The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World

by Nancy Colier

Overview

Effective mindfulness practices for transforming your relationship with technology and reconnecting with your real life
 
Our reliance on technology is rapidly changing how each of us experiences life. We’re facing new issues and difficulties, we’re encountering new emotional triggers, and we’re relating to each other in new ways. As Dr. Nancy Colier writes, “How we spend our time, what motivates us, and what we want are all are on a radical course of transformation.” The promise of technology is that it will make our lives easier; yet to realize that promise, we cannot be passive users—we must bring awareness and mindfulness to our relationships with our devices.
 
“The compulsion to constantly check our devices plays on primal instincts,” teaches Colier. “Even people with strong spiritual practices or those who have never had other addiction issues now find themselves caught in the subtle trap of these miraculous tools we’ve created.” Through The Power of Off, she offers us a path for making use of the virtual world while still feeling good, having healthy relationships, and staying connected with what is genuinely meaningful in life. You’ll explore:  How and why today’s devices push our buttons so effectively, and what you can do to take back control of your lifeTips for navigating the increasingly complex ways in which technology is affecting our relationships—with ourselves, others, and our devices themselvesSelf-evaluation tools for bringing greater awareness to your use of technologyMindfulness practices for helping you interact with your devices in more conscious waysA 30-day digital detox program to kick-start a new healthier relationship with technology With The Power of Off, Colier sounds the call for wakefulness, reminding us that we can use technology in a way that promotes, rather than detracts from, our well-being. This book provides an essential resource for anyone wanting to create a more empowered relationship with technology in the digital age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781622037964
Publisher:	Sounds True, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	942,330
File size:	404 KB

About the Author

Nancy Colier
Nancy Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, author, and veteran meditator. She is the author of Inviting a Monkey to Tea: Befriending Your Mind and Discovering Lasting Contentment (Hohm Press, 2012). She lives in New York City. For more, visit nancycolier.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Finding Ground in a Virtual World xi

