I have written a lot about my personal and ongoing exploration of my relationship to media and the news. In particular, I have shared what I came to call a News Out—a conscious choice to take a mindful retreat from the daily surge of news flowing through my email, social media feeds, and news websites. That News Out experiment has become a basic practice of mine—a practice that I revisit regularly.
This week I have been doing something different. It’s closer to a mindful News In at what I consider (and I don’t think I am alone) a historic moment for our democracy and the judicial system. At such times as this, I have learned how essential it is to witness the moments first hand as they unfold. The remarkable thing is that I can. This is the Internet at its best.
Yesterday, Thursday, September 27, 2018, I was able to be present in real time for the opening remarks by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley at the hearing of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I could make my own judgments about the tone he was setting at the beginning. And I could watch parts of Ford’s and Kavanaugh’s testimonies unedited.
Don’t get me wrong. I value analysis by dedicated, thoughtful journalists. And, I value hearing for myself what is said in context so that I can do the work of forming my own opinions before the 24/7 carefully-selected sound bites and pundit analysis flood the streams. Then, I can let those points of view inform my own.
Below is a screen shot from the C-Span Livestream video, now available on Youtube—all nine hours, two minutes, and fifteen seconds from yesterday—with Dr. Christine Blasey Fords’ testimony and questioning by Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, followed by Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony and questioning (Kavanaugh begins shortly after 5:20:00).
Moments like these offer tremendous opportunities for modeling mindful ways to engage with the media. How are you modeling media intake? How often, and in what situations, do you make the effort to go to the source? If you have teenagers, consider co-viewing portions of the C-Span stream, or the Senate Judiciary Committee Vote meeting that took place today, September 28 (4 hours, 30 minutes). Yes, it is mature content. Mature, and highly relevant to teenagers today.
Speaking of news: The New York Times reported today: “Facebook said on Friday that an attack on its computer network had exposed the personal information of nearly 50 million users.” Just sayin’.
What I am reading: In preparation for a workshop I am doing for parents with colleague Susan Wansing, I am rereading parts of the book, Mindful Tech, by David Levy. Levy is a professor at the Information School at the University of Washington. He worked as a researcher at Xerox Parc in the ’80s. And, he holds a diploma in calligraphy and bookbinding from the Roehampton Institute in London (1983). He brings a very unique perspective to technology use based on years of work with students at U Washington and his background in contemplative arts.
Events: If you’re local to the San Francisco Bay Area, I’m co-hosting an interactive conversation for parents exploring how to live well with technology on October 6, 10 am –12:30 pm. My co-host is Susan Wansing, licensed clinical social worker in private practice working with adolescents and their families. She is also the mother of a teenage daughter. We’ll alternate sharing, myth busting, quiet reflection, and guided visualization. Participants will leave with new resources and strategies for making healthy choices around technology and helping our children and teenagers to do the same. To attend, please RSVP by replying to this email. I will send directions to our location in Berkeley. The event is free.
On October 13, 9 am – 1 pm, I’ll be doing a workshop on Mindful Digital Life at the Julia Morgan School for Girls on the Mills College Campus as a part of Parenting U. Registration is open.
