By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Most of us know we have dominant brain hemispheres; the left more mental side and right more spiritual side. They aren’t always in sync with each other.  I’m in the closing days of a major computer transition of about 2 weeks. That transition most definitely required my left brain to be dominant.  Yet I found it so draining that I can see the stress in my face and countenance.

I decided to take a little mental vacation to calm myself.  Watching one of the moon ceremonies that I’ve conducted on Zoom, brought me back to peace and inclusion of that ole right side.

Over many years, I’ve observed that balance is important.  I find that having a technique to bringing myself back to the Oneness is critical for my survival and enthusiasm for life. I am also reminded of the necessity of checking in with my four shields: adult woman, adult male, child of my gender, child of my opposite gender. This little group often remind me when circumstances move me too much into one vs. all.

How very thankful I am that I encountered several people, teachers, and spiritual teachers who taught many ways to find peace. Hopefully, as I’ve worked with many folks and taught, I’ve shared that wisdom to assist them.

What I’m saying here is that to live our lives in peace, each of us needs a spiritual (not religious) practice that we can use to make certain, so we come into balance when we are too focused on one side of brain functioning.

I know some wondrous things are coming out of burgeoning technology. However, I do hold the belief that its rapidity may be much quicker than the average human mind. It seems to be finger snapping quick, way too much of the time.  If we don’t keep up, it is easy to get lost in the changes.

The past two weeks have felt a whole lot like hell. In part, this be that my aging brain doesn’t as easily crock quick changes.  It is a bit more habituated than in younger years, less flexible and fluid. And that may be very true though I also know I will, eventually, find my way back to order and center and restore calmness.

Another factor of technology that isn’t so grand is all the ways in which people can scam us and potentially steal our financial information and things necessary to our basic functioning.   Do you ever get tired of getting codes with almost every site we do business on?  One of my friends wears her cell phone like a badge in front of her.  I’ve not given in to accepting the phone as a third arm or appendage and hopefully, I never will be.

The crux of this little tome, is to find some peace with the stress of technological change without losing my sense of center and peace. There are some very positive things about contact with loved ones and family on the net, that are precious. Learning new scientific discoveries is stimulating. Finding humor to manage stress helps. Cyber traveling when we can no longer take trips or go on new adventures. Not spending too much time on it, another important factor.

Keeping the human in humanity is so important. We are not robots. It is in the grand plan to feel, to see, to savor, to transcend, to become illumined, to embrace these body suits we came in and enjoy them. I highly recommend that you give yourself reminders each day, to remember who you are and find beauty and joy in your life. The internet will wait for you. Trust me on this. Be human!

“Even more amazing than modern technology is our opportunity to access information directly from Heaven, without hardware, software, or monthly service fees.” – Russell M. Nelson

“The moment of drifting into thought has been so clipped by modern technology. Our lives are filled with distraction with smartphones and all the rest. People are so locked into not being present.” -Glen Hansard

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”–Marie Curie