Stimulation junkie
nakazcid
Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran
Recently, my practice has made me realize how hopelessly addicted to stimulation I am. Whether it's video games, music videos or just surfing the web, I seem to constantly crave stimulation in some form. The irony is that while the stimulation does entertain and engage me (and kill time), it also makes me tense. Just how much so is really underscored by meditation, or any soothing activity. For example, throwing on some really relaxing music finds me bored, restless and twitchy, looking for my next fix. If I simply wait, I calm down some and actually start enjoying the music, but I still want to go get revved up.
Now, from a Buddhist perspective, what's wrong with wanting to get stimulated? Ah, sense pleasures. When they're taken away from me I suffer for their absence. This kind of stimulation also seems to make me tense, which has got to be a negative. On the other hand, I have a limitless supply of stimulation on tap, so why not indulge? No need to worry about running out...
So what causes this sort of stimulation addiction? What's wrong with indulging it if it causes no harm? If it is a genuine problem, how can it be cured? Why on earth do I want to be tense all the time?
Comments
It's called Modern Times -
While I'm not excellent at meditation, I'm quite good for a beginner at just being mindful of the sounds and simple stuff that's going on around me. It may or may not be something that you've taken seriously - yet, and I recommend it for what ails you in regards to the hyperness of modern life. I could almost guarantee that if you give it a whirl for a few days, you'll not want to stop.
I don't think your alone in this at all @nakazcid We are so bombarded by stimulation in modern day life, that we find ourselves bored if there isn't any background noise or images.
I think the thing is to find some kind of balance in this. Take up a hobby that makes you slow down and just appreciate nature. Just going for a walk once a day, with no artificial stimulation can bring you back into contact with the natural world. Even in the most urban settings, there's usually a park or somewhere to go that can take you out of the 21st century electronic bombardment.
Go out for a walk in nature, unwired. I do this a lot. You feel connected with nature rather than electronics. It's simple but effective.
Nature is very pretty, but I usually find it to be too hot, too cold, too wet or too buggy depending on the time of day/year. Today the heat index was 107 Fahrenheit. Not conducive to a carefree stroll in the park. I'm definitely a child of climate control.
There are also indoor pursuits to consider. Arts, crafts, reading, heck even a game of solitaire. Put aside some time each day to shut down the TV, laptop, and mute your phone. Go on a daily temporary electronic fast.
... wait ... did you think you were in control [lobster stifles manic laughter]
oh no ... non, non, non!
The monkey mind controls you! You are just a puppet being!
Welcome to the Real World (morpheus)
http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=274
The cure? Tantric method. Keep the monkey occupied with Dharma style activity as much and as often as possible ...
We sees you monkey ...
Yesterday, while waiting for my train to London ("Bright lights, big city... that's where I wanna be...!") I realised I had forgotten a book I had wanted to take, to read on the journey... And I thought, 'well, what am I going to do for the next hour-and-a-half?' and then it came to me. Nothing. Just sit. Relax. Enjoy the time you have to do nothing, just sit, and relax. Blissful....
@nakazcid
I have a photon addiction.
Any bright screen can captivate me like I'm a magpie looking at something shiny.
If a meditation practice is where one develops the equanimity to attend to whatever best needs attending to at that moment, then this stimulation addiction was the antithesis of that practice.
After years of trying all kinds of exercises to work with this issue in a mature fashion, I have in the end simply cut off my cable TV while limiting my computer time to 30 minutes per day.
Until I was actually prepared to give my meditation practice, a greater priority in life than my addiction, this addiction pretty much limited the depth of my meditation practice.
Some of the most difficult addictions to ever try to address are the ones which are sociably acceptable because few people will ever even see it needing to be addressed at all.
Food. Love food. Addicted to good food. And crappy food.
Had to totally change my 'attitood' to food, because I can't in all honesty, ever see myself going without it.
Sometimes you can't go cold turkey (Mmmmmm...cold turkey... with fresh home-made mayo, new potatoes.....!
) on an addiction, and you have to change your mental perception of that addiction to accommodate a healthy involvement....
So, Doctor, you're prescribing a radical Internet-ectomy? What will I do with myself?
That's not so rhetorical a question. Practically everything I do, professionally and personally, is tied to a computer. Even my music listening is tied to a computer. I don't have a hi-fi stereo, I have a nice sound card in my PC and a decent set of headphones, and most of my music is in the form of digital files, or streamed from a website. I got my start in Information Technology by fixing up computers to play video games on them.
