Technology: Servant or Master?
No matter where you reside, your life is now technology driven. Technology that was intended to liberate us, to provide more free time and productivity, has over the decades, enslaved us. In recent history, the change started 120 years ago with the development of factory production lines and electric appliances. The introduction of automobiles and technologies such as refrigeration has indeed offered support to us all.
However, over the decades, technology has become our master and we find ourselves dependent upon clocks, cell phones, internet and fossil fuel. Our careers and our connection to family and friends are now organized around technology.
True mental and physical health requires that we honor our essential nature. We are not machines; we are humans! Natural environments, like those here in Guatemala, revitalize us. Loving interactions with family and friends offer nourishment that is essential to our well-being. Spiritual connections are equally important.
Technology tends to feed our brains and often our priorities get distorted; we lose connection with the whole person. Technology becomes the middleman and the filter through which we interact. However, technology can support us, provided that we first anchor our sense of who we really are.
This is a guiding principle of holistic healing, taking into account that we are more than just a brain, a body or emotions. We are a whole person: Body, mind and spirit are all important ingredients in our identity and our health. By adopting a holistic perspective, one can make new choices about priorities. By valuing the whole person, then our decisions about where to invest our time and focus start supporting our health and well-being more effectively.
A holistic approach might require that you unplug from your favorite technology for a period of time, just to gain a fresh perspective. For example, how many hours a day do you (or your children) spend watching television? Surfing the internet? Has technology disconnected you from your wholeness? Have you adapted your life to technology?
While visiting Guatemala you have the perfect opportunity to unplug and reconnect. The moments spent gazing at the profound beauty of nature or simply chatting with a new friend offer perspective and balance.
True health invites us to honor all aspects of our being. Holistic health reminds us that the easily dismissible areas (perhaps exercise and spirituality) are important contributors to our health and resilience. If technology and compromise have slowly taken over your life energy, then inner discomfort will be present. That discomfort is a call to pay attention before a life crisis emerges.
Unplugging from your day-to-day life patterns offers perspective and renewal. Stress is reduced. Taking time off from our habits gives us access to deeper levels of inner wisdom and clarity. Unplugging from technology renews our self-awareness while unplugging from stress actually heals lives.
Here in Guatemala you can take time in a natural environment and renew your essential spirit. We all have an inner compass, a wisdom that can be accessed through our hearts. Perhaps it is that wisdom that brought you here!
written by Sri Ram Kaa & Kira Raa
Authors contact: www.LakeAtitlanSpa.com email: office@tosaspa.com