I don’t know about you, but sometimes I am overwhelmed by the constant onslaught of 
media: the multitude of messages coming at me via email, telephone, television, internet and all the rest.
Much of the time, I love the stimulation, and respond with enthusiasm. But sometimes it’s too much. I want to scream and run away.
Whatever medium you use for entertainment or information in your day-to-day life becomes an indispensable item in your toolkit; it becomes a habit, and if it disappears, it will be missed.
What if you went on a no-media diet, and spent a week without reading, seeing, or engaging with any published media of any kind? That would be one empty week, wouldn’t you think?
It might also be a week in which you discover the full technicolor glory of your own inner genius.
Just imagine it for a minute: you, in real life, for several days in a row, refusing access to media of any kind beyond what you create yourself.
Sounds stark, eh? I think so. Sounds scary.
… And liberating. Because media is indeed domineering, luring away our attention, keeping us perpetually distracted. If that distraction is removed, what is left for me to focus on?
A compelling question, no? Sort of Zen. The sound of one hand clapping.
If it seems presumptuous to compare fasting from media to understanding the Zen riddle, consider how deeply we are immersed in media these days. Everything from the alarm clock to the tv news to the emails we receive to the methods we use to shop, plan, learn, and socialize are media based. If you remove media completely from your daily experience, you may be at a loss as to how to spend your time.
Which is the point, of course. When you squarely face life without your accustomed habits, who are you?
Here’s a challenge. Figure out a day, a weekend, a week during which you can completely disengage. Resolve to unplug and use absolutely nothing but your mind, body, and journal to cope with the passage of time.
You’ll probably eat a bit too much, take long walks, clean your closets. But you’ll also write in your journal and recognize raw responses to the unfamiliarity of a media-free day.
Without “messages” coming at us from every side all day long, we are likely to encounter an array of fresh personal perceptions – insights that will serve to refresh and motivate for a long time to come. Though threatening and/or boring at moments, the experience will bring rich fulfillment to the growth-minded individual.
By journaling your media-free time, you document the ways in which your being responds to the shock of suddenly coming face-to-face with its naked self. What exactly happens when your only stimulation is the view out the window, the way a shadow falls, or the nuances of your own thoughts?
If you’re looking for a shortcut to self-awareness, or if a vision quest might help you formulate your future, try this media-deprivation diet for a day or more. Let your journal be the sole expressive tool in your world, banish every other form of communication or entertainment, and prepare for the epiphanies.
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Something to work on with your Journal when you're on your media-free diet: Reach for Your Goals: 7 Days of Journaling to Goal Getting Success
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