I also suggested last week that recovery from media addiction (or any other addiction) is essentially a long term process of replacing the rituals of addiction with more meaningful rituals, rituals that by definition enhance one or more of our four basic needs -- physical, spiritual, emotional, and social -- on a regularly scheduled basis.
I would therefore like to take this opportunity to introduce the "Ritual Inventory," a tool I designed about a decade ago to help myself identify and honor the ritualized relationships with the people, things, and institutions in my life that somehow contributed to the quality of my life. The "Ritual Inventory" has helped me re-introduce gratitude as a working concept into my life. It can help you, too.
The "Ritual Inventory" is predicated on the above working definition of meaningful ritual as one that enhances one or more of our four basic needs -- physical, spiritual, emotional, and social -- on a regularly scheduled basis. For instance, a few quiet minutes spent with a cup of coffee or tea each morning qualifies as a meaningful ritual. That same cup of coffee or tea if quaffed in a mad dash out the door does not -- even if it happens at the same time every day.
Likewise, a morning jog qualifies whereas a frenzied sprint out the door to catch the bus doesn't. Dinner with the family around the dinner table qualifies; stuffing your face with a slice of pizza on the run doesn't. By the same measure, any addiction recovery programs attended on a regular basis qualify, whereas the addictive rituals they address do not.
Regularly scheduled biweekly or monthly events -- such as book club meetings or theater outings -- also qualify. Ad hoc gatherings of family or friends don't. Church every Sunday qualifies, but compulsively lifting a prayer to your Higher Power at the racetrack may not. Regular work around the yard or tending the garden qualify, but breaking out the Weed Whacker once every two years doesn't.
A cigarette with a snifter of brandy after dinner might constitute a perfectly appropriate evening ritual, as long as the cigarette is not one of forty you inhale each day, and as long as the brandy isn't washed down with a bottle of gin.
A more comprehensive -- although nowhere complete -- table of qualifying meaningful rituals can be found in the "Ritual Inventory" pdf file listed under posted "Links" on the Einstein's Corner Yahoo! Group. The same document includes a copy of the "Ritual Inventory Worksheet," which you are welcome to use (but not sell) for your own personal benefit.
To make your own "Ritual Inventory Worksheet," simply label five columns at the top of a piece of ruled paper: First "Meaningful Ritual," followed by "Physical," "Spiritual," "Emotional," and "Social," in any order.
To begin, list each of the meaningful rituals in your life (excluding work for now), one by one, and put a check mark in the column for each personal need addressed by each ritual. Some meaningful rituals may fall into more than one category.
A yoga class with friends, for instance, could be listed under physical, emotional, spiritual, and social. Remember, you can add your own meaningful rituals if they don't already appear in the "Ritual Inventory" document on Einstein's Corner. Just make sure they conform to our working definition, and don't include TV, the Internet, e-mail, or video games for now. Print and music (excluding music videos) are okay.
As mentioned above, the following "Ritual Inventory" exercise is designed to help you honor and appreciate the people and things in your life that contribute in a positive fashion to the quality of your life. I still use it first thing every morning to count my own blessings, and strongly recommend that you do the same. To begin doing so, first add "Ritual Inventory" to the end of your "Ritual Inventory Worksheet." Then, first thing each morning, take just a few minutes to envision each listed meaningful ritual, one by one.
Close your eyes and take a few seconds to imagine the unique personalities, colors, textures, sounds, and smells that characterize its unique contribution to the quality of your life. Maybe it's the physical warmth of your young son or daughter while you read to them each evening before bedtime. Maybe it's the spiritual satisfaction that settles over you like a soft blanket at worship or prayer. Or maybe it's how energized you feel after your morning jog. Then...
...say, "Thank you for improving my life."
Repeat the above steps for each and every meaningful ritual on your list.
The "Ritual Inventory" is all about gratitude, the antidote to what recovering addicts sometimes refer to as "stinking thinking," the pervasive messages of deprivation and impoverishment that just happen to accompany most advertising and marketing nowadays.
The "Ritual Inventory" will force you to pause just long enough each morning to consider and honor the people, things, and activities in your life that contribute on a regular basis to the quality of your life. It may not seem like much right now, but the "Ritual Inventory" is an incredibly powerful tool that with regular daily use will begin to change your life, one thought at a time.
Just as each individual stinking thought can easily displace a more constructive thought, so each thought of gratitude and appreciation can just as easily displace a stinking thought. And just as a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, so too does the quality of our lives and enhanced productivity at work. I would suggest that it begins anew each morning with our first thought of gratitude.
More next week on how to introduce gratitude as a productivity tool into the workplace.
Many thanks, as always, and best to you and yours...
Please note: The Einstein's Corner discussion group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/einsteinscorner/ is dedicated to exploring the adverse effects of our addictions to technology and media on the quality of our lives, both at work and at home. Please feel free to drop by and join the discussion.