Digital Fast

I gave a lesson in RS on Sunday about spirituality and how sometimes we need to re-boot and re-charge our spirits so we can tap in better to ourselves and our relationship to God.   I tried an experiment mentioned in an article in the Feb. Ensign that suggested going on a digital fast.  I decided to start small and turned off everything for about 4 or 5 hours one afternoon while everyone was away.  I was amazed at how being still and listening helped me be inspired with a rush of ideas, feelings, and a sense of purpose that I had not felt in a long time. I felt "spiritually born of God" and had a "change of heart" like it talks about in Alma 5 and I even "felt to sing the song of redeeming love", but I stopped short of singing. :)
I loved what Jan Pinborough said about the double edged sword of technological gadgets:


*They can keep us in touch with loved ones far away—and isolate us from those in our own homes.

*They can save us time in paying bills and reading the news—and consume it in answering e-mails and posting status updates.

*They can help us study and share the gospel—and cause us to idle away our time and drive away the Spirit.

*They can mobilize us to serve others—and keep us self-absorbed, focused on an unending stream of meaningless minutiae.

*They can educate, energize, elevate, and inspire us—and they can distract, enervate, addict, and destroy us.

Interruptions are a natural part of modern life, but I realized that sometimes blocking them all out for awhile can produce some pretty amazing results.  I hope to be fasting more often.  

Comments

  1. RozanneMarch 12, 2012 at 11:16 AM

    Great quote, and a good reminder of the pros and cons of the digital world we live in. I was talking to the kids about doing a digital fast just yesterday and I found myself making exceptions like, well, you can use your cell phone but only for calls and well, maybe for texting too. Then I starting thinking how much I wouldn't be able to do without the computer and my phone for a week.

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