Six Buddhist Practices To Stay Calm In A Tumultuous World | Kaira Jewel Lingo, Valerie Brown and Marisela Gomez

Intentional Use

Kaira Jewel Lingo emphasizes the importance of intentional phone use to enhance mindfulness and reduce habitual consumption. She suggests pausing before engaging with your phone to notice the motivations behind your actions, such as boredom or loneliness 1. This practice can help you reclaim your attention and focus on what truly matters, rather than being driven by habit energy or societal pressures 2.

Just feel, notice, notice all the things that jump. It's like a hundred horses inside raring to go as soon as you turn it on.

--- Kaira Jewel Lingo

By slowing down and being mindful, you can make more intentional choices about how you use your phone.

   

Mindful Devices

Mindfulness with electronic devices involves transforming potential distractions into opportunities for mindfulness practice. Kaira Jewel Lingo shares a practice from teen retreats where participants mindfully re-engage with their phones after a period of disconnection, highlighting the importance of awareness before turning on the device 3. Marisela Gomez adds that compassion and understanding can guide these practices, allowing individuals to respond from a place of freedom rather than habit 4.

Notice right here before you even turned your phone on. What are the drives? What are you excited about? What are you worried about?

--- Kaira Jewel Lingo

This approach encourages a mindful connection with technology, fostering a more intentional and less reactive interaction.