Cattāri Brahmavihārā

It seems like I can’t get enough of this fasting thing but, as is usually the case, once my eyes have been opened to the contours of something I begin to see its shape everywhere (if that makes any sense). So the idea of restricting my consumption of books and other physically and digitally printed matter seems only like a logical progression of fasting from food ( here I have to admit that my fast from consumerism has been an abject failure but more on that later).

Since it seems to me that I derive little value from reading multiple books at once, especially since I rarely finish them, I’ll choose one book a week every Sunday and read only that until the following Sunday. In this way I hope to forestall the urge to find something more interesting, more juicy and actually take the time to learn something-even if what is learned is that I never should have picked the book to begin with.

We’ll see how it goes and then I may even extend this to Dhamma talks, podcasts and YouTube channels I listen to. I’ve learned a lot from my Facebook and news fast and I’m eager to increase the peace of mind I’m already enjoying as a result. Truly, so much of entertainment, social media and diversion feel to me like hot coals with which to burn myself and it amazes that a few short weeks ago I was completely enthralled by my news feed despite how badly it made me feel. That, my friends, is the hallmark of an incipient addiction and I quit it none too soon.