I have some old hobbies that don't involve the Internet, so perhaps I could try playing music once more, or perhaps tabletop gaming. I'm not sure either of those is really conducive to Buddhist practice, though.
@nakazcid
Where I used to plug in, I now spend more time with Dharmic reading, formal meditation, going to the gym, evening walks, face to face social interactions or moving onto the next thing on an endless list of other things that need to be done.
It is not that the photon excitement is always so seductive for me, but I normally never seem to notice the transition where benign observation becomes the craving feed back loop that then rules my behavior..
What you will do with yourself in the absence of your obscuring dependence will be the same issue that going on a retreat will bring up.
It is always the question of ones priorities..
Facing our boogieman or slipping back behind the veils of our own ignorance.
Perhaps with you and your computer career choice, you could just start by delineating what is professional usage and what is optional.
It's a potential koan, for sure.
'Tis true, I read more about the Dharma now than I ever did before, except it's all on the computer. And then it is so easy to just click on Youtube and watch random garbage and let the feedback loop begin. On the other hand, I can also watch those wonderful Ajahn Brahm talks. Books are better than the Internet in that it's tougher to get distracted, but they're also more expensive than reading a web page or watching a video.
Anyway I'm making excuses for my addiction. I did try just listening to a mellow blues album, with the computer out of arms reach, a purring cat in my lap and a cool glass of water nearby. I thought it would be excruciatingly drawn out, but the time passed by pleasantly, though I still felt drawn to the computer. Need to do more of that.
Well, one good thing about the internet is how I do books...lordy I used to spend so much of my money on books bought at stores...I go to the library and if I like a book enough, can't get enough of it, I go to amazon and often they will have used copies for 99 cents (the s&h is 3-4 x as much but still worth ordering). It most definitely saves a bundle on books. Then, if I tire of the book, I donate it to the library who puts it on their shelves or sells it during their once- or twice-a-year big book sales....fwiw.
@silver you're correct about some used books being available cheaply, but I've found that Dharma books tend to be expensive, even used. In fact, I hardly read any books but Dharma books these days. Don't misunderstand me and think that I read a Dharma book a day; I really don't read that often. It's just when I do read, it's probably Buddhist teachings.
I've probably been to the library once in the past decade. The Internet really killed my reading habit...
So imagine you learn to stop slacking off by drowning in external stimuli. You'll sure have more time. What will you do with that additional time?
I've fought with this for a while. What I found is that it is indeed possible to suspend the habit of wasting time on the things you are talking about. But unless I have a clear intent as far as what I will do instead, I just fall back into the same patterns. It is really not the question of stopping doing useless things but rather the question of committing to doing useful things. The way to approach this is to say to yourself "I will do X" rather than just "I will not do Y".
I found that the only way to motivate myself to do something with my free time is to figure out how I can use that time to be helpful to the world. It doesn't have to be anything big but if I see an opportunity to make someone's day better, directly or indirectly, and then take that opportunity, then the problem of wasting time magically disappears.
I see the sole purpose of Buddhist practice as clearing and cultivating the mind so that it is more capable of perceiving how the present moment needs to be responded to in the most helpful way.
@shadowleaver my post had nothing to do with wasting time. That's not the topic at all. I was simply trying to start a discussion about being addicted to stimulation and how to deal with it. I'm not sure what you mean by "drowning in external stimuli".
You seem angry about something. Are you angry at me for living a useless life and wasting time? It's my life to live, and my karma if it's too useless. And I disagree with you about the purpose of Buddhism. I've been taught the purpose of Buddhism is the cessation of suffering, my own and others. That starts with my own mind, and stilling the chattering monkey running the show.
Exactly.
@shadowleaver was confirming a similar situation.
My approach is to accept monkey mind [shrug] but - here comes the dharma stim - to increase a certain type of stimulation.
I luvs my computer. Sure thing me too. I can play music from it. Watch dharma vids increasingly and use the very obstacle as part of the raft to the far shore.
Iz plan!
@nakazcid :
I am very sorry that my post missed the mark. I certainly did not mean to imply that your life is useless (that would be a harsh thing to say to anyone). Please forgive me for rubbing you the wrong way.
Be well!