In November of 2024, after the U.S. election, I began blocking news websites. You already know why, yes? The toxicity, anger and fear from all sides was increasing, and I needed to drastically limit its effect on me. I blocked websites on my Apple laptop using a free app for Apple computers called SelfControl and on my iPhone I used the built in "Screen Time" function.
I also made sure that every alert and notification on my iPhone was disabled. No pings from WhatsApp. No notifications of sales of my Feldenkrais products from PayPal or Stripe.
Nothing. Nada.
A few months later, in March 2025, I took the next step and unfriended everyone on Facebook. Everyone! Even my family. Not out of anger but exasperation and need for clarity. That turned out to be a massive improvement in my mental life as it helped me focus on my life and relationships in the here and now and to let go of notifications from people that I have not seen in the real world for 10, 20 years and more.
And about 3 months ago, I took it even further: I turn off all my devices in the evening. Whenever I am done working for the day, I turn off my phone and computer, unplug my internet router and I put them in an old plastic tub - my junk box - where I cannot see them or touch them.
And I don’t turn them back on until the next morning - after I have showered and eaten and walked my dogs. It gives me about 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted peace every day.
A daily internet fast.
And the results?
For several days after each change, I had more down time and time to think and process. Just like fasting from food gives your body time for autophagy (eating cancerous cells) fasting from information gives your body time to let go of outdated thoughts and irrelevant ideas.
It was difficult at times. But the end is more peace, more creative energy and more time to focus on deep needs. The deepest need for me has been to focus on the integration of embodied language with somatics, a way to reach and respect the unique somatic world that each of us lives in - apart from method, apart from professions and deeper into personal nuance.
My first attempt at putting that into written form was an email (now a blog post) called Somatic Levels of Meaning. More on the way. If interested, stay tuned.
