Facebook Detox Day 3 – Liberated so quickly

Liberated so quickly from the constant itching, the constant checking, the constant commenting, the endless posting..Phew it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders..

Saturday is a day when I used to always surf Facebook..I wouldn’t do much work on a Saturday apart from the Farm I am part of, but still I would sit down at the computer for hours just doing Facebook. So today I said no…just no…And consequently I have no real reason to sit at the computer. I will do this post and then go..Which will then lead me to a question. If I’m not surfing Facebook and hanging out then ..WHAT AM I DOING?  How am I spending my time?Now this question might not be important to you but it is to me. I want to know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I’m not becoming more neurotic by doing this, believe me, I’m becoming less neurotic…

I know most of you will think ‘What’s the problem, just chill out’ ?
But some of us are more prone to habitual behaviour than others. I am addressing those people, and I am reliably informed that thousands, if not millions of people out there have a similar issue.
It’s a modern malady but an old old problem. It’s the same old addictive response manifesting in the modern way.

Social Media Dependency I call it, and it’s a problem that is set to grow. It has all the old familiar hallmarks of addiction.
1. It demands constant attention, and unless that demand is fed it leads to feelings of alienation and withdrawal.2. Collusion. No-one in your social group will step out of line and say derogatory things about FB. It’s the same as drinking, no-one in a social group wants to be the one to say ‘I’m going home or I think I’ve got a problem’ so the problem just persists.
3. It is in someone’s interests for you to continue being addicted, so they are forever creating new ways of keeping you hooked. (Changing layouts, adding new widgets and buttons, comment features etc)
4. Unless you are shrewd or clever, it really doesnt add very much to your life except make you feel occasionally important and valued, and feel like you belong somewhere, like you are part of something.

I realize that some people find great value, great solace, great comfort in Facebook etc. Of course there are exceptions and that’s fantastic I applaud them, but I am really talking not to those people, but to the one’s who resonate with what I’m saying. You will know if it’s you..If it’s not you then carry one.
But if it is you, or you think it may be you..Then I would encourage you to take the experiment..FACEBOOK DETOX 7 DAYS. Keep Facebook closed for 7 days. No peeking, no posting. You can check business pages from the phone but NO VISITS TO THE PROFILE PAGE..You can receive messages via messenger on the phone and that’s it.
Contemplate how it feels during the process, watch your habitual push and pull towards Facebook. It may surprise you how much more time you have if you take it out of the picture. It may surprise you to find that you can focus on what you are doing much more. Your moods might stabilize somewhat….Or of course you may find no change whatsoever…
It’s all a game, we are just learning how to play it…Have a great day on it or off it!!

Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Facebook Detox Day 2 – the addict comes clean

It is truly incredible to realize how much of my energy and time I have given to Social Media and particularly Facebook in the last few years!
I woke up this morning as usual at 5.30am and made the decision not to turn on computer immediately. And then I began to notice all the times I automatically turn towards Facebook. In the gaps between things I would ‘plug in’ and check out what’s happening and then would be drawn in to the Facebook world. Trouble with this is that it becomes habitual and unconscious, and then we become ADDICTED to it.
Suddenly I have been plunged in to asking myself questions.
Number 1 question I am asking: What am I doing this for? What is the purpose?
There is always a purpose in what we do. It isn’t always a positive one, or even the one we think it is, but there is always a purpose.
Until we ask the question in an authentic way we will not know. Human beings are very self deceptive. Remember, at least 90% of our actions are unconscious and only 10% or so are the ones we are aware of. We are governed by deep forces. Our ego is VERY CLEVER like a wily fox and will tell us stories about what we do and what we are doing things for. Sometimes these stories are true and beneficial, but sometimes they are limiting and untrue. Only awareness and discernment can unravel which is which.
And of course at the end of the day it’s all love, it’s all ok and the most beneficial course of action is relaxation and love.
So now I find myself asking, what am I running this page (I run 12 pages on Facebook) for?
You see, for me, it’s not just about time, it’s more about energy (I talk about energy on my site). I want my energy to go to places where it’s useful, flowing, creative and productive. Being focused, not in a tight way, but in a relaxed way, means staying in the energy field of one’s being. Just like a spiritual master, or a zen buddhist or a practitioner of martial arts.
And Social Media is SO DISTRACTING! What chance do we have to stay softly in our energy field when we are pulled this way and that, this comment does this, this picture does that, and before we know it we are down a rabbit hole and we have no idea how we even got there!  It is the Facebook Matrix!!

