An Easy Way to Become Happier & Healthier – Unplug from the Mainstream Media

It's likely that the majority of people in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world continue to use the mainstream media as their primary source of information and entertainment. Unfortunately, just a bit of "conscious" television watching or listening to AM/FM radio makes it patently obvious that these mediums are filled with advertisements and other content that is either rooted in fear, or designed to incite anger and to increase feelings of separation from others with differing perspectives.

You may not be surprised at all to hear this, and yet, have you ever taken the time to actually track the number of negative messages aired during just an hour of tuning into a mainstream media outlet? Although I won't go into the minutia here, suffice to say that in my recent experience of carefully observing both broadcast and satellite TV channels while practicing guitar late in the evening, I can say without reservation that negative appeals dominate the viewing landscape these days. It's gotten to the point now where I mute all commercials and also avoid any news shows or talk shows, including those related to news. The fear spread throughout those shows is pervasive, and anger is stoked by content related to politics since so many people "identify" with a political position. Also included in the negative shows are the so-called reality TV programs, as most of them feature a whole lot of darkness (e.g., harsh judgment of anyone different, demonstrations of anger, etc.)

As the author of a spiritual growth book, and as a person who has read numerous books in that category, I've learned that there are really only two core emotions – love and fear (with anger actually being a derivative of fear). Love related thoughts and feelings lead to higher vibrations associated with "the Light," while those grounded in fear operate at low vibrational levels associated with the so-called "dark side."

With that background in mind, everyone (and particularly those on a spiritual path) should be concerned about vibrating at higher frequency levels because such levels translate directly into healthier, more vibrant physical bodies. The challenge each moment of our lives is to become more conscious of what we are choosing to give our energy to, for it obviously has a direct effect on our vibration, and in turn, on our health and well-being.

Given the obviously negative orientation of the mainstream media, one very simple thing we all can do is to literally "unplug" from it (as well as from any other media that promotes fear and anger) by simply choosing not to give it any energy at all. As the old Nike slogan goes, "Just Do It," and you'll find that your life will steadily improve. Now some might say, "Well, I need to be informed of current events," or "I don't want to stop watching the television shows I love because they help to distract me from the stresses of my life." My response to these retorts is:

With respect to staying on top of the news, in general the truth is much of what you hear in terms of current events is nothing that will have a direct impact on your life one way or another. Other than the weather forecast in your area, what local or national news story is something you simply must hear about? When you consider that the vast majority of news stories and talk shows are negative in nature, what possible purpose is there in lowering your vibration (and resultant well-being) just to learn about information that doesn't actually affect you anyway? I'm not suggesting you put your head in the sand, or not be concerned about others. No, what I'm saying is that you need to become really selfish about what you allow to impact your energy field/body, and that means consciously choosing where to place your attention in any given moment. If you feel you must watch at least some of this programming, then at minimum do yourself a favor and learn to stay emotionally unaffected by the negativity. This is not callousness; rather, it's learning to view the information from a detached perspective so that you're not lowering your vibration and harming your body.

As for the difficulty in leaving behind regular television shows, whether they are network serials or reality TV series, I understand the difficulty in doing that because it's easy to get caught up in the story lines. However, losing yourself in the stories of others, and particularly the very sad or dark ones, only serves to temporarily distract you from the challenges of your own life. In the case of network dramas, it's fine to follow along with the story lines that interest you, but as indicated above, do your best to leave any emotional response out of the equation. As for the reality TV shows, some might appear to be innocuous, but usually they have either overt or hidden aspects that can readily trigger negative emotions within you. If you feel compelled to watch shows of this nature, once again it's important to stay as detached as possible while watching them; in effect, to become an observer of them as opposed to being an active emotional participant.

To close this article there's a very appropriate analogy I once heard that ties into this discussion quite well. Consider the dark side in our world as being like the Monster World in the kid's movie "Monsters, Inc." That world was only able to keep operating by collecting the energy from fearful screams uttered by little kids terribly frightened by a monster that emerged from their bedroom closets at night. Similarly, the dark side that operates behind the scenes in our world literally thrives whenever we are either afraid or angry. So, why keep feeding it when it only serves to lower your personal vibration as well as that of the entire world? Instead, make an effort starting today to at least begin to disconnect from the negativity in the mainstream media (including the Internet), and in due course you'll begin to find yourself feeling better physically, mentally, and emotionally.