Part 1 Our Relationship with Technology

1 The Prison of Availability 3

2 Slaves to Technology 10

3 Can't Stop Checking 16

4 Technoholics: A Generation of Addicts 20

5 When Escaping the Moment Is the New Moment 26

6 Information for Its Own Sake 31

7 An Epidemic of Boredom 40

8 When Technology Bosses Us Around 46

9 Our Phones Are Getting Smarter, but Are We? 48

Part 2 Our Relationship with Others

10 Your Friend or Your Phone? 55

11 Asking for the Attention We Still Need 59

12 Last-Minute-itis 61

13 Swimming in the Shallows 67

14 A Remedy for Disconnection 71

15 Allow Me to Help 75

16 Welcome to the Family, Smartphone 79

17 Engineering Life One Autocorrected Letter at a Time 86

18 Is Technology Our New Savior? 90

19 The Umbilical Cord of Technology 93

20 My Smartphone and Me 97

21 Reawakening to the World We Share 102

22 All Alone in Virtual Community 105

Part 3 Our Relationship with Ourselves

23 Is Your Smartphone Stealing Your Life? 113

24 I Tweet, Therefore I Am 117

25 Branding the Self 121

26 Can You See Me Now? 124

27 When Becoming Popular Is Our Purpose 128

28 Heads Floating in Cyberspace 132

29 Uncovering Our Limitless Self 135

Part 4 Creating Space-Inside and Out

30 Finding Silence inside the Noise 141

31 Making Time for Downtime 144

32 Creating Meaning amid the Meaninglessness 148

33 Discovering Being in a Doing World 151

34 Getting the Importance of Not Getting 154

Part 5 How to Liberate Ourselves from a Teched-Out Hind

35 Overthrowing the Dictatorship of the Mind 159

36 How to Stop Narrating and Start Being Life 161

37 Getting Off the Thought Treadmill 165

38 Our Thoughts Arc Not Real 168

Part 6 Mindfulness Practice for the Digital Age

Take a Breath 173

39 The Practice of Mindfulness 175

40 Stocking Your Mindfulness Toolbox 180

41 Mindfulness for the Uncooperative Mind 185

42 Being in the Moment When We Don't Like the Moment 193

43 Going All the Way 197

44 Permission to Be Nobody 201

Epilogue: Freedom In, Not From 205

Acknowledgments 208

Appendix: A 30-Day Tech Detox 210

Notes 224

About the Author 229

Editorial Reviews

08/29/2016
Psychotherapist Colier (Inviting a Monkey to Tea) paints a vivid picture of how addicted we have become to our electronic devices, checking emails and sending text messages to the point of neglecting what is truly important. To illustrate the overwhelming nature of modern communications, Colier reports that one of her high-powered clients receives more than 1,000 emails every day, and if she responded to every one, she wouldn’t have any time left. Colier suggests powering off regularly and pondering such questions as “What really matters?” and “What is my heart’s longing?” while at the same time engaging in a healthy, less obsessive relationship with technology. The majority of the book focuses on how people relate to each other online, while the last part, which could be a book of its own, presents a toolkit for practicing mindfulness as a means of unplugging from digital media. Sprinkled throughout are amusing anecdotes of technology obsessions and lists of questions to ponder. Readers fascinated by how digital technology has changed the world, particularly everyday human interaction, will appreciate the author’s thought-provoking viewpoint. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Psychotherapist and interfaith minister Colier points out that leaving ourselves endlessly available to our electronic devices paradoxically shuts us off from other people and real life. While the author doesn’t disparage technology, she does emphasize that it tends to provide a means of escape and immediate gratification instead of participation in the present, which results in healthier emotional interactions with others. Using mindfulness practices and directed questions, plus a 30-day tech detox with useful ideas for paying attention to one’s current situation, Colier demonstrates how to achieve an appropriate relationship with technology. VERDICT Excellent proactive suggestions for plugging into reality and relegating technology to a healthier role in everyday life.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Modern technology has left most of us with a sense of too much and, simultaneously, not enough. Enslaved to our increasingly demanding technological devices, we are being reprogrammed to feel anxious when we’re not being over stimulated. The more time we spend in a virtual world, the less emotional connection we feel to ourselves and others. It’s both subtle and pervasive. Technology has become the master and technological anesthesia sets in as we spend more and more time being reactive instead of proactive. Nancy Colier makes the case that mindfulness practice is key to breaking free from electronic programming and reclaiming our power to live full and happy lives. She reminds readers that these miraculous tools are still only tools. A seasoned therapeutic professional, she provides self-evaluation resources as well as a 30-day digital detox program. Let customers know that they can stay connected electronically without abdicating their individual will. This book spells out how in detail.” —Retailing Insight, Anna Jedrziewski

“Psychotherapist Colier (Inviting a Monkey to Tea) paints a vivid picture of how addicted we have become to our electronic devices, checking emails and sending text messages to the point of neglecting what is truly important....Readers fascinated by how digital technology has changed the world, particularly everyday human interaction, will appreciate the author’s thought-provoking viewpoint.” —Publishers Weekly

“A critical and compelling discussion of how living in the digital age affects our minds, bodies, and relationships—and, most importantly, how through the simple practice of mindfulness, we can navigate these times with clarity and wisdom.” —Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“A reliable GPS for finding our way out of the digital labyrinth into a clear-eyed, heartfelt connection with the present moment, where life in all its richness and beauty is actually taking place.” —Stephan Bodian, author of Wake Up Now and Beyond Mindfulness

“Timely, topical, and thoughtful. Colier offers unique insight as we wrestle with what it means to be human and connected in the digital age.” —Christopher Willard, PsyD, author of Growing Up Mindful

“A wise and loving remedy, a lucid invitation to mindful living, a re-inhabiting the heart of life itself. Colier showed me the off button, and I am grateful.” —Mirabai Starr, author of God of Love and Caravan of No Despair

“A gentle yet powerful set of meditations on self, screen, and soul.” —Douglas Rushkoff, author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

From the Publisher

★ 11/15/2016
Psychotherapist and interfaith minister Colier points out that leaving ourselves endlessly available to our electronic devices paradoxically shuts us off from other people and real life. While the author doesn't disparage technology, she does emphasize that it tends to provide a means of escape and immediate gratification instead of participation in the present, which results in healthier emotional interactions with others. Using mindfulness practices and directed questions, plus a 30-day tech detox with useful ideas for paying attention to one's current situation, Colier demonstrates how to achieve an appropriate relationship with technology. Verdict Excellent proactive suggestions for plugging into reality and relegating technology to a healthier role in everyday life.

Library Journal