Just unplug it

Due to technical difficulties with Audioblogger, today's post will be of the old-fashioned written variety. And that's actually fitting for the topic I want to talk about today: unplugging.

First, let me assure you that I'm just as "wired" as the next person. I have wireless broadband Internet in my apartment and often travel with my laptop. I own a cellphone as well as a VoIP cordless landline phone. I have a stereo in my home office as well as a radio/CD player in both my kitchen and bedroom, and although my cable-free TV doesn't (inexplicably) get any channels other than E!, I keep somewhat up-to-date on movies and my favorite TV shows thanks to Netflix.

So, I'm not suggesting that you should get rid of your high tech devices, since then you'd not be able to read and listen to my blogposts! Instead, I'm suggesting that sometimes it can be incredibly fruitful to unplug.

One day last summer I drove to Boston where I spent a sunny afternoon strolling and enjoying the sights. As I walked across the Public Garden, I noted with bemusement that I was the only person walking alone. There were plenty of people who didn't have walking companions...but every lone walker I saw (with the exception of a few homeless folks who were talking to themselves) was either chatting on a cellphone or listening to a Walkman or Ipod.

In other words, everyone I saw walking in the Public Garden that day was "plugged in," focusing on the conversation of their companions, talking to a friend via cellphone, or drowning out the day with music. Although I'm as fond of music and conversation as anyone, it seemed sad to consider that no one was taking the time (significantly, everyone I observed was walking rapidly) simply to enjoy an unfiltered day in the park. Because of the virtual omnipresence of cell phones and personal musical devices, nobody was enjoying the simple silence of a summer's walk.

When I lived at the Cambridge Zen Center, there was one house rule that I appreciated above all others. Although the wake-up bell rang at 5 am and morning practice began soon thereafter, house rules stated that residents and guests should keep silence until 7 am. If you imagine the noise and hubbub that naturally occurs in a house with some 30 residents, you can appreciate how precious that morning silence was. Although I'm a talkative person, I don't necessarily feel at my chatty best upon first awakening. By making a shared agreement to keep silence until 7 am, residents worked together to create a space for practice (or for sleeping residents who didn't hear the wake-up bell!)

These days, I try to do three things upon awakening: I do 108 bows, I sit for fifteen minutes, and I write four pages in my journal. Although I do other things in between these three elements of my morning practice (feeding the dog, for example, between bows and sitting), I've discovered one simple trick that all but guarantees I'll do my full practice without getting distracted: I keep my laptop OFF the entire time.

If my laptop were on, it would be easy to check email first thing upon awakening...and once I sit down to check email, it's easy to surf a couple sites and in the process get irrevocably sucked into cyberspace. Over time, I've noticed that I'm lazy: if it's easy for me to check email, I'll do it, but if I have to fire up my laptop, I'm more likely to postpone my email in favor of doing the "unplugged" things that I really want to be doing. For the sake of my morning practice, I make a conscious choice to streamline my morning environment, turning off my laptop, stereo, and other potential distractions the night before.

So, what are your distractions? Nobody's suggesting you get rid of your TV, cellphone, or computer...but at what times in your day would you benefit from using the "off" switch? If you want to start spending your morning meditating, what devices create a sonic backdrop that makes it impossible to concentrate? If you want to write every evening after you've cleaned up from dinner, what electronic diversions distract you from your goal? Making a conscious choice to turn off your clock radio in the morning or refrain from watching one half-hour sit-com at night frees a small space where you can practice unfettered. It's not a matter of giving up all electronic enjoyments; it's a matter of occasionally unplugging them.