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Date Posted: 12:25:08 05/19/03 Mon
Author: Rev Joe
Subject: Re: Thinking about abandoning the TV
In reply to: Wonder 's message, "Thinking about abandoning the TV" on 01:04:36 05/19/03 Mon

First of all, Welcome!

In removing TV from your life, the initial thing you must decide is whether it is something you can do incrementally, or if you must go "cold turkey." This you'll have to figure out based on your knowledge of your self. Cold turkey is certainly easier if one lives alone. If you have a spouse or family that is watching, it will be very difficult not to be a victim of "colateral viewage", or made to feel guilty for trying something new.

There are lots of suggestions contained withing this message board for hobbies and other time-occupiers, peruse those when you can. One suggestion I would like to make is to involve yourself in some form of meditation practice. This will be helpful if for no other reason than to increase your ability to concentrate - an ability that I personally found lacking when I used to sit with the remote in my hand. Almost every city has several groups where one can go to learn meditation, or you can check out the book, "Meditation: a simple eight-point program" by Eknath Easwaran. It is a very easy program, agreeable to all belief systems, from Atheist to Zoroastrian.

That will then make it easier to watch TV consciously, if you still choose to keep the thing around but want to lessen the time you spend with it. I know someone with a family (3 young kids) and they begin each week by studying the TV listings and marking off which programs they want to see. Then they program their VCR to tape the shows so they can watch them at a designated "TV time", and not so coincidentally fast forward through the commercials (It amazes me these days how few people remember their VCR can be used for recording). If you concentrate only on a specific program, and then shut the thing off and go about your life afterwards, you will find your intelligence returning and an enthusiasm for "real" life blooming.

Hang in there! Like anything else it's a day by day, moment to moment process. Keep doing what feels right, and above all else be gentle with yourself.

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