Return to Blogging, the Conscious Heart Creations way

Recently, I’ve deactivated my social media accounts. Why? Actually, it’s been building up for a few years now, this sense of a lack of purpose and meaning in having those accounts. I realized that I am not that interested anymore in being part of the culture that social media is creating, which is ultimately “made for us” and not with us:

• the fleeting conversations,
• the ghosting,
• the fear of missing out,
• that false security in virtual connection yet actual disconnection in real life,
• the information that is tailor-fitted for us and not something we actually need or seek,
• the inherent voyeurism, and
• reinforced envy in peeping into other people’s lives without appropriate or sufficient context. 

There’s so much more, at least for me, and you can probably add your own list to this. Enough is enough, basically. Whatever “good” there may be in social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter do not entice me at all; the losses outweigh any benefit (although when you dig deeper, the “benefit” is not for regular people but more for those taking advantage of these platforms).

Blogging, on the other hand, is not as intrusive, allows context, not used to take advantage of you (specifically influencing thought, emotions and behavior using algorithms and data mining), and can even be counter-culture nowadays. That goes for written, audio (podcasts) or video blogs (YouTube). [On a side note: I would be making my other content platforms more active probably within the year, the YouTube channel and SoundCloud for podcasts.] The content can reach others but not in their face 24/7, the power remains to be in the hands of people, not as consumers but as part of your circle or community. Yes, of course, there will still be instances that your content may be misused, stolen, or misappropriated but the uptake is not as fast and fleeting; not as damaging. I’m pretty sure I am one of a few (hopefully more) people who have gotten off the popular social media platforms, which means I totally understand that most will disagree with me.

Happily, I return to blogging – at least to two of my blogs that I retained, this one in relation to my body of work, and the consciouspinay blog for my personal musings. This particular content is meant for Conscious Heart Creations because I think, in terms of my work, although it may seem like a personal choice to deactivate, I’ve found that online blogging platforms as mentioned above would support what I am doing professionally. How?

• I get to focus on my work – of healing and empowering others through live, physical engagements whether paid or voluntary. 
• I don’t have to maintain social media accounts that in the end may have piqued someone’s interest but often forget to follow through – it’s not unusual that we forget the things we see on those platforms, that is the nature of fleeting events. My time is spent more wisely rather than checking how many likes my post has gotten, and realistically perhaps only one percent of those likes will get in touch with me or contact me for work anyway. Plus, I get to disentangle myself from addictive behavior patterns triggered by these social media platforms. (See video on mindfulness; around 9 minutes Judson Brewer talks about similar addictive pathways with mobile devices.)  
• I get to be present more in actual connections than in virtual ones.
• The people who are in my life take the time for real conversations, ask questions about what is happening instead of assuming things based on what they see on my social media accounts, do not have information about me shoved in their faces (and vice versa), and do not have to contend with my private thoughts gone public showing up in their newsfeed. Why would we think they care? Or why did we ever believe that pouring our private lives (particularly rants, relationship woes, etc.) onto public platforms is a healthy way of sharing ourselves to the world, or at least to our community? After all, CHC thrives in healthy communities and co-creates intentional communities.  
• I can write long entries without being anxious that it might be too long for someone’s short attention span. This is helpful in writing, as a writer, and not as a copy editor (I am not one; no offence to copy editors). Unfortunately, this seems to be the expectation when you have to choose only a few words to get your point across in most social media platforms. 
• I am less distracted by social media happenings and I get to focus on listening to my intuition and to the Universe’s guidance. This is important in my work, healing and empowering myself – my body, mind, and spirit, and facilitating the same process for others. Interestingly, majority of the people the Universe sends my way often do so from word-of-mouth information and actual experience of my work. Yes, there were instances when people contacted me based on what they have seen me share on my Facebook account and those that have resulted in productive, empowering engagements are rare. 
• I get to enjoy aloneness or me time, and the time I have in communion with others. We don’t get to experience this when we are on social media accounts 24/7. We are distracted too much to know that despite having multiple followers or Facebook friends, we most likely don’t have a lot of people who know us deeply and with whom we get to talk about things that truly matter to us. How many of those do we even regularly contact just to say hi? We somehow believe it’s enough that they are just there. For what? What is that false sense of security in virtuality about? Maybe some find that helpful, but not for me. 

Again, I probably missed other real benefits for what I do in CHC and might add to this in time, but given all these things, having less social media is definitely more! It is also another step in my minimalism path, on the personal and professional level, allowing me to be more of who I truly am rather than what others would want me to be or even imagine me to be (based on what I share). I don’t have to spend the time to create and maintain an image. I just get to be myself, just as I am, and hope that is enough. If the Universe and my tribe or inner circle are on my side, supporting my work and my intentions to serve the world as I am – healed, empowered, happy, and whole – then that too is enough. 

With this, I wish you and all of us well. May we all be filled with joy, find safety, protection and peace, and be free from suffering.