Transcript
Speaker: So that is one of the cons of social media that we feel like we can do whatever, say whatever, and we won't be held accountable ourselves.
Speaker: Because I feel like if we start to monitor the lives of the troll and what contribution they're doing, you know, the amount of cancellation that they kind of deserve, if I have to say that, it would be far more than the ones that they're calling out.
Speaker: Especially what comes to my mind is body image.
Speaker: So a lot of people have had procedures and gone under surgery, but they don't say that.
Speaker: And what we see on social media is a very different image of what they are going through in real life.
Speaker: That's how we are becoming antisocial because we look at stories of different people and we think we are the bestest of friends.
Speaker: when you have no time to call them up or text them up or make plans to meet in real life, right?
Speaker: So there's no real bonding or relationship.
Speaker: And that's like a reality that you need to accept and face.
Speaker: They are also an outlet that is pushed on or is trying to push on a propaganda of certain kinds.
Speaker: So even though they call themselves liberal, as a political science major, for me, liberalism that we extensively studied is coexistence or pluralism.
Speaker: Hi everyone, welcome to Spirit Says.
Speaker: We are so glad to be here again and talk to you today.
Speaker: So as you all know, we live in this age of information.
Speaker: It's available to us 24-7 and through various mediums.
Speaker: While this easy access to information has plenty positives, but you cannot ignore the fact that
Speaker: constant consumption of information through social media is also hurting us and our lifestyles in certain ways.
Speaker: So in today's episode, Antrik Shahnal will talk about how information that is made available to us through these digital mediums shapes us, shapes us beliefs and mindsets and even mood.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: I think the media today that we are consuming is heavily polarized and heated.
Speaker: And at times it does greater damage than good because the biggest factor today for mental health issues be it anxiety, stress, depression, or the growing apathy and the fearful mindset that we see around us in humans.
Speaker: Plus also I think the antisocial spirit in real life that is growing is because of the media that we are consuming today.
Speaker: Now, be it social media, I call it, I've heard the term somewhere, I call it the Bermuda Triangle of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or your news channels or any OTT platforms or movies or even the video games.
Speaker: So everything is heavily monitored and focuses on indoctrination.
Speaker: And I think it's feeding onto our souls and sucking that life force energy out of us and keeping us in the loop where we are addicted and dull in spirits.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So I would like to like straight away give you a very powerful example from my own life that happened, I think probably last year.
Speaker: So I have this coach that I've been following for some time.
Speaker: I used to learn from her online content first.
Speaker: And then I took a couple of her courses and workshops.
Speaker: And so she her account started getting restricted.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So she was putting up the stories for her audience to comment and save her posts because she
Speaker: She could feel that her views were getting down, her posts wasn't getting the exact response.
Speaker: And she was putting up those stories for us to support her.
Speaker: And after about a month or two, she put an update out where she had the influence, she had the connection, and
Speaker: So she got in contact with somebody inside in the office of Instagram itself and to kind of inquire what was it exactly that was being banned because there was no clear explanation when she tried to communicate in formal ways, right?
Speaker: So, she was told and in her mind, she felt like she's a feminine person.
Speaker: So she's like really into aesthetic, she loves to dress up and all of that.
Speaker: So she felt like maybe her pictures would be provocative in some way that would be restricting her account.
Speaker: But to her surprise, the person told her that it wasn't the pictures, but it was the message that she was putting out along with the pictures that Instagram didn't support at the moment.
Speaker: Because the agenda, the message that they were trying to push to the masses at the moment was hyper-masculinity of females and hyper-femininity of males, which is still the propaganda going on.
Speaker: But that is why her account was being...
Speaker: sneakily restricted and then it's like he even told her that if it was about her pictures Instagram purposely pushes out
Speaker: pictures of like, like the naked model pictures to the masses, because it wants a society of weak men who are addicted to porn and all the sexual content.
Speaker: So if it was her pictures, she, her reach would have actually grown instead of being banned.
Speaker: So this is just to say how like everything is controlled.
Speaker: And we think we don't, oftentimes we think like things are just happening.
Speaker: But all of it is monitored and all of it is put out and handled in a way to keep us addicted and dull in spirits.
Speaker: Oh my God, that revelation was so scary.
Speaker: I mean, you have the sense of freedom, like we can put out anything we want, we can consume anything we want, but you have no idea that there is a whole team involved.
Speaker: behind the scenes that is controlling what you see on tv on social media that's very scary and the thing you talked about hyper masculinity and hyper femininity i actually i have been thinking about this for so long that all the podcasts i see on my fip there's either women trying to put men down either men trying to put women down so i always wondered where does this come from like this
Speaker: particular demographic you know putting particular demographic down and why has it become so popular among the masses as well so people are hyping people up so i was just going through you know um this uh stages we have in ayurveda you must know like rajas tamas and sattva for people who don't know so tamas is when you are like depressed you are lazy stagnant you don't have energy in you
Speaker: And then Rajas is a little higher than Tamas, but it's still not from a frequency of self-love or consciousness or radiant present.
Speaker: It's just really enthusiastic, energetic, self-confident, but it can also lead to superiority complex and ego especially that you are the only one who's here, you're the best.
Speaker: Though it's better that you're not taking any action, you're slow and lying down on the bed.
Speaker: It's a step up, but it's still a long way to go from there.
Speaker: So yeah, it must have taken you a lot of time to heal from that depressive state to come to this energetic state of rajas.
