The conversation for many of us these days is how technology is undermining our connectivity…how we spend more time looking down at or communicating through our phones and tablets and less through our fundamental human interactions. And how, to the horror of some, the younger generation is relying almost exclusively on this modality to live life.
I had a fascinating experience at a restaurant recently. A very young person was serving us and when we made a simple special request that wasn’t in the computer menu, he adamantly told us over and over that it wasn’t possible to meet that request because “it wasn’t in the computer.” We literally spent a good 10 minutes talking with him, and ultimately getting an “of course we can do that” from the older manager who prioritized making the customer happy over the computer readout. Instantly everyone softened and felt more connected, even the young guy who laughed and joked with us about it after. It turned out to be a teaching moment and also a window into the mind of a young person trapped inside technological boundaries—how it can literally disconnect us from each other on basic human levels. This was both fascinating and disconcerting to experience. I know many parents tell me they experience this all the time with their children, but in my own mind I take this very seriously as an issue to address for the sake of humanity.
In a world of increasing technological dependence, where some track almost every element of their lives through technology, we aren’t correlating our happiness to that. You notice how people aren’t really happier? I mean yes, studies conclude that quality of life is better now than ever in history, but “they” may not be really tracking deep inner contentment as an aspect of that. Mostly its that many no longer live in a survival state overall. We have our needs met easily through industrialization, goods and services now available at any time of day or night for most.
We look at all of this advancement, especially in technology, and we wonder why suicide rates are rising, why people suffer more with depression, addiction, split marriages and families, job insecurity. We rely heavily on outer technology to manage our lives, and even look to apps to help us gain more health, happiness and peace of mind. But on the inside…well, on the inside we can feel a drafty hallway of disconnection and confusion.
It seems like a good time to remind everyone that we are ourselves a vast biological, intellectual and spiritual technology. And we have evolved in ways that position us perfectly to adopt and embrace our brilliant inner technology. What do I mean by that? I mean that we have the resources within to compute, analyze, break down, unpack, deconstruct, reconstruct, understand, re-parent, unconditionally love, spiritually connect and heal almost anything in our lives. Putting so much attention on the outer technology is distancing us from our innate capacity to perform the basic human functions of happy lives, which is always an inside job. We are forgetting to feature our Inner authority as our lead actor.
Tapping the Inner Technology is a path, not a moment. It’s an orientation to life in which we use our minds, our hearts, our intuition, our spiritual connection, and our integrity to align our most cherished values with our thoughts and actions. It takes time to quiet down, reflect and refine. Our inner motherboard is unique to each of us, and designed for us, even though we find many universal human threads that link everyone. But as we become more dependent on the software of outer technologies, we forego the time to simply go within to our inner software which needs some reprogramming and updating from time to time, but that knows how to rewire and direct our lives to keep us grounded and connected. Do you notice how disconnected you can feel when relying on outer resources exclusively, and how much more reconnected you feel when you take time to stop, step into yourself, whether on a meditation mat or in nature, and let your inner guidance clarify things? It’s so simple, and yet so elusive in our fast-paced global lifestyles.
I believe that reconnecting with our Inner Technology is the key to our survival as a species, at least a survival that looks more like thriving than surviving. All of the bells and whistles ultimately become distractions, which is why we find such enjoyment and luxury in the simple pleasures in life, and design weekends and vacations for just that purpose. We crave reconnection with this deeply human experience. We must become again our own life programmer, wiring our inner software in ways that allow us to thrive together on this planet. We are one aspect of a living matrix that is humanity, and every link is crucial to the whole.
So what’s the homework? Take time every day, even 5 minutes, to check in on the inside, and use only your “inner technology” to process information or experiences for that day. And take time every day to have a meaningful conversation with someone that isn’t over text. If you can write down some thoughts about this each day, you will learn some interesting things about yourself!
Thanks for reading!
Melanie
Need help mastering these three skills? I can help. Email me at melanie@innertegrity.com, or visit my website at www.innertegrity.com/sessions.