How to Unplug From the Net via Spirituality

When I initially started voicing concerns about over-connectedness to my deeply spiritual sister, she replied without hesitation, “The Sabbath, baby! Take a day off.”

The idea of using a 5,000 year-old rule to combat 21st century information overload was definitely intriguing. And upon reflection, if Joe Lieberman could take a day a week off during a presidential campaign, couldn’t I at least take a day a week and live without the Internet or TV?

Go ahead. Try it. You’ll get the shakes. But it does feel good and reenergizes you if you adhere to it.

Earlier this week New York Times columnist Robert Wright spoke of his recent disconnected experience at a meditation retreat, which is rooted in Buddhism:

I just spent a week off the grid — no World Wide Web, no e-mail, no cell phone, no landline — and at some point I seem to have quit biting my nails.

But before you get envious: in addition to unplugging from the wired world, I plugged into a regimen that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I was at a silent meditation retreat.

Our different belief systems, whether they specify days of rest or internal versus external experiences, appear to contain amazingly prescient mechanisms for dealing with the stressors of life in any age.

Are other people on to this? Do your spiritual activities help you disconnect and avoid Internet fatigue?