Hence my Holiday..I have, in the past, been highly addicted to many things. Drugs, Alcohol, Cigarettes, Sugar, Crazy relationships. I love to hide and merge with things..It’s a Piscean Moon thing. If you understand Astrology you will understand how powerful that can be. So I need to be vigilant. And something has suddenly shifted within me. I see where it serves me and where it doesn’t serve me, and I am making the adjustments.
I have always been like this with my addictions. Dropping one’s addiction is a decision made in the heart and mind.. It is an inner switch and a stepping into one’s inner authority. You cannot drop an addiction until you see where something no longer serves you, and once you do see that then the majority of the decision is made.
If you can’t make that decision or you complain that it’s too hard, then you are not ready and have not actually reached that decision. It’s simple. I ‘tried’ to give up smoking three times and each time some external event triggered an inner emotion and I reached for the ‘fags’. Truth was I thought I wanted to give up but I still carried a part of me that didn’t.
And then I got so demoralized by my failure I went deeper into myself and found that dis-empowered part of myself and asked what he wanted and why he wanted to keep smoking. And then the decision came from a deeper place within me, and I knew I had given up smoking in that moment. Dropping addiction happens in a moment. Of course it takes time for the physical body to catch up and go through it’s process (detox etc) but the power is in the mind, and when the mind is made up from the deepest place, it’s JOB DONE.
And so back to Facebook. It is not a bad thing. In fact I’m not talking about Facebook. I’m talking about my tendencies, and maybe about yours. The tendency to lose oneself . The tendency to get distracted. The tendency to put things off. The tendency to merge with things.
Life is a river, nothing is fixed for very long. We keep swimming and flowing and changing and growing. It’s all ok and not a problem. This is part of my growth. I’m enjoying it.
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Thanks for reading, have a great day!

Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Facebook and Social Media Detox

I am pleased and empowered to announce I am experimenting with a detox from the highly addictive drug of the moment...Facebook!
I have been a Social Media user for many years, since I first discovered MySpace as a musician almost 10 years ago. I jumped from My Space to Facebook 5 years ago and have not looked back. I now run 12 pages, ( Recipes for the Divine Kitchen, Music for Lightworkers, Raw Food Video Channel, Kavi Rawk Star, etc etc) most of them are very active and inspired. My friends page is a hub of conversation and inspiration, and I have made some wonderful friends and global connections.

Well what is wrong then ? I hear you say.
Facebook is so interactive, so influential and so instant it is overwhelming. Being open to so much influence has it’s assets but it also has it’s drawbacks. You have to manage it. For those that are focused and ‘page’ oriented, who have a mission in the world, whether that is business or spiritual, Facebook serves as a vehicle for the transmitting of information. For many other people it can be a way to share ideas, explore diversity and learn. And for others it can be a way of expressing opinions..It’s all ok UNTIL it reaches overwhelm, or until it reaches the point where it’s not serving you any more..That is Addiction. And only a critical and ruthlessly honest exploration can see this.

Everything has it’s time, and life comes in waves. It is not that there is a wrong and a right. It’s all about timing, and my timing is NOW!
So I am on Facebook Detox. I have left my email and website details on my pages and profile so people can get hold of me. I am going to post here on this website blog every so often, and I may even drop in every now and again just to have a look..It’s not about going ‘ Cold Turkey‘ it’s about regaining my inner authority and doing what I want without too much outer influence.

I have got so many things to do I need to focus, and distraction isn’t working for me any more. So there we are, we shall see what happens. I’m open to any outcome.

To all my friends who read this, please keep interacting with me somehow. This website is very active. Email. Skype name is kavijezziehockaday, message me through Facebook and I receive them on my phone.

I will post frequently and I hope inspiringly..

Be well..Kavi Jezzie Hockaday

Image via CrunchBase