So many of us are attached to the media storm of news
that taking it in seems to be a necessary and normal part of everyday
life. We need to know what’s going on in
the world. Many of us start and end our
day with a helping of the latest buzz about events. It is the basis for conversations with our
family, neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances. It makes us feel connected. We depend on it. You might even say that we are addicted to
it. We feel we can’t do without it.
But, what is the news?
It’s somebody’s idea of what is interesting enough in recent human
events to grab our attention and hold it long enough to sell us something. But, what is interesting to us? Generally things that will hook our emotions
for one reason or another. Especially
things that will excite negative emotions like fear, anger, disgust or
frustration. There is a little room for sadness,
pity and sentimentality, too. That’s why
the news is packed full of those things.
The stronger the emotion that a story arouses, the more useful it is to
hold our attention long enough for us to absorb a sales pitch. So, the news is a selection of bits of
information that are specifically chosen to hook our emotions. And, our emotions are most powerfully hooked
by things that we find disturbing. Is
there any wonder that the news is upsetting to our peace of mind? Of course not. It is designed to be that way.
Can you have any real effect on the happenings that are
reported in the news? No, not
really. You are pretty much a passive
observer. You just get to be churned up
about things that are not within your ability to effect or have any real
contact with.
So, what is the net effect of ingesting all of this
emotionally disturbing information? I
would guess that your peace of mind will have taken a hit and that you probably
come away with a sour feeling about people and life in general. If you start your day with this influence,
you are getting off on the wrong foot.
If you end your day with it, you are harming the peacefulness of your
rest and feeding your nightmares.
But, other than putting you in a bad mood, what harm
does this news fascination really do? In
a nutshell, it sets you up for misery in body, mind and spirit.
If you realize that our thoughts create the world that
we live in, you will not be so eager to dismiss the effect of chronic negative
influences. It is a law of the universe
that what I pay attention to expands. I
get more of it, whatever it is. My
attention is a creative force. Paying attention
to the horror show of news stories guarantees that I will get more of those
horrors. The question is, “do I want
that?” Do I want to live my life soaking
in the psychic sewage of the world?
There are consequences.
Until recently, scientists believed that our physical
state was largely the result of the genes that we were born with. Our physical well being was based on the luck
of the draw. That is no longer thought
to be the case. Scientists now believe
that environmental factors trigger the expression of our genes. That environment is mainly our inner
environment of thoughts and beliefs. It
is those thoughts and beliefs that orchestrate the expression of our genes and create
the physiological condition of our bodies. Our physical health or lack of health is a
product of our beliefs. In short, we are
what we think.
If ingesting news contributes to our thoughts about
people, life and the world in general and if the main trend of that influence
is negative, we pay a high price for staying informed. We might want to reconsider our choice. The news is bad news.
