The rise of social media and the technology that fuels this rise has significantly impacted society. A lot of that impact is for the better. And while we have reaped many benefits from this new technology, such as more connectivity and a vast increase in access to information, it has also proved unhealthy to humanity in some ways.
Some of the adverse effects of this relatively new technology include the spread of misinformation, online bullying, a decrease in face-to-face communication, an artificial lowering of self-esteem among young people, and a dramatic loss of privacy to help boost the profits of already uber-rich companies.
We can pass laws to stem the unbeneficial ways of social media technology. However, we can't think of or implement enough rules to stop the detrimental usage of social media or technology.
The only effective answer lies in a collective change in consciousness.
When we continually re-enforce ways of being that affirm the highest and best of who we are as spiritual beings, there will be little need for such regulations. We can make this happen by cutting a groove in our consciousness that reflects our natural goodness.
There was a remarkable experiment that took place several years ago. The experimenters divided a group of schoolchildren of the same age into two classrooms.
Teachers taught both groups the same curriculum, except one group learned to be aggressively competitive and to get what they wanted by any means necessary. Instructors taught the other group cooperation and community-building skills to succeed.
They observed the two groups over time and documented how each group evolved. The experimenters observed that the group the teachers taught to be ultra-competitive and aggressive had more fights and incidences of disharmony. The group the teachers taught community-building skills were much more harmonious in their interactions.
The topper of the experiment occurred when they brought both groups together. They then gave each child a candy bar (it may have been better to provide them with an apple, a banana, or some carrots, but that's another matter). Next, they started a movie all the kids liked.
As the kids in each group unwrapped their candy and began watching the movie, a teacher suddenly entered the room, unplugged the projector, and snatched the candy away from all the students. The teachers then sent each group to their respective classrooms. Then, the experimenters filmed everything that happened within each group.
The group the teachers taught to be competitive started fighting and blaming each other for what had happened. They said things like, "It was your fault the teacher took away our candy!" or "You're why she turned off the movie!" They began to go after each other and blame one another.
In the other group, there was a sense of cooperation. They were more compassionate with each other than even before the actions of the experiment took place. They took care of each other and empathized with each other’s pain. They nurtured one another.
Each group had the same candy bars under the same circumstances and situation. But the values the teachers had taught the students shaped the students' consciousness and how each group responded.
Those conditioned into competition and separation flew into behavior that amplified that way of being even more. The ones who practiced an awareness of community and cooperation expanded that behavior in their interaction.
This experiment demonstrates that the most critical work is to embody in our consciousness the values we want to see expressed in our world. If we incorporate the values that reflect the highest and best of who we are as children of God, those values will play out in our actions.
Therefore, our spiritual work is essential. When we embody spiritual values, we will not need rules and laws to tell us the right thing to do. Our natural goodness will always lead us to do what is beneficial and not harmful to ourselves and others.
Peace and Blessings,
James
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