Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.
– Pete Seeger
I consume no news media. Nothing for the last 3 to 4 years. When I get asked “How do you stay current?”, I chuckle and reply, “None of what we are fed through the “news” is currently relevant to anything we do”. I blame this habit of consuming no news media on the success of my business. Often stating, “if I were watching the news, it would probably seem like a bad idea to invest in anything right now”. Rather, gaining my information though engagement and interaction with people and places in real time, rather than through the lens of a biased media.
As adults our subconscious program is based on what we consume. When we consume information about things we cannot control and in some cases have had no pervious experience with, it can get locked into our subconscious and drive our thoughts and behaviors. This is done through emotionally charged reporting and graphic imagery. Enacting in us with an emotional response. We then have the same emotional response when we think or talk about what we previously saw or heard. Commonly referred to as passion or opinion, although scientifically known to be PTSD or bias. These are responses based in fear and the past rather than what is currently happening in the present moment. Most of our political structure and economy is based in these tactics which cause polarization and provides great profits to those controlling the stream of information.
The information from news sources is arguably instills fear. Causing us to become reactionary to the thought of these things. We then are subject to developing biases about other people and places even if we have never met or visited them. Think about that. Do you have an opinion about someone or someplace you have never met or visited? That is the power that media holds on us. When we take the words and opinions of a corporate structure as true, without first hand experience, we develop biases, opinion and lose economic power. We then loose our ability to find out the truth about our surroundings. Surrendering our power to a system.
Some of the benefits associated with the practice of limiting media is less fear, anxiety, less depression and better overall health. When we engage with the physical world through interaction, rather than what is projected, we gain a different perspective of ourselves and the world. One that is drastically different from what is portrayed by media. We also begin to have interactions with others that are not driven by the media’s dialogue. Rather we focus on understanding the individual. Allowing us to to have more meaningful interactions and deeper understandings of the people and places around us. And therefore, giving us power.
How do you gain perspective of this beautiful Universe we share?