How to Surf The Internet Without Losing Your Soul

How to Surf The Internet Without Losing Your Soul


from http://lifebeyondlogic.com/ blog of Nate Klemp....

So for this week’s experiment, let’s explore bringing this inner awareness into the virtual space of the Internet.
One strategy for overcoming this problem is Internet abstinence. To return to that yogic state of inner awareness, I could always stop posting on Life Beyond Logic and shut down my Twitter and Facebook accounts.
But that would be too easy. The more challenging task is to explore keeping the inward awareness that Emerson describes while surfing the virtual waves of the Internet.
So here are four practices to use this week as we explore the art of inner web surfing:

• 1. Enter Consciously – It’s easy to shift from real to virtual space without awareness – to flip open the computer and lose yourself in YouTube videos or email. See what happens when you make this transition consciously. Before you fire up Safari or Internet Explorer, take a few breaths, close your eyes, and go inside. Become aware of the shift in your conscious reality.

• 2. Surf With Your Feet, Not Your Head – I know, this sounds crazy. But the key problem with the Internet is that it’s an ungrounded space. It’s a purely external world that has no tangible physical reality. Here’s one way to stay grounded in your inner space: bring your awareness to your feet. Try it right now. See if you can read the rest of this post with your awareness on the connection between your feet and the floor. By continually shifting your awareness back to your feet, you anchor it to the inner world of experience.

• 3. Breathe – You’ve heard me talk about this at length a few weeks ago in the Breathing Experiment. The more you breathe consciously, the more you stay grounded inside.

• 4. Exit Consciously – Just as we tend to enter the Internet without awareness, we leave it without consciousness. So when you’ve finished surfing through emails, status updates, and tweets, put down the computer and take a few minutes to go inside. Focus on your breath and the sensations in your body. This is the time to shift back to the inner world of experience.