Speaker: and do and take actions and work on yourself that's a very good start but that's not the end point and everybody should keep that in mind there is a higher level and it's gonna take even more effort to reach there and for to do that you have to also consume a higher level of content that's been put out and you know be conscious of what you are watching so
Speaker: to level up in that sense.
Speaker: Also, I have another example.
Speaker: If this Ayurvedic terms are a little hard for you, there's Level of Consciousness by David R. Hawking.
Speaker: So that's just a list, a pyramid of emotions that they have.
Speaker: So it's like shame, guilt, and every fear is at the bottom.
Speaker: And then there's pride, anger, desire.
Speaker: So I think the most population is here somewhere in pride, anger, and desire.
Speaker: And now they're going to level up and come to this, you know, courage, neutrality.
Speaker: And slowly, slowly, they're going to go acceptance, reason, and then enlightenment.
Speaker: But as you go higher, the effort you put in increases.
Speaker: So that's something people, I think people should keep in mind while watching what they're watching.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: I think it also brings in the concept of spiritual bypassing because when people are like, when we are in that egoic, prideful and frustrated kind of emotions, and then we try to fake to go on social media, hop on social media and
Speaker: try to be fake, try to show fake positivity, right?
Speaker: And we even kind of delude ourselves.
Speaker: We live in that illusion that yeah, everything is right and whatever.
Speaker: I'm becoming a spiritual person and I'm going to light some energy.
Speaker: And I'm totally accepting who I am.
Speaker: And then I'm not going to do any kind of shadow work.
Speaker: And so instead of going through the stages where you are getting frustrated, where you are absolutely angry, where you are crying, you have to go through those stages to finally reach to a place that is going to eventually happen.
Speaker: But a lot of us, what we do is like we skip the intermediate process, the acceptance phase, the going through all the emotions phase.
Speaker: And then we kind of try to go up, which does greater harm in the long run.
Speaker: I also feel like the gender wars that you spoke in the beginning, it's futile.
Speaker: And I think we are getting very much influenced by the Western media.
Speaker: And there's like such silly podcasts that are out there of speaking about relationships when people are actually into hookup culture and they are creating a podcast where they are speaking about
Speaker: like conscious relationships and putting each other down.
Speaker: I don't know that that is just that feels like a little silly to me when they have that and they put that kind of content and other people of the world are consuming that content and being influenced by it when their actual living reality is far away from whatever they are consuming.
Speaker: So there has to be a certain form of discernment in actually acknowledging and accepting that no, whatever form of content that is out there
Speaker: from somebody else is not the reality of the world right we live in the duality and we all have like bad and good apples together out here yeah that's so true I mean you know how now that the source of information or the content that's being put out the information that's being put out is very decentralized so we have our own control and
Speaker: uh over the information that we put out instead of um a few years ago when there were media channels and it was more centralized and more controlled so like there is a very thin line as you said between fiction what's fiction what's reality and with social media like it's very blurry and people can portray themselves however they want so even if it this is a pop culture star or
Speaker: or any star, and they can portray themselves to be very virtuous, but in actuality, like, and have morals and values.
Speaker: But in actuality, they are not following those morals and values, um,
Speaker: themselves you know there is a page on instagram that calls out all these celebrities and say you said that in interview that you follow this but you are endorsing this so i think actions are also something uh you should keep in mind and not idealize people when um consuming that content that they are putting out and see how they uh they act in real life so that that might help you with not internalizing um harmful um
Speaker: morals or images that they are putting out like especially what comes to my mind is body image so a lot of people have had procedures and gone under surgery but they don't say that and what we see on social media is a very different image of what they are going through in real life maybe their health is totally compromised just because they
Speaker: have this body and put this image on social media we don't know that so yeah and we should be conscious about that while we are consuming that content ourselves and also when we are letting the kids consume that content you know some once I saw this also I was scrolling on Instagram I saw this reel put out by someone that said
Speaker: you are a grown woman, you should know what is real and what isn't, you know, in context of beauty standards.
Speaker: So why are you feeling bad about your bodies?
Speaker: So it's not about us.
Speaker: We are grown women.
Speaker: That's why we have unlearned all these things and started loving this vessel again.
Speaker: It's about our teenage self and the current teenagers that felt bad about the body and spent years criticizing our bodies just because they thought that they don't fit in
Speaker: that standard image of what should be.
Speaker: So I think even adults have a responsibility towards kids, you know, control what they consume over all these social media sites and television and everything.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: I think it's scary to think how prevalent use of digital devices has become today for the kids.
Speaker: And at the same time, when we speak, it's like a work in progress for all of us to really embrace who we are and break out of the beauty standards because it has been there since forever.
Speaker: And it's amazing.
Speaker: It's also funny, like I hear like men don't even know what a no makeup look is because like we are so much on social media.
Speaker: It's hard to know what.
Speaker: And I think in the beginning you spoke about the, you know, positivity being expressed on social media, right?
Speaker: Something along those lines.
Speaker: So I am like in, I'm always in split mind for that.
Speaker: Because sometimes I feel like if I see a good thing happening, even if it's like fake positivity for anything, I feel like people are at least trying.
Speaker: So I don't want to like stop that at all.
Speaker: And I'm all in for whatever coping mechanism people are trying to have.
Speaker: But at the same time, it also concerns me that it doesn't become an escape for them.
Speaker: And they start to live with that label, with that fake kind of exterior instead of diving into deeper healing and shadow work.
Speaker: So I'm always in split minds about that.
Speaker: If somebody is putting out good things, but I can feel it, it's not genuine.
Speaker: So I want it to be there.
Speaker: But I also feel a little concerned at the same time.
Speaker: True, exactly.
Speaker: Okay, so that brings the concept of mob mentality, eco chambers, and cancel culture to me.
Speaker: What are your views about it?
Speaker: How do you approach it?
Speaker: I think I would say, as you say, you're in split minds about that.
Speaker: I'm in split minds about this as well, because I would say there should be a balance.
Speaker: And yes, people should be held accountable for their actions.
Speaker: Like it's good that you're not catching everything that they're throwing at you.
Speaker: You're holding them accountable for their words, but going to the extent of abusing someone, calling their names and then bringing some stuff.
Speaker: They said 20 years ago, just because they had a social media presence and, um,
Speaker: like bashing them over that i think it's a little too much and it's not that people do this after they have proof they start doing this with little or no to no proof and then when like the proof has been gathered that this didn't happen and they but the person has already been cancelled and they actually didn't do that that's even more hurtful like they built this reputation for themselves and now it's
Speaker: in pieces just because few people couldn't get the objective information or be more civil about holding people accountable.
Speaker: So that's my view on cancel culture.
Speaker: It's nice to hold people accountable, but you don't have to just declare a war on them.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Accountability has to be there.
Speaker: And there's a story that I heard.
Speaker: I could try to fit it here from someone who was like, there was a father who gave his child 100 bucks and he told them to bring fruits at the end of the day.
Speaker: So the child went about his day, spent the money on useless, funny, senseless stuff.
Speaker: And came back with no fruits.
Speaker: So the father was like, where are the fruits?
Speaker: And he was like, neither do I have the fruits and nor do I can explain where I spent it on because it's just silly.
Speaker: I just wasted the money, which is a metaphorical story to like God put us here with gifts.
Speaker: All of us have some form of privileges, gifts, opportunities.
Speaker: And at the end of a life, we are going to go back and God's going to be like, what did you do with the life that I had given you based on your actions in your past life?
Speaker: What did you contribute?
Speaker: How did you live your life?
Speaker: And you're like, I went on social media, this platform.
Speaker: I called people out on comments.
Speaker: I put up some story, did some social media activism and had no real interaction with people in real life.
Speaker: And that's how...
Speaker: my life has been that's what I did with my life and it's it's I I kind of I I I'm fitting the story here I don't know what I was hearing at the point but it is to say that we have this life and it should be utilized if I'm all in I understand that people have the activist archetype and that's a gift
Speaker: And if you are absolutely passionate about something, something is there that is hurtful, that you don't agree with, you have a conscious choice, you have the capacity, you have the capability to contribute and to speak about those things on your own platform, in your own life.
Speaker: And be vocal about them, do something about them if something is bothering you, right?
Speaker: Instead of going, I think it's just a waste of energy.
Speaker: Plus, I also feel like if somebody...
Speaker: the trolling people or the cancel culture or the mob that is out there is just like this idle and bored people who are there because if you're actually living a real life with real people doing something you will not even have the time to hop onto social media and do social media activism.
Speaker: But yes, the accountability has to be there.
Speaker: But I also feel like if we are, we normalize the cancel culture altogether, what kind of world will that be?
Speaker: Because all of us will be canceled.
Speaker: Nobody's perfect.
Speaker: We've all said mean things.
Speaker: We've all, you know, there will be no scope for healing and for growth.
Speaker: if we'll go out and like cancel each other and at times I don't think people don't people at times don't even realize that they're doing so much harm and damage to other people because they've just been in this bubble of social media so they're like I have to comment this or this is something that is triggering me and I want to say that if something is bothering you if something is triggering you
Speaker: I also want you to realize that that is your own problem and it has nothing to do with whatever other person is doing that because trigger is a portal, another portal to healing.
Speaker: If I am constantly getting triggered by whatever other person is saying that is, that means that I am in a state of powerlessness, right?
Speaker: I'm letting my emotions run my life.
Speaker: I have unhealed traumas within me.
Speaker: And it is important that we all bring back our powers to ourselves.
Speaker: If something is there that we are absolutely passionate about, we go out there and do something about it.
Speaker: Instead of living in this delusion that you are living a morally worthy life by calling people out on social media.
Speaker: I think that's also like a delusion that...
Speaker: I love to understand the mindset of the trolls as well, because I want to see where they come from.
Speaker: And I understand the validation that they crave, the attention that they crave, the boredom that they have in their real life, and also the fact that they might not be doing anything.
Speaker: something worthy in real life and that is why they're hopping onto social media but yes I again coming back to the accountability thing that has to be there and people you know have to when they have like public platforms I totally agree that they have to be accountable for how they speak but sometimes that doesn't happen and there's a way to approach to that and explain to that and leave room for growth and healing to take place instead of cutting people out entirely
Speaker: Yeah, as you said, you want to understand trolls' mind.
Speaker: Where do they come from?
Speaker: I think, as you said, I totally agree.
Speaker: It's the trigger.
Speaker: It's the thing that triggers them.
Speaker: But they don't have...
Speaker: the right words or they don't know how to articulate their thoughts i think that that's you know how i said it's a middle something that angles them but they don't know how to transform this anger into that healing creative and self-aware energy
Speaker: So that's why it's so important to consume content that guides you, that takes you from this stage where you are, where you're getting triggered to a stage that you are in a self-acceptance and acceptance of others that stage.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: I also feel like whenever we are speaking of the mob, if you have this mob in front of you in person, if you want to have a conversation, there won't be that meanness or there won't be that rudeness and that anger.
Speaker: Because when we are in front of somebody in person, I think we are all humans and we kind of hesitate to like, that's why we back bitch and that's why we say things, bad things behind each other's back.
Speaker: So that is one of the cons of social media that we feel like we can do whatever, say whatever, and we won't be held accountable ourselves.
Speaker: Because I feel like if we start to monitor the lives of the troll and what contribution they're doing, you know, the amount of cancellation that they kind of deserve, if I have to say that, it would be far more than the ones that they're calling out.
Speaker: Yeah, I totally agree with that.
Speaker: It brings me to the media that we consume, I think to the news channels.
Speaker: And I've had this experience like I've heard this thing while growing up where we say that the government is monitoring the news channels and all of that.
Speaker: But I've never bothered to kind of think about that.
Speaker: But I had the first hand experience when I went to university and I was living there.
Speaker: And obviously the media is obsessed with Delhi.
Speaker: It's the center, it's the capital.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: I used to get calls from my parents where they were like concerned about the protests about whatever unrest that was happening there and I was like I'm living here my friends are being part of the protest I know what is happening but I want to tell you that everything is okay and I'm safe.
Speaker: And even during COVID, I think there was a lot of extra hype.
Speaker: Fear mongering media that was out there.
Speaker: And I'm so glad that I had the discernment at that point of life.
Speaker: Plus, at the same time, how like the Sushant's case was
Speaker: you know happening yeah we were all back home and everybody was like so emotionally charged up because especially because what the media was trying to portray and was trying to do and that was like my first-hand experience where I felt like the media lies and there's a huge difference between what is shown on our news channels and what is the actual reality of the world hmm
Speaker: Even now, we don't even have like, we have the Northeast thing going on.
Speaker: And I had to actually take out an entire day to understand and study what is actually happening because the news channels are concerned with some very stupid.
Speaker: Capitalist issue, yeah.
Speaker: some some some Pakistani I don't even remember the name but like the Indian Pakistan propagandist story that was going on but the actual things that are happening in the country the actual things that deserve the amount of attention and action that is nowhere on our mainstream news channel
Speaker: Yeah, that's the thing.
Speaker: You know, the mainstream, not all, a lot of people realize that mainstream news channels are motivated firstly by profits, by TRPs and how much money they earn.
Speaker: Secondly, by they also have a specific propaganda to push on.
Speaker: So my grandmother always watches this particular news channel and she's telling me all this stuff happening.
Speaker: I'm
Speaker: and I tell her it's not actually real that's like trying they are trying to push this particular image of a certain person on you that's not how things happen how cruel this world is you don't know yet anyway but yeah that's actually true even if you go on to like these independent news channels that came to light after in like 2020 I think after COVID only or it was before I don't remember but
Speaker: Even they claim to be this liberal media that's not governed by the government or media that's not paid to by the government, but they are not someone that's objective.
Speaker: They are also an outlet that is pushed on or is trying to push on a propaganda of certain kinds.
Speaker: So even though they call themselves liberal,
Speaker: As a political science major, for me, liberalism that we extensively studied is coexistence or pluralism.
Speaker: But what this news channel was trying to do is trying to push on this agenda that if you practice Hinduism, particularly Hinduism, targeting Hindu beliefs, then you don't support...
Speaker: liberal views or don't support coexistence which was very um disheartening for me because they were making me feel bad about my beliefs even though i was not hurting anyone or pushing my beliefs onto anyone they was they were just mine own and i used it for my healing or my peace but then um just this
Speaker: particular content that they were pushing made me feel so bad about myself that should I not not be following these beliefs am I a bad person if I believe in this but then it took me so much time to accept that no I can be a person who has certain beliefs and still be a nice person who believes in coexistence and who respect people's views and people's beliefs so that was a very long journey that came for to fruition just last year
Speaker: for me.
Speaker: And also a funny thing is how this came to fruition was also a
Speaker: I would say a girl I followed on TikTok just somehow.
Speaker: And she was also a Hindu, but she was a part of LGBT community.
Speaker: And her parents said, it's not very acceptable in our culture.
Speaker: But then she told us about her journey and how she pulled out all the Puranas and all the Vedas and said, look, look, look, there are LGBTQ people.
Speaker: people in our puranas and vedas as well so she was so accepting of the uh of everyone and her own beliefs and she was from london or somewhere um and so i was like yes why can't i be like that so that kind of content consumption also really helped me accept what um these propaganda news channels were pushing uh or making me feel bad about
Speaker: I think that is the power of content, right?
Speaker: Once you saw how positively people are living their life and that really shifts our entire perspective and gives us hope.
Speaker: And that's why I strongly feel that everybody who has good intention should put out whatever their core beliefs are, whatever their desires are.
Speaker: Because do you know Sadhvi Ji?
Speaker: She's in Rishikesh.
Speaker: Have you heard of her?
Speaker: No, I haven't.
Speaker: So she had some reel with some spiritual content, which was a sponsored reel.
Speaker: So somebody commented on that, that why do spiritual gurus and sadhus and sadvis need to sponsor and be in this materialistic world when they're trying to be spiritual, right?
Speaker: And the response that I had was the exact response that Sadhviji replied to the person that...
Speaker: The sponsorship makes the good wisdom reach to the masses and I will keep on sponsoring more and more of my content because I know how content is being influenced and I know that it is helpful and it deserves to be reached.
Speaker: to different masses, right?
Speaker: And that was such a beautiful take because oftentimes we kind of hesitate in putting out stuff, especially for spiritual content where people of the world love to put spiritual people on a pedestal and call them out with whatever, even in their like growing spirit, they love to call them out when there are like the violent content and porn content.
Speaker: out there on social media without any restriction and barrier.
Speaker: At the same time, let's shift the gears towards the positive effects that we have together
Speaker: experience in our life because content is just not about social media.
Speaker: It's about the affirmations that we hear as a spiritual person, the guided meditation that we do, the music that we hear.
Speaker: In fact, I even have a Spotify playlist.
Speaker: Now, I do love to like groove on
Speaker: on R&B and some like Punjabi music but then like the major chunk of my life I make sure that I'm very particular of the kind of music and the lyrics that is coming into my mind because that shapes our reality that is shaping my mind and eventually shaping
Speaker: my actions and my life.
Speaker: So it's very important that we are very conscious about the music that we are consuming every day, the movies that we are watching.
Speaker: In fact, I think in manifestation, we recommend that we don't watch violent content, the OTT content or the movies, because it rewires our brain to a very rigid and violent and fearful way.
Speaker: perspective of this world when that that hinders us greatly from living an actually healthy and beautiful life right so it's very important what we're consuming and even like the podcast the youtubes and everything else I think there should be conscious consumption because all of it shapes us and our future
Speaker: What are your thoughts?
Speaker: Like for conscious consumption, I would also like to add that don't give in to peer pressure, like because they are watching this movie or serial and you also want to watch it just because you can discuss it.
Speaker: Maybe think about it, critically think about it.
Speaker: It's not good for you.
Speaker: And one of the examples I would like to give is that dragon show that everybody was watching.
Speaker: Whatever it was.
Speaker: I haven't watched it.
Speaker: Same here.
Speaker: So everyone was Game of Thrones.
Speaker: So everyone was watching and they obviously forced me that you should watch too.
Speaker: Somebody who hasn't seen that show has not lived in, has not seen a different kind of universe.
Speaker: I don't know what examples they were trying to give me to watch.
Speaker: I was like, I'm not going to watch it.
Speaker: But they played one episode.
Speaker: They sat me down and I just heard the first line.
Speaker: It was a brother talking about his sister, something along the lines of how he would sell her for the land.
Speaker: And I was like, I think I'm done with this.
Speaker: I'm not going to watch it.
Speaker: Like, how can you normalize this?
Speaker: If you keep watching content like this, it normalizes.
Speaker: Same is with Korn.
Speaker: If you keep watching content like this, violent activities, these disrespectful activities keep normalizing in your brain.
Speaker: Then this is a normal behavior.
Speaker: I can do that.
Speaker: This is acceptable.
Speaker: But it actually isn't.
Speaker: So think a little bit before you turn on your TV and...
Speaker: or your ott platform nobody watches tv now and dive into a movie or a series and another series that i would like to which was very very popular it's euphoria and let me tell you it wasn't euphoric at all and i think that was like the first i was i was very interested in like what um because it was such a so hype so i uh obviously saw some episodes and i have never felt so
Speaker: felt such negative energies coming to my laptop ever before you just watch and you're like i would get depressed just watching this so please be conscious of how a content piece of content is making you feel and
Speaker: and if it's very depressive if it's anxious just stop you have the choice you can do it stop it because a lot of people even if they acknowledge or aware of the emotion that that piece of content triggered in them they still continue doing that and i don't think that's very helpful in this healing journey or our journey to level up
Speaker: So I'm sorry, I went on a tangent a little bit.
Speaker: What was the question that you asked me?
Speaker: It was the question was about, we were discussing about the conscious consumption, the spiritual consumption that we do.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So my favorite positive things or the spiritual things to consume is shift round of strotam and Brahman.
Speaker: I don't know what that is.
Speaker: I don't remember the name but maybe I'll tell later so these are two of the mantras or the things that make me feel really good about after a day of really stressful hustling life yeah and I also recommend it to people you know who are feeling very low like even if my sister calls me sometimes that I'm feeling very anxious so these are some of the music high frequency music or mantras that I recommend to her well
Speaker: On the other hand, I also would like to have when I was starting my healing journey, obviously I didn't dive into affirmations and high level frequency music straight away.
Speaker: So what helped me was Selena Gomez because I was seeking for validation.
Speaker: of my emotions and I couldn't find it from my friends, from my therapist or anybody and I felt a little alone but because this person was sharing her experience and I could connect to her, I could connect my feelings, my experiences with her experience and my feelings and emotions felt validated with her music.
Speaker: I felt like yes I can now move on to the next step of healing so even if you are not someone that's into high frequency music right now you can also go through this path because it really helps when you start healing start your healing journey sharing your experiences with people who have gone through similar experiences
Speaker: So yeah, that was the first time I waited for somebody's album in my entire life because I'm not someone who waits for an album.
Speaker: I'm someone who just listens to single and that's it.
Speaker: But that was the first time and I tell you, I've never healed so quickly in my life ever.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: Yeah, also a last thing I would say, and this is about the apps that also, you know how much hype those apps as well has right now, it was threads.
Speaker: So everybody just jumped on the new app and they were like, okay, now we delete this and we're also going to delete our Instagram.
Speaker: So that's the thing.
Speaker: You just go with the flow.
Speaker: You just go with the herd.
Speaker: Conscious consumption is like sit down, think if this app is, do I really need it?
Speaker: Do I have something to put out on it?
Speaker: If yes, go for it.
Speaker: But if no, it's not adding to your life, it's just taking away from your life, from your mental health, don't do it.
Speaker: That's why I only have Instagram right now.
Speaker: I also deleted Snapchat because it was making me crazy.
Speaker: I deleted it and now it's fine.
Speaker: If
Speaker: Even Facebook, I deleted that.
Speaker: And also, I would like to give shout out to my parents.
Speaker: So I had Facebook when I was like 15 because everybody in my class had it.
Speaker: So that's something I... So obviously, I was... I wanted...
Speaker: to open an account and sign up for it.
Speaker: So that was the first app I signed up for.
Speaker: But they never let me use it on my own.
Speaker: They were always there.
Speaker: An adult was present when I was on social media and they kept regular checks until I was 17 or 18.
Speaker: And obviously at that time I was like, no, this invasion of privacy, don't do this.
Speaker: Why are you doing this to me?
Speaker: But I think now I'm very grateful that that was a necessary thing to do as a parent.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: I didn't have Facebook or Instagram up until I think 17, 18.
Speaker: Because I don't know.
Speaker: I have this thing when something is hyped.
Speaker: And I want to do it.
Speaker: But when the entire world is doing it, I stop myself from doing it.
Speaker: I take a little pause.
Speaker: And that is also the reason I don't.
Speaker: Not the exact reason.
Speaker: But I don't watch series.
Speaker: Because I feel very guilty of like me wasting my life.
Speaker: on a series when I can be living and running in the forest and doing like real life activities that are going to be beautiful experiences so I feel that guilt so if I have to watch a series like I've watched Money Heist so I think I completed the entire season in two or three days continuously I'm like it was like a challenge that was given to me by someone and I was like I'm not going to waste my time on it but I'm going to do that but then I go into like
Speaker: The depth.
Speaker: Did you analyze the series?
Speaker: No, no.
Speaker: You know, I'm already in this mode of seriousness anyway, 24-7.
Speaker: So when I want to watch something, I want it to be like totally silly and funny.
Speaker: For example, I have no desire to watch Oppenheimer because I'm already studying the different concepts and everything.
Speaker: When I want to watch a movie, I want it to be like a Christmas movie or like Humpty Sharma or I don't know, Rocky and Rani because I want to be just like...
Speaker: instead of being like really serious about stuff because anyway I'm doing that but yes I think there has to be the discernment when we are consuming any form of media even if you're watching intense content and it's hard to get that discernment it's hard to like get out of it because like if you're watching a series you'll have the visions in in real life as well right true
Speaker: Plus, I think the mantras that you mentioned, I think mantra chanting is very powerful.
Speaker: It's I love it.
Speaker: And the affirmations also that you mentioned.
Speaker: For me also, I make affirmation tracks myself on YouTube.
Speaker: But I also feel like until and unless you are shifting your entire life, you are working with a practitioner to work on your subconscious, they're just not going to give that much of benefit.
Speaker: But you just like play them in the background in a casual way.
Speaker: Because if like I'm going through a health crisis and I'm listening to health affirmations, that is not going to be effective at the moment.
Speaker: But if I'm feeling good in my body and I'm playing the health affirmations in the background...
Speaker: In that state, I'm in that flow, in that ease.
Speaker: And so those affirmations are going to be affirmed into my mind, into my subconscious, into my reality far more quickly.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And which brings me like to the last thing that I would say about the threads thing, because like people are, people do get excited about whatever new thing.
Speaker: that is there that is coming up so I'm curious how has been your relationship with social media from the time you started and today how have you approached it?
Speaker: Like I said, my first app that I signed up for was Facebook.
Speaker: So obviously it was because it was hyped and everyone was talking about it.
Speaker: And I also wanted to be on the app and talk to my friends.
Speaker: I don't know, I had three friends on the app and still I wanted to talk to them for some reason.
Speaker: But yes, and then I was so open about posting stuff each and every day about my life, pictures.
Speaker: but now I am so conscious and I obviously deleted the whole app deleted pictures from Facebook and I'm so conscious about what I post how I post I don't post locations anymore very very conscious about what I'm consuming and very conscious about what apps I'm signing up for so like I said I
Speaker: When there's a hype, I sit down and ask myself, is this something that I want in my life?
Speaker: Is it adding to my journey or is it taking something away from me?
Speaker: So that's the question I ask myself.
Speaker: And if the answer is yes, of course, I go ahead and sign up for the app.
Speaker: If the answer is no, I just delete them.
Speaker: Anyway, my phone doesn't have that much storage that I keep adding apps to it.
Speaker: So that's how my relationship has changed.
Speaker: And also...
Speaker: I would also like to add a negative effect of media consumption.
Speaker: You know, when we were younger, we only had television.
Speaker: We only could...
Speaker: watch TV for one hour after we finished our homework.
Speaker: But that's not the case now.
Speaker: When I sit to study, obviously, I just start scrolling through my phone and don't even realize that how much time has passed and how I got distracted from that.
Speaker: So that has also changed us.
Speaker: Like this structural, as Marshall McLuhan said, that medium is the message.
Speaker: So there's also a structural change that came when this...
Speaker: whole technological technological change came and it affected our lifestyles in a very different way because i would have never thought of just waking up and watching tv uh when i was younger when i was in school but now obviously that's what we do we open our eyes and i open my phone that was a very bad thing that um the negative effect that happened but yes now i'm trying to be more conscious and not touch my phone up until i have
Speaker: um up until i have done all my um morning rituals and even at night it's like even if i want something because i can't sleep without something playing in the background so i try to um use some high frequency music or as i said any mantra at night whichever i'm feeling for um that's playing but the laptop is the blue light is not facing towards me the laptop or the phone is facing towards the other side so
Speaker: That's how I'm trying to bring little changes in my life, changing relationship with social media.
Speaker: And also, sorry.
Speaker: concentrating towards positive content or as you said that you don't, you watch content to chill but somehow I try to do that but I end up analyzing things or relating my life to it.
Speaker: So also that relationship has changed.
Speaker: I just don't now consume content.
Speaker: I also use it in a way that heals me.
Speaker: I would like to use example of Phoebe from Friends.
Speaker: So for the longest time, I felt very left out because how Western media portray spiritual people or how people even in my friend groups weren't understanding what I was saying, what my beliefs, my masculine, feminine energies, when I would tell them that this is a masculine energy and this is feminine energy.
Speaker: they don't understand because they had such a binary view of those concepts so for the longest time I also thought I was crazy and nobody understands me so I have to change myself to fit in but then when I saw that that episode from or the that series that I I was so proud of how she accepts her beliefs how she doesn't try to fit in so that's
Speaker: Something also that helped me in my journey.
Speaker: So yes, content or social media has negative effects on you.
Speaker: But if you, because it's a tool, if you use it in a way, you can do wonders with it.
Speaker: Same, similar with any other tool.
Speaker: So Fidi is a beautiful character.
Speaker: Beautiful portrayal in the sense that she is just so free and embracing her truth and just being like funny and weird.
Speaker: It's beautiful to watch her.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: As for the relationship, I don't know how it happened with me.
Speaker: But like, I never understood the concept of putting out my picture on social media with no intention.
Speaker: I'm like, anyway, I'm going to school every day.
Speaker: And anyway, I'm engaging, I'm active.
Speaker: What is the point of putting my face onto an app and people liking on it?
Speaker: So the first time I made my profile was I think in 11th grade.
Speaker: And then it felt weird when I put up the first post.
Speaker: So I decided to put out the following post with...
Speaker: a caption and it grew on me because I was a writer, I was a thinker, debater.
Speaker: So I started writing more and more about my healing journey, about my inner thoughts and everything.
Speaker: And then I had to search for pictures because I wanted to share the content that I'd written.
Speaker: So I used to search for pictures, even like a picture of a flower or anything.
Speaker: And I put that out.
Speaker: But at times, I think I've had a very beautiful relationship with social media because at times, if I am feeling low in real life, I hop onto my social media handle.
Speaker: I hop onto my Instagram and I feel my vibration rising up because I've been like, I do digital detox.
Speaker: Every now and then people do get offended that you're not following me back or whatever.
Speaker: Because I don't, my intention has never been like, my own family is not on social media.
Speaker: Some of my closest friends are not on social media, but I am in touch with them the most in this entire world.
Speaker: The real interaction, the real bonding is who you're meeting in real life.
Speaker: And if you're facing your relationships on social media, I don't think that's...
Speaker: I think that's a very silly way of living life.
Speaker: And that's how we are becoming antisocial because we look at stories of different people and we think we are the bestest of friends when you have no time to call them up or text them up or make plans to meet in real life, right?
Speaker: So there's no real bonding or relationship.
Speaker: And that's like a reality that you need to accept and face.
Speaker: But as I said, I think I love how I have...
Speaker: had social media for me and also I know how consumers the difference between consumers and creator I come into the category of creator I love to show up on social media hop onto social media and put out valuable content but I also feel like even if you are a consumer there's got to be an intention set out for while you are on social media as you mentioned that like you deleted snapchat right it wasn't feeding you in a
Speaker: healthy way so it's very important that we bring that into our awareness and set intentions for why you are in a particular app and if not remove that out of your life remove check onto your emails and unsubscribe the the content the mails that you haven't looked in a month or two unfollow the accounts that you are not meeting for those who are not for
Speaker: people who you are not meeting in real life and you have no interest in meeting in real life as well I don't understand the concept of being in touch in social media because I'm not that curious of knowing where you're parting why you're doing if I don't genuinely care about if you're not if you are not like a close connection to me right there's no point in having a cluttered feet it cluttered feet it does great damage to our brain and we are constantly in that cycle of comparison and envy and
Speaker: And it just does great damage to us.
Speaker: Yes, exactly.
Speaker: Like, as you said, you have no interest in being connected with someone you don't care about in real life.
Speaker: So something that came to my mind is like when this social media thing didn't happen, when we had these, you know, prepaid SIM cards, we had to go and top up every time.
Speaker: So my best friend, Dan, and I used to talk for hours and we both of us used to get in trouble for... Scratching.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: for consuming so much like credit on the phone and now when it's all free you can do video call easily i don't think like people prefer calling or doing that so that's something that comes to my mind it's very um even i am not saying other people even i don't feel like calling somebody for hours and hours and talking to us and gossiping so that's um that's also something that has changed because now we have such easy access people don't want to do it
Speaker: I think because we feel like we are connected through social media, right?
Speaker: We are not.
Speaker: So there is a difference.
Speaker: And I feel nice that I actively make plans outside of social media because I value those connections with my friends.
Speaker: And I go out of my way to even make individual plans with individual people because that is what real life is about.
Speaker: Yeah, no, that's so true.
Speaker: So like basically, spirituality or conscious consumption helps you, you know, objectively consume what you're consuming and not just go with the flow and perceive what they are trying to show you, but objectively see what's happening and
Speaker: your consumption is devoid of your trauma and other conditioning so that's why you should incorporate a little spiritual I would say not tools but spiritual healing in your content consumption and that can be as simple as asking the why questions spirituality is not just meditation anything if you confuse how spirituality fits in content it's just a why a question seeking the reasons behind why you are doing what you're doing
Speaker: I even send people, you know, like 10 to 15 accounts when they come to me and they're like, we're feeling like out of alignment.
Speaker: I'm like, what content are you consuming?
Speaker: Because oftentimes we have this natural decline in our energy and we feel exhausted, right?
Speaker: And we have no clue of why that is happening.
Speaker: We just feel dull and low in spirit.
Speaker: And oftentimes the reason is that we are being on social media too much.
Speaker: And we are consuming the content in a senseless manner.
Speaker: So I love to send people like 10-15 accounts, which I feel is applicable to their individual interests and tell them to unfollow everyone else except for those few accounts, right?
Speaker: Because that is going to be on your feed.
Speaker: That is going to be on your mind.
Speaker: You're going to see that there are
Speaker: other people doing things that you want to do, feeling the things that you are feeling.
Speaker: And there is like a different way of life that people, other people are living.
Speaker: And you consume that you get that hope, you get that energy that you can also do that in your own life, right?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And also, this reminds me of something, you know how print media when we had, so it was like a whole newspaper, newspaper worth of news.
Speaker: So you read it throughout the day.
Speaker: So my grandfather used to read the newspaper throughout the day.
Speaker: So it was just...
Speaker: a particular amount of news spread throughout the day or a magazine maybe you read it for a week or two but now there's like billions of people putting out content that you're consuming in a span of few minutes or a few seconds which is uh so overwhelming even for your nervous system even for your brain that you're just constantly uh in this go go go mode
Speaker: So that's also very important.
Speaker: That's why it's important to like detox media or maybe set time limit for yourself during the day.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Have you felt the difference between consuming content digitally and like the printed information?
Speaker: Yes, of course, I feel much more overwhelmed when I'm consuming digital content.
Speaker: And also, even if I want to, I don't know if digital,
Speaker: because I'm old or what even if I'm doing some I was doing some university works I would much I would I would prefer to have like a book or something instead of reading it on my laptop it just doesn't feel the same or I don't retain the information the same way I don't know what logic is behind it if anybody of you knows comment down below but yeah it's very weird how I just can't get hold of a
Speaker: reading journals or papers on a laptop or my phone and also like the blue light because I work in an office so I have to constantly sit in front of a laptop so I always prefer doing it
Speaker: on a reading on a paper or print media because after sometimes your head starts aching and your eyes start watering so it's obviously a huge difference between print media and digital media that's why I have glasses but they're like blue for a blue light but still it does have some kind of effect on you and the dark circles and triksha
Speaker: I'm with you when you say like you prefer writing notes down and studying from books.
Speaker: It's like entirely different feeling when we do that.
Speaker: And I remember in my university also, everything was being passed on with PDFs and stuff.
Speaker: And I hated that.
Speaker: And I used to like make my own notes.
Speaker: And I love that form of studying.
Speaker: I also feel like at the same time, I have...
Speaker: I did feel overwhelmed, I think, again, back in COVID, when we were at home, we had nothing, you know, specific to do.
Speaker: And we were in lockdown.
Speaker: In those moments, I think I did fell into that digital media thing.
Speaker: Because there was such like heated and polarized information from all sides that it did take a toll on me.
Speaker: But apart from that stage, I think I...
Speaker: remind myself to take like usual breaks every now and then and kind of try I try to maintain the balance.
Speaker: yeah so i think we is there anything else that is coming to you i think we talked a lot about content consumption hopefully people like start practicing it and start consuming content consciously yes and so like to to end it on a note of like any tips that you want to give for mindful intentional consumption that one can follow anything that is coming to you maybe any advice yeah
Speaker: I think I'm going to repeat the same thing again.
Speaker: Just ask why do you need that before you go with the flow.
Speaker: And yeah, go home today or go whatever whenever you have time.
Speaker: Do a social media detox.
Speaker: You go through your following and followers list and unfriend those who you don't think make you feel good about yourself or make you feel anxious.
Speaker: Just unfollow them.
Speaker: That's my advice.
Speaker: What about you?
Speaker: What are you going to give me?
Speaker: I think the one thing that is coming to my mind is and that I also force myself to do is consume long form of content because I also do get into that bubble of reels you know we get lost sometimes yeah so forcing yourself to consume like 50 reels in a day better than not better 50 reels in a day does no good than one youtube video of five to ten minutes like
Speaker: so trying to have more long form of content in the form of like audible maybe podcast YouTube whatever that is and taking like random social media breaks on weekends maybe or whenever setting a timer on your apps because I think Facebook Twitter and Instagram are the damaging ones other than that we don't or TikTok you don't have TikTok in India so that's a good thing we're TikToks we'll take that up with Instagram yeah
Speaker: Hmm.
Speaker: We spend extra time on Instagram then.
Speaker: But like, yeah, taking, reminding yourself to put a timer, taking social media breaks and making sure to check what accounts you're following, why you're following and detoxing from time to time.
Speaker: And I think stop watching the mainstream news for your main source of knowledge and information.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: And also another website that I would like to call out is LinkedIn.
Speaker: Don't worry about it.
Speaker: Those achievements are a little hyped.
Speaker: So if you spend five minutes scrolling on LinkedIn, you're like, what am I doing with my life and career?
Speaker: It's fine.
Speaker: They are also influencers.
Speaker: So take that with a grain of salt as well.
Speaker: But until then, I think we're going to see you next time now.
Speaker: And yeah, go on a detox.
Speaker: Bye-bye.
Speaker: Bye.
