Digital Detox and the Wisdom of Rest

3 hours ago

2 min read

Dear Friend,

There is some irony in sending you an email about digital detox. This message is, after all, one more thing arriving on a screen, asking for your attention.

And yet perhaps that is exactly the point.

Our devices can be useful and even wonderful, but the mind was not designed for endless interruption. Attention becomes fragmented, the nervous system stays subtly activated, and rest can begin to feel strangely difficult.

Buddhist practice offers a simple countercurrent: pause, feel the body, let the mind settle, and remember that not everything needs our immediate response.

On Saturday, September 26, from 10:00 am–3:00 pm Pacific Time, I’ll be offering a hybrid daylong at Spirit Rock, Digital Detox: The Wisdom of Rest, Balance, and Ease, both on land and online.

Together we’ll explore embodied awareness, lovingkindness, equanimity, silence, and the restorative power of simply stepping out of the stream for a little while.

Rest is not an escape from life. Done wisely, it is how we return to life refreshed, less reactive, and more able to give our attention to what truly matters.

So consider this one last notification inviting you, for a few hours, to turn the notifications off.

I’d be delighted to practice together.

With care,

Nikki

P.S. A last-minute invitation for next week: Esalen has been temporarily closed because of the fires, but happily, it is reopening this Monday, September 14. If you’re looking for an unexpected getaway, a few spots remain in The Buddha, the Brain, and Bach: Exploring Practice in Mind, Music, and Life, which I’ll be teaching with neuroscientist Clifford Saron and San Francisco Symphony cellist Barbara Bogatin. Meditation, brain science, live Bach, Big Sur, and hot springs—not a bad way to step away and refresh. 😊

P.P.S. One more chance to practice together this month: I’ll be teaching Monday Night at Spirit Rock on September 21, 6:30–8:30 pm PT, online. Come sit with me from home.