⚙️AIP 55 I Did A No Technology/Socializing Fast: Here's What I Learned

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Yesterday, I did a technology/socializing fast.

I have done fasts like this before. While camping, for example. But never in an environment with easy access to technology and socializing. As a member of the IGen, technology feels more like a third arm than a tool to me. I was curious about how fasting would make me feel.

So yesterday, I took my phone and blew it up.

I’m just joking.

I had only three rules for my fast:

No technological devices whatsoever (even for time)
All I can do is read, write, walk, eat, and think
No purposeful get-togethers with friends
Have fun. Hah! I had 4 rules; you have been lied to lol

While the fast was only one day long, it profoundly impacted my perception of myself, technology, and socialization.

I’m going to take you through my journal from the day so you can get an idea for how it impacted me. I hope by reading my raw thoughts you will consider your own relationship with yourself, technology, and others.

6:50 a.m. Woke up and took a run in the morning with no devices. My mind was cluttered. Thinking about business ideas, schoolwork, relationships, and more.

7:40 a.m. Started walking up to Olin for coffee, my one addiction. But I kept thinking about getting a Celcius instead of black coffee. I’m trying to wean of sugared, milked, or artificially flavored coffee. I don’t like how it takes up my thoughts for better things. Having nothing workwise distracting me helped me see the truth of this. When the noise of life goes away, you can see these things with more clarity.

8:05 a.m. Started journaling in Olin on my day so far. Instant flow. It’s amazing how much hand journaling grounds you. Reminds me of the question Terry said on Twitter yesterday, “what things can I do that let me become fully absorbed in the present?”

8:20 a.m. Started writing scripts on paper for long form videos. I got deep into flow. There’s something about writing on paper that deeply immerses me.

9:40 a.m. I started my hour long meditation.

10:37 a.m. Because I had no timer, I had to guess when an hour had gone by. Interestingly, I timed it almost exactly. That felt incredible. For the first few minutes, I struggled to concentrate. I had conflicting and self-conscious thoughts. Then the darkness started to envelop me. I tried focusing on immersing myself in the void. Slowly, it encased me. I lost most feeling in my body. I was close to becoming pure awareness. But I was scared. I have never become pure awareness before. I knew if I kept going, I would lose all sense of self. Ego death. That idea scared me too much to keep going. At around 40 minutes a blissful feeling started coming on my forehead. It felt like the sun was blazing there. I could literally see a sun in my vision. Finally, at around 55 minutes my mental faculties started coming back. As if they intuitively knew how much time had passed. I opened my eyes and was hit with blissful sensations. Everything was so blue at first. Then, as my vision adapted, I saw colors brighter than ever. I appreciated them more than ever. My body was asleep. Moving it was a weird sensation.

10:48 a.m. Started walking to Morrison for lunch

11:15 a.m. Ate lunch while writing and reading.

12:15 p.m. Set out for the Arboretum at Cornell. On the way, I noticed how much eating makes me less focused on the outside. Fascinating. I explored the Botanic Gardens, Mundy Wildflower Gardens–found a unique fruit lol, and more. I don’t have a watch, so I’m estimating the

2:00 p.m. Set out to walk the Arboretum. I mixed between walking, reading, writing, and simply being in nature once there. I had a few thoughts. My mind was clear. On the way back, I talked to one friend for 3 minutes who I met by chance on the way.

4:30 p.m. Sitting in Olin library writing about Buddhism for a school project. The afternoon, close to before dinner time, is always the worst part of the day for me.

5:45 p.m. Eating dinner at Cook while reading Behave: The Biology of Humans At Our Best And Worst. It’s fascinating how engaging a non-fiction book like this is for me when I haven’t had access to technology or socializing all day.

6:40 p.m. Kept reading Behave in my room.

8:10 p.m. I’m remarkably tired and decided to stop reading now. This is my last journal entry of the day before going to bed quite early.

Overall, I took away 3 main lessons from my fast:

Fasting from socializing and technology clears the mind
Your mind creates everything, even your mind
You can be profoundly creative with just your brain, a pencil, and paper

So am I recommending you blow up all your technology and stop talking to friends and family? No lol. But I do encourage you to look at your own relationship with technological use. Maybe that doesn’t look like a whole day fast.

It could be an evening time where you stop all technological usage.

Personally, I’m going to start doing these technology and social fasts once a month from now on.

We constantly fill our heads with information throughout the day. And the amount of information is only growing larger.

These fasts provide a time to rest and reflect.

P.S. Out of the three digital product options announced last week, The Art Of Linked Reading was the winner!

If you’re interested in hearing more about the course as I build it, sign up through this form:

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