activities may seem silly or they may seem to not get you anywhere but to me this is the perfect way to enlightenment. 
instead of forcing oneself to do activities which your mind deems productive, you learn how to muster that will naturally, how to let these activities flow out of you naturally. 
this a skill to develop, it is normal that at first it seems dull. 

 

so you have two ways, you can either start forcing yourself to do productive activities. 
or you can wait and be patient, let your body, your inner self, go where it wants, like water flowing down a mountain, it will take the path of least resistance.
it may seem like your inner self only goes towards useless activities at first, but as you train this skill it will start flowing towards productive ones. training yourself to naturally drift towards more complex activities takes a lot of patience. 

 

both ways are good, whichever feels best to you is the right one

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Arkandeus

[Max_V]

@Arkandeus It has occurred to me that this comes in phases.

Sometimes I feel drawn towards reading and contemplating, watching videos from spiritual teacher, and doing productive things

 

Mostly after I've had an insight during meditation, or during something else, I naturally want to do things that involve a lot of entertainment. From playing Counter Strike all day, to watching Netflix. I feel really bad while doing this though, like I'm doing something inauthentic.  

 

Thanks for you opinion  , I will experiment with this!

 

[DavidBorja]

I actually do recommend you go cold turkey, but only for 7 days. No videos, internet, books, music with lyrics, tv, news, etc. This comes from a book called The Artist's Way at Work. The rationale: media is blocking out the thoughts and sensations that you are holding in your body/mind/spirit. Our inner world is buried deeper by every piece of media we pile onto it. Media is addictive, yet culturally acceptable, which makes it seem "fine". I think this needs to be challenged.

Some common struggles (usually don't last more than 3 days): Restlessness, mental chatter, boredom, cravings, anxiety, mild depression...

Some common benefits: Increased sex drive, sociability, reconfigured priorities, deeper meditation, deeper sleep, higher productivity...

Practically speaking: You can create your own rules, really. Cover your TV/PC with sheets. Temporarily hide/delete unnecessary apps in your phone. Ask a close friend to call you every night at dinner, to ask if you checked media that day (and be honest with them!) ... When thinking about what to do, ask yourself "Is this a 2-dimensional activity or a 3-dimensional activity?" 2D means you're passive to the experience (media, eating, shopping, drugs), 3D means you're actually engaged (creating, writing, studying, sports/exercise, deep self-inquiry, vulnerable conversations, etc). If you can't decide on something to do, then don't! Lie down in a park and breathe. Think of this is as serious YOU time.

Feel free to journal the process: The emotions that come up. Log how you're actually spending your time and see if other soft-addictions might be present (busy-ness, food, sex, procrastination, gossip, etc.) Get in touch with why you want to self-actualize. Prioritize the subjects you truly want to read, for when you're ready to hit the books!

-

This process REALLY helped shake me out of a deep media addiction of my own last year. I return to it here and there whenever I'm feeling jaded, frustrated, or compulsive with my media intake (I also work in animation on computers all day, so this takes a lot of dilligence).

@Arkandeus I disagree with your approach. I don't think enlightenment can come from a screen. Media can convey enlightening ideas, but that's all those are going to be: ideas. Labels. It sounds like you're heavily justifying your media addiction by calling the addicted part of yourself your "authentic self". I hope you also consider taking a break and getting out of the house.

[Arkandeus]

12 minutes ago, DavidBorja said:

 

@Arkandeus I disagree with your approach. I don't think enlightenment can come from a screen. Media can convey enlightening ideas, but that's all those are going to be: ideas. Labels. It sounds like you're heavily justifying your media addiction by calling the addicted part of yourself your "authentic self". I hope you also consider taking a break and getting out of the house.

allow me to disagree with your disagreement my friend. 
see I believe enlightenment is about being, not about doing. 
one may watch media in an infinite amount of ways...you can be so many things while watching that media, and in the way you watch it. 
one can be unconsciously consumed by it, or one can be conscious during it. 
the way I consume the media is not at all the same as before when I did it unconsciously. 

I'll give an example of people dancing at a social event. 
one guy may be dancing but thinking how to approach a girl, one guy may be dancing but self-consciously thinking about how his dancing looks to others, one guy may be on the look out for a good song, one guy may be while dancing thinking about a distant memory, one guy may be while dancing be reminded of a dream by one of the songs, one guy may be while dancing thinking about getting more drunk, one guy may be looking to start a fight, one guy may be comparing the way certain people dance and their movements....my imagination is not nearly extensive enough to describe the infinite amount of states of can have during the activity of dancing. 
this applies to anything. 

you cannot put a tag of enlightenment on certain activities and not on others. 
would enlightenment really be as limited that it is impossible to consume modern media in an enlightened way?
isn't enlightenment something that comes from inside rather then outside? then how can an outside activity prevent an outburst from the inside?
everything is always in the eye of the beholder, media is human culture, from it many things can be observed and learned, beyond just mindlessly being entertained, that is my opinion at least

Edited July 14, 2017 by Arkandeus

[DavidBorja]

@Arkandeus  I agree that arts and media are important aspects of culture, and can help us grow in empathy, knowledge. They can help us relax.

It just seems to me that the media you described:

Quote

watching youtube, then going on 9gag, then watching anime

are not high-consciousness sources, I imagine. Of course there are great youtube channels, thoughtful 9gag posts, and good anime, but these are all under the umbrella of media-consumption, IE solitary screentime.

I appreciate your emphasis on being over doing. If that's the case, why bother with media at all? The joy of being is inside you, not in the media.

Edited July 14, 2017 by DavidBorja

[Max_V]

@DavidBorja That's the point here, when your mind is still in control, and you feel this compulsive need for entertainment, what do you do?

I think the mind needs some discipline ones in a while, but isn't also okay to just let it go sometimes?

What I'm doing now is far too much of the entertainment. I think I will discipline myself to lessen it for now until I feel like I can control my needs without getting consumed by it.