Media Fast Lesson
Should I undertake a Media Fast?
A Media Fast Lesson is an exercise in abstinence from the consumption of media. It is intended to achieve several things, namely:
- Free up more time
- Reduce the impact of negative information on a persons psyche
- Improve a persons ability to focus on topics of interest
- Enhance interaction with friends and loved ones through the requirement of genuine conversation
- Increase the interest in alternative forms of entertainment and pursuits
The 2 exercises of the Media Fast and the Daily Gratitude List are designed to take our attention away from the negative and upsetting issues in life and focus that attention on positive beneficial aspects of life. We are changing our attitude and our outlook, our thoughts, and as a result, our expectations. As a consequence of this we are changing the decisions we expect to make and thereby the actions we ultimately take.
The Media Fast Lessons aim to achieve specific outcomes for the individual.
Firstly, a media fast will ‘liberate’ several hours a day for the individual to focus on other activities. Activities such as exercise, personal interactive socialising, personal development such as study, personal reflection, mediation, exercise beyond a daily fitness regime, working (extra income is handy nowadays), quality time with the family etc.
Secondly, a media fast will reduce exposure of the individual to articles that are based on negativity. The focus on negativity impacts on the individuals outlook and demeanour. The Commercial News Media in particular follow a reporting formula designed to attract viewers for the purpose of selling that audience’s attention to advertisers to generate revenue. This formula basically follows the death, destruction and sensationalism rule. People, for whatever ever reason, are attracted to news dominated by information about death, disaster, anything that emphasises their lives being better in comparison.
Exercise: Media Fast
Duration: 7 Days Minimum – Longer if you feel like it
This is a very important exercise. Adherence to this exercise will place you in an excellent position to undertake the rest of the course. An excellent way to improve your emotional and mental state and help to focus on your goals and visualisations is a media fast.
When you focus on selected thoughts, be it negative or positive, it is far easier to maintain a focus on the existing thoughts than it is to introduce new thoughts. The Law of Attraction works to realise thoughts that are consistent with what you are currently thinking or ‘established thought patterns’. When you are focused on negative thoughts you always seem to have more thoughts of a negative disposition follow in your head. Existing thought patterns work to ‘back themselves up’ resulting in a continuation of angry, upsetting ideas that keep coming into your head. You may have experienced this as emotionally or mentally ‘spiralling out of control’ during a period of upheaval in your life when all you could ‘see’ was the ‘worst case scenario’ and no possible way out of your current situation.
You may also have experienced the Law of Attraction at action in your mind during a period of overwhelming joy when everything and everyone was happy and you couldn’t stop laughing at/with everyone and everything. Essentially a thought pattern has been started, established as a habit or dominating thought process, and through the Law of Attraction, you find it easier (although you may not realise it) to adopt like thoughts rather than brake with established thinking habits. Another example of ‘habituated thought patterns’ can be found when you encounter people who are ‘always negative’ or who will always tell you how bad things are. Some people behave the exact opposite with a tendency towards positive thinking. People find it difficult to break with established thought patterns.
Eliminate mass media from your mental diet. Eliminate the type of media that capitalise on sensationalism, death, destruction, fear and aggression; the type of media that always deliver ‘bad news’, the news that travels fastest. This type of media promotes negative emotions in you psyche emotions are ultimately fuel for your mind and dictate the dominating topics of your thoughts.
Review Your Media Fast Lesson
During your media fast we are focusing on building up positive attitudes and positive mental images for your conscious and subconscious mind to focus on. You attract what you think about most. You attract what you focus on mentally and emotionally and if your dominating thoughts are of pain, lack and misfortune then you will attract pain, lack and misfortune into your life. Why would you want to do that? You wouldn’t so don’t focus on it. Focus on the things you are grateful for. The things you want more of. Eliminating ‘bad news’ from your daily diet of mental fuel will give your subconscious and conscious mind the opportunity to focus on the good things you want more of in your life. This does not mean that we are to be ‘uninformed’ about what is happening in the world but rather not to be ‘inundated’ when negativity dominates. You need to be very prudent with what you allow into